# Guardian Pup killing Chickens!!!!



## lazymsquare (9 mo ago)

I have a guardian pup that isn’t quite a year old that got into my coop and killed a bunch of birds, he went through two gates and the coop door to do it, he has killed a few birds that have gotten in with his goats to. I know he is a puppy and they are notorious chicken killers until they are older but I can’t have a dog eating all my birds. He is a reliable goat protector and lives with them full time. I rehomed him last week to a goat operation that runs goats out in the desert so be would have more room to roam and more work, she just called me and said her husband said he is vicious because the dog barked at the man, who is a total stranger to him, for coming near the goats the put him with, they were going to take him to the pound, so I told them I wanted him back. I spend hours a day with the dogs and the goats, so I can put more time in to train him, is there anything I can do to keep him from eating my birds?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Just lots of training.


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## FizzyGoats (Apr 14, 2021)

I wish I knew the magic answer. I can tell you what I would do and maybe others will too and there will be something in there that helps you. I would first work on reestablishing the bond and respect between you and your dog. I know it sounds silly, but leash work does wonders for this. Plus, he’s been through a lot and is going to need to decompress. Once the dog again feels connected to you (and you to it), I’d start on a ton of exposure training. Hold your calmest bird while you have your dog leashed and say, “mine,” and mean it with every fiber of your being. That may be all you do the first session or two, or he may be ready to move on right away. He’s ready when the presence of the bird doesn’t change his focus or energy at all and he is completely at ease and clam. What you want is him ignoring the bird. Not avoiding it necessarily, just relaxed, content, and barely taking notice of it. Any excitement, tensing up, staring, and especially movement toward the bird is met with instant correction. Be very clear the ONLY acceptable energy for him to have around a bird is calm and relaxed. Once you consistently have that while holding the bird. Put the bird down (hold the dog’s leash though). Correct any time he looks at it with more than a passing glance. Reward him, with pats, scratches, belly rubs, or a calm “good boy”when he’s doing what you asked, ignoring the bird and just chilling. Once you can do this consistently without correction, take your dog (on a leash), and sit outside the bird enclosure. Bring a chair. Sit. Relax. Let him do the same. I don’t care if the birds are squawking, flapping, or dancing the jig, the dog is corrected for doing anything other than relaxing and nonchalant glances. Reward the dog when he relaxes (but do it in a way that keeps him in that easy going state of mind). Demand longer and longer stretches of this clam behavior outside the enclosure until it is just how is when near them. Then go inside the enclosure and start over. Again, bring a chair, a book, a drink, bring him water. Once he’s clam with them around, bring scratch or feed and toss it around him. And as usual, you’ll correct him for any tense, excited, or fixated behavior until he is a big fluffy zen machine around the birds. Then start bringing birds in to the goat pasture. Let one out on purpose. Put him in every situation you can think of that might lead to him killing one. As all this starts clicking, each step might go a bit quicker, but don’t rush. There are always set backs (or maybe think of them as learning moments). Eventually move to doing all this with a long lead, and then supervised but no lead. I like to use e collars in between long lead and no lead, but that’s an entirely separate discussion because while I think they are great training tools, I also think most people use them as purely punishment and do more damage than good. And the e collar is not a necessity. Some days will go great, others might feel hopeless, but if you are 100% consistent that all you want from him is to relax around the birds no matter what the birds do, he will eventually understand. You’re going to put in a TON of work right now, but you’ll get the payoff for years and years to come. 

My current LGD was great with my poultry. I got really lucky with this one. He’d been around chickens but not turkeys when I got him at less than 6 months old. He did a play bow to one of my turkeys and I was across the field from him and rained down verbal fire. You would have thought I beat that pup (have never hit him, just so we’re clear). He submitted immediately even though I still had a minute of walking to get to him. By the time I did reach him, all was forgiven. He was clam, sitting there and not paying any attention to the turkeys. So I sat with him, calmly patted his head, whispered that he was a good boy and walked away. So that’s another thing, forgive and forget the moment they do what you ask, even if it took you thirty minutes to get thirty seconds of good behavior, let the bad go and embrace the good (even if part of you wants to throttle him, lol).


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## Nubian-Shepherdess (Aug 7, 2021)

Since your spending so much time out in the barnyard already. I would recommend, a shock collar. We got a livestock pup this year, and she start grabbing the goat kids by the back leg and shaking them around. 
I can understand if you don't like the sound of that, but it would be better he learns now what not to do!


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## Genesee H & L (10 mo ago)

lazymsquare said:


> I have a guardian pup that isn’t quite a year old that got into my coop and killed a bunch of birds, he went through two gates and the coop door to do it, he has killed a few birds that have gotten in with his goats to. I know he is a puppy and they are notorious chicken killers until they are older but I can’t have a dog eating all my birds. He is a reliable goat protector and lives with them full time. I rehomed him last week to a goat operation that runs goats out in the desert so be would have more room to roam and more work, she just called me and said her husband said he is vicious because the dog barked at the man, who is a total stranger to him, for coming near the goats the put him with, they were going to take him to the pound, so I told them I wanted him back. I spend hours a day with the dogs and the goats, so I can put more time in to train him, is there anything I can do to keep him from eating my birds?


I recommend a shock collar as well. Causes no injury to the dog, and he can learn that there are consequences for unacceptable behavior.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Shock collars work.

When you see the dog going near the chickens and focused on them. 
Zap the dog right there. 
The dog does not have permission to even get close to them.

If the chickens are in the coup and not free range, put the dog in the coup and watch close. If the dog sets any focus on a chicken, zap time. 

Do this and watch the dog for 15 minutes, make sure the dog leaves on a good note. Do it daily, until the dog is not interested in the chickens.

But before you do this, make sure the shock collar is set properly and connected to the skin or it will not work. You want it working when you press that button or you are going to have a dead chicken.


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