Tragedy Strikes!

[redbudchix]

We had the same thing happen two weeks ago. I had just driven two hours to get my twenty chicks from a breeder. We have two Kerry Blue Terriers, one is 8 the other is 12. They watched the chicks with interest, but showed no signs of wanting to do anything other than watch them. Well the day after they arrived, we were out working in the yard, and all of a sudden I noticed I didn't see them. The terriers can open the doors if they have a lever handle, and the 8 yr old girl opened the front door, went into the sunroom, jumped off the sofa -because the brooder box is three feet high...and killed all but one. The one remaining was hiding under the Ecoglow..needless to say we named it Phoenix! I was heartbroken! She didn't eat them...or tear at them. There was no blood. I think she thought they were interactive playtoys brought home just for her. So, that night, we built a top, and put the dogs training collar on her. She had to wear the "collar of shame" for over a week. She won't even Look at the brooder now. I had to drive back down to the breeder for more babies. Live and learn, but it sure can be painful!

 

[QuietPony]

I noticed in your pictures, that your dogs ears were forward when they were looking at your little chicks. They seem mighty interested. You're floppy eared one looks more curious interested than hungry interested. Is the Shepperd looking one your rescue? Mine go like that occasionally, but the one with the high prey drive will suddenly go from playful to stealth and stalk mode, with the ears and nose straight forward. As soon as the tail starts going up too, she gets corrected, and it seems to be happening less and less. Now she just tries to ignore them completely. At least when she's around us. I wouldn't trust her alone with them for anything!

Yeah. They are both rescues actually. My lab was a puppy mill dog (biggest puppy mill in our state) that I rescued when he was 6 months old from the people who bought him from said puppy mill. They thought it was a good idea, then wonder why the heck it wasn't working with him. He was no where near potty trained at 6 months, and had some major issues including physical/neurotic tendencies. I worked at our local humane society for years doing canine behavior testing, so I know exactly what you are seeing in those pics.
If I did not have the experience of all those years watching and assessing dog behavior (in charge of life or death decisions for some

), I can honestly say there is NO WAY he would have lasted here a week. His name is Cash and he is a great dog, with a heart of gold. After having him for 5 years now, we have ironed out some of his kinks. But even the trainers who have worked with him agreed that he is not playing with a full deck of cards, and said he's most likely got some brain damage or neurological deficiency. Yay puppy mills.

He's lucky he landed here with me. I have been told I have the patience of a saint. haha

The other one is my rez mutt. She's been here since June of last year. She's probably about a year old now.
She is a well adjusted doll. Her name is Two Socks, which is a perfect name for a dog from a reservation in South Dakota.
Although there is heeler in her somewhere as she is prone to herding and nipping at Cash while he runs around the yard.
She chases anything that moves and once snatched up AND ATE a mouse that crossed out path while hiking, without even missing a step. She ate it before I even realized what happened! I only saw the mouse tail as she was inhaling it and the little mouse tracks in the slow that ended in the middle of the sidewalk.
I can take her anywhere with me. She does not bark at passing cars or people. And if I have to get out of the car to pay for gas or whatnot, she wait patiently until I come back. Cash, on the other hand.. Man. He's an embarrassment. I loathe taking him anywhere. And trips to the dog park? Yeah. I have that dog. The one that you can hear barking well before we even get to the parking lot.

Either way, I don't trust either of them with the birds unsupervised. And probably never will.

 

[Sparkyfam]

Yeah. They are both rescues actually. My lab was a puppy mill dog (biggest puppy mill in our state) that I rescued when he was 6 months old from the people who bought him from said puppy mill. They thought it was a good idea, then wonder why the heck it wasn't working with him. He was no where near potty trained at 6 months, and had some major issues including physical/neurotic tendencies. I worked at our local humane society for years doing canine behavior testing, so I know exactly what you are seeing in those pics.
If I did not have the experience of all those years watching and assessing dog behavior (in charge of life or death decisions for some

), I can honestly say there is NO WAY he would have lasted here a week. His name is Cash and he is a great dog, with a heart of gold. After having him for 5 years now, we have ironed out some of his kinks. But even the trainers who have worked with him agreed that he is not playing with a full deck of cards, and said he's most likely got some brain damage or neurological deficiency. Yay puppy mills.

He's lucky he landed here with me. I have been told I have the patience of a saint. haha

The other one is my rez mutt. She's been here since June of last year. She's probably about a year old now.
She is a well adjusted doll. Her name is Two Socks, which is a perfect name for a dog from a reservation in South Dakota.
Although there is heeler in her somewhere as she is prone to herding and nipping at Cash while he runs around the yard.
She chases anything that moves and once snatched up AND ATE a mouse that crossed out path while hiking, without even missing a step. She ate it before I even realized what happened! I only saw the mouse tail as she was inhaling it and the little mouse tracks in the slow that ended in the middle of the sidewalk.
I can take her anywhere with me. She does not bark at passing cars or people. And if I have to get out of the car to pay for gas or whatnot, she wait patiently until I come back. Cash, on the other hand.. Man. He's an embarrassment. I loathe taking him anywhere. And trips to the dog park? Yeah. I have that dog. The one that you can hear barking well before we even get to the parking lot.

Either way, I don't trust either of them with the birds unsupervised. And probably never will.

Like i said, they are adorable. I agree with you 100% about the trust. My older chickens that I got from the local store are now officially outside (read: I couldn't handle the chicken smell in my house), and since my DH hasn't finished/really even started on the new coop, I had to refurbish the old one with what I had lying around the house. This is all well and good except my dogs are very curious, and really want to eat the chicken food. You'd think that we don't pay WAY too much money for the good dog food, but no, they want $10.00 chicken crumbles....

So far so good, but DH is definately getting the nagging about that new coop.

 

[Saved]

I am so sorry to hear about your loss. My wife have suffered several loss this year as well Family members mostly. We will be praying for you and your little ones..

 

[missnu01]

I have a 4 lb 3 year old yorkie poo that mills about with the chickens in harmony... Then we have a 6 month old husky shepherd put bull mix puppy that wants to chase anything that runs. We've almost got him to stop chasing the chickens. We are very lucky in the fact that when the chickens stop running and stuff their heads in the leaves he gets a big sniff and then loses interest. He'll hang out peacefully with my big rooster, only because Bruce runs from almost nothing...lol Bruce is the roo. If the chickens don't run, then Chase the dog has no interest in them. He sometimes gets over excited with the chicks and pokes them with his nose. He's learning to leave them alone though.