My Dog turned Killer

[Baggagolers]

I can not agree. Such statements reflect a lack of experience or effort to correct situation.


Over years I have had many dogs, several at one point or another killed chickens, yet I was able to break them of habit with minimal effort to point where dogs could be left with birds 24/7 without risk to birds. Guardian in place now is a German Short-Haired Pointer (a high energy birding dog) that killed a couple juvenile chickens over a year ago yet at this point is fully trustworthy with chickens now.

x2 My dad stopped our dog from ever killing another chicken. She was a lab mix that he used for hunting. He caught her in the act and took care of it right away. She and the chickens got along fine for about 13 years without another problem.

 

[NoisyCricket]

Blood has nothing to do with it, IMO. It is the GAME that the dogs like. Chickens are the ultimate squeaky toy! Most dogs, once the chicken stops 'playing', the game ends. If it were the blood they craved, they would eat the bird. If they can ever be trusted around the birds again after they have learned how fun the game is, and killed a bird, depends on the individual dog and how good of a trainer the owner is.

My 8yo has a high prey drive, but is very motivated to please me. She has been rather easy to retrain, after her killing a cockeral. During the process I actually could watch her work it out in her head. I was watching out the kitchen window when a pullet ran across the yard. My girl fixated on her, then look away, then fixated on her, then look away. After the third time, she just walked away. I immediately went out, praised her to death and gave her a treat (she is highly food motivated). She now understands that chasing the birds is not allowed, and over time, her self control has improved quite a lot. The ducks were out of their pen for the first time when we walked by with the dogs yesterday,
(they are allowed out all the time, but usually retreat into the pen whenever a leave falls, so are never out when we go past for our walks). The 8yo, look at them, but NOT in a predatory manner. The 10yo, well, we still have some work to do with the ducks, as she looked a little to intently at them. Not quite fixating, but not calm submissive either.

I believe the first step is to teach them to look away, or at you, or look at anything else, in place of fixating.

 

[nzpouter]

I have three Labradors.  8, 6, & 4.  They have been allowed to get whatever they can catch since birth.  My chicks are a month old.  They are obsessed with them.  They drooled over the brooder and wagged their tails.  The chicks went in the run two times.  The dogs never leave the side, still drooling.  It is like  they cant believe mom is growing us snacks.  My dogs were all born and raised here.  They are very well behaved, but I would never trust them alone with a chicken.  I also feel that once a dog kills, it most likely won't stop with any amount of training.  You must have been sick over your hens.  I am so sorry, but I think that it is time to permanently keep the dog away from the chickens or it will happen again.  Good Luck.

All our dogs run with the chickens and other animals. They are allowed to hunt, chase, kill and eat anything that don't belong here (and the do and are fed raw).
I can leave day old orphan animals to sleep with them at night for warmth (piglets, lambs, etc) and company and they also sleep with the poultry at night IN the coop if there's predators about. A dog knows the difference, you just need to let them know what is allowed what is not.

 

[berserker]

The one a had to let go knew the difference well. When I was present she would behave, but when none of us was, it was a very different story. I remember the firs time I killed a chicken been her a few yards back. She started to rice her nose on the air smeling somethin from the distance. Her sence of smell brough her to all the areas were the beheaded chicken had been jumping squirting blood all over and she started to leack the blood. Big mistake for me to allow her to do that. From then on it was crazy. I tried some of the things here mentioned and others not accounted for in here as well. None of them worked and I didnt have the time or the money to keep on tring to fix her after the dead chicken toll riced up to 34. I decided that it was enough and gave her up.
She didnt just killed chicken, but grackles, crows, mokingbirds doves and anithing that had feathers as well. She would also eat them. Cats, racoons, foxes and rabits as well and anithing that would moove. I have to say however that she was exelent with humans and my kids. I'm not going to say that the methods here mentioned don't work, but in my experience they didn't for me, and everything started after she tasted the blood.

 

[SacCityChickens]

Sorry to hear about your dog. Sounds just like mine!
4 days ago I brought home 3 laying hens & a 4x8 coop. I had the coop in my backyard beside my garage. I had some temp fencng between the garage & 7' wood fence. Well my (usually well behaved) dog, broke thru the temp fencing & killed one of our hens. My wife caught her before she killed the others. She was running around wild, acting like she didn't know her name!
Well the next day,I installed two 6' chainlink gates. Our dog has killed her last chicken!
I'll be looking for another young hen soon, & I want them to all be safe
Good luck

 

[berserker]

SacCity. I think with out room for doubts your method is the best.

 

[Chookpensbuild]

Sometimes a dog can kill chickens withouts reason,happened to me

 

[NoisyCricket]

I agree that once they are predatory with the birds, some dogs can't be trusted again, no matter how much training they have.

Berserker, it sounds like your dog got really predatory after tasting the blood. Most dogs I have known, that kill something, don't eat it. For them it is much more about the game of chase. Once the animal is dead, they lose interest. I can understand why you couldn't re-train her.

 

[centrarchid]

I agree that once they are predatory with the birds, some dogs can't be trusted again, no matter how much training they have.

Berserker, it sounds like your dog got really predatory after tasting the blood. Most dogs I have known, that kill something, don't eat it. For them it is much more about the game of chase. Once the animal is dead, they lose interest. I can understand why you couldn't re-train her.

I suggest giving somebody else a shot at retraining.

 

[holly ann]

My dog is even a therapy dog in a nursing home. Cutest, sweetest dog in the whole world. I found her once after she killed, then ate the organs of a rabbit. It is tough to realize that our "babies" are natural killers. Sometimes a dog is a dog no matter how much we personify them. Just try to get it out of your mind, protect the chickens, and love them all!