chicken thief

[gundownunder]

I've got a dog who's a chicken thief, and I need a cure.

Being raised on a farm I grew up knowing that a dog showing any signs of lead deficiency should be quickly injected with the correct minerals and confined in a place where the symptoms will never surface again. My wife is a city slicker and will not allow me to treat the dog in the aforementioned way.

Anybody got an alternative answer?

[JerryB]

Folks used to tie a dead chicken around his neck till it rots off, reckon it still works.

[RIHMFIRE]

Shock collar.....everytime he goes near one give him a little surprise
should not take to long before he figures it out

[Pisgah]

Different wife.

[pdentrem]

What came first? The chicken or the egg?

Dad had a neighbor, who's dog would raid the chicken coop for the eggs. The neighbor stuffed a hot boiled egg into it mouth, no problems after that.

When your hound starts growling at you when hunting, it is time to think about planning for a new one.

I like the invisible fence shock collar idea. Dogs are smart. They figure it out.
The really smart ones will sit in the buzz range until the battery dies and then move through the invisible fence border. Don't ask how I know that one.
Pierre

[FWiedner]

If you don't have the wherewithal to defy her 'authority', ask her if she'd like to visit her mother for a week.

"I dunno honey, he got off the leash and I haven't seen him in a couple of days..."

[92&94]

I cured one of killing chickens a couple years ago, did it while the wife was out of town.

Caught him in the act and lost my temper a bit at first, so he'd already caught a bit of a beating and knew he'd done wrong. Then put him on a leash and took him into the fenced area where the chickens live. Just sat in there with him for about 30 minutes and whenever he pricked his ears up at a chicken he got a good smack on the rump with a flat, thin bit of wood - like a lathe for plastering or a wide yardstick, something that stings but doesn't bruise.

I didn't really expect that to cure him of it, but he was a smart dog and he never killed another one. My wife isn't good about latching the gate, and at one point I caught that dog in there getting a drink of water and then just lying in the yard ignoring the birds. After that I was willing to trust him with around the birds.

Of course, this was a dog who was as eager to please as have his own fun. I doubt it would work if the dog's reaction to attempts at training is aggression or just stubbornness. I've known a couple like that too, though the weren't my dogs so I never did anything to try to correct them.

[765x53]

Since chickens are not fit for human consumption, let the dog have his fun and soon you will be rid of the nasty birds.

[AJMD429]

We gently 'beat' our Dalmation about the head with a dead chicken while shouting harsh words at her, and it worked.

Really well, in fact. . .

A few months later, we heard the dog whimpering outside, and went to see if she'd caught herself in a fence or something, only to find her cowering in the back of her doghouse, clearly in fear. In front of the doghouse was pacing back and forth. . . a chicken. . .

Evidently it had escaped the pen and was out seeking revenge. . .

[gundownunder]

I must have gotten a real dumb mutt, because I've caught him on 3 separate occasions and walloped the tar out of him each time and he still wants more.
Hanging a chook round his neck till it rots off isn't an option because we live in the 'burbs and he's a house dog.

[Nath]

Lots of women get hung up on this but when the deed is done swift and out of sight they soon see the sense.

I would also consider a tethered bird and you and him in an enclose for and hour. Constantly dragging him to the bird and the moment he shows interest let him have it, repeat, repeat, repeat until he is crying for mercy.
Sounds harsh but....
I had a large deer houndxgreyhound when a boy. It growled at my mother whilst it had a big knuckle bone, I went into it and knocked it out with said bone, I cared not if I killed it but I was not going to have my mother threatened by such a strong powerful dog as him. As it happens it only knocked him out but he never ever growled at us again!

N.

[M. M. Wright]

Pisgah has the correct solution.

[BenT]

The circus is the answer. That's where bad dogs go. But you live in the burbs so you can also use that it went to a nice farm. But if you live on a farm , they go to the circus. Or if you happen to work in a circus they would go to a farm. So you have options.

[92&94]

I must have gotten a real dumb mutt, because I've caught him on 3 separate occasions and walloped the tar out of him each time and he still wants more.
Hanging a chook round his neck till it rots off isn't an option because we live in the 'burbs and he's a house dog.

Sounds like he may be a lost cause then, that's too bad. You may just have to put up with a few lost birds or shoot the poor fool of a dog. My wife was willing to put up with a few birds dead, since she tends to keep 20-40 at a time. Coyotes have gotten more of ours than that dog did before I got him sorted out.

I never tried the dead chicken approach, never made much sense to me. When I was a kid back east our labs used to find summer camper's fish guts and roll in them, then there's the tendency to eat horse and cow manure, chicken manure, and sniff guest's nether regions to the dog owner's embarrassment... Hard to see how a dog would mind the stink of a dead critter.

If a wupping won't fix him, I doubt the dead bird will either.

The dog we have now just likes to run through a crowd of bunched up birds and scatter them. Not interested in catching them really. Jean calls it bowling for chickens

[Streetstar]

Sounds like he may be a lost cause then, that's too bad. You may just have to put up with a few lost birds n:

This --- an occasional chicken can be a valuable boost of protein to a dog's diet

Economics = cost of an occasional bird vs -- cost of dog , not just numerically but emotionally to other family members who love goofy, dumb beast

Unless he's taking serious numbers, the economics are usually in favor of the dog

[7.62 Precision]

Start with an E-collar. Use it right, or you can wreck the dog. In other words, don't be to heavy-handed on the remote and make sure the dog understands why he is being corrected. If he kills a chicken and you find out three hours later, go back in the house and shock the tar out of it, the dog will only be confused and terrified.

Take the time to train the dog - set up training situations that you control and correct him with the collar.

Don't act in a way that allows him to equate the collar or the remote with the shock. Let him wear the collar a while before you hit him with it. When you can reach from across the yard and shock his neck, you will be a god to him.

I had a dog when I was a kid that the Inupiat kids trapped for my dad. It's mother was wild, part wolf. It was still a puppy when caught, but a large puppy. It caught voles under the snow all winter. We never taught him to stop killing chickens - the predator instinct was too strongly reinforced in him.

I think if we had had an e-collar, it would have done the trick.

[44shooter]

As was said above, a thorough beating with one of his kills might do the trick if he is smart enough. My daddy did it to our dog when I was a boy. He would avert his eyes when a mother hen walked by with her biddies after that. A lot of people would be horrified to read this thread, but wild canids do much worse to each other. Might makes right in their world.

Kicking an aggressive rooster repeatedly tends to make them keep their spurs to themselves too.

[Nath]

As was said above, a thorough beating with one of his kills might do the trick if he is smart enough. My daddy did it to our dog when I was a boy. He would avert his eyes when a mother hen walked by with her biddies after that. A lot of people would be horrified to read this thread, but wild canids do much worse to each other. Might makes right in their world.

Kicking an aggressive rooster repeatedly tends to make them keep their spurs to themselves too.

lol yes...My first Crosman 1322 with a couple of pumps soon sorted that old rooster on the farm I helped after school. A week of plinking at him and he gave in....was a nice bird then lol.
N.

[piller]

One Uncle who lived on a farm would bury a dead dog after a chicken was killed. He was always being given dogs by city folks, and and he would work with them and train them, but, if they killed a chicken or growled at a kid, they got lead poisoning immediately. That said, he had several great dogs over the years. My favorite was the Norwegian Elkhound.

[7.62 Precision]

Kicking an aggressive rooster repeatedly tends to make them keep their spurs to themselves too.

Best way to fix an aggressive rooster is with breading.

[harry]

Get a full grown grey goose to run in the yard, after being wooped a few times by the goose he may change his mind about the chickens. If that don't work tell the wife that the goose killed the dog and you are having grilled goose for supper.

[FWiedner]

Kicking an aggressive rooster repeatedly tends to make them keep their spurs to themselves too.

Best way to fix an aggressive rooster is with breading.

My grandmother's solution involved dumplings.

[crs]

Though I much prefer the lead treatment first mentioned, Fido-Shok worked to keep my daughter's dogs from killing my wife's chickens. Worked and kept the peace.

[n2t]

My dog grabbed chickens when he first saw them. I didn't want that going on so I brought him into the chicken coop with a can of pepper spray. He went for a chicken and got sprayed...worked pretty quickly too. He's never gone after a chicken since. Just ignores them completely now.

[vancelw]

Lots of women get hung up on this but when the deed is done swift and out of sight they soon see the sense.

N.

Oh Nath! You look so wise in your photos

They never forget....you WILL pay later, and may not even know what you are paying for....but you WILL pay.

And if you ever figure out that you're paying for something, but don't know exactly what for...keep both of these things to yourself until you know the answer to both. Or you'll pay again. These are the facts.

[Blaine]

Killing a valuable animal over a five buck bird

[Nath]

Lots of women get hung up on this but when the deed is done swift and out of sight they soon see the sense.

N.

Oh Nath! You look so wise in your photos

They never forget....you WILL pay later, and may not even know what you are paying for....but you WILL pay.

And if you ever figure out that you're paying for something, but don't know exactly what for...keep both of these things to yourself until you know the answer to both. Or you'll pay again. These are the facts.

Killing a valuable animal over a five buck bird

I can only assume but I doubt it comes down to economics! If a dog thinks it can help it self where does it stop? Usually when they have gone too far!

N.

[FWiedner]

Killing a valuable animal over a five buck bird

I agree to an extent, but a valuable animal that kills an ever increasing number of other animals vith value would have to have it's worth tallied in the expense/liability column on the balance sheet.

As has been discussed, the decison to spare that life might well be dependent upon how well the animal responds to corrective training.

My only experience with such things is in witnessing carnage in the hen-house on either of my grandparents farms as a child, and at farm owning friends properties as an adult.

In both situations there seemed to be plenty of spare dogs to be had, and the specific pups in question were not lucky enough to be of such seniority or 'value' as to fall on the forgiving side of final judgement.

[Blaine]

I know which way the wind blows here...just putting in my two cents.....For another penny, I'll opine that dogs run off more coons, weasels, etc that kill way more birds

[FWiedner]

The weight of two pennies just might be enough to keep something valuable from blowing away.

One never knows.

It's a question of aerodynamics.

[Sixgun]

Some really good intelligent answers here. They are almost as smart and well thought out as stuffing a dead bird in your cat's mouth when the cat eats your pet parakeet.

Some dogs go after chickens because it's natural for them. They cannot reason. They only have instinct to go on. They are dogs.

If you have chickens, keep them fenced up and latch the gate. I've owned and own chickens, cats, dogs, horses, ducks and a multitude of other small animals. It's not easy or cheap to keep these animals separated, but if your going to own them, it's your responsibility to use your big head, not the little head in making decisions.

If it's the neighbors dogs, take 'em to court.

Last year, guy about 10 miles down the road, in a very wealthy area, shot his neighbors 2 Bernese Mountain dogs for harassing his sheep. The dogs were gentle pets who broke out from their fenced yard. Cops came and pressed no charges. A later investigation revealed the dogs never got in the fenced area where the sheep were. The first dog was shot in the face at close range, the other dog was shot in the asz end while fleeing. All with a shotgun.

http://www.delcotimes.com/general-news/ ... 2-pet-dogs

In the later trial, the shooter lost his asz, both financially, criminally, and is shunned by everyone within a hundred miles.

Had it been my dogs, and at my age, I would have given him the same treatment as he gave the dogs.----6

[92&94]

I find it worth attempting to train the dog. If it works, as it did with mine, you know you have a valuable friend and companion in that dog. If not, you still have the same problem you did before giving the dog a chance to learn.

Some dogs seem to like to learn what it is you want of them, and are almost eager to demonstrate that they've learned. I'd like to say that mine was one in a million, but he wasn't really, probably one in ten. To me alone he was one in a million because it was to me he wanted to prove that he'd leave my birds alone. That's what makes a dog your best friend.

[FWiedner]

I'd have to opine that the facts of the 'follow-up' investigation you describe sound crafted to elicit an emotional response, and the article you link to doesn't read as you've described.

It suggests stray dogs harassing livestock and the local law enforcers admitting that was the case.

Did I miss another link with the rest of the story?

[Sixgun]

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/loc ... akmobile=o

[FWiedner]

Thanks.

That's pretty straight-forward.