I have a 4 month old puppy (shepard mix) that likes to kill and eat our chickens. This is a new behavior. Our other dog, a gold. retriever/black lab mix does not do this, and responded the very first time we scolded her for chasing the chickens. Our chicken are housed in a large pen, and the puppy breaks in. Yes, I know I should try to fix THAT, but we like to allow the chickens to roam the yard during good weather, so that is not totally acceptable. I recently took the remaining carcass of the chicken she killed and tied it around her neck. The neck morning I found the collar minus the bird. I think she ate the rest of it! HELP! I do not want to get rid of the dog, OR the chickens! I know there must be SOMETHING that I can do!

Thanks!

-- K. Birkett (kandlbt@pacbell.net), March 01, 2001

Answers

ok,, only heard of one fix for a chicken killing dog. Catch em at it,, beat him with the dead chicken,, tie the chicken to it,, everytime, EVERYTIME,, it goes for the dead bird,, beat him with it. Sounds cruel, might be,, but thats the only thing I have heard that works. Can tie it up,, but when ever it gets off, it'll go back after the birds. The guy I know that did it, wouldnt even look a the birds again,, but still went after coon,,possoms, ect.

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), March 01, 2001.

OK, here's something. Set up a tripod like thing, 3 legs, close to an electric fence, about 5 foot high or so. Sticks would work if you tied the tops together. Next, hang the DEAD chicken from the middle, within reach of the dog, with electric fence wire, but you must use an insulator on the top, wire not to touch the wood. A loop of hose would work as an insulator. Then, take electric fence wire and hook from electric fence to electric wire above chicken. Pour some water on the ground under the chicken and turn on the fence. It's worth a try.

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@hotmail.com), March 02, 2001.

the archives have some really funny stories about chicken killing dogs, I have a friend who, after beating the dog with the dead chicken, tied the chicken to the dog's neck and left it there for a week or longer. The dead, rotting chicken around her dog's neck did the trick for her. First time I heard this I laughed til I almost peed in my pants.

Blessings

-- annfuller (nomifyle@yahoo.com), March 02, 2001.

May I ask why a 4 month old puppy is being left loose ? Would you expect a 18 month old baby to behave left alone ? At 4 months its a baby and needs to be taught not beat .Its not the dogs fault its yours for not teaching it .Keep the pup on a long leash , if it makes a attempt to go after them correct it ! Fast and hard everytime .Continue this for as long as it takes .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), March 02, 2001.

This is one of the rare times I advocate beating a dog. I fixed my dog by doing the "beat 'em up with the chicken body and tie it to their neck" routine, but I tied it as close to his neck as I could so it was harder for him to get it off and tied the dog up outside my bedroom window. I left him there for three days, not loving on him at all, just bringing him plenty of food and water. When I let him off the chain, he ran from chickens, ducks, geese and anything else with feathers for a week. He gradually got to where I could direct him to "shoo" the chickens off the porch without hurting them at all, but that took a while.

My grandmother put her dog and the dead chickens (let them get a little ripe first) in a 55 gallon drum with a snap-ring top, then rolled the dog around the yard off and on all day letting the chickens "beat" the dog. That worked very well, too! I've also heard, for pups, putting them in a pen with a mean hen who has chicks ~ the hen will peck and beat the pup with her wings and leave a lasting impression. Sometimes this works very well and sometimes it makes them hate chickens to the point that they kill everyone they can.

Whatever you do, good luck. I know that a chicken killing dog is worse than a useless dog, so I sincerely wish you luck.

-- Wingnut (wingnut@moment.net), March 02, 2001.

I wish you luck with one of the above methods. You should have a chance since your dog is still a pup. I had a full grown shepard when I moved to my country place. She started in killing chickens and a turkey once, too. I beat her with the dead bird and I put it on the collar for many days, until it was thoroughly disgusting and the dog was looking pitiful. But, she would get over it and kill again. I repeated this treatment about 3 times and I never could break her. Shepards were my favorite breed my whole life, but I decided that it was time to switch after that, so I have Queenslands now. No problems with them and they mingle with free ranging chickens. Good luck.

-- Nancy in CA (sonflower35@icqmail.com), March 02, 2001.

Good luck!!! I had not tried the drum and chicken deal! LOL I really laughed at that one!! I wish I had heard of that when I was working with my poodle. Beating the dog with the chicken etc..didn't phase her. I wound up selling her. :-(

-- Cindy in Ok (cynthiacluck@yahoo.com), March 02, 2001.

Take the dead chicken and beat the tar out of the dog with it. I know he will yelp and holler but really give him a good whippin with that dead chicken. If that don't work you need to choose between the dog or the chickens. I have rarely seen a chicken killing dog stop his bad habit. The one time our border collie killed a chicken(the chicken flew into the dog pen...stupid chicken) my Papa beat the tar out of him with that chicken. From then on you couldn't get him to go near the chicken coop. Our border collie was a smart old dog...lots aren't as bright as he was.

-- Amanda in Mo (aseley@townsqr.com), March 02, 2001.

As the proud owner of several shepards over my lifetime, I can't honestly say they are the brightest bulbs in the package sometimes! But, I love 'em just the same. I wouldn't leave the pup out without being on a lead of some sort - or at least under supervision.

Beating her isn't the best of ideas either, though were she an adult, that would be one of the few options left. What works with mine is slow one on one introductions, and making her feel that the new (anything) animal is her 'puppy.' Still, she requires supervision every once in a while.

My buddy down in MO gave up on raising chickens altogether. She has a thing for abused animals, and kept bringing home more dogs. Never got the message through to any but the one she originally moved down there with. Seems they like to chase things, and don't realize they are hurting them.... Then they get a taste of blood and its all over.

If she happens to enjoy eating them, I would suggest a long long lead, and a dog house well away from the chicken coop. Though there is hope because she's young - if she likes the taste and has already made the association all the cruelty or beatings in the world are not going to stop her from eating chickens.

Good luck -

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), March 02, 2001.

You might want to go to http://www.the-coop.org/wwwboard/discus/board.html and check the archives. They've discussed this problem numerous times. Hope it helps.

JackD

-- JackD (jdenterprises@centurytel.net), March 02, 2001.

I, too, have used the "dead chicken to beat the dog trick", and I have to tell you that it worked! It only took one time and I didn't even tie it around his neck. I didn't know that was a tried and true method - I was so upset that I did it without even thinking about it!

-- Dianne (willow@config.com), March 02, 2001.

We had a two year old golden retriever that killed chickens. One day I caught her in the act, whipped her and tied her to the picnic table in the back yard. We had just bought three young heifers that were also in the back yard. The calves surrounded the dog and kept her penned under the table for over an hour. She never touched another chicken. Stayed away from the cows too.

Unfortunatly, we now have a black-and-tan hound pup that hasn't learned to leave my birds alone. We bought him as a pup and after a couple of months, he disappeared. He was gone for about another three months. My dad found him on the side of the road with a twisted length of cable around his neck. He was the most pitiful thing I've ever seen. He had been starved and beaten and looked half dead. Someone that will steal a good dog and treat him like that.....well I'm sure you all can fill in your own thoughts.

Anyhow... he catches my chickens now if they get out. We have tried whipping him with the carcass, but I can hardly stand to do it after the way he was treated. I guess I'll just keep the chickens in the pen. He doesn't bother the turkeys and the geese fight back. He has not shown any interest in the guineas.

-- Mona in OK (jascamp@ipa.net), March 02, 2001.

I had a chicken eating dog that got so smart he could kill chickens while on a chain. He would lay back, and be still till the chickens wandered within the scope of his chain, and then lunge out an grab them. One time I caught him red-handed. While I was only a little ways from him he grabbed a big white rooster, and held him down with his front paws and quick as a blink he was using his teeth to pluck that rooster as fast as he could so he could get to the flesh--with me screaming and running to get there in time. I did get there before he drew blood.

I live away out in the country, with woods on three sides, and neighbors not so far away through those woods, and some questionable characters among them, sorry to say. During the short periods when I haven't had a dog, sometimes I have been outside working, and I could smell cigarette smoke, and I knew someone was lurking in the woods out of sight, and that is an uncomfortable feeling. One time I was out milking my cow, and I looked up and a neighbor was standing there watching me, and I almost jumped out of my skin. He meant no harm, but wasn't very wise, I think. Anyway, I have to have a dog, and I feel better with two or three, to at least bark, and let me know if someone walks up.

So, back then, my chicken eating dog had to stay, and my only other recourse was to shut up the chickens, which I did.

-- Lela R. Picking (stllwtrs55@aol.com), March 04, 2001.

We also had a chicken killing dog but he broke the habit. After he killed the chicken we caught the dog and tied him to the dog house and retrieved the dead chicken. I then took a piece of wire and tied the dead chicken by its feet around the dogs neck. The dog then stayed tied to the dog house until the chicken literally rotted and fell off the dogs neck. The hard part is caring for the dog during this process, but the results were fantastic. After about 3 weeks and a good bath I am happy to report that the dog won't go near a chicken. I feel this is a lot less cruel than beating the dog. Good luck!!!

-- charles & betty Isaacs (puppycreekfarms@hotmail.com), March 05, 2001.

There is never a good reason to beat a dog, with anything. These animals are doing what comes naturally. The best way to train a dog out of this is with a shock collar used properly. The shock correction can be given without the dog associating the correction with you. Yes, this will cost money, but they are a good investment and can be resold readily on ebay. Having a good dog takes more time and effort than a wacking with a chicken carcass. A shock collar taught one of my AmStaffs, a natural terrier killer dog, to leave the birds be. Good Luck

-- Dianne (yankeeterrier@hotmail.com), March 06, 2001.

About 10 years ago my mom and I drove my ratty old VW bus to buy 5 Araucana chickens (the ones that lay green and blue eggs), then we stopped buy some sweet potato plants a few miles down the road from an old man. While we were traipsing through his garden admiring his remarkable raised bed system, our English Pointed killed the new chicks one by one. She was *so* proud when we got back into the van . . it was hard to scold her! She thought it was the best treat we'd ever given her.

-- Justin Shelton (justinshelton@netscape.net), March 07, 2001.

I too have a chicken killing dog. I once tried tying the chicken to her, but she looked too pitiful. I don't believe in beating a dog. I believe her kill instinct is too strong. I love my dog, i love my chickens, I love my dog more. now and then she eats a chicken - at least she eats it rather than kill it and leave it be. I believe I am breeding faster chickens through natural selection.

-- bob davis (lostdogbob@yahoo.com), March 08, 2001.

Well first of all My first response would be to get rid of the dog or the chickens but if not then your only possible choice would be to keep the dog tied or pen up the chickens. Hitting the dog when you've seen him hurt a chicken might teach him a lesson. I see you tryed to teach the dog by tieing the chicken to it's neck and after that you'd think your problem was solved but it wasn't so look into finding your dog a new home without chickens.

-- Alyssa Martinez (samba12am@yahoo.com), January 31, 2002.