Dogs and Chickens

Until you have surmounted your own "mental walls", perhaps best not to criticize.  At any rate, knowledge based on extensive experience is not a mental wall, it should simply serve as a caution to anyone who thinks that all dogs will be as easy to train as the 2 you were able to manage.  Caution doesn't imply that it can't be done, but it does imply that if someone has trained only 2 dogs that they should not be so cock sure that all dogs can be trained out of  exhibiting that predatory behavior so easily.

ORIGINAL: spiritdogs

Until you have surmounted your own "mental walls", perhaps best not to criticize.  At any rate, knowledge based on extensive experience is not a mental wall, it should simply serve as a caution to anyone who thinks that all dogs will be as easy to train as the 2 you were able to manage.  Caution doesn't imply that it can't be done, but it does imply that if someone has trained only 2 dogs that they should not be so cock sure that all dogs can be trained out of  exhibiting that predatory behavior so easily.

 
I never said that "knowledge based on extensive experience is a mental wall", actually if you have more experience should be easier for you
 
I dont have "mental walls" because for me there is nothing impossible, it can be done, some dogs will take longer than others BUT is possible, maybe you can say is extremly difficult if you use a clicker for that, then i have to agree with you []
 
So Anne talk to me, how many dogs did you train to stop that behavior? i bet a lot, which methods you used? maybe it was hard because you used the wrong technique, you are a trainer, what the OP should do? if i have a dog like that and i go to you for help to stop that behavior what would you suggest? would you be able to work with my dog or your only advice would be to cage the chickens?

ORIGINAL: espencer
I dont have "mental walls" because for me there is nothing impossible, it can be done, some dogs will take longer than others BUT is possible

Nothing?  Then you should be able to teach a dog to fly!!  This I have to see.
 
If I think you can't do it and you think you can, do I a "mental wall" or do you have an "unreasonable expectation"? 

ORIGINAL: janet_rose

Nothing?  Then you should be able to teach a dog to fly!!  This I have to see.
 

[sm=huh.gif]


Yes and also i can make them fire lasers out of their eyes as well as teach them how to speak chinese  [sm=meditate.gif] , how old are you? 12?

Yes you have a "mental wall", if you dont think so then bring your dog and i'll teach you how []

We still have to think about excersices were the dog can fufill that need, we just need to show the dog that he cant fufill that need with the chickens

I will ask the same question, how many dogs have YOU trained to make them stop showing that behavior and redirect them with other similar activity? (i would like to hear that)

The simple answer is that I have trained quite a few dogs, hundreds in fact, to "leave" various things that they find attractive, including bunnies, cats, skunk pelts, raw meat, livestock, etc.  Not chickens.  Not because I think I could not do so, I just don't happen to have any chickens to work with (although, now you have me thinking about using my best friend's chickens - after all, if I'm unsuccessful, maybe Sequoyah could grab me a quick chicken dinner).  But, now that I think of it, it might be easier to just train the chickens to stay away from the dog:http://clickerpets.stores.yahoo.net/chcltr.html

ORIGINAL: spiritdogs

The simple answer is that I have trained quite a few dogs, hundreds in fact, to "leave" various things that they find attractive, including bunnies, cats, skunk pelts, raw meat, livestock, etc. 

 
See? its possible (like i always said it was), now why you say is really hard to accomplish? how did you do it? just teaching "leave it" with a clicker? like i said, if it was that way then i agree is very difficult to do

espencer, it's apparent to me that you are speaking from a desire to contradict whatever I say, and not from a wealth of experience on this subject, so I think I will just agree to disagree and be done on this thread.  Have a nice day. [sm=peace.gif]

I found it was very easy to teach five dogs in succession to not-chase prey animals (no chickens available, but plenty of cats and squirrels). And this was before I'd ever owned a clicker. And then I got a difficult dog, and decided it wasn't so easy and decided to rehome the cat for its own safety and keep the dog on leash for everyone else's safety at all times. And that dog is what prompted me to obtain a clicker and completely change my approach to training animals. A very humbling but educational experience.

I have been fortunate with the dogs I have had living in the house, they usually walk up to the cats and just sniff, but the cats don't run, because they are used to dogs. So, after sniffing the cats the dogs lose interest and walk off.

Instincts are still buried inside their head.  When the chickens and esp. the turkeys started to make all the noise...it created that spark that got my old dog wild.  He would have just walked away, that day at the farm.  And it is so strange that the birds were all so delayed in reacting to him, but just proves how stupid they are .  (meant to be food, sorry snownose! ; )
 
 

We had a chow/husky mix who loved to kill the few cats that would come into our yard. [] Luckily he was in the house most of the time and didn't get many. When Ringo was five we ended up adopting a little stray cat and it took a long time to get him to understand that she was not chasing, but eventually he was 100% trustworthy. Like I have said in other threads I know nothing about dog training, but we put Ringo on a leash and held the cat in front of him, out of his reach and let him sniff her, but if he started to bristle we would say, "No." to him. And of course we never left him alone with the cat until after he learned that she wasn't to be eaten. After a couple weeks he lost interest in her while were holding her and so then we let her wander around the living room while he was on his leash. By the end of it the cat was able to rub up against him without him even turning a hair at her. He still chased strange cats though, but he never killed any more of them. So if you used this approach your boxer might end up tolerating one chicken and chasing the rest. Ha.
Fortifying the chicken coop and trying to keep the dog from being alone with them is the best. If you live in an area similar to mine (rural Texas) it's likely that something else is helping your dog kill those chickens if your coop is easy for an animal to get into.