Once a killer always one? Is this true??

[KattyKillFish]

Quote:
We adopted an abandoned wolf when my kids were much younger.The first and constant thing I taught them was"This is not a dog!" The guy who hit a wolf dog must have had a death wish and a guardian angel. That being said, it is possible to train your dog not to kill. I don't know about making him reliable enough to leave your neighbors birds alone. It looks like he is recognizing the chickens at home as off limits and doesn't see the neighbor's property the same way. It's also possible that your good dogs could pick up bad habits from him. I know how it hurts to give up a dog. I hope one of these methods works for you. I'm pretty sure his days of running with his friends are over, though.

i also agree about the whole hitting a wolf thing. i've spent my fair share of time around wolves/wolf-dogs. this theory was from a book that wasn't based on any true stories, but it sounds like it might work for most dogs. i say try to train your dog and see what happens. if he still kills chickens i also say you might want to consider adopting him out. if you do, don't put him in a shelter because they may euthenize him if no-one adopts. i would put up ads to ensure that the dog gets a good home.

 

[nzpouter]

Most people forget there are 2 species of animals here....

Your own chickens most likely are used to your dogs.... hence they remain oblivious to their presence.... your neighbour's chicken however.. I suspect will start squawking and running when they see your dogs.

 

[thebritt]

I truly believe that the dog's breed has somethiing to do with whether or not killers can be retrained. I have 6 dogs and 29 free ranged chickens. Six cats, too. My dogs include 1 Great Pyreneese, 1 aussie mix, 1 border collie, 1 beagle/queensland cross, 1 Pom, and 1 Chihuahua/doxie cross. No wolfie types (husky, malmute, etc.) and no terriers. I tried to foster a dobie/pit cross, but she killed 2 hens while tied up! So what kind of pup do you think he is? My Pyreneese ("Ludwig") killed a rooster and I caught him in the act of trying to "lick" the feathers off 2 small hens. I tackled him. held his head down (me on top of him) by the neck fur, and yelled "No! No! DON'T YOU EVER EVER....etc". I then put him on a leash and we walked around some chickens (with really GOOD treats). Whenever he looked at a chicken he got a "DON'T TOUCH!" and a sharp correction with the leash. Whenever he looked at me or away from the chickens he got a "What a GOOD BOY!" and a treat. Took about 10 minutes, and he refused to look at the chickens! Now the chikens and he can be inches apart and he completely ignores them. He even barks at hawks and ravens when they circle overhead. This is pretty much how I trained all my dogs to ignore the birds. Hope it helps. Good luck.

 

[firedove]

We totally lucked out with our dog! We brought home a 7 year old Beagle/Lab mix back in November. I didn't trust leaving him alone in or out of the house until we learned what he was going to be like so I had him on a leash with me whenever I went out to take care of the animals. He was scared of our rabbits (they stomp and it makes a loud noise when the cage rattles), scared of the horse and goats at first, and showed no interest in the chickens except once he sniffed at my roo that was covering a very upset squawking hen. Snoopy (our dog) almost immediately lost interest and jogged away.

This was day 1 of having him. Previous to coming to us he was a city dog who was an only pet from puppy to 6 years old and then joined by two cats for his last year before he came to us.

When we got rid of the horse he was no longer afraid of the companion goats but he really has very little interest in them, although when he is far away from them he will bark in their direction if they come out of the barn. He still has no use for the chickens and will only go near the rabbits if they aren't moving.

For the first two months we had him we could take him out off the leash and he never wandered more than 15' away. After that he got a little bolder but will still rarely lose eyesight of us.

All this and he comes to my aid when I'm threatened in any way. My DH was pretending to bop me over the head with a bottle and Snoopy came right over growling. I know if anything else ever went after me he would go after it.

So my take on a dog that goes after livestock and runs away, find it other accommodations and get a dog that will listen and not harass your livestock or those of anyone else! My first dog when I was a kid died at 5 because he would not stay in the yard, after three years of getting loose and running off, he met with the front end of a tow truck. I was devastated then but know I realize if he had been better trained and better contained he would have lived much longer. He used to chew through those wire tie outs that are supposed to be un-chewable. I know Snoopy would not have been here long if he wasn't the good dog that he is! He would have been back on Craig's list in a flash!

 

[MakNat]

Thanks for all your guys' replies. I see most points here. I gave my nieghbor 4 of my hens for the 2 that were killed. He is going to let me use his incubator and he will get half of all those birds. Plus a pair of Muscovys. And for the doggie, I'm sure she is a Cur mix. I had a big black and white Mountain Cur mix. He died from eating my chickens. She looks and acts just like him, but is red and white. Anyway We rehomed her to my sisters. Shes got 2 other dogs, allot of space way in the country too and they got a huge run, with NO nieghboring chickens. My other dogs have been PERFECT since the pup left. Its hard to say who the killers really are. I have a jack russel mix, a pit and rott mix and a catahoula and hound mix. The catahoula is the best dog I've ever met in my whole life. He rocks!!