My German Shepherd wont stop chasing and eating Chickens!!!

[Mackey1617]

Hi, can you leash her? I have a dog with a high prey drive and he's always leashed.

Yes! We have a leash and also an outside teether we use at times!

 

[Mackey1617]

Thank you! We do have a teether we hook her up to but the chickens have a big enclosed area and the dog can get through the fence, but the chuckens can fet through it. So we are going to secure chicken wire on it so they cant go through anymore and make sure they kept their wings clipped so they cant fly over! Also going to worn with my GSD more to desensitize her from them! Thank you!

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

I agree with previous comments. You can train from a puppy to leave them. But once they get the taste it will take a long time and i wouldnt ever leave the dog alone with a bird.
I have a high drive male golden. He had learned to leave chicks alone indoors for the most part any bird outside is game to him . German Shepherd can have that drive to.

Keep her on a leash, or keep the chickens secure is the only way

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Get an e-collar and learn how to use it. Hire a professional trainer to help you. There is an article here on using e-collars properly. Stand by, I'll see if I can find it.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Here you go.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-using-an-electric-collar-in-a-fair-way.79074/

I paid $45 for an e-collar that's working great for what I need it for following the instructions in this article. My dogs do not bother my chickens. However, my Sheltie had two bad habits I could not break him of: he chased our vehicles up the road and off our property as well as other vehicles that came onto the property. I did not want him to get run over. This behavior has now been completely extinguished. Secondly, he would leave the property and go up the road exploring, completely ignoring me when I called him. That no longer happens either. We recently got an Aussie puppy that is very playful and our next project is to teach him the chickens are not playthings. I have no doubt this equipment will teach him this. Good luck getting control of your GSD and your new puppy as well using this wonderful tool. With the collar I got you can get a second collar and control two dogs with a single remote. It is the Premier Pet 300-Yard Trainer and as I said, the remote and one collar cost me only $45.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I think it worked bc you first beat him with the dead duck. Also your Tippy may have been a "soft" dog, one emotionally sensitive and responsive to your anger.

Myself, I would not be able to tolerate the smell of a rotting duck. Or chicken or anything else. And some dogs would consider that a wonderful treat. As @Ridgerunner says, with living animals you don't get guarantees. What works with one dog may not work with another.

 

[ChikaInu]

Many years ago I did the dead bird around neck thing, it did work....

My dog "Tippy" (Saint Bernard x ??) was around 2 years ago when he killed one of our ducks. He was throwing the poor dead duck around and shaking it like a rat. I was furious! Sorry to say, I tied Tippy to a tree and beat him with the duck. Then I tied the duck around Tippy's neck. He stayed tied up most of the day while I repaired the ducks fencing that he had damaged. When I released Tippy he knew he was in trouble. By the time the duck rotted of him Tippy didn't want anything to do with ducks, alive or dead....

Will this type of punishment and shaming work on every dog? I don't know. It really worked on Tippy....

If I ever felt the need to beat an animal I would simply choose not to have one.

Edit: or give them electric shocks as punishment for that matter.

 

[JoanieShrubs]

Hi, can you leash her? I have a dog with a high prey drive and he's always leashed.

Same here. Eight years I've kept my dog apart from my chickens. Eternal vigilance. I love her but my mental workload will go down significantly when she eventually passes away.

 

[AinaWGSD]

I'm on german shepherd #5. Most of my dogs i could trust around the chickens. My latest dog, not a chance! Sure, i could work with him to ignore the chickens under direct supervision. But unsupervised, they would be way too tempting.

So the solution is to make sure he doesn't have access. My run is covered, so the chickens can't go near the dogs. When the chickens are given access to the fenced garden, it is only as long as a person can be right there to keep an eye on them. And, even though I know my run is secure against my dogs, the door to the run is inside the garden. The dog would have to get through two gates/doors to get to my chickens.

I don't think hanging a dead bird around the neck until it rots off is going to do anything but make your dog and your property reek.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I also say separate the dog from the chickens.

I keep multiple large dogs and work full time.

My dogs have a fenced section of the yard separate from the chickens section by the fence and the human use section. The chicken run is roofed and they only get out when I can be out with them. Not only would my dogs absolutely kill them we have a heavy hawk load.

The talk of tying a dead bird to the dogs neck is considered cruelty to animals here. Not only does it not work to break the dog it's cruel.