My savage dog.

[redhen]

Quote:
This is true...
I have been through this with my dog already...
I KNOW its not her fault.... shes a dog having FUN chasing the squeaky toys....
You CANT blame an animal for being what they are... blame yourself. You're the human and you know better..
When she killed my best loved duck, Plucky... i hated her for a minute( i loved that duck so very much.. and it still hurts me to think of her).. and i cried and got it out of myself before i even looked at her.. but i NEVER punished her. It wasnt her fault... its TOTALLY my fault.
Dogs are not human... as much as we try to put our human emotions on them... they STILL think like a dog... NOT a human.

And if you do everything you can coop/run wise to protect them and they still get killed by your dogs... its still not the dogs fault... they just figured out a weakness in your coop structure....
If you freerange your birds in your yard( as i do), then you take that risk of things being able to get them....
I know you keep you birds secure in a coop/run.... but you may need to make your run/ fence stronger somehow.... or your birds will just keep getting killed.
Its hard and it hurts when your loved pets kill your "other" loved pets.... you just have to find a way to keep them 100% safe from each other.... (which i still havent been able to do...

)

 

[mstricer]

Quote:
That's a little harsh. I think OP will be able to figure out how to either confine or train the dog.


And about this: Seriously the darn dog is a LAB!!!!!!! Its a fricking bird dog. Used to retrieve ducks and wild game.

So is my dog, and so are alot of other BYCers' dogs. My dog has NEVER been a problem with my chickens. And yes, he does hunt, point and retrieve. He was also trained at 8 weeks old not to hurt the chickens. I realize I had it easy with this one. But you stand a better chance with training than just *hoping* the dogs and chickens can get along.

OP, I hope you can find a solution to your problem.

Is that all you got out of my post. you should read it again. I did say I also have two lab mixes and what I did to introduce them to the birds

 

[theoldchick]

I would never trust my dog around a chicken.

While Rambler has a low prey drive, he is still a dog with certain instincts. I've never allowed him to associate with the chickens, and when he escorts me while patrolling the property he is not allowed to make eye contact with any chicken. While my dog might lack training in advanced obedience he has a thorough understanding to the word, "NO!" and "Come to Me!" If I think he is going to be in challenging situations he will be on a leash.

There are many ways to train your dog and the most important thing is to do your homework and be consistent. You are going to have to spend time training your dog and respect what and who your dog is. Some dogs can be trusted around prey and some can't. As guardians of our pets our job is to make sure everything under our care is comfortable and safe. If your dog can't be trusted around chickens then you must provide an area away from the chickens. You will have to make a separate yard/kennel for your dog, and he must never be allowed near the chickens unless on a leash.

I've never understood the theory of hanging a dead chicken around a dog's neck. I can only imagine as the carcass rots what the dog must think while trying to deal with a rotting, maggot infested chicken stuck to the collar. And who wants to be around a dog with a dead chicken rotting around its neck? The last thing the dog needs is people avoiding him while he really needs human interaction to guide him in the right direction. Not to mention the many dogs who nearly died from ingesting the bacteria in the rotting carcass.

I suspect your dog is high energy with a strong play drive. Labs are bred to do hard work and need lots of energy to hunt birds all day. Then folks came along and started breeding labs with all kinds of undesirable traits. Now many labs are high energy with very little brain activity. So, we must keep our labs active with simple toys designed to withstand strong jaws yet provide entertainment. Or better yet, get out there and train your dog; play with him/her-get involved with your dog. Labs are not dogs you can simply leave in the back yard and forget about. They want to do a job, and if they have to jump the fence, dig out, or kill the chickens to get the point across they will do so.

And if you find your dog's needs are above your capabilities, finding him/her a more suitable home would be the best answer.

I wish you luck in this difficult situation.

 

[dainerra]

Quote:
Okay, first that is not true. I have seen it done will no ill affects to the dog except the dog was scared to death of chickens afterwards and would not even look at one! And that was in Florida during July/August heat. We are talking a couple of days not a month. They cannot hang themselves with a chicken toes closely enough to them that they cannot get it off not to mention the bird would pull apart with the dog's weight long before the dog hung themselves. The idea is NOT about weight hanging on them, the idea is to associate that horrid smell, the inability to get away from the bird around their neck and for them to associate the punishment with their crime. It has nothing to do with weight.

dogs have a 5 second window for correction. They have short attention spans and don't associate bad behavior with a future punishment. That's why time-outs work so well for them. Remove the stimulation and they forget about it. So, yes, I never said that the theory doesn't work, but not because they see it as punishment for chickens. The idea is to make them terrified to be around anything that smells like a chicken. I want my dog to associate a correction with the unwanted behavior, not just instill fear.

Just because you tied it closely to the dog so to not worry about hanging doesn't mean that someone else will. And the actual wives' tale punishment is to leave the carcass tied to them until it rots apart, not just for a couple of days. Like I said, the dog doesn't think that a couple day old dead chicken (even in FL heat) is going to smell bad. The inability to get away from this thing tied to their neck is the punishment. I've seen a LOT of people do this. And I've seen more than a couple people lose their dogs, usually because a) the dog was still left to roam with a chicken tied around his neck with a rope b) was tied up and the rope got tangled in his chain or c) was put in a kennel, jumped the fence and hung himself with the rope.
I've also seen a dog penned up and the kennel crawling with rats that were attracted to the smell of the dead bird. It only takes one rat venturing in to bring fleas that carry a ton of disease. Not to mention all the nasty stuff in rat poop.

Why resort to a method that is cruel and fearful at best and potentially deadly at worst when there are other methods, such as confining the dog, that will solve the problem. Keeping the dog away from the chickens is the key. She ignores the shock and digs under the pen because she is in the zone. She is ramped up and excited, adrenaline flowing, and doesn't even notice the shock. Another option would be to turn the fence higher, after testing it be sure that it's working properly. If she has jumped on it and grounded it out somewhere then it's nothing but a ribbon around the pen.

My youngest is not quite 11 months old now and just starting to be trustworthy under supervision. Leaving him alone with the birds would be a disaster. He probably wouldn't bother them, but if they ran right past him he'd chase. And once he starts to chase, then he is going to jump on them. One jump on them and SQUISH! dead bird. With supervision, I'm able to bring his attention back to me before the chasing starts. Once the chase starts, you've gotta tackle him because trying to catch him becomes part of the game.

ETA: another option would be to move the electric fence farther out from the coop. Again, the purpose would be to stop her before she gets ramped up by the birds. Then she isn't going to be so excited that she doesn't notice the shock. And she won't be close enough to dig down away from the fence either.

 

[new world]

All I can say is I believe the dog is doing what comes naturally. I have a dog who is a cross between a greyhound and a staffy. She is the most gentle, loving, caring and special dog anyone could ask for. I have only had her for 18 months and saved her from death row and I know without a doubt she would give her life for me if she needed to just in that short time I have had her. BUT SHE IS A DOG and I believe if she was set free with my Golden Girls she would do what comes naturally to most dogs (especially when they squarck and fly around etc.) SO my answer is just to make sure that they are kept very seperate. I love both my dog and my Golden Girls very very much but I painstakingly ensure that they are kept seperate at all times and would never do ANYTHING to traumatise either my dog or my girls and I would like to feel everyone else feels the same. They all have feelings just like we do.

 

[HoglundH]

Our black lab picked up a chicken in his mouth (only1 year old). We yelled at him and chased him back into the house, there may have also been a swat on the ass or two. He never goes near them now. He associates chickens with punishment.

 

[goobhen]

I never let my chickens free range until my GiGi died from OLD age. Once she died (I still look for her everytime I come home) I started letting the chickens free range. You can have both chickens and dogs who hate them, you just have to keep them apart!!

 

[bobbi-j]

Quote:
That's a little harsh. I think OP will be able to figure out how to either confine or train the dog.


And about this: Seriously the darn dog is a LAB!!!!!!! Its a fricking bird dog. Used to retrieve ducks and wild game.

So is my dog, and so are alot of other BYCers' dogs. My dog has NEVER been a problem with my chickens. And yes, he does hunt, point and retrieve. He was also trained at 8 weeks old not to hurt the chickens. I realize I had it easy with this one. But you stand a better chance with training than just *hoping* the dogs and chickens can get along.

OP, I hope you can find a solution to your problem.

Is that all you got out of my post. you should read it again. I did say I also have two lab mixes and what I did to introduce them to the birds

The comment about *hoping* the dogs and chickens can get along was not directed at you. Sorry about that (this is what I hate about forums - it's so hard to read tone of voice, and be able to have a discussion sometimes). It was a general statement. So often people get chickens and think that they can just throw them out to freerange and that all the animals will get along just fine because they all live together. I will admit to being defensive about the bird dog statement, because as another poster said, it sometimes comes across as being a bad thing. But "bird dogs" aren't bred to kill and maul the birds. Dogs in general seem to like to chase things that run, fly, flap and make noise. That's why early training is important. MSTRICER - that training comment was not directed at you, either. Just another general statement.

 

[mstricer]

Thank you for your response

 

[bobbi-j]

Quote:
No problem. I hate when threads end up with others nit-picking at one another and the OP's question is totally ignored. I saw it starting, and didn't want to go there. I also wanted to be clear on what I was trying to say. I get myself in trouble quite often that way - not being clear. But, you know - I know what I'm thinking. Everyone else should, too, right?