My very Bad dogs!! What would you Do?

[jjthink]

So very sorry for your birds. These stories break my heart and they're reported on BYC every day. I will never have dogs while I have chickens because I would worry endlessly about a possible breach. Price way too high for the poor birds - a horrific way to die. For those who have managed to do so without incident, I pray it will always be that way for you and your birds.

For your lone survivor, quickly try to get 1 drop Rescue Remedy in her water changed out at least daily. It may help with the stress. Electrolytes are also often recommended for shock after trauma but it sounds like time has passed. You are likely already keeping her warm and in a cozy stress free place and giving lots of TLC. Did she get puncture wounds - is she on antbiotic? Hope she'll be okay.

JJ

 

[cafarmgirl]

I've always had both dogs and chickens and have never yet had a chicken killed by a dog. While it's true that some dogs can be trained to leave the birds alone there can always be that moment when things go wrong and it's usually when the owner is not around. Given that these dogs have now been successful at attacking and killing some chickens I would never, for the sake of the chickens, trust them again, regardless. A little good fencing goes a long way, the chickens stay alive, the dogs keep their home, good outcome for all involved.

 

[SteveH]

I agree with electric fencing to keep the dog seperated from the chickens , but they can be trained to actually be penned in with the chickens for predator protection if you want to take the time to do it .

Buy a radio controlled electronic training collar . They have become very reasonable in price and can be adjusted down to a very mild shock that is feels more like an electric vibrator on my bare skin ; up to a pretty good but harmless jolt for those more hard-headed type dogs .

Next lead the dog through your flock WITHOUT the training collar . Make sure there is no rooster or broody hen around that will attack the dog . If he shows interest in chasing or grabbing for a chicken give him a quick tug to bring him to a stop while at the same time saying " NO " in a firm but emotionless voice . Do not let him move again untill he is not focussed on the chicken . Praise him with words and petting for going past a chicken andd ignoring it . Its important that the session does not end untill he has passed a chicken without getting excited . Do this every other day for a week . Give him a treat AFTER every session .

On the second week place the electronic training collar on the dog with it adjusted to a very mild shock and repeat the walk through the flock . This will be another every other day week . On the first day if he does show interest in chasing a chicken say " NO " as you hit the shock button . If it does not get his attention , turn the power up and resume the training session . On the next session if he does happen to continue to show any desire to chase or grab , shock him without saying anything as you do it . { I like to talk to my dogs , I might say something like " You know better " AFTER they are reprimanded } Most dogs have already learned even before the start of the second week that chasing chickens is not allowed , but bull-headed dogs or those with a high prey drive will now learn that there are consequencees for wrong behavior . You should be able to " shoo " the chickens away from you without the dog wanting to chase . Again , praise him every time he passes through the chickens without misbehaving and after the session ends give the dog a treat . Most dogs will be consistantly ignoring chickens long before the end of the second week .

Third week put the training collar on , enter the pens , then turn the dog loose . Ignore the dog and feed the chickens some scratch , and then reward the dog with a treat if it ignores the flock . Have that collar turned up enough that it is going to get attention , this should already have been done in the other sessions . Any misbehavior on his part should be addressed with an immediate shock . On the next training session put him in with the chickens and stay out of the pens yourself . { I'm sure you know by now what to do if he shows interest in chasing chickens

. } You might want to get a chair and make these sessions an hour or so , even hide behind a tree or something during these sessions . If the dog has his own kennel run , during this week you might take a calm chicken to his run and set it down to be with the dog for a training session .

For those who cannot stand the idea of using the training collar , forcing the dog to the ground and pinning it there for a minute or two in place of the shock can be used instead . However many dogs will then figure out that its you [ not the mysterious shock ] once he's seperated from you and is free to do as he pleases ............. Almost any dog will start to actually guard the chickens as " his/hers " after these three weeks , making it worth the time in my opinion .

 

[Cetawin]

Time for a electronic collar and beefed up security for them. The one I have has 127 different level of correction and I can tell you that at 100 (accidentially upped the thing), it will flip an 80+ pounder on a full run...and they think twice about what they were doing.

http://www.allk-9.com/1900-ncp-field-star-p-370.html


Excellent investment and it works! This particular model has a 1/2 mile range.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Put electric fence around the top & bottom of the dog fence. Teach them NOT to escape!

 

[emvickrey]

This is very odd, what was going on today? I was in the coop doing a little renovations and I heard one of my younger cockreals raising a racket. Figured they where fighting amoungst themselves and also thought DH was outside. Figured he would handle it. Well, I was so wrong. He was inside and had no idea that our dogs where running down a cockreal. It happed to run around the coop is how I figured out it was dogs. MY DOGS! My dogs never do this. We aquired an abused little chiweenie and he has been afraid of the chickens and my old dog of 12 years knows better. The chicken managed to get itself stuck under a brush pile which only the smaller dog could have gotten to, but I got to him first. I scolded and BAD DOG'd the older one until she wanted to hide and she did for most of the evening and hasn't skipped a beat when I told her to do something. The little one is in his carrier and only let out to potty for the night. Tomorrow he will potty, eat and go back in the carrier. I don't think I'll have a problem out of the older dog again. She's pretty smart and knows i'm mad at her and why. She will avoid the chickens all together for a long time. The chicken was fine by the way. He was awfully fast to outrun 2 dogs. But I did loose some hair when it got tangled in the brush from going in after him. I have very long hair and didn't have it tyed back. Came in the house pulling twigs out of my hair yelling at dogs.

It all goes to prove that if it will run, they will chase it. They are only dogs. I blame myself, I should have been more aware of where they where. Or DH could have taken them in when he went.

 

[FarmerChick]

Fix the kennel is the easiest option. Keep them contained.
Determine how they got out and fix this problem.
If they kill yours they will kill others animals if they roam.

 

[SarahBeth9394]

I think beefing up the run security is the best option. Build a solid fence for the run and bury wire around it. Now I have a pointer a coonhound and a heeler mix. So I'm collecting old bricks and rocks as well. My plan is to put up a chain link fence, bury wire and put the bricks and rocks on the wire as well so they can't dig in. I'm still on the fence about putting hardware cloth around the bottom because my dogs do a great job of keeping out squirrels and coons. I'm looking at a later summer coop and run build.

 

[mandelyn]

Beefing up the dog kennel and spending more time with the dogs will help. They've already found the joy of chicken hunting, so now you need to find something they like that doesn't involve chicken catching as well as prevent another escape. If all you do is prevent escape, they will drive themselves nuts over the missed fun and will become more determined to get out. Take them for a run, play fetch with new toys, something to get their focus well away from the chickens, make them tired, and they won't test the new changes to the kennel. But a bored dog, those will always test the boundaries and look for weak areas to escape from.

 

[Cindiloohoo]

I have 2 pit bulls that help me round up the chickens from ranging out back. All I did was introduce them to the dogs as chicks and let them know for a fact those are MY birds. So I have 2 very large chicken herd dogs...lol. HOWEVER, they hate horses, and had to be trained not to chase the horses when folks go riding on our road. For that, training collars that emit warning beep, and then a shock, was a very important tool. No ammount of regular obedience training seemed to help, they chased them out of site, until the collars. So, you have several options in my opinion, and none of them require getting rid of either animals. I hope this helps. Sorry for your loss!!