Training/Teaching a dog about chickens

[lcahill]

I'm not sure this is the best place to put this but I have some questions regarding training/teaching dogs.
I have two dogs. One is a 4.5-5 year old female (mama) and the other is a 3 year old female (daughter of the first). They are a mix breed. Lots of blue heeler, corgi, australian cattle dog type looks and personality. The litter we chose the daughter from appears to have been sired by a lab breed. They are undeniably the best childrens dogs I have ever seen or met. My kids have climbed on them, layed on them, ridden them (before getting caught and disciplined), etc. These dogs have never shown any aggression towards the children, they have never nipped, and only once can I recall even the slightest growl of dislike. They are very submissive dogs: they love their bellies rubbed and will plop down for that treatment readily. They are not spayed.
When we got chickens this spring, aggression reared it's ugly head towards the birds. Collectively they have only killed one chicken, but countless times have gone after them. What can I do to teach them that the chickens are off limit? Or is it not reasonable to think this behaviour can be broken? I feel it can but what are the opinions of others and suggestions?

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

OP, how well trained are your dogs? Do they reliably obey the "leave it" command every time?

If your dogs are not well trained and used to training, then you'll have to start at the beginning BEFORE you let them anywhere near the chickens. Teach sit, and down, and make sure you get a good down-stay and leave it before you do anything else. This may take a year (and professional help if you don't know much about dog training).

If your dogs are already well trained, start with the down-stay and let some chickens (potentially sacrificial birds, so don't use your favorites) eat some scratch and walk around them, praising the dogs the whole time they stay in the down-stay. If they go for the chickens, a sharp "leave it" should make them desist. Offer a treat for a successful "leave it." Train them to leave the chickens alone the same way you train them not to eat your children's toys.

Once they handle the chickens walking around them during a down-stay, allow them to be around a bird or two while closely supervised, with you ready to tell them "leave it" at the first sign of their interest in the chickens. Remember the treats!

You may not be able to leave them out unsupervised with the birds for a while, until you feel pretty comfortable that they know that birds are not for eating. Then watch through some place like a garage door window so the dogs think they are alone, and see if they go for a chicken. Be vigilant and ready to rush through that door hollering "leave it" if they go for the birds. There's lots of research that shows that dogs know when humans can see them, and change their behaviors accordingly. You want your dogs to think you can see them even if they can't see you!

It is possible to train dogs to leave chickens alone. My pitbull/mastiff mix wanted to chase chickens for about a year, but we have trained her that chickens are not for chasing using the above method. She now pretty much ignores chickens, and yesterday I saw a clutch of 12 week old birds walk all around her while she was lying in the yard and she didn't even flinch. She still chases rabbits out of the garden (we encourage this) and chases the cat for fun (they're good friends, the chasing is a game) but she leaves the chickens alone.

 

[HEChicken]

Personally, I don't believe a dog can be taught to ignore its natural instincts when it comes to predatory behavior. I know there are others on here who will disagree with me and swear that their dog, after killing chickens, learned to leave them alone. But that tendency always seems to rear its head again at some point in the future when the dog is left alone with them for too long and succumbs again to the temptation.

That is not to say that there are not poultry safe dogs. I have two of them. But I adopted them as non-puppies, and since I already had the chooks, I did a home trial with each dog prior to committing to adopt, to make sure they had no interest in chasing the birds. Neither showed any interest and one is actually a little afraid of them. More than two years later, they sleep in the chicken yard at night to help keep predators at bay, and when my auto door opens in the morning, the birds come spilling out and I never worry about the dogs doing anything to them. During the day the flock free ranges and little chicks quickly learn that these two dogs are no threat to them.

But - if you have dogs that have already learned that chasing chickens is fun, I don't think you can ever get them to that point. You might be able to get them to the point that they will leave them alone when you are out there with them - but I would never leave them alone. Just my two cents.

 

[mommissan]

I have a German Short-haired Pointer, a bird hunting dog. I struggled with how to train her to accept chickens, until one day, out of pure frustration, I brought out a bag of bread. I made her lay down, and showed her her reward. Then, alternating between free ranging chickens (who seem to have no fear of her or my lawn mower) and my dog, I gave them each bread bits as a snack. When I gave a chicken one, my dog had to wait, and vice versa. I can't explain it, but over a few weeks of this, they accepted each other as pack members. I didn't read it any where. It was just something that happened. And, despite all the people that tell me I ruined a good bird dog, she still happily hunts wild fowl (and escaped roosters) with me.

 

[Michael Apple]

That is incorrect about you can't hurt them with a chock collar, in fact you can kill them by doing so, by break their windpipe. We use pinch collars as they don't take much for the dog to stop

Placement of a prong collar, or regular collar, is important. The collar should fit tight enough to remain behind the jaw just behind the base of the skull. This is more sensitive and doesn't injure the trachea such as when the collar is placed too low on the neck. In regard to shock collars, sometimes they are helpful, but only if the user of the remote knows timing means everything in regard to issuing the shock. If the person training can't refrain from using it like a television remote, they aren't fit to use a shock collar on a dog. The various training methods being effective, depend on the character of the dog. The balance of positive and negative reinforcement determines much also.

 

[Tacampbell1973]

First of all - get both your dogs spayed!! One - because it's the right thing to do. Second - because it will help with the chicken aggression.

I am a firm believer in spay and neuter. The pros so outweigh the cons. Unless your a breeder. The cut back on cancer is huge, the pet is happier and more sane. They truly don't understand why they feel compelled to roam in search of....Ok I feel like Bob Barker here, but seriously the first thing I did was spay my dog seven years ago when I got her. Take a walk through the pound sometime if you need a dog, it is simply heartbreaking. I wish I could take them all home, but then I would be a hoarder

 

[Percheron chick]

I too have chicken safe dogs and they both started out that way. The only advice I can offer is to only have one dog out at a time when working with it and the chickens. Pack mentality. It's not as fun to chase the chickens by yourself. Your dogs have some strong instincts bred into them to chase and herd that you might not be able to train out of them

 

[peartreehens]

if it makes you feel any better (in a bizarre, karmic way), my 80 lb dog is terrified of my chickens. He sniffed them when they were tiny balls of fluff, and one pecked his nose, and now he won't go outside if they're in the yard. If I drag him over to the run (yes, drag), he stands there shaking and looking down--he won't even make eye contact. He must have been a chicken in a previous life . . .

 

[sonjap]

I have two border collies. One was never interested in them, the other was so hyper and wanted those chicks bad! I heard about this video that teaches you how to train your dog not to go after chickens and it worked great! There were several steps but they were all pretty easy to follow. I could email him any questions I had along the way and he was always prompt with an answer. I found out about it on an older thread here. Here is the link if you are interested.
http://www.canterlc.com/StopChickenKillerDogs/blog/

 

[Stacyc]

Breed of dog has a part to play as well. My neighbor had two middle age Shelties when she got her chickens and they just instinctively began to run circles around them. They are of the herding breed. I myself have American Eskimo dogs, I will. Be picking up my very first flock today so I too will be dealing with how to train my dogs not to eat them.
They are well trained dogs and listen to my commands. I would suggest some excellent treats for the dogs and a six foot leash, sit stay command, and the leave it is good, when the dog begins to ignore and break eye contact with birds and look at you do high happy voice and be quick with the treats. If the dog wants to move or shows to much interest, give a quick jerk on leash and use your deep angry man voice or the ever unpleasant "ah" loud and scary. You want to break that moment, as soon as they do, high happy voice and treat. This can all happen in just a few seconds. I don't agree with using shock collars. Your goal is to teach your dog that chickens mean rewards and Mommy is happy. Make it a fun training thing. Make them think that going out to do chicken chores means some good treats and some good time with Mom. You may want to have them well walked so they are slightly tired when you start this. Your dogs come from extremely smart breeds, cattle dogs are excellent farm dogs. Consistency and a good positive attitude are your best tools, and super tasty snacks, don't use your regular treats, go get some that you only use for chicken training. I will use my homemade snacks, one can of salmon, two eggs and two cups of whatever te of flour you want. Mix up to consistency of sticky bread dough, flatten out on cookie sheet about 1/4 inch thick bake for 20 minutes on parchment paper, cut into strips while still warm. They go insane for these. Do not drain the salmon, use the whole thing. Sorry, I digress. Lt us know how it goes. Good luck, dogs I know, chickens, not so much...yet.