Stop duck dog from killing chickens??

IdahoElk

IdahoElk

New member
We have a 6 mo. old 1/2 chocolate 1/2 chesapeake lab, female. We're going turning her into a bird dog, & she has some training, we're working now on basic obedience and haven't introduced the bird aspect of it yet. She just started chasing and killing chickens day before yesterday. We don't have a way just now to keep the birds from flying out of the pen. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif. Any suggestions? (besides getting rid of the creatures) Thanks!
 
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If your training a bird dog dont give it any crossed signals this early in age,you just have to keep them seperated,you want that dog to chase wounded birds and retrieve so dont ever scold it for doing what comes natural.When a dog is that young you can make an unwanted impression on it that will make future training difficult,I use a dummy with a couple mallard wings attached to train young springer spaniels,making a game out of the retrieval will make training a retriever a breeze,they get used to searching for the bird by scent and sight,throw it into high grass and water so they are acccustomed to the terrain you will be hunting in,if the dog has good breeding it will pick up on the retriever training,your dog is already chasing birds,thats good!
 
You need to train it to have a soft mouth. You don't want a dog that munches your ducks or worse eats them.

They make some training aid to use with live pigeons (or on a dead bird) that is a prickly wire that goes over the bird. If they bite down, it pricks their mouth.

Might work. Sometimes though they get a taste for blood and you can't stop it.
 
Wow! tall order. If I had a chocolate or a chessie that was birdie, I'd be thrilled. Usually they just make good rugs. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

It's a joke guys. i know we have a few chessie guys and chocolte lovers here and I'm merely tossing the bait.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif


Actually i think it was Forrest Gump that said something about chocolates. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif

Anyway, to the problem at hand. I do not know how much experience you have had with trining retreivers, but there is a step in the training program that is called "force breaking". While it is not a magic pill, it will either cure most of the problems encountered with a dog or set him up with the foundation to be trained. It will help remedy poor habits.
It is far more user friendly for both dog and handler than the mechanical tools avilable, such as the wire, Yellowhammer suggests.

It is not something I could exlain in a few wors on the internet. and it is also not something that you should try on your own if you have no experience.
Find a local retreiver club, preferably one that is active in field trials or hunt trials. Sit in on a few sessions and you will contact someone that knows about force breaking. Failing that find a pro trainer in you area and have him force break your dog. If it were mine, I would be there and watch when he did it.

The terminology has little to do with the actual training. It sounds harsh, but is not. It will save you hours and hours of frustration, training your dog.
Hope this helps. She is at a good age to start this, and it sounds like she is eager enough. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
I was relieved to see you were only kidding Redfrog. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gifI have a chessie I use for ducks/geese and would'nt trade him for anything (well,maybe a good bird hunt in Canada). /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gifActually my dog is canadian,registered CKC.Bought him from a breeder up there. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Oops,lost my focus due to Redfrog's comment.I think I would turn the situation into a plus by making it into a training excersize for the dog.Are those chickens big enough to eat? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I feel your pain....I have had a simillar problem....I have a yellow lab and a GSP....I can assure you that dogs are smart enough to learn what is supposed to be in the yard and left alone...Do not let your dog chase or kill your "Yard birds" put the breaks on that stuff right now and be firm.... then work with your dog retrieving a target birds... Pigeons, ducks whatever...You won't take the hunt out of your dog by enforcing disipline. Lab's can be knuckeheads but they will catch on...Good luck Steve in AZ
 
6 mo is a little early to be overly worried about your dog. Some dogs don't settle until they are 2 or 3 years old (especially Britney spanials). They are just becomming big and strong enough to really move, but their brains aren't fully developed yet. Your dog is birdy and that is good. Are you intending t use this dog as a versitile hunter/retriever or just a retriever? The two are different and require a different approach. If you intend to hunt the dog, it will be a flusher, it's always good to keep that part of the game fun. If you are going for a retriever you need to keep retrieving fun and the hunting/flushing not so much fun. Sometimes a very hard task. Your dogs parents should have a fairly strong retrieving instinct so you shouldn't have much trouble convincing it to continue to enjoy that part of the training. For hard mouthed doge the "Coat" seems to work, but dogs are smart. A buddt of mine had a hard mouthed German Shorthair, he worked it with pigions that had a coat on and she did just fine. But on live hunted it would still bite, especially if there was any life in the bird when retrieved. More than once I've seen nothing but tail feathers and feet going down that dogs throat.
 
"We don't have a way just now to keep the birds from flying out of the pen."

Sure you do. Take a good pair of scissors and cut about 1.5" off of the tips of the feathers on one wing. About 30 seconds per bird and problem solved. A chicken with clipped wings can not fly. Some even forget that they ever could and never try to fly again.

That said, I had exactly the dog mix that you have and he met a very unhappy ending. Very trainable, sharp as a tack. The problem was that every month or two he would pull something extremely stupid.
 
This'll work for an outside dog, but not a inside dog. You take the chicken that the dog killed and tie it to a rope. Then you take that rope and tie it around the dogs neck; then you leave it there for a week or two. By the time you take it off the dogs neck he won't ever want to touch another chicken again. Worked like a charm for a Brittany Spaniel.
 
In an ideal situation, the basics of bird dog training should start around 7 to 8 weeks old. These first steps are primarily used to establish obedience, bonding, proper relationship roles, as well as introduce basics commands. I've never thought an introduction to live birds was a good idea until a foundation of obedience was established. Working now on basic obedience, especially after your pup has learned that chasing and killing birds is fun (chasing chickens does not necessarily indicate a dog is going to be much of duck dog) and likely developed a taste for blood, is kind of like shutting the barn door after the cow has gotten out.

I wish I could be more optimistic on your chances of "turning" your pup "into a bird dog," but it's a pretty tall order at this point. Try some of the suggestions offered here if you like, but I'm inclined to think Crapshoot is offering the most common sense sollution at this point. I guess it would depend on how many chickens your dog has killed and your dog's individual temperment. I'm not exactly a dog training expert, but I wouldn't expend a lot of time and resources on trying to get a chessie/lab mix with a taste for killing birds to be a decent duck dog. I might be tempted to take the dog to the pound, wait a while, read a book or two on proper bird dog and/or retriever training techniques, decide what breed best fits my needs, get a 7 week old pup and start over. This time keeping the chickens and your pup from being intimately aquainted for a while.
 
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You could always get some guineas, my parents lab seems to prefer killing those to killing the ducks. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I've heard of people teaching dogs to guard their gear from certain people by putting the pup in a sack with a doll and kicking it. LOL, maybe you could get a rubber chicken? A way to stop dogs killing sheep is to get an english ewe (because they are such good mothers) and her lamb, and put the dog in the yard with them. After a few minutes he won't hurt another sheep as long as he lives. Ofcourse these are all cruel and I wouldn't dream of trying them (but the sheep one does work)
 
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