Kazzza Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Hi, My 6month old puppy likes to chase and kill chickens. I am certain she learnt this from the old pug cross. I am just wondering if anyone has any ideas or soultions to fixng this problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 seperate the two species? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Some dogs don't need to learn it. My first Aussie had never seen chickens til we bought 6 for our new place and he was hellbent on killing them. He never learnt it from anywhere. Separate them. It's VERY unfair on chickens to live in a high stress environment with a predator. Chooks are gorgeous, social creatures with a very ordered and structured life, they should feel safe and secure at all times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazzza Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 I want the dog to stop WANTING to kill the chickens. And since she is still quite young, I'm hoping it is still possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazzza Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 The chooks don't live in fear. The puppy doesn't circle the pen or try to get in. Although, the rooster flew out and she played with him and killed him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumof4girls Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 We have chickens and I hope our boy will live in peace with them, I have heard socialising them when young.. Did you just get get your chickens? Curious as to if you socialised them when pup was small? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazzza Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 We have had our chickens for years. We have other dogs who aren't even phased by the chooks at all. I introduced her to the chooks when she was young. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roova Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 (edited) My 6month old puppy likes to chase and kill chickens. I am certain she learnt this from the old pug cross The chooks don't live in fear. The puppy doesn't circle the pen or try to get in. Although, the rooster flew out and she played with him and killed him If a chook is running from your dog when he's chasing them, then I would say they are running in fear. Im not sure why you think they wouldn't find it fearful to have a predator chasing them? If you had a pug cross also killing chooks and a pup was allowed to run with him while doing so, you may have lost your opportunity of training calm acceptance of the chooks. A flapping, squarking chook can be too hard for some dogs to ignore and once they have killed you'll seldom stop the blood lust from happening again. When you say your dog played with the rooster I would imagine it was more a case of playing with his prey if the end result was killing it. I would very much doubt it was a mutual playing session! I currently have a French Bulldog who'll let the chooks wander around her, but I've had a Bull Mastiff in the past who would kill a chook given the opportunity. We had to tie her up when the chooks were free ranging and she would be staring at them the whole time they were out. I would never trust a dog which has killed to be unsupervised and off lead with chooks again. I agree with Gayle, any animal has the right to a stress free, safe environment to live in. It's a real pain having a dog which kills chooks so I do feel for you. Edited November 24, 2011 by Roova Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazzza Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 Hence the reason why I am asking for some soultions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Once your dog has killed a chook, there is very little you can do except keep him well away from the chooks. Sorry, but there is no magic fix. If you can't keep him away from the chooks, then buy an electric fence & run that around low around the chook pen...when he puts his nose on that, he may look at the chickens in a different way. We live on a farm, & have found in the past that is the only way & even that is not foolproof but it does make the dog think twice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janba Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Is this the central Asian Shepherd Dog? Maybe you need to talk to someone like lilli. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chequeredblackdog Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 What breed of dog is it? I live with my parents and we own a poultry stud. So we have between 50-300 chickens at any one time. We have a BC x(10), BC (8), terrier x god knows what (4) and a 7 month old Kelpie. The dogs have all been introduced to the chickens at a young age and supervised/ contained (via lead/locked up when we were out etc) until they can be trusted. The older three are and can be left out with the chickens. The BC sleeps in the shed with loose chickens at night and never touches them. Am working on the 7 month old Kelpie, he is probably 90% "chicken proof" but has a high prey drive. On a similar note, the BC when she was young was TERRIBLE for chasing our pyschotic wild Damara (Middle Eastern shedding) sheep. She would round them up and keep them bailed in a corner of the paddock literally ALL day. Probably would have been a great sheepdog! She no longer does this thanks to alot of hard work. She was locked up when unsupervised and had MANY supervised and controlled meetings with the sheep until it finally clicked that NOT chasing them was easier for her. Food andor another favourite reward is great here. Get the dog's focus off the chickens and reward, It can be a S L O W process. Seperation is also a good method of control and for some dogs may be the only answer for yours (and the chickens) peace of mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Separation is a neccessity . It may be a forever thing.. or it may be while you get advice and learn how to train your pup . He will possibly always want to chase the chooks ..but he may be able to be controlled . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huntia Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 I have 3 RR's at the moment, the 13 year old has a poultry fetish, and even though she has slowed down alot, she can still manage to pick up enough speed to chase chooks, my 18 month old boy doesn't chase chooks, but i wouldn't trust him alone with them unsupervised, and the 15 week old pup that we have had for 2 weeks met the chooks and gave chase (much to my dissappointment). End result when the chooks are out the dogs are locked away . I wish they could live harmoniusly, but it looks like it is not to be. unfortunately for a lot of dogs if something runs or flys in front of them they will chase it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilly Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Keep the pup on a leash and socialise with the chooks. Reward ignoring chickens and calm behaviour. If pup starts to focus too much on chickens then get its attention and ask it to do something like sit and reward. When you can't supervise then ensure pup and chooks are securely seperated ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJean Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 (edited) Is this the central Asian Shepherd Dog? Maybe you need to talk to someone like lilli. I do not know the dog's parentage. I also don't know of any Australian CAS that are not good with chickens. I know some Australian Anatolians that are not good with chickens ... but generally the slavic oafs have been pretty good with birds to date. Edited November 24, 2011 by lilli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Sorry but generally speaking it is not realistic to expect dogs or cats to live with birds, guinea pigs or rabbits and suppressing their prey drive completely. With most breeds of dog it is perfectly normal to kill birds - chickens are espceially easy as they can't fly. As a rescuer I am coming across this requirement more and more often - that a family is seeking to have a dog run freely amongst chickens/rabbits or guinea pigs without causing them harm. Whilst there are a few individual dogs (I won't generalise across a breed) that might be OK, it's a high risk scenario for the small animal which is simply unfair!! They pay with their lives. You are proposing to stop an animal from following its instincts - I sincerely hope you are not punishing the puppy for what you consider to be wrongdoing?? If you must persist with having chickens and dogs - it can be done - get yourself a very secure chicken pen and this will protect your chickens against foxes, cats and other predators. You have a responsibility to all the animals in your care and you need to work hard and take whatever measures are necessary to prevent any harm comign to any of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormie Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 I managed it with Orbit but I don't think he has a huge prey drive. They were separate for a while first, only getting interaction through secure chicken wire. Then I took them into a larger fenced of section together with Orbit on lead but kept him away and distracted with a toy. Eventually he just learnt to ignore them and shares his yard with them safely. I have always made sure that the chickens have a secure fenced off area only they could get into, but I guess that's easier for me seeing Orbit's so big. I always feed Orbit in his crate so he can eat in peace and chickens get fed in their secure pen that Orbit can't get into. Overall though I think I'm pretty lucky Orbit has such a soft quiet temperament and don't think many dogs would be as easy as him to accept them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Sorry but generally speaking it is not realistic to expect dogs or cats to live with birds, guinea pigs or rabbits and suppressing their prey drive completely. With most breeds of dog it is perfectly normal to kill birds - chickens are espceially easy as they can't fly. The dog is an LGD so it is expected that it live along side other animals. Although not sure if the dog is pure or not?? That being said, even the LGD's need to be taught to behave around stock. I think the parentage of the dog needs to be clearer in order to help. If the dog is not pure Anatolian then it is a different kettle of fish IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 I managed it with Orbit but I don't think he has a huge prey drive. They were separate for a while first, only getting interaction through secure chicken wire. Then I took them into a larger fenced of section together with Orbit on lead but kept him away and distracted with a toy. Eventually he just learnt to ignore them and shares his yard with them safely. I ha I did the same. I have a Stafford with huge prey drive and she lives with the chooks peacefully, all my dogs do. Only the Maremmas are left with them when I go out though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now