My puppy is my peeps new predator!

[Momma*chicken]

So I have a 7, almost 8 month old puppy, who is half Lab, half German shepherd. She has gotten very bad with our chickens. She used to try to chase them to play, but recently she has really been stalking and hunting them. She crouches low and then pounces. She has removed some feathers and today she even cut the top of one of my amberlink pullets head. She is always outside on a 30ft leash, so she doesn't have full range of the backyard. However, everytime the chickens come close in her proximity, she hunts them. She gets reprimanded harshly and locked in her kennel for a few min everytime she does it, but I am very concerned about my peeps. I love them so much, but don't want any of them to get seriously injured. I'm wondering, can I train her out of this prey drive? Is it hopeless, or is there still time since she is a puppy?

 

[50-45-1]

i have raised multiple pups on my farm who have became great guardian dogs. The very First time they chase or attemp to "play" with the chickens, correction is swift and firm. I mean the first time no mater how young.
Never had a chicken killer yet.
The dogs i have had enclude german shepherd, airdale, heeler, autrailen shepherd, pit bull, border collie, lab, scotty dog and all kinds of dukes mixtures.
My dogs freely range the yard all day with free range chickens though. A dog on a chain is highly frustrated from inactivity and boredom.
I think your dog can learn, but its going to take work. Training daily. Start with obedience training. Stuff like sit, stay, come, and heel. Reinforce with praise and treets. Labs and German Shepherds are working dogs with lots of energy and need a job to do.
If they are tied up alot of the time these dogs get neurotic.
Your dog is Beatiful!
Good luck!

 

[sylviethecochin]

Yes, you can train her out of it. It's going to be harder, because by your description of the issue, you haven't done much to deter her until now (Sorry if I misinterpreted.) "Begin as you mean to go on." is about the best training philosophy I've ever heard. Since she's pretty much been allowed to hunt chickens with impunity, she's going to be pretty confused when you put your foot down.

A command equivalent to "Leave It!" should already be a part of her vocabulary; if not, I would begin with that. She shouldn't be allowed around them unsupervised, so that you can correct bad behaviour as soon as it occurs (dogs get confused when you punish after the fact.)

A shock collar may be your friend. Some people have more success with them than others do; some people find them entirely distasteful. It's the only way I've ever persuaded a beagle to come out of the woods when she was on a scent, so I believe that they're a useful training tool—so long as the dog is of a stubborn enough disposition/in such a situation that you can't train her in another way.

 

[sylviethecochin]

but once she is out there on her leash and we r NOT there she's back to her old ways again

Then she shouldn't be out there on the leash. If you want to keep both, you'll have to pen either the chickens or the dog for as long as it takes to train her. Can she stay in the house?

Sneaky thing: Sit inside the house. Wait for her to start hunting a chicken. Come out with full force of anger.

 

[Eggscaping]

She knows, sit, stay, give paw, lay down and no. However, when there r no treats involved, she kind of looks at me like "why? I don't feel like it"
Also when she is in the backyard unsupervised, she HAS to b on a leash. I live right on a highway and cars come zooming down the highway at like 70mph. A couple times when my kids left the door open momentarily, she has gotten out and catching her is near impossible. She almost got hit by a car once. Thankfully we r moving from here in about a month to a nice quiet road so she will b allowed to have more freedom then.

Did you take her to puppy obedience classes or to adult obedience classes? Puppies are like 2 year old kids...short attention span and the urge to play with everything. Any good manners you must teach. Any restraint (as with chickens) you must teach. You should begin by teaching sit, stay, come. The basics. Then when the basics are down, you sit with the dog in the midst of the chickens. If the dog whines or shows undue interest in them (leaning toward them, whining, or that HARD STARE that says "I want to mess that thing up" you give a shove or jerk of the leash or shake...something to break the dog out of his focused intent to pursue...saying some sound like SHHHHT! to help bring the dog's attention back to you. You have to do that a lot, with some dogs. Others get it quicker.
But if you haven't trained in an obedience class and the dog is not reliable on things like stay, drop it, or come...then you aren't going to have much luck.

 

[Willowspirit]

Both posts x2

 

[~KH~]

I agree with the previous posters, and you have to remember that if your puppy gets rewarded (in her mind) even once out of multiple times when she goes after the chickens, she's getting reinforcement. I think the fact that she's gotten ahold of them and is even being allowed to "hunt and pounce" is reinforcement to her. It's more fun to her than the discipline it sounds like.

I would not let her have anywhere near the amount of lead - if she's outside when the chickens are out, I'd have her on a short leash tied to your belt/waist. That way she can't go after them and you can stop the behavior while she's still in the thinking about it phase. She really can't be allowed to even get to the "hunting" and lying in wait.

 

[Conan]

I moved from the burbs to a couple acres six years ago. I asked that the chickens that were already here stay. Owners obliged. I had three dogs at the time. A four year old Doberman, a six year old pit/lab, and an old Chihuahua. My pit/lab couldn't have cared less about the chickens (loved their poop, though ). Same for the Chihuahua. My Doberman chased one first thing. I grabbed that dog, threw him down on his back HARD and gave him a sharp smack across his nose telling him NO and BAD DOG. I held him down until he had relaxed entirely. Once. Those birds walk right under him now and have for years. The ducks noodle his toes and tail. He has never attempted to harm one ever again and is fully relaxed around them. I trust him entirely, and he is often out unsupervised with the birds. I have never had an incident occur.
New pup about five months back. Carolina Dog. Same thing. ONCE. He won't even look at the birds anymore. He's too young to be trusted unsupervised, but responds instantly to the "leave it" verbal command.
Those things being said, I'm a stickler for obedience training. I start all my dogs on circuit training first thing, and stick with it. It only takes 10-15 minutes a day, and does a whole world of good for establishing who is in charge. I start out using pieces of dried kibble, then move on to nothing but praise. Most dogs pick up really quickly and actually look forward to the time with you. In addition to training, my dogs get a daily leashed walk where they need to heel, and use their heads a bit.
Each dog is different. Some folks try everything and still can't get a response from their dog. Others try one thing and get an immediate response. Be consistent, establish boundaries with your dog, and stick with a routine. They tend to really respond well to it. Best of luck to you and your flock (and your dog)!

 

[archeryrob]

Takes a lot of time and effort, and dog owner often needs more training than dog.

Truth!

Still to this day my wife calls the dog to her to yell at it. I have to tell her you're teaching the dog to NOT come to you and not teaching it to not do what you don't want done. They only understand the last thing or current thing happening and you can't reason with them like a tiny human.

If you communicate in sentences to a dog it is for your benefit not theirs.

You say
" I want you to come to me when I say so, not smell the trees. No"

The dog hears
"Wa wawa wa wa Come wa wa waw wa, wa wawa wa wawa. No"

 

[Ghosty]

I just sat with both my puppies in the yard and scolded them if they did anything more than lay or sit contentedly and watch the birds. Any muscle twitch or stare would get a reprimand. I didn't let them out unless I was around. I would keep a hawk eye on them and scold any undue attention toward the birds. Beginning a stalk or chase was bad, very bad, and I let them know it right away and made them be still and lay with me and calmly watch the birds again. It took two weeks and they had it down, solid. I still scold them if they follow any bird, and make sure to always reinforce the precedents I have set. You set the ground rules, but have to be always reinforcing and reminding them of how it is. You need to be always present until they get it down. The longer you allow it to happen at all, the more disadvantaged you will be.