My new puppy

[bloom chicks]

I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[mamadukes5]

A run for the dog and training is your best option. I know I would have a really hard time giving up one of my dogs, no matter what the reasons were. I had a hell of a time placing my foster dogs when it came time, so I know that's a hard choice. I think I may be just lucky, but neither of my dogs pay any attention to the chickens at all unless I ask them to find them for me, then they go looking for them. All of my birds were kept in my living room until they were feathered, in a dog crate, and the dogs were most always in the same room with them. I think they just got over the interest from being exposed to each other so much. I think my avatar is actually a picture of my younger pit mix with the chicks we hatched this spring. It can be done, but until you get your dog trained, keeping them separate will save you a lot of heartache. And no offense to the other posters, but please don't hit a puppy with a dead chicken. Especially an Akita who has a history already of killing and eating them. I've raised and trained dogs for the better part of 25 years, and it just sounds like a really bad idea to me.

 

[kcfuerst]

A few thoughts.

Now that the dog has eaten many chickens, you chickens will be at risk forever, not to mention your kids or grandkids at some point in the future. The other mixes in your Akita make for bigger trouble, seeing they are bigger breeds. This is not a risk worth taking.

Eventually the dog will be left in his run without play and exercise and be bored out of his wits. Not a nice life, no matter how good the owner's intentions. The dog will be unhappy living in a kennel. A new home would be more suitable.

How much in love could your husband be with a new dog to which there has not been sufficient time to bond?

My opinion is that the dog should be found a new home. Do some research and prepare to get a dog that can do the job you need to be done without the worry. Spend your money on training a dog worth training, not on one that will do as he pleases when he is bored and you can never trust.

The dog would be history one way or another the first time he ever ate a chick if he were mine, and just like a predator, I would not leave him to be someone else's problem.

Good luck.