I'm glad your girls are recovering, and that you and your DH are, too. As a former (do I have to say "former" just because I have no active clients now and haven't in ten years????) dog trainer, I rehabilitated many chicken-killing dogs over the years, and always with the aid of an electric fencer. It can be done. No dog I treated ever went back to his evil ways, no matter how many chickens he or she had killed, mauled or eaten previously. And no dog ever got shocked more than once. The method is described in The Kohler Method of Dog Training, which you should be able to find at your local library. It's an older book and some of its methods have fallen out of favor, even with me. But that method works. I recently purchased a fencer myself and plan to use it on Sammy, the little Sheltie we recently obtained. I got the smallest fencer I could find. For a Newfie something a little more substantial might be in order, but you're not trying to stop a bear. PM me if you want more info. Good luck! Newfies are awesome!
. We looked at Great Pyrenees when deciding what kind of dogs to get, but I read they could be territorial...which can be a double edged sword with giant breed dogs.
