Our Dog Killed the Neighbors' Turkey Poult

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Is he a King shepherd? If so, you might want to contact with https://www.backyardchickens.com/members/vickichics.571072/ as she has one too and might be able to help you out with a trick or two.

We don't know the exact mix. 50% GSD (some of it working line) and then a menagerie of other breeds. Big, healthy, beautiful and oh so sweet towards us and all the life on our property... until last night.

 

[Flockincrazy]

so sorry this happened but if it makes you feel any better he is just a puppy and just like a child they get excited and the ear plugs go in and the tunnel vision is set

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

My English Shepherd T.J. was crazy as a puppy, and every now and then we would have accidents with our chickens. as he got older though he stopped chasing the chickens (this may have been partially to us getting him neutered). keep up the training and he will get better. An occasional accident is O.K., as long as your dog isn't constantly killing chickens on purpose. It sounds like what happened to the turkey pullet was him playing and not him trying to kill it. Don't get rid of him just because of this one thing, he is just a puppy, and what happened wasn't your, or his fault. I am sure almost anyone who has had a puppy and chickens have a story similar to yours.

i am so sorry,

Thank you for this. We do plan to get Albie neutered at 1 year and I'm hoping it will help with impulse control. He doesn't any aggression or alpha-like behavior at all (he even lets the cats eat bacon treats right next to him while waiting his turn), so it seems it's just his prey drive that gets amped up.

I hope this is a one-off and not a harbinger of a chicken massacre. I don't know how to test how he'll do--scared to even have him on-leash near our chickens now. Or for a break-out/break-in situation--though, again, he does not seem to have interest in our chicken coops/runs.

We will keep up the training and take it one day at a time. I hate to say it, because I LOVE my chickens to death, but I do rather we learned this lesson on our own flock and not our kind neighbors' fledgling flock. It adds an unfair layer of devastation that we/our dog caused pain to another family and their pet. And you just can't replace that loss.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

so sorry this happened but if it makes you feel any better he is just a puppy and just like a child they get excited and the ear plugs go in and the tunnel vision is set

So true. He definitely has a solid set of invisible ear phones when he wants them.

 

[Flockincrazy]

So true. He definitely has a solid set of invisible ear phones when he wants them.

I have 2beagles that are rescues and my daughter insisted that we get rabbits we had to train a 1&2yo beagles not to eat the rabbits it took 6mths but they finally got it now we can leave them in the run with the rabbits and its not an issue and they round up the chickens at night when King Rooroo our main rooster crows for bed time just take your time be firm keep training he will get it

 

[CharcoalDragon]

THANK YOU for the resources Especially relating to prey drive AND "excitement based reactivity"--that's exactly Albie's problem. He is so obedient in normal contexts/situations but when something new happens OR another dog is involved his mind explodes and he gets overstimulated.

He is mix--we know working line GSD in his grandparents side, husky, malamute, many other things. Not the best choice for a chicken house, I suppose, but we love him dearly. The problem is we love our (and our neighbor's) chickens, too.

That explains my visual interpretation- Shilohs came from old working line GSDs with some Malamute as well as Sarplaninac, Canadian White Shepherd, and Altdeutscher Schaeferhunde. (Kings were an offshoot of the Shilohs with some Pyrenees.)

See if you can proof in multiple environments- a lot of dogs will learn to 'sit' in the living room, but then act like they have no idea what you're talking about when you ask for a 'sit' in the backyard (they have trouble generalizing). You have to treat the dog like it's learning the behavior for the first time all over again. Good news is, is that more more behaviors (sit, down, stand, stay, no-bark, etc) you teach in different 'locations', the quicker they will learn to generalize.
Training a behavior in different locations will help a lot- then you can up the difficulty by adding distractions; having your partner run around, rolling toys past the dog, tossing pieces of food, having your birds run around, playing noises of barking dogs/squawking hens, etc.

Feel free to message me if you get stuck.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

I have 2beagles that are rescues and my daughter insisted that we get rabbits we had to train a 1&2yo beagles not to eat the rabbits it took 6mths but they finally got it now we can leave them in the run with the rabbits and its not an issue and they round up the chickens at night when King Rooroo our main rooster crows for bed time just take your time be firm keep training he will get it

Wow kudos to you! That must have taken a lot of training. Thank you for the encouragement.

 

[LJ33]

Im so sorry to hear this story, I have a similar incident and can feel the pain you are going through.

I have a mix breed dog with mastiff and terrier mixes. Dexter... High prey drive outside the house, very protective of food. He was raised with cats and another dog from 8 weeks on. I am a former K9 handler, so obedience was something I focused on immediately. Ive also done every thing you can do for a dog with high food protection issues.

When Dex was 2 yrs old, I had the opportunity to buy a small hobby farm and got Chickens. I rarely had Dexter out when the chickens were, but the times I did- he showed absolutely no interest. Even scared really.

Then I rescued a newborn lamb and since it was the dead of winter and I had no other hoofed animals or shelter for him, I raised him inside for 4 months. I kept him in a pen, and was very careful about the dogs. Dexter never even so much growled or showed any aggressive interest in the lamb. Then one night, disaster struck.

I had fed Dexter in the kitchen. I was doing some things around the house and heard this horrifying noise. Lamb got out of his pen, wondered toward Dexter, who grabbed him by the neck. Blood was everywhere in my kitchen. It seriously looked like a horror scene. I grabbed towels etc and got pressure on my lamb (who was about 3 months old) I kicked my dog so hard several times to get him out of the house, screaming like a mad woman, ran out without even closing my door and rushed to the vet. A miracle happened and Sammy lived. But let me tell you, that scene gave me nightmares for months, and even sometimes now, 6 years later, It gives me chills to think about.

The vet said the puncture wound was as close to the artery as possible without hitting it. Was a true miracle Sammy survived.

I wanted to kill my dog. I almost did. The anger and rage I felt. I wanted to give him away and looked into doing so. But then I also had to take a step back and remember, he is a dog. And no matter the amount of training, dogs will always have animal instincts. I probably didn't secure the gate to the lamb pen.

I still have Dexter, and after we moved to another state (Sammy is with a cousin who runs a petting zoo and living his best life) I got chickens this year and they have a secure pen, so not free ranging. They love to come up to the fence to see the dog when he is in the yard, but I keep a watchful eye. Dexter turns 8 this year. He is a good dog, I am glad that I worked through what happened.

I don't know if I have any advice, but to say this. I would be extremely hesitant to allow your dog access to poultry in the future Depending on your set up, not sure how possible it is to keep them separate. Praying for you, I wish you the best outcome.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

That explains my visual interpretation- Shilohs came from old working line GSDs with some Malamute as well as Sarplaninac, Canadian White Shepherd, and Altdeutscher Schaeferhunde. (Kings were an offshoot of the Shilohs with some Pyrenees.)

See if you can proof in multiple environments- a lot of dogs will learn to 'sit' in the living room, but then act like they have no idea what you're talking about when you ask for a 'sit' in the backyard (they have trouble generalizing). You have to treat the dog like it's learning the behavior for the first time all over again. Good news is, is that more more behaviors (sit, down, stand, stay, no-bark, etc) you teach in different 'locations', the quicker they will learn to generalize.
Training a behavior in different locations will help a lot- then you can up the difficulty by adding distractions; having your partner run around, rolling toys past the dog, tossing pieces of food, having your birds run around, playing noises of barking dogs/squawking hens, etc.

Feel free to message me if you get stuck.

I didn't know about that breed but definitely sounds like common ground! He does, also, have Great Pyrenees I think--a real blend of small percentages beyond the 50% GSD.

He does well with basic commands (sit, down, stay, heel, leave it, drop it, etc.) in the house, yard, and on our usual walk. Anything outside the realm of those "everyday" situations, though, he struggles. I'll take your advice and start really training him in different environments with different distractions (scared to use my chickens as strategic "bait" though lol).

I've just gotten where I can pet him today, but I'm having trouble interacting with him without getting emotional/reliving yesterday's nightmare. Hoping that will pass with time. Still haunts me every time I see him--or when I close my eyes for that matter. Can't get that dang turkey's last moments out of my head.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Im so sorry to hear this story, I have a similar incident and can feel the pain you are going through.

I have a mix breed dog with mastiff and terrier mixes. Dexter... High prey drive outside the house, very protective of food. He was raised with cats and another dog from 8 weeks on. I am a former K9 handler, so obedience was something I focused on immediately. Ive also done every thing you can do for a dog with high food protection issues.

When Dex was 2 yrs old, I had the opportunity to buy a small hobby farm and got Chickens. I rarely had Dexter out when the chickens were, but the times I did- he showed absolutely no interest. Even scared really.

Then I rescued a newborn lamb and since it was the dead of winter and I had no other hoofed animals or shelter for him, I raised him inside for 4 months. I kept him in a pen, and was very careful about the dogs. Dexter never even so much growled or showed any aggressive interest in the lamb. Then one night, disaster struck.

I had fed Dexter in the kitchen. I was doing some things around the house and heard this horrifying noise. Lamb got out of his pen, wondered toward Dexter, who grabbed him by the neck. Blood was everywhere in my kitchen. It seriously looked like a horror scene. I grabbed towels etc and got pressure on my lamb (who was about 3 months old) I kicked my dog so hard several times to get him out of the house, screaming like a mad woman, ran out without even closing my door and rushed to the vet. A miracle happened and Sammy lived. But let me tell you, that scene gave me nightmares for months, and even sometimes now, 6 years later, It gives me chills to think about.

The vet said the puncture wound was as close to the artery as possible without hitting it. Was a true miracle Sammy survived.

I wanted to kill my dog. I almost did. The anger and rage I felt. I wanted to give him away and looked into doing so. But then I also had to take a step back and remember, he is a dog. And no matter the amount of training, dogs will always have animal instincts. I probably didn't secure the gate to the lamb pen.

I still have Dexter, and after we moved to another state (Sammy is with a cousin who runs a petting zoo and living his best life) I got chickens this year and they have a secure pen, so not free ranging. They love to come up to the fence to see the dog when he is in the yard, but I keep a watchful eye. Dexter turns 8 this year. He is a good dog, I am glad that I worked through what happened.

I don't know if I have any advice, but to say this. I would be extremely hesitant to allow your dog access to poultry in the future Depending on your set up, not sure how possible it is to keep them separate. Praying for you, I wish you the best outcome.

Oh boy this one brought me to tears--but I'm very grateful for you sharing this story with completely honesty regarding the feelings you went through. AND: I'm so grateful your lamb survived. Miracle, indeed.

What I saw, fortunately, was not a "blood bath," but something about watching that young bird so scared and desperately clinging to life, flailing like she really didn't want to go, breathing her last breaths, then closing her eyes and going still, really has me haunted. I cannot for the life of me get her out of my head. As pointless as it is, I keep replaying the whole thing and thinking of eight million things I should/could have done differently to have her back.

I'm glad everything worked out on your end, and with Dexter. You are right that it's just hardwired into them to go into prey mode and it's just very unpredictable what might trigger that--and we can't control every aspect of every scenario. For now, while I work on training and get my bearings, he will never be around mine or the neighbors' flocks off leash if at all. Though he's never attempted to escape his kennel, we'll think of how we might further secure or move it.

I'm still in the phase where he brings me pain to look at--but then feel guilty because it's not his fault and he definitely senses things are off in the household (has been very sad and kinda aimless today). The best I've felt since yesterday is when I go out to care for my own chickens, because I guess they're the closest thing to the turkey poult that slipped away. That's the only time I can kinda get my mind off her or at least channel my focus in a meaningful way.

And now I'm rambling! Thanks again for opening up and sharing your difficult but ultimately heartwarming (and educational) story. I wish you, Dexter, and your flock all the best.