# Teach a dog NOT to kill??



## Ann Mary (Nov 29, 2004)

Any ideas on how to teach a dog NOT to kill chickens?? We just got a 3 year old lab mix female from the pound about 3 weeks ago...she is calming down nicely and doing well in every area but little "flighty" animals that are SOOO much fun to chase & then bite/kill. In the past we have always raised up dogs from pups so they grew up knowing to 'be nice'...but at 3 it is a whole new ball game! I've tried holding a chicken/bunny and letting her smell it as I pet it and tell her this is a 'good animal' it BELONGS here, I've tried having the bantys in the fenced off garden and she watches them from outside the fence and pretty much leaves them alone.. then I let them out of the garden onto the lawn while I was standing there... and she leaves them alone...but when I turn my back for a minute or so...down 1 chicken and on to another! :hair Of course, I made a VERY BIG DEAL out of that hoping she would get the connection...but I rather don't think so. I don't have a way to tie her up short in the midst of them either....so,....any ideas??? I need the lawn bantys out on the lawn to keep up with the ticks!!! If I have to I will tie her up out of the way while they are out but I'd rather they both could be 'free range'. Thanks!


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## Otter (Jan 15, 2008)

You probably want to put this on the pet forum.


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## goatlady (May 31, 2002)

You WILL have to keep her tied. Labs are bird dogs/retrievers and you cannot "break" their instinct, it't the breed and in the genes. She thinks she is doing her job and you are confusing her badly when you don't approve of her work.


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## CraterCove (Jan 24, 2011)

You can take that instinct and direct it into specific tasks that do not involve killing your birds. You have to claim the birds as a part of your pack and above her on the totem pole and you can't expect her to control herself, you have to control her. Give her a job on the farm and work with her.

Tying dogs creates behavioral problems and in some states permanent tie- outs are illegal as a means of dog containment. Dogs are highly trainable but it takes time and lots and lots of patience and effort!

Myself? I lock the high prey drive dogs up in their kennel run when I will let the chickens out and not be there to watch over them all. It's a difficult situation, no doubt. And hopefully the people in the pet forums will give you lots of good ideas to help!


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

It's easy to train them before they chase their first chicken. It sounds like you have already been allowing her to chase, so it will be harder.

Teach her some obedience. Then teach her the command "leave it."

Then walk her a distance from the chickens and as soon as she notices them, command her "Leave it." If you have to tell her twice, give her a sharp correction.

When she will ignore the chickens at a distance, move closer and keep working until she will ignore them at that distance.

Then move closer. Keep going until you can walk her right through the middle of them on a loose leash.

Never ever leave her loose or even tied where she can even think about chasing chickens. Walk her through the birds for several months on a leash before you try it without a leash. In the meantime, she should have learned "come" means right now not 2 seconds from now. She should have learned "down" and "sit" as well as "No" is not a conversation starter, it means stop right now.

Holding a chicken in your lap is going to teach her what? Don't you hold her food before you give it to her? How is holding a chicken supposed to teach her that you don't want her to eat chickens?


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## BobbyB (Apr 6, 2009)

Same as trash breaking hounds or any bird dog. get an e collar . Put it on her and when she makes a move at a chicken, light her up. Just make sure she doesnt associate the correction with you. She has to think the chicken did it. And every time she makes eyes at a chicken, light her up again.

Unless she is one of the occasional few that come around, she will learn quick that chicken are not much fun. And this will work even if she has killed a few. 

But you have to watch her constantly if shes loose and set the charge that it does " light her up" This is also the way dogs are snake proofed except they are on a long check cord for control. And you could do that as well. Put her on a 20-30' check cord and just loose lead her til she makes a move, then have another person hit the switch.

never say a word while correction is being made. If she runs to you, just pat her head and thenignore her.


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## Shygal (May 26, 2003)

yes, the shock collar did wonders for my dog. He would catch them and pull the feathers out of them and eat the feathers. He accidentally killed one , I dont think he set out to do it. I tried tying the chicken to his collar, he thought that was a pretty neat fast food to go :grump: 
Got a shock collar and it only took 3 shocks, he wont even go near them now, even when Im not out there.


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## earthkitty (Mar 3, 2011)

Keep her inside unless you are outside with her. That is what I have to do with my Lab.

They retrieve birds for a living. I had my Lab for years before we decided to move to the country and have farm livestock, so I can't expect her to adapt to leaving my birds alone at this point. I could certainly get her to behave when I am there, but without me? No way. Labs are food driven, and if no one is looking most are willing the pay the penalty later for something they want right now. 

But to have birds and THEN get a Lab? Seems you like a challenge. Good luck.


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## BobbyB (Apr 6, 2009)

The breed of dog doesnt matter, it in the training, preferably when they are puppies. But most grown dogs can be broke from it.

I have had Labs, Golden retrievers, beagles,and hounds all loose in the yard with about 100 chickens and a few ducks, turkeys and geese mixed in( all at the same time I might add ).

Now an egg sucker is a different story. I have never been able to break an dog from stealing eggs once he gets a taste.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> Got a shock collar and it only *took 3 shocks*, he wont even go near them now, even when Im not out there.


My dog only took two.

Get a shock collar

http://www.gundogsupply.com/sd-400-group.html




> The *SportDOG FieldTrainer SD400* is an incredibly versatile training collar and a good choice for all-around use. The SD 400 is the first of its kind bringing features from the higher end of the remote collar price range into the introductory $160 price range.
> 
> The *SportDOG FieldTrainer SD-400S* is specially designed for tougher, more stubborn dogs. The SD-400S is ideal for training in the yard, field, or for hunting with close-working dogs that require a slightly higher stimulation collar


.


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

BobbyB said:


> The breed of dog doesnt matter, it in the training, preferably when they are puppies. But most grown dogs can be broke from it.
> 
> I have had Labs, Golden retrievers, beagles,and hounds all loose in the yard with about 100 chickens and a few ducks, turkeys and geese mixed in( all at the same time I might add ).
> 
> Now an egg sucker is a different story. I have never been able to break an dog from stealing eggs once he gets a taste.


this--i have raised goldens and have two running around with the chickens and ducks and turkeys.


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## CSA again (May 2, 2007)

been trainin dogs and raisin chickens most of my life. 
Take a dead chicken the dog has killed , Duck tape it to the top of the dogs head for a day and he will never bother chickens again...wrap the tape all the way around the chicken and the dogs head, do not obstruct his airway and no harm will come to the dog, but he will pitch a fit ...this is much more humane that putting the dog down, or having dead or crippled chickens. I suspect the shock collar will work also, but I have no experiences with them.


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## kudzuvine (Aug 11, 2011)

As you can se.e from my profile picture, Drake, yellow lab, has never bothered our chickens. In the summer I place a small fan on the patio and have seen Drake lying in front of it with chickens sitting all but on top of him. Now a cat is another story!


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## Shygal (May 26, 2003)

Bearfootfarm said:


> My dog only took two.


Thats because mine is a dumb Golden


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## sagecreek (Sep 3, 2004)

> Take a dead chicken the dog has killed , Duck tape it to the top of the dogs head for a day and he will never bother chickens again...wrap the tape all the way around the chicken and the dogs head, do not obstruct his airway and no harm will come to the dog, but he will pitch a fit .


I've heard that only works when there's a full moon, during the March equinox though.

Just get a shock collar.


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## Ann Mary (Nov 29, 2004)

Well, thanks all! But, no, I haven't allowed her to chase chickens already...I have had her on a leash the whole 3 weeks previousl to the one time I decided to 'trust' her...and she killed one. She is a great 'opportunist'...I can bring her in with me to the pen with all 10 layers there and she ignores them! But, if I start to to my back she tries to make them run...I tell her to 'leave it!!! and she will...maybe as she adjusts to being a country dog she will lose interest eventually. Yard banties are different than the layers in that the layers are in a huge fenced pasture all day where she can't get to them ...the yard banties are strolling right by her....temptation in a HUGE degree!!! Bringing her inside is NOT an option when you live in the mud and have a tiny house with wood floors and don't care for yellow dog hairs everywhere...and I don't! I will keep working with her and then check out those shock collars if I need to. Raising up labs with birds ( and we have done that with the last 3 labs) is so much easier than trying to teach a 'city dog' to leave them alone! BUt, we didn't want the puppy chewies, etc. and wanted to get one from the pound...knowing we could have poultry problems...but, we will peresvere! Thanks! Maybe a 'mean rooste'r would put her in her place!???  But, thankfully I don't have one of those either!


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> Maybe a 'mean rooste'r would put her in her place!???


She'd kill it too



> But, if I start to to my back she tries to make them run


That's why the collars work so well.

You can't *correct* the dog *until* it misbehaves, and it will NOT if you are right there.
With a collar you can be out of the dog's area, and it will act as if alone.

They will also associate any corrections with the CHICKENS instead of you


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## CarolT (Mar 12, 2009)

e collar, btw, is the elizabethan collar, the lamp shade attachment LOL, which might work, but think you meant shock collar... Though you did say "light her up". Sorry, need a chuckle and will take 'em where I can find 'em)

Friend took a shock collar and put it on a dog who liked to slurp up the "chick-lets". She set a chick down in front of the dog, who slurped it right up and my friend hit the button. Dog spit the chick out faster than you could wink and looked at it in horror. Made it quit eating them LOL


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## Beowulf (Aug 27, 2010)

+1 vote for the shock collar. I broke my deaf boxer (that had been stray for an indeterminate amount of time before we adopted him) using a shock collar. He had, on two separate occasions, broken into the tractor and badly mauled one chicken and outright killed another before we resorted the the collar.

One thing to remember is that during the training process, never let the dog out of your sight or out of the range of the remote. Give 'em a shock the instant they start focusing on a chicken - it is important to interrupt the thought process as it is forming, so that they associate the discomfort with the thought.

If you are diligent, you may not have to actually shock them. I broke our hearing dogs of chasing chickens with a sharp word consistently delivered whenever they showed interest in the chickens. The only reason I resorted to the shock collar is because the dog we used it on cannot hear.


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## WV Farm girl (Nov 26, 2011)

I vote for the shock collar. My mother has a black lab that kept killing my chickens. We tried 'bout everything. Got a shock collar and hit him with it once last week. So far he hasn't made another move towards the chickens.


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## sagecreek (Sep 3, 2004)

Another important point with the shock collar is to watch them, and correct them. without them knowing that it's you or the collar that's doing it. In other words, put the collar in for a couple of weeks before you use it. Then hide and watch the dog. Hit him when he starts focusing in on the birds. You can also add a vocal correction at the time that you shock him.


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## Guest (Mar 13, 2012)

Your dog already knows it isn't supposed to kill chickens because it won't do it while you are watching. I bet the shock collar would work, especially if you could zap the dog from a hidden spot.

I have a Weimaraner that was about 4 when I got chickens. He is a great bird dog on grouse and pheasants. He killed and retrieved a couple of chickens. I tried yelling and light spanking to no avail. I couldn't afford the shock collar so I waited untill he killed another one then turned the garden hose on him while he was on the leash so he couldn't run away. The ice cold well water sprayed on him as I was yelling at him for about 5 minutes. He quit killing chickens. By the way, this is the same punishment and results I used on him when he killed and retrieved a skunk.


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