My male dog won’t protect but will eat my chickens

[Chickens 4Ever]

I will try the muzzle and I also have a chain collar I can put and tighten on him if he does anything he isn’t supposed to do, should I try that also?

 

[Chickens 4Ever]

But. He will paw at things. Would he use his paws to get the chickens instead of his mouth?

 

[townchicks]

Please, please don't use a shock collar on him. Your puppy, and he IS still a puppy, does not understand what is expected of him. Punishing "bad" (normal, instinctive prey drive) does nothing to show him what you do want. Start by defining what behavior you do want, in this case, calm quiet behavior around the chickens. Keep him on a short leash around the chickens, and reward the behavior when you see want you want. Never let him off leash around them until you are 100% sure that he will not go after them, even when they are running and squawking and at their most exciting. This may take years, so don't get impatient, it will be worth it in the long haul. Continue to work on your obedience, around the chickens and in other places. Reward the good, ignore the bad.Just use the leash to control any chasing, not to punish. Do the same thing with your female, just turning her out with them and hoping for good behavior is asking for trouble. She is still very much a baby, and as she gets older and builds confidence, she will start "teenage" misbehavior, which may well include chasing and killing the chickens she was too scared of as a baby to chase.

 

[coach723]

Just remember you are 'correcting' the behavior you don't want, not 'punishing'. There is a big, big difference. Dogs respect correction, they will learn quickly to distrust those who punish. A correction is quick and over. May happen repeatedly, but quick and over. Correction is learning what is OK and what is not. They need to be taught and know what is acceptable to you before you can expect them to behave that way. A properly corrected dog will look at you like "oops, sorry, that wasn't good, what should I have done?". A punished dog will flinch, look away, and avoid you.

 

[Geena]

I will try the muzzle and I also have a chain collar I can put and tighten on him if he does anything he isn’t supposed to do, should I try that also?

You really need to focus more on engagement rather than punishment. You said he only listens when he feels like it, that indicates he needs a lot more foundation training. As coach723 stated ecollar and choke chain corrections might only confuse or ramp him up if used incorrectly. I would work with both dogs independently and focus on the basics before even thinking about introducing them to the chickens. Putting your puppy in with the chickens and just hoping for the best is a recipe for disaster.

 

[KathieMc]

I'm sorry, but I don't think you truly understand the behavior of a Pyr...the pawing, barking and what you call being "territorial" is what a Pyr is/does. A Pyr will paw/lean into you for your attention/affection, he will bark to alert you to what he perceives as danger or to warn an unwanted trespasser to back off. If you muzzle a Pyr you are basically taking away the tool he uses to take care of intruders and the idea of using a shock collar is useless, unless you are right there to give correction at the exact moment he has done something wrong in your eyes. Also, a pinch collar is suppose to make contact with the dogs skin and most male Pyrs have a very thick mane that would make it difficult to place properly, so you may cause more problems then help.
Please don't take what I've said as anything against you, but only some thoughts that may help.

 

[Chickens 4Ever]

I'm sorry, but I don't think you truly understand the behavior of a Pyr...the pawing, barking and what you call being "territorial" is what a Pyr is/does. A Pyr will paw/lean into you for your attention/affection, he will bark to alert you to what he perceives as danger or to warn an unwanted trespasser to back off. If you muzzle a Pyr you are basically taking away the tool he uses to take care of intruders and the idea of using a shock collar is useless, unless you are right there to give correction at the exact moment he has done something wrong in your eyes. Also, a pinch collar is suppose to make contact with the dogs skin and most male Pyrs have a very thick mane that would make it difficult to place properly, so you may cause more problems then help.
Please don't take what I've said as anything against you, but only some thoughts that may help.

Yes, I know that they bark a lot and lean against you for love and they bark because they see something and think it might be a threat.

 

[Chickens 4Ever]

I’m new to Pys but that doesn’t mean I can’t make mistakes and then learn from them. Once I have more experience it will be easier to train them

 

[GrandmaKatnip]

My Golden Retriever is 11 months old. We take her on leash to 'help' with chicken chores, and she has been in and around the coop since last fall. She is off leash on our site daily. Before we got her, my biggest fear was that she would kill our chickens. Last week she killed 2 chickens, and today she killed one more. I really don't know what to do. Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

[Henrybelle]

Don’t give him the space to chase. Put him on a run with supervision as well as the strict training.