Training the dog not to hurt the hens

[cchin]

Hello,

We have a Rat Terrier. He is a Giant Rat Terrier / Decker Terrier so is about 30lbs. He is young...only 10 months old.

When he was about 5 months we started free ranging our chickens and he killed one within 15 minutes. Very sad. We punished him but he really didn't understand.

The problem is he roams around the farm all day and he is a great rodent hunter. We have been praising him for killing rats and moles. So to him the chickens are just another pest. Last week one of the hens got out and he immediately grabbed her and tried to kill her. He wasn't letting up for anything! He was in full hunting mode and completely shut us out so he could get that hen. Luckily we got her out safely...but it was a close call.

The chickens are in a free run coop. They have access to their coop and to their outdoor run but we would like to be able to free range them. Does anyone have any suggestions for training our dog? Has anyone ever done this before? We have a shock collar that we purchased but is that the right way to do it? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Mutt Farm]

Hi! Welcome!

Rat terrier...right...Rat Terror. That's a tough one. I'm a dog trainer by profession. certified. licensed. 30 years exp. My point? To say that very likely your RT will kill a chicken every time he is given a window of opportunity. I have 2 Jacks that I've trained to not touch the chickens if I am standing right there and can correct them. One is 14 and would still kill in a hot second with the few teeth he has left, he'd snap it's neck. It's their breed, their instinct. Punishing after the fact does nothing btw.
Here's a thread, lots of great info, some frankly horrible. They talk about shock collars, letting a dead chicken rot on their collar for a few days, but lots talk about a great training plan. I wouldn't start with a shock collar, that's just not fair. Start with teaching basic obedience. "leave it" "No" "Come" a leash and reward for ignoring the chickens. Once you are certain that Rat knows and understands commands, you might need to use a shock collar to reinforce.
So...here's the thread. Good luck!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/newsearch?search=training+a+dog+to+not+kill+chickens

 

[Folly's place]

x2!!! Separation is the best plan here, because overcoming generations of genetics is awfully hard. The bird dog bred puppies that I've raised were easy to train to ignore the chickens; early conditioning, lotsa obedience and field work. The adult terriers, forget it. The best you might achieve is as Mutt Farm said, and getting there will be hard. Fencing! Mary

 

[cchin]

@Mutt Farm @Folly's place . Thanks so much for the tips! In my RT's defense he is actually the most intelligent dog we have ever had. He is just what we call a hunter gatherer. Not only does he go for the kill he also eats what he kills! We have cattle as well and he is fantastic with the cows. He absolutely loves the cows and our calves really have been bonding with him. And he has eliminated the need for rat poison. Nothing is sneaking by him.

Based on your advice I think it is best to probably just build our hens a larger run. It is fairly large now but we were hoping to free range them...we didn't think they would be only in the coop and the run. We will try the shock collar, but its like you said...I don't trust him when we aren't there to stop him. And even when we do say no his instincts take over.

He has gone through obedience training and starts another level this Sunday. He is a smart dog and always listens...unless there is a chicken, bunny, rat or mole involved. Then its game on!

 

[Folly's place]

The smartest dog I've ever had was also the most difficult to train! A GSHP, who always thought he had a better idea! We did novice obedience for a YEAR before he really believed, and was tough in field training too. Fortunately, I persisted, and he was a great dog, much missed. Mary

 

[trailrider330]

We've had good luck with our dog, but I must say that she was a very obedient dog even prior to us getting chickens and we had spent a lot of time with her doing obedience training.

She is a German shepherd who resides outside and all of our chickens are currently free-ranged. For a while our neighbor had free range chickens as well. I don't know how she did it, but she knew which chickens were ours and which ones were his. If his chickens came onto our land, she would gently heard them back to his land; and if she saw ours on his land, she would herd ours back onto our land. Then one day our neighbor decided to give us his chickens. She was a little confused at first but, with a few re-directs, she quickly caught on that she did not have to heard them off our property anymore. She is also very protective of our hens. If she sees our rooster get a little too aggressive with a hen, she intervenes and will break them up. She even tries to eat along side the chickens at times. She seems to like the layer feed and the table scraps they occasionally get. I do have to say it is funny watching her interact with a broody hen and her chicks though, as those mamas are very protective and do not want her anywhere near those chicks.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Somewhere on another thread I wrote about how I dealt with training my beagle mix dog I adopted from a shelter last year. There is a lot of good info in those other threads but you have to use your judgement and find what works for your dog. Remember, you may never be able to fully trust your dog around chickens and you always have to be ready for that.

I basically used cchin's method. I started my dog with a very firm obedience background. "Stay, sit, down, come, and leave it." Then I introduced an electronic collar (after a ton of research and talking to trainers -these training tools definitely have the potential to turn a good dog into a bad one of used improperly). With that, I set it to the lowest setting that she had a reaction, and I trained her to come to me when she heard the beep function. Then I introduced the chickens on leash with the collar (had to increase the shock level slightly because she was aroused). Beeped when she got too excited with the chickens. Let her off leash when this training was going well and maybe had to shock about two times before it clicked. She's pretty good with them now but I still wouldn't leave her outside alone with them. I had to leave home to take her with me back to school but I think with more work she will be fully trustworthy.

I don't recommend an electronic collar without doing a lot of research. And without reaching a very strong obedience background. Without obedience, you can't really ask a dog to do things and understand.

Good luck! The other option is a good leash and a strong fence!

 

[dainerra]

Find the closest distance that the dog first notices the birds in the brooder.  This might be in another room if he is one to constantly glance at the door.    Put your dog on leash and get some extra special treats that he only gets for this work - bacon, grilled chicken (no spices!), hot dog chunks, etc.     When the dog glances toward the birds, say his name and "leave it"    If he looks at you, give him a treat - if he doesn't, give a light pop on the leash (think tap on the shoulder).  When he looks at you reward him.  
You can also teach him "watch me" the same way.   You can practice this at random times though out the day.   If you have a couple extra minutes while you're watching TV or whatever, just say his name, pause, "watch me"   When he makes eye contact, then reward him.    You can also (if you get in the habit of keeping a small treat in your pockets) catch him looking towards you say "watch me" and then reward.  Or just praise him verbally.
 
Once the dog is reliably paying attention to you and the birds at a distance, move a little bit closer.   If he absolutely blows you off, you're too close.  Just back up a bit and begin again.   Eventually you will be right amongst the birds.    You can then start at a distance or with a long line (20' leash or so) and work from there.    I never ever leave my dogs/chickens loose unattended together.  
I don't even trust Rayden
I don't mean I constantly hover over the dogs when they are out with the birds, but I am in the area and aware of what they are doing.   Think of it as a small child.  Even though you've taught them not to play with matches, would you leave them alone in the house with matches scattered all over the floor?
 
The most important part of the training is to set the dog up to succeed.   Don't give him a chance to chase the birds.  Don't give him a chance to disobey.  
 

 

[cchin]

Thanks for the all the advice everyone!

He started level two of his obedience training on Sunday. We are also putting him in a herding course. Its more of a "game" obstacle course for owners to interact and play with their dogs...but the purpose and the lesson to be learned from the course is to look and listen to what we are asking of him and for us to work together to herd all of our balls back to our court. We are to use clickers or a word and to show him that every time that word or that click is used he receives food at the end of the motion we are asking of him.

When he was at his training on Sunday he was playing with the other dogs before it started and then noticed we were right by a duck pond. All fun and games ended and he was one paw up in hunting stance haha.

He just got neutered last week as well. Not sure if it will bring down his need to kill but we are hoping so. Although, we hope he doesn't change much as he is an amazing ratter.