My new puppy has suddenly taken an interest in our new hens.

[AJDots]

Now, Creed is about 2 to 3 months now.
And for the most part he's very good at listening, he comes when called about 99% of the time, sticks close to me when I'm out working and leaves the fowl alone accept for the occasional playful jaunt towards one which ill call him off of.
He is a, or at least I have been told but have not yet confirmed with a DNA test, A Great Pyrenees Anatolian mix. and he's been perfectly fine around the chickens up until about 2 weeks ago.

First of all, I do have 3 other dogs, girls. they are several months older then he is and are also a 4 dog mix of none livestock guardian breeds. but all high energy. I've gotten to the point where I let them out one at a time because they listen to commands better when they aren't getting in each others way. and Creed gets to play with them.
2 weeks ago I was working in my chick nursery when I realized I couldn't see Tango and neither would come when called. come to find out she'd attacked and started eating one of my ducks, the same duck she'd gotten in trouble for attacking last year. and Creed was there. So I gave them both peroxide to make them throw up when they had eaten.

But the day after that, My mother, my grandmother and Myself went to a swap, and my grandmother bought 6 hens, spending a pretty penny on them. their more standoffish as they get used to their new area, and they have some attitude but their nice looking hens. Cochins, full size.

And almost immediately he's started harassing's these 6 hens, we have lost 2, one seemed to go to sleep and never way up again the day after he attacked her she was missing a few feathers but seemed okay, the second one he ate. I don't catch him harassing's any of the other hens, and when I've watched him walk/follow one of the new hen's its different. I don't understand.

Is it maybe because these hen's are new? they don't smell like the rest of the flock? he'll get caught and knows that he's in trouble when I catch him, but punishing him for harassing a hen only seems to last a day before he forgets and dose it again. he's not going after the ducks, the guineas or the bantams. So I don't understand why he keeps going after these hens Specifically.

I'm planning on shutting the chickens up for a few days. but honestly I don't know what else to do. and I don't want to lose anymore of the new hens.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

SO many things to say here.... He is a baby!! Training him is a long process. His DNA is perfect for flock protection but... he's still a baby, not even a toddler yet so have very low expectations right now.

Peroxide as a punishment?!?!?!!!! Did I read that right?

My toddler Leonberger, similar in way to Anatolian and Pyrenees, is a giant, heavy bouncing ball of crazy around my chickens. He's in training, he's unpredictable. He does seem to be way more interested in some chickens over others. I've seen that in my other Leonberger's as well.

Patience. Keep separated until trained. Conduct actual on leash training sessions "be nice to chickens." Reward based, not fear based.

 

[Penpal]

I think the peroxide was to make them throw up. Never heard of that but putting away in a corner of my brain.

As SandyRiverChick advised, don't let him out without a leash. Teach him leave it. When he alerts on a chicken, tell him leave it and give praise and a little treat when he does. Some dogs don't need a treat, but he probably does with the chickens. Clicker will work faster. Even so, he is still a puppy and you can't expect him to leave the chickens alone if you aren't there.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

I've definitely heard of peroxide to induce vomiting for something bad for the dog but... I don't know what the intent was in this case. Hopefully OP clarify because if it was to teach the dog that eating duck is painful, I wouldn't agree that's a good practice.

 

[Grannys Backyard Chicks]

I've definitely heard of peroxide to induce vomiting for something bad for the dog but... I don't know what the intent was in this case. Hopefully OP clarify because if it was to teach the dog that eating duck is painful, I wouldn't agree that's a good practice.

I didn't know peroxide would induce vomiting. I'll make a mental note in case one of our dogs gets into something poison.
I know "leave it"was the best command we used to stop our dog when she was after the neighbors rooster. It was in our yard. Sammy Jo is almost 4 and it took a lot of patience to teach her that command.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

I didn't know peroxide would induce vomiting. I'll make a mental note in case one of our dogs gets into something poison.
I know "leave it"was the best command we used to stop our dog when she was after the neighbors rooster. It was in our yard. Sammy Jo is almost 4 and it took a lot of patience to teach her that command.

I was 45mins away from the emergency vet when my Newfie got into slug bait. So the vet told me to induce vomitting with peroxide in a syringe, let her vomit and then get to the clinic asap. Too much peroxide in a small dog can be toxic and cause ulcers. It's painful for the dog. Because this was a large Newfoundland and the vet knew me, he told me how much to give (I can't remember.) It's a remedy in an emergency but not as a common practice and definitely not in training.

Leave it is great! Especially followed by a treat or a praise. I teach "be NICE to chicken" lol. It works. But I don't consider my Leonberger's trained or even mature adults until they are 2 to 3.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Best guess would be the new hens are less used to tame predators (your dogs) than your established flock and reacted like prey animals. Then your puppy's instincts kicked in.

Please don't leave your puppy unsupervised with your chickens for even a moment. He's a baby and training a dog to leave prey animals alone takes months of patient, consistent training. Like, longer than he's been alive. And even then, some dogs have too much prey drive to  ever be trusted around chickens without direct supervision. At his age, he should be on a lead any time he's outside if the poultry isn't safely locked in a secure run.

Breed doesn't matter, no dog is going to intuitively know what you expect of them. LG dogs may be less interested in chasing prey than hounds or huskies, but that doesn't mean the urge isn't there at all.

 

[AJDots]

Patience. Keep separated until trained. Conduct actual on leash training sessions "be nice to chickens." Reward based, not fear based.

My biggest issue is he's been perfectly fine until now. no issues until these new Hens. I want some idea as to why its these specific hens.

so he has been 'be nice to chickens' accept these ones.

But I suppose just consistency then. I have to keep on top of it.

My 3 girls were supposed to be Leonburger mixes. But sadly they have none. and I ended up with super snow dogs. Their great fun and very pretty. Juno is particularly smart and learned her name come, sit and shake pretty quickly and Ripley has a stubborn streak where she doesn't always like to listen. Tango's pretty good at listening but I think she has the highest pray drive out of the 3.

I think the peroxide was to make them throw up. Never heard of that but putting away in a corner of my brain.

It was a trick someone told me that she did when she had one of her dogs consistently killing her chickens. She never had the issue again.

I know "leave it"was the best command we used to stop our dog when she was after the neighbors rooster. It was in our yard. Sammy Jo is almost 4 and it took a lot of patience to teach her that command.

He's pretty much on his best behavior when he's with me about 90% of the time. The only other issues is he still likes to jump up on me and steals the occasional egg from a duck nest. when he dose playfully romp at a chicken I call him off and he comes right over.
Its only been these six hen's he's had an intent to chase or bite.

Best guess would be the new hens are less used to tame predators (your dogs) than your established flock and reacted like prey animals. Then your puppy's instincts kicked in.

I suppose that makes sense to. the only other thing I can think of is they smell different, like they don't belong.

 

[McChooky]

I managed to train 2 adult hounds in 2-3 years but a pup can be trained in a year . No one should trust a pup alone with chickens

 

[Nym]

Management. Management. Management! Like a toddler, you wouldn't allow them to roam off and play in the horses water trough. Allowing puppies too much freedom guarantees they will make bad choices (for you). Use a longline attached to you at all times. use puppy's kibble to reward - he get's no food unless he's making good choices (for you). Meaning: he looks at you = reward. He sits beside you = reward. Each and every time he is playing with a toy, fetching a ball, not looking at the chickens is when you make a huge fuss of him. Lay on the beef, the cheese, the love. his job is to please you. Exploit it like you mean it.

When I brought home 4 new chciks last September I kept my young Boxer dog on a lead each and every time I went out to feed the chicks, even though they were in a tractor. As I fed the chicks, I was watching my dog so I could reward the exact behaviour I wanted from him. he was already fine with the free-ranging Pekin hens but dogs are black & white thinkers, always! So each time he looked up at me he got cheese, roast beef, calm praise, etc. the chicks also learned to trust him being very close to them, and to this day I have not any issue. He is allowed to bark and lunge at them if they approach his bone, but he has never grabbed one and the young hens completely understand his intent and back off! They seem to have a good mutual respect. I wouldn't assume my dogs have my best interests at heart because they surely never will lol