Dog Community

Dad's dog

Posted : 4/6/2007 9:55:42 PM

My dad has an 11 month old ChocLab/Chow mix. She is a good dog for the most part. She listens to my dad great but anyone else, forget it. Here lately, she is becomming very "rough" when she plays. She wants to mouth all over anyone she can reach and she tries her best to knock people off their feet. This is the real problem, she got a hold of one of my grandma's chickens yesterday and killed it and today, she tried to catch another one. I've always heard that if a dog gets the taste for blood that the dog is "ruined" Is this just a tall tale that people pass around or is it really so? Here is a pic of Co-Co.

rwbeagles

Posted : 4/6/2007 9:59:21 PM

Chicken killing is a very rewarding behavior. It's not so much the taste for blood IMO as it simply is an enjoyable activity for the dog....a predator. Hunting and killing an animal is not abnormal dog behavior...it is simply many times, unnacceptable behavior.

Dogs kept indoors or in secured yards...cannot kill chickens kept elsewhere. That would seem the simplest thing to solve.

SheltieGirl

Posted : 4/7/2007 6:55:19 AM

I think that dogs have a natural drive to kill...innate. Maybe some breeds more than others (perhaps a chow more than a maltese). A breed that is closer to the wolf intelligence wise than some breeds that are breed to stay puppy like(that whole philosophy is talked about in "How Dogs Think" by Stanley Coren) have more of a drive.

My 12 year old Sheltie has a strong herding drive for geese. I never did herding with my dogs before, but I imagine you need to hone those skills with your dog to prevent your dog from actually hurting the goose, duck, whatnot. I don't know for sure, but I could see her trying to catch a goose and killing it. And that's my Sheltie! Oversized 40 lb btw..not a little one...[

].

My little Diego doesn't seem to have the drive at all! All he does is chase Casey and bite her tail, when she starts barking. And he'll chime in too.

This is just my opinion..i'm no expert! [8D]

chewbecca

Posted : 4/7/2007 7:09:34 AM

ORIGINAL: Bullymom
I've always heard that if a dog gets the taste for blood that the dog is "ruined" Is this just a tall tale that people pass around or is it really so?

I cannot believe that you own pit bull(s) and don't know that this is a COMPLETE myth.
If this were so, man, my dog would have killed the first time I fed her a piece of raw meat.

It's a complete myth, even if your dog attacked another dog, you wouldn't be at risk of being harmed.

Ella would catch a chicken for sure, if given the opportunity. But I'd be at no more harm than before she caught the chicken.

That's food, you know? It's prey!
And like Gina said, it's WAY rewarding.

janet_rose

Posted : 4/7/2007 12:51:14 PM

ORIGINAL: Bullymom
I've always heard that if a dog gets the taste for blood that the dog is "ruined" Is this just a tall tale that people pass around or is it really so?

ORIGINAL: Chewbecca
I cannot believe that you own pit bull(s) and don't know that this is a COMPLETE myth. If this were so, man, my dog would have killed the first time I fed her a piece of raw meat.

I think that here
(1) the phrase "the taste for blood" means "the taste for self-killed prey" and
(2) the term "ruined" means that once a dog starts killing chickens that it is unlikely that the dog can be trained to stop.

It is true that prey drive is a natural instinct. Many dogs can be taught "leave it", but teaching a dog to leave chickens, ducks, cats, etc. alone when no people are around is another thing entirely.

Xerxes

Posted : 4/7/2007 1:35:22 PM

She listens to my dad great but anyone else, forget it. Here lately, she is becomming very "rough" when she plays.

It sounds to me that this pup was never taught that teeth should never touch human skin. Google "Nilif" or do a search for it on this site. This is a protocol that should be implemented in a strict manner. Make her work/listen/obey a command before she gets anything she wants.

This is the real problem, she got a hold of one of my grandma's chickens yesterday and killed it and today, she tried to catch another one.

Which is something that any self respecting dog would do. Either keep her seperate from the chickens or keep the chickens seperate from her. Manage the environment and do not give her a chance to fail.

janet_rose

Posted : 4/7/2007 11:36:14 PM

A description of NILIF and pack leader info:
>http://forum.dog.com/asp/m.asp?m=298804[/size]

Bullymom

Posted : 4/9/2007 12:19:19 AM

I understand that dogs can/will kill chickens, geese, ect. I found out the entire story from my dad today... Coco ran at the chicken and in return, the chicken ran. Coco was just trying to play with it but she got a little carried away! I feel bad that chic is dead but, I can see why it happened. About the "mouthing" she has done it ever since she was 8 weeks old. When she does it to me, I tell her no, then ignore her. Is that right? I've also noticed that Coco will calm down after about 5 minutes of me being there but as soon as Sandy(stepmom) comes into the picture, the dog goes crazy again. Is Coco maybe picking up some mixed signals? I really need any help that I can get. My dad doesn't "believe" in getting online so I must relate to him what I learn!!

spiritdogs

Posted : 4/9/2007 5:06:32 AM

About the "mouthing" she has done it ever since she was 8 weeks old.

This behavior is very typical for young Labs - we often call them "piranha's" in class. But, it seems that she was somehow accidentally rewarded for doing this (did anyone push her away, physically clamp her mouth shut, or just let her continue it thinking it would go away?) Now, you have an eleven month old going into the "second chewing stage" (watch out for your dining room table legs). One of the better ways I have found of dealing with an older pup who nips:
http://www.clickertraining.com/node/168
Info on the basics of that method:http://www.pawsitivesolutions.net/behavior/clicker_training.html

probe1957

Posted : 4/9/2007 8:28:02 AM

When I was a kid I had a dog that killed chickens. He didn't eat them, he played with them until, well, the chicken didn't want to play anymore. [

]

Look at it from the perspective of the dog. He runs into a flock of chickens and chickens scatter EVERYWHERE!!! What fun!!!

In my limited experience, once a dog starts killing chickens he will always want to kill chickens. It is the most fun game in the world. The only thing you can do is to contain the dog. Containing chickens might not be very effective as the dog can just go down the road and kill the neighbor's chickens. It is at THIS point where dogs get into serious trouble.

Bullymom

Posted : 4/9/2007 11:06:24 PM

Containing chickens might not be very effective as the dog can just go down the road and kill the neighbor's chickens. It is at THIS point where dogs get into serious trouble.

This is the weird part, there are some chickens that wander around in the yard with Coco and she doesn't bother them. They are pretty big! My grandma has what she calls "creepies" They are very small and have feathers over their feet. I guess Coco figures that the larger chickens might put up more of a fight than the little ones! I bet if one of the big chickens got ahold of her nose one good time, she'd leave all chickens alone!

probe1957

Posted : 4/10/2007 7:42:37 AM

I have never used a shock collar but I wonder if one might be appropriate in this situation. When you see her paying any attention AT ALL to the chickens, zap her.

Angelique

Posted : 4/10/2007 8:02:40 AM

ORIGINAL: probe1957

I have never used a shock collar but I wonder if one might be appropriate in this situation. When you see her paying any attention AT ALL to the chickens, zap her.

I don't use them either, but a trainer who is experienced with them sets it up so that the dog thinks the zap comes from the chicken, not the handler. The dog has to get used to the collar the right way so that he doesn't associate the zap with the collar either, from what I understand.

I have chickens. My lab wanted to eat them when I first brought them home. My lab learned they were my chickens and as they grew up she just ignored them. When my lab passed away and I brought my new dog home, first thing we did was walk right through the flock. This dog also ignores my chickens, but she gets to chase seagulls at the beach once in a while. [8D]

A dog can learn if the human who owns them can learn. Once the dog has killed chickens, an e-collar might be the best answer unless your dad can supervise this dog 100% of the time, or get rid of the chickens.

Grace Stover

Posted : 4/10/2007 11:56:51 AM

ORIGINAL: Bullymom

She listens to my dad great but anyone else, forget it.

tell your dad to 'call her off' when she bothers anyone or becomes too rough, apparently she really respects him and would probably listen. Tell him to watch her in the yard and firmly discourage watching/playing with the chickens. or... you can get a really big rooster!

janet_rose

Posted : 4/10/2007 5:37:10 PM

I don't use them either, but a trainer who is experienced with them sets it up so that the dog thinks the zap comes from the chicken, not the handler.

That is the way many folks in Texas deal with rattle snakes. Folks who would otherwise never condone the use of an electronic collar on their dogs will OK it to protect the dog from snakes.