My stupid dog killed one of my chickens!!

[chickerdoodle]

So sorry about your pullet.

I have already told my hubby that if the dogs cannot be safely around the chickens we will get a hot wire. My dogs are well trained but dogs are related to wolves. When wolves see chicken

.... you know what can happen.

Our dogs are true family members and I wouldn't throw away a family member---wait--maybe one of them (a relative silly, certainly not a dog!). Humans also make mistakes but hopefully we learn form them. I know if anyone accidentally lets the dogs near the chicks it'll be my loving hubby as the few times the yard gate was left open and the dogs got out--guess who was responsible? Well, I still love him

so I am taking the steps necessary to keep everyone safe--basically dog proofing, husband proofing, chick proofing, cat proofing--pretty much proofing everything having to do with our new feathered family additions!

 

[nzpouter]

Quote:
Sounds like you don't have a good command on your dog, what sort of training have you done with the dog and chicken prior to the accident?

Training a dog takes time and consistency, a good recall and stay command will be a good start.

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

Sorry to hear about that. My dog is a beagle x britney spaniel mix. Which would have made a great bird dog. Luckily, my dog respects me and my family...and though he has his moments of staring and drooling. A quick clap and he's back to doing his buisness around the yard. I would never leave him out without supervision though. Dogs are pretty much domestic wolfs, and for some dogs, you cen never trust them around smaller pets.

 

[dntd]

one word, tie up! tie her up when you go into the chicken coop, tie her up when you let the chickens free range. Get a nice wire tie up so that it's less likely to tangle.

 

[klf73]

I lost 2 chickens to my dogs. Stupid chickens flew over the dogs 6 ft fence

. the first one we only found a small piece, they ate her, we didn't even find her head/beak

. But they are beagles and can't help themselves. They were still chewing on the second one when I looked out the window, she was still alive, I felt horrible. Dh took care of her

 

[chickerdoodle]

Quote:
Oh my goodness...

How horrific.

 

[jbowyer01]

I understand! I have three doxies and they love to look at the babies. I have my brooder in our mudroom up on top of a cabinet and kept putting off making a lid so that the chicks couldnt jump out. I kept thinking they were too youngto hop out boy was I wrong. One of the chicks jumped out and sure enough my doxie got her (I wasnt home at the time). When I got home my doxie brought her to me and layed her at my feet, He was so proud of himself for having saved the baby. I couldnt yell at him it was my fault it was my responsibility to make sure that my chicks were safe and I didnt. I now make sure that my doxies have no access to the mudroom and yes its amazing at how much it hurts to lose a chicken isnt it. Here is a (((HUG))) for you.

 

[chicklunatic]

I think it is annoying how people automaticaly take the side of the animal on this sight. "Shame on all who own pets and ever find anything wrong with them".

I am an animal lover, but animals have to have some manners. Yes, it is in dogs nature to eat chickens, but it is also in their nature to follow the "leader", which should be their owner. I think dogs can be taught to respect the chickens....not to say that you should just let them free range together without any supervision all the time. I think it is a lot crueler to constatly tie my dog than to teach it some chicken etiquette. Our dogs both have been taught not to chase the chickens ( and one of them is a bird dog). We all happily exist together. My dogs are the reason I don't have racoons and skunks in my chicken pen.

 

[horsejody]

I think that the OP was just venting when she said that she would give the dog away. She has learned that they need to be separated, so lets not be so judgemental. We have all made mistakes, and we have all vented. Just because somebody says, "I could just kill him," or "I should just get rid of it," etc., it doesn't mean that they really would. My dog is good with chickens, but I do supervise him. If he ever lost his mind and attacked one, I would be mad, but I wouldn't get rid of him. However, I would be more than happy to get rid of my neighbors' nasty dogs.

 

[fancbrd4me02]

Quote:
I don't think this is about taking sides. I don't think it's a good idea to label a dog with human issues such as right or wrong. I don't think dogs should be tied up all the time either. And I agree, if a dog can be trained to live in harmony with livestock, it should be done, but it is also my opinion that it can also be an unrealistic goal in some cases.

For instance, my Doxie has excellent manners and is trained, but she has a prey drive that would make it irresponsible for me to trust her with small animals. If I were to leave her where she could get small animals and something happens it would be my fault, becuase I know what she is capable of doing. I'm sorry, but I know dog training and I know my dog. She just isn't safe around small animals and if she gets out and eats something, I can't blame her for that. My dog is who she is, and I am not going to engage in harsh or dominance based discipline that would in my opinion, ruin my dog. In my personal opinion, and no one has to agree with me, but this is my opinion: dominanace training and dominance theory is very misunderstood and is treated as gospel when it is disputable. Temple Grandin has some interesting thoughts about dogs and dog training, I recommend her recent book to anyone who is interested in animal behavior.