How do you break a dog from killing chickens?

Answer 1

Answer

Aha! Taste of "first blood." There are several ways to stop your dog from doing this. It may sound cruel and gross, but if you want a quick step to getting your dog out of this behavior, take the dead chicken, put it in a gunny sack or an old pillow case until it stinks to high heaven (keep the dog outside in a well-fenced in yard) and tie the pillow case with chicken inside around his neck so he can't get at it. Then everytime you see the dog, in a stern voice, say "Shame!" Dogs are bright creatures and between the smell of that dead chicken rotting and your scolding the dog will get the message. Do this for 2 days and then put a clothes pin on your nose (just kidding) and give your dog a good bath. I would start out with a paste of baking soda and warm water (about 2 cups full of it) and lather it on your dog (be sure it doesn't get in the dogs eyes) then rinse off and shampoo as usual.

Another way you can do this is when the dog has the dead chicken, use an empty roll from aluminum foil or wax paper, put a medium sized short chain inside and attached it to the inside. Then go up to the dog and hit the ground very close to the dog (NEVER HIT THE DOG) with the roll (chain inside.) They hate the noise!

If your dog doesn't like water (most dogs don't like it in their face) get a clean squirt bottle with cold water, and when you see the dog with that chicken, give him several good skirts of cold water in the face and again in a stern voice say "Shame. Bad dog!" Dogs understand more than people give them credit for.

If you find your dog with a fresh kill, then put the dog somewhere else away from the chicken. Sprinkle quite a bit of cayenne pepper or black pepper all over the chicken and turn the dog loose! One snort of that and he'll get the message. Also be sure you have fresh water nearby in case he gets any in his mouth. He may end up with a hot mouth, and even possibly an upset tummy, it won't kill him, but I can guarantee you he won't do it again.

Good luck Marcy

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Whenever a dog kills another animal be it a chicken, a cat, or another dog, it is acting in it's natural predatory mindset. Dogs with a strong prey drive will chase things weather it is a tug toy that you're pulling by a string or a chicken running for its life. Your job as the pet owner is to teach the dog the things that it can chase and catch and the things that it can't. One way of doing this is by taking a live chicken and putting it into a wire cage so that the dog can see it, smell it and hear it. Take the dog to the cage on a leash with a choker chain or a pinch collar and as soon as the dog begins to show any interest in the chicken, give the dogs leash a sharp quick jerk and say "no" in a firm voice. This should distract the dog and cause it to look at you. as soon as it does give it another command such as sit or lay down and praise it when it obeys. This will teach the dog that looking at the chickens earns him a correction but sitting and laying down on command earns him praise. Continue this for several minutes (4-5 min. for puppies, 5-10 min. for adult dogs) 2 - 3 times a day. By the beginning of the 3rd day the dog should not even look in the direction of the chickens. Eventually the dog will completely ignor the chickens even while they are running free around him.

My parents raised chickens. The first time our dog killed one, Mother put the dog on his lead and put the chicken just beyond his reach. Every time she passed by, she would pick up the chicken and wap him lightly [or maybe not so lightly] on the nose with it and say BAD DOG. This went on for a couple of days. He never touched another chicken all though they were free range and were never caged. He was otherwise a very good and friendly dog.

Answer 2

One view:

• It's harder to train a puppy to leave the chickens alone than it is adult dogs. Sometimes the dog doesn't mean to kill the chicken; he is just playing with it and accidentally kills it. I just kept saying no and showing them the birds. If the dog is an adult and never been around chickens before, you have your work cut out for you. I trained all my dogs who did kill chickens not to. If they start to chase the chickens I firmly say "no" and they will stop.

Another view:

• If your dog has decided to be a chicken killer, or it is genetically inbred into his breed to chase and kill birds, it is very hard to persuade him to do otherwise. Keep your chickens penned up in a secure enclosure so the dog can't get to them, and make sure your dog doesn't get out of your property - he could get shot if he goes after someone else's stock.

Another view:

• All you have to do is to train the dog to be the chicken's best friend. Be calm when around the animal and never let the dog near the chickens unattended. To start off you have to do the correction at the right time. When you see a sign of aggression, fix it right away. When you do this, all you do is a gentle tap on its neck area and a word at the same time of the tap. You can say words like "no" or anything that makes you feel comfortable. Don't yell or the dog will get scared!

Another View:

• I own a Pit Bull. He wont bother my chickens at all. Not even baby chicks running around on the yard. Although I dont agree with his previous owner about this, it did work and I seen him train many this way. I Raise gamefowl and many know gamefowl can be tempermental. The guy did too. The guy raised his pit bulls for fighting. I was at his home one day looking at the chickens I let him have and he showed me an old rooster that he had. It was blind and stuff from fighting a bigger rooster while he was a baby. He thought he was better I guess but in my oppinion its like a 8 year old fighting a 25 year old professional boxer. Anyhow the guys dog was running around and it just came up near me, it was the only pup he had left and his wife had taught it to stay close to home. I Fell in love with it but he kept talking about fighting him when it got older. I ended up getting attatched to him and he let me have him as long as I promised not to breed him and sell the bloodline. Anyhow the way he taught this dog and many before him was letting this blind rooster keep his spurs. He wouldnt trim the spurs. As the pups start messing with the chickens he would put the rooster out on a tie cord. The dog got too close and got a beating. He wouldnt get injured enough to need repairs, but he would just put peroxide on it, and neosporin, a few days of being on the yard with the bird he now knows to stay away. Since I raise the same fowl I was worried that moving him may make him not know the birds and him go back to trying to kill them. Since I have had him, I have seen him allow baby chicks to come up to his nose and eat with him. Ive seen them walk on him while lieing down and even trying to sit on his back as he walked. I know most of you wont try this but it worked, im not even sure id try it, but if it came to an emergency. I would dry anything as long as the dog wouldnt be seriously injured.

Another View:

• An old method: If a dog is guilty of freshly killing a chicken or is caught in the act, tie the dead fowl to one end of the dog's lead and leave the two together for 24 hours. The dog will form a negative association to the dead fowl. This technique is still used effectively by farmers today.

Another View:

A gate was inadvertently left open this morning and by the time I got home at 1pm, our newly acquired 7 month old dog had caught and eaten our pet duck. There was nothing left but feathers. I am really concerned that this "habit" is going to be very hard to break. Tomorrow we are going to hold our ducks and chickens and familiarize the dog with the idea that the foul are important to us and must not be eaten.
We purchased day old chicks and kept them in a bin in the garage until they were old enough to put outside in the day. We made a pen covered with chicken wire on 5 sides (including top). We took the dogs out one at a time on a leash and showed them the chicks. We took them closer each time and for longer periods each time. Finally I just took a lawn chair out and the dogs and sat with them. I had a squirt bottle with water in it. When the dog(s) got too excited, I gave them a squirt and a "no!" We didn't let them actually get around the chickens without a chicken wire between them until the chickens were probably 12 weeks old. I had one person hold the dog on the ground with a leash holding their muzzle closed and I held the chicken letting the dog smell the chicken's butt and larger areas (no snipping off of heads that way!). I would let them sniff and say NO! They would try and "just taste them a little" nipping feathers and I would scold them with a stern NO! Next step was letting the chickens loose but keeping the dogs on leashes and letting them approach the chickens. When they would get too excited or nip, a pull on the leash and a NO! If they didn't back off, a harder pull on the leash and stronger scolding. Not until they would predictibly respond to a NO! without a pull on the leash did we do away with the leash. Then we only let them around the chickens when we were there to remind them and eventually just let them be. It may have helped that there was a rooster in the bunch, as he was not intimidated by the dogs and stood his ground. The whole process took about 2 weeks after the stage of the chickens being out of the pen. The dogs LOVE to go out and see the chickens and yes, they will chase them. They run into the flock, scatter them, make them squawk and scatter. That's all. I have even trained one cocker spaniel to round them up and herd them back to the area I prefer they stay in. He is very good. They have never hurt the chickens. We had 2 chicks this year that hatched. It seemed to be the "peeps" of the baby chicks that really set the dogs off. When they got to be about 10 weeks, we introduced the new chickens to the rest of the flock and to the dogs. The dogs were fine until the young chickens would make noise. It seemed to be the high pitch that excited them. Now that they chickens are about 15 weeks, their voices have changed and the dogs don't care anymore. Most dogs will accept whatever you tell them to. If you are the pack leader and tell them your hamster is part of the pack and work with them in a fashion similar to what I describe above, they should respect your wish that this hamster is family. Note: this would not apply to your neighbor's hamster. It would soon be lunch. Not a pack member, you see.

Answer 3

First blood is always the toughest. The only way to stop this damage is to take the time out to get some training for you and your dog so the dog will listen to commands you give. Only one person should be trained with the dog. If living on the farm and you don't have a vet close by then put the dead chicken in a sack (not too heavy) and tie it around the dogs neck for 2 - 3 days (it will wreak to high heaven) and point your finger at the dog and shame it. Then you are going to have to keep your chickens in pens and the dog trained (even by you) to listen to your commands. ______________________________________________________________________ I agree once a dog has killed a chicken it is hard to stop them. The dog has experienced the chase and the kill. This is a natural instinct of many breeds. I have 3 dogs, a Rottweiler, an American Bulldog, and a Dogge de Bordeux, all of which are interested in the chickens but have been trained not to catch or kill them. Once in a while one of the dogs will try to round up the flock while they are free ranging on my property. What I do is instantly give the command "no" and call them to me "come", I then give them a toy or other distraction. With my puppy, the Dogge de Bordeux, I still have her on a tie out line while she gets used to the chickens loose and penned without the danger of her killing by playful chasing. All in all this is a long process and the best thing to do is tie the dog up when the chickens are loose, or walk by the chickens with the dog on a leash giving commands of "no" and praising when you can pass without your dog lunging at them.

Answer 4

A dog that has successfully concluded the prey response (eye, stalk, chase, kill) is an unlikely candidate for rehabilitation. The only way to control such a situation is to create a perimeter around the chicken area using positive reinforcement (clicker), so the dog clearly understands this territory is off limits. You can learn about how to use a clicker by going to ClickerTraining.com and reading Karen Pryor's book, "Reaching the Animal Mind: Clicker Training". Neanderthal methods of tying a dead chicken around a dog's neck should not be considered at all; using electric shock collars is not humane. Attempting to 'correct' the dog's genetically mandated prey response does NOT work and results in a confused and anxious dog with a most likely heightened prey response and a severe case of learned helplessness. Protecting chickens from all predators requires safe confinement. Dogs are not the only predators, there are fox, raccoons, possum and all manner of other predators that can kill your chickens. Construct a reasonable and safe environment for the chickens.

Answer 5

If I were you, I'd either hit him a bunch of times with the chicken (dead, of course.), or I'd get some stuffed animal that looks like a chicken and put lemon juice on it. When the dog picks it up, he shouldn't be very happy, and will then think all the other chickens taste like that too.

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1. Don't hit the dog with a dead chicken. First of all, it's gross and inhumane. Second, your dog doesn't know why you are doing what you are doing. All it knows is you are hitting it with a dead chicken. It doesn't remember that that chicken is the one it killed.

2. Your best bet is to keep the dog away from the chickens. It is the simplest and most effective method.

Answer 6

You keep your chicks in a separate room, in a higher place, therefore your dog can't reach. Or if there out side, have a special kind of corner so the dog can't get in and the chicks can't get out.

Answer 7

You can't if they have the habit.