My dogs are killing my chk.

[md36]

Hey i hope yall can help me out on this i have two labs and two little dachshunds i love my dogs very much and have tryed to have chickens for two years now but every time same thing happens ill come home one day and there they are laying around the yeard dead. Funny thing is they never bother them when am around and ill even put them up but over time ill lose all of the chickens! the dogs don't eat them just play tell there dead.
I need to know how to train my dogs not to kill the chickens yes i have a pen with elec fnc for the chickens and always put them i really hope some one can help me please!!!

Thank you.

 

[tackyrama]

Hello and WELCOME to BYC! You're one of many that have been in that prediciment. People have all sorts of "cures" including tying a dead chicken around their neck. I personally think that is pure rubbish! Dogs don't have enough mental power to connect that dead stinky chicken with the fact that they killed a chicken sometime in the past. What it takes is patience and training. I have two small dogs. The oldest was trained 4 years ago to leave poultry alone and has never been a problem. Every time he showed too much interest in the ducks all I did was scold him severly and 3 or 4 times is all it took. He likes to please me. The youngest (two years old this thanksgiving) was harder. He killed two before I cured him of the habit. The first one he killed I knew he did it but did not see him so there was not much I could do. The second one he killed I happened to catch him in the act of running away with a pullett. I chased him down, took the by then dead bird from him. I had grabbed a paint brush which was the only thing handy as I started after him. Since he is a small dog I couldn't hit him too hard but he definitly got the message. No problems have occured since.

Dogs are smart and can be trained with patience. In this situation I'm convinced You will have to catch him in the act otherwise he will not connect why he is being punished. Time is the keyword. If you are lacking time as most people are nowdays the next best option would be an electric collar. Lots of people swear by it. I personally will not use one but that is just me. Good luck

 

[Jenski]

As has been posted on here many, many times before, you must have a coop and run that are predator proof if you want to keep your chickens from being killed. That is the simple, honest-to-goodness solution. There are many resources on this forum if you are interested in doing this. Best of luck!

 

[elaucht]

I found this works best. It sounds awful but once the chicken is dead it dosen't matter anymore to her. As soon as you see the dead chicken take it and beat the dog with the (dead) bird until it falls apart ( the bird not the dog) the dog is usually so traumatised it wont even look at a chicken again, Oh yea, dont forget to yell at teh dog and be angry while you are diong this. Even if it is hard to punish your beloved dog , think of the poor chicken and what it went through before it died.
I wish you the best of luck It worked for me, and boy was I angry. I haven't had any problems with the dogs and the birds they are all one big happy fam. now.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

The easiest way I've found is to use a shock collar. That way you can correct the dog without having to be where it can see you, and it associates the pain with the chicken.
With most dogs it only takes a few sessions to change them from chicken chasers into this:

 

[horsejody]

The dogs know that when you are there, you are in charge of them. You are the boss. However, when you aren't there, they are in charge of themselves. They get to make the decisions. Pen the dogs ups.

 

[sandypaws]

i have had dogs and chickens my whole life.. NOTHING stops the prey drive 100%.. the dog you have were bred for hundereds of years to HUNT... you vant break it in a day or two..
if you are not home you can not "correct" the dog.... keep dog/chickens SEPERATE unless you are home to fix the problem.. even with a shock collar you need to be home and WATCHING the dogs in order to "zap" them.... i have a large yard devided in 2.. a yard for the dogs and a yard for the chickens (with 2 strands of hotwire all the way around it)
beating the dog with the chicken doesnt work.. the dog does NOT associate killing chickens with the beating.. all the dog remembers is the "human" goes crazy and beats dog if there is a dead bird.. but does not know WHY..
the shock collor is your best bet.. you need to be HOME and HIDING.. you dont want the dog associating chickens with shock only when HUMAN is around....
good luck

 

[Jenski]

While this forum is a great, safe place for everyone to share their own ideas, I feel relatively certain that most folks on the forum ~ including moderators ~ would not advocate beating an animal for any reason.

Fencing is not too difficult for the average person to install with a little help from friends or family. It can be put up in a weekend. If it is done properly, it will work for 99% of pet dogs.

If you need hints or pointers on putting up inexpensive fencing, the folks on this forum will certainly help. I wish you the best of luck with your chickens!

 

[sandypaws]

i agree.. the only thing that stops the dogs 100% is a GOOD fence.. and for dogs with a strong prey drive,, ADD a string or two of hot wire... i have not lost a chicken since..

 

[md36]

Thank yall for all your help ill try some of the new ideals out. the funny thing is my dogs know they are doing something bad when they get into the chickens Abby the white lab last time she killed she left be for i got home and didn't come home for 3 day she knows its wrong! And we do have lots of predators of chickens coyotes wild dogs and just about everything you can think of. Being i have four dog i think if one starts they all just join in. i have 8ac so its hard to fence the hole thing and money it tight right now. but i think ill give it a few months before i order any this year. Lol is there any breed that can fight back?