# Great Pyrenees is eating my chickens



## GeorgiaGirl (Jun 1, 2009)

Okay. I need some advice/suggestions. Does anyone know if you can "re-train" a Great Pyrenees? Like with a shock collar or something? To begin with I'd like to say that I have a fenced yard but there are spots that need fixing (more than one and some need replacing) but I don't have the finances yet to make changes on the fencing. Our Great Pyrenees ----when off the runner-----sleeps at the barn at night with the goats and roams the neighborhood during the day. So, we have been keeping her on a runner (fairly long) so she can "guard" the barn entrance while the goats are sleeping in there at night. RECENTLY, she has killed two of our chickens. Injured one, ate the other. We like our chickens to free roam and they are really close to the barn. 
MY QUESTION IS.......................if I put a shock collar on her and sit out there for several days shocking her when she does something she shouldn't, would that fix her bad habits? OR, should I just go ahead and get rid of her?
QUESTION #2..........................Even tho she is on a runner, do you think just her presence and barking keep predators at bay? I would hate to get rid of her and then have predators come in and kill my goats. I also hate that she has to stay on a runner but our neighbors are not very happy when she is off


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

She's not very well trained at all, is she? Sounds like she needs to be rehomed with someone who is in a remote location without neighbors, and you need a dog you can trust.


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## LaManchaPaul (May 21, 2008)

I wish I could offer advice, but I can't for a G.Pyr. Our two simply have never bothered the fowl. They came at different times from a farm without fowl and just never bothered them. The only training they got was isolation for a week in a wire pen to get accostomed to who they were there to protect. They hate hawks flying overhead or a neighborhood dog on the road.

My choc lab killed chickens when we first got chickens. I tied one around her neck that she had killed and half eaten. I don't remember how long it was on her but it began to smell before it finally dropped off. whew that was a nasty time. She never bothered chickens again. G. Pyr are such different animals I don't know if that'd work for you. 

If I had choice of free-range chickens or the loss of a favorite doe to a predator, the chickes would be gone.
Best.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Roaming is as ingrained in a GP as eating and pooping. I've had that problem with mine as well. There's a couple of gaps in my fencing and she just hightails it out and patrols about a 2 mile area. Drives me crazy. As a result, she ends up spending more time confined to a smaller backyard than I like.

Killing chickens is probably something she's taken up because she's bored and on a chain. Mine likes to chase them when she's on the chain, but not very seriously. We've already broke her out of the habit of catching them, but the chasing is a stronger instinct. She likes to run at them and watch them scatter.

In all the time I kept goats I haven't seen any real predator problems that a good fence and a closed barn stall wouldn't solve. 

If you love the dog and want to keep her, then keep her and go through the efforts to change her behavior. Shock collar won't work well, I'm betting. A GP is one stubborn dog.

If you just got her for livestock protection then it was probably a bad decision and it's time to find her a better home.


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## copperpennykids (Sep 6, 2004)

How old is she?

This is important because Pyrenees are still "puppies" up to 18 months of age. Generally speaking, they will catch a chicken because it is so lovely and squawky and flapping wings etc. Then when the bird dies, they are obligated to eat it (Pyrenees have to clean up anything that might attract predators).

Scold her and shove the chicken in her face - and I mean really let her know - with your voice- how unhappy you are about the dead chicken. Do not strike a Pyrenees. Tying the chicken around the neck is also not effective with a Pyr.

Try to keep the chickens enclosed for a little while and then observe and scold if she even looks at a chicken.

Her presence and bark are working as a deterrent. Take her on leash from time to time to walk the perimeter of your property. Leaves fresh scent and prints for predators as well.

She may also mature enough to stay home as well. This takes more time and effort, but basically you let her off the runner. If she stays home, then good. Just as soon as she goes off the property, she gets put back on the runner for several weeks. Don't forget to tell her why she is back "in jail". This really does work. Gal bought one of our Pyyrenees and her next door neighbor (her own mother) would lure the dog to come over - leftovers etc. Since the children visited Grandma, the dog didn't feel that the property was off limits - and grandma liked the LGD protection she was getting. But there was a neighbor on the other side of Grandma that liked to shoot dogs, and Grandma wasn't making sure the dog was safe at her house.

Long story short - they did the runner thing, especially during the day, and now he stays home all of the time (he is 2 1/2 now).



> If you love the dog and want to keep her, then keep her and go through the efforts to change her behavior. Shock collar won't work well, I'm betting. A GP is one stubborn do


Shock collars can and have ruined many Pyrenees temperaments. Voice scolding and "jail" are just as effective for training and low risk.


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## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

This isn't really advice, just a BTDT story. I was told to never, ever beat my GP, but he started killing chickens, too. Just bored puppy stuff. At first I scolded him and followed all the advice I got from Pyr people, but it kept on. Hubby was going to shoot him (DH LOVES his chickens) so the next time he did it, I beat the ever loving snot out of him, I didn't know what else to do. Whilst holding the chicken, who was actually still alive, and recovered. I don't know if that's what it took for him to make the connection (me holding the chicken) or what, but it was like a light bulb went off in his head. And I just happened to be holding the chicken, because I wanted to get the dog right then, not later after the chicken was safe. He has been awesome since then. That was the only time I ever had to hit him, thankfully. I hate that!

They do like to roam, don't they?


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## CaliannG (Apr 29, 2005)

We have used a static collar for training our LGD. It's different from a shock collar as it doesn't cause pain; instead, it causes an annoying sensation that feels, to the dog, like insects crawling on the skin. Annoying, distracting, but not painful.

Ours started out chasing anything that moved. Goats, chickens, other dogs, whatever...but he certainly was still in that extreme puppy stage at only 10 months!

The chickens were easy to train out of him. We just kept him on a lead around them and, when he looked like he was about to lunge, we would say "NO! Bad dog!" really firmly. Within two days, he was helping DH gather up chickens that had accidentally gotten into the back yard.

The goats, however, REQUIRED the static collar. They RAN! (unlike the chickens) They were FAST! They were a CHALLENGE! However, it only took a day and a half with the static collar and he was only interested in goats as he was interested in other things on our little homestead, "Okay, where are my goats? There they are. Is anything threatening my goats? No? Okay, I'll take a nap, then."

We also used the static collar to delineate boundaries. We'd walk with him around the perimeter of the property three time a day, and every time he went past the property boundaries, we'd correct him. Worked like a charm.

Now, we are having to dig out the static collar again and dust it off, as my daughter has brought her three dogs here, and one of them REALLY wants to chase goats and chickens. ~sighs~


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## RedSonja (May 16, 2010)

Thanks for asking this, our Pyr puppy chases chickens (and might be the culprit in one's death) too. DH was ready to shell out for a shock collar, I wasn't convinced it would work. I've taken her to the chickens a few times and scruffed her and told her "NO! These are my chickens, leave them alone" if she so much as looked at them. She goes belly up & yips but dunno if it's sunk in yet. Think I'll try the static collar too. She's only 4 mos or so, hoping she'll learn better.

-Sonja


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## bigfoot2you (Oct 3, 2007)

My PYR is the most stubbon animal I have ever had/seen!!! :stars: She is also the most reliable and loving animal. I was so afraid of her getting into the road as she wouldn't stop or listen if something got her attention there or the other side so I got a shock collar........I'll bet I have only actually used the zap button a total of 5 times. All I have to do is show her the collar and she suddenly remembers to be good.........if I actually put it on her it ruins her whole day............worked great for me.........but it still won't keep her out of the trash!! :grit:


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## Idahoe (Feb 4, 2006)

My guess is she is "playing" with the chickens, plays with them to death  , and then does what GP's do, eat the carcass to prevent attracting predators 

My GP (one I got from Copperpennykids above  ) "played" with two or three chickens, erm, to death. I caught her in the act. She was chasing and pawing them, not "hunting" them at all. Luckily, catching her in the act a few times cured her. Then, she ignored them. 

I had twenty acres and she still roamed a good mile from the house. She guarded the neighbors property as well as mine. Once she outgrew her puppy phase, she was the ideal GP, did her job perfectly.

They aren't regular domestic dogs, and that can make for expectation problems among us humans. If she's hunting and killing chickens, find her a new home without poultry and try again  .

Shock collars don't work because they have too much fur. And GPs dont' respond to physical punishment with obedience, they tend to become more aggressive or too timid you can't work with them at all. Another common misunderstanding with these dogs.


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## cowbelle (Mar 5, 2009)

There is a wonderful LGD yahoo list, with many training articles archived and several very good, long-time breeders on it. I think it's [email protected], but I may be mistaken. Look for it. It has a wealth of info on using, living with, training the Pyrs and other Livestock Guardian Dogs.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I have had the same problems in training my dogs (one a shepherd/lab/wolf mix; one pure German Shepherd; one pure lab). All enjoyed the chase of running after whatever was frightened enough to run from them.

I never used a choke collar or zapped them with anything. I simply stayed with them whenever they were out with the animals. (We trained all our dogs as house dogs because I am certain it makes them more alert to the way we talk.) Once the shepherd mix was trained, I used a leash to attach the new full blood shepherd to her while she was out in the pasture with the goats. The new shepherd could "not" chase the goats because the shepherd mix would not chase them. When we got our pure lab, it was a different training in that our shepherd mix had died. The lab killed a fantail pigeon and was in the process of killing a goose when we caught her. David held the goose near her while I whipped her with a water hose. (The goose actually pecked her on the nose during this time.) This lab has never since chased any of our animals. (The pure shepherd actually breaks up all fights on the place, including the mating rituals of both fowl and goats, which is more funny than harmful.)

The fact that your dog leaves your place and bothers the neighbors puts a different set of problems in the mix, one I have no idea how to deal with.


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## wintrrwolf (Sep 29, 2009)

I first got my 1 yr old LGD (anatolian / pyr-X) when I would let her out of the pen(she was in the pen until I deemed her safe) I had to watch her because she did want to "play" with the chickens. I would have the water hose on and when she started to stalk a chicken I would squirt her. She did the same thing when I moved the boy (goats) into the dog area, and she would get a good squirt now she sleeps with them. After Inga has her babies I will move Honeybear into the doe pasture, not before because Honeybear was starved at her previous owner's so she is VERY food orientated and thinks she needs to eat everything...aggressive over her food but is more then willing to share the goat feed with the goats???
Wether its a puppy or a dog they all require training, knowing what the dog is capable of and setting them up to succeed is the first step. Keep in mind you are always training, you have to spend time with them, even if its only when your talking, they listen, they might not get it at first but by being consistent in what you ask and want they will learn. These dogs its not so much being stubborn is as they were bred to be independent thinkers -to have the ability to access a situation and solve the problem.
Used to be they were left with the livestock to guard in fields, would roam with the herd, and scrounge for their food. Don't think Shepherds carried around a 50 lb bag of food. So now you teach yours boundaries. Someone here mentioned walking with them around your property which is a very good idea. Good luck


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