Have you wondered why dogs chase chickens around? In some instances, they can attack chickens.
If you have poultry at home, this situation may not be a happy ending. Do you know how to stop my dog from attacking chickens?
Since dogs have a prey drive that manifests in different situations, many pet owners want to know how to keep their chickens safe from attacks.
Even though we try to socialize these dogs, they may react differently when they see chickens around them.
If you have some chickens and the dog at home give them no peace, you may start thinking about how to handle the rivalry.
How to stop my dog from attacking chickens
When a dog begins to kill a chicken, the problem has gone out of control and may become a habit if you don’t stop it.
You have to stop your dog from harming your chickens. In this article, we have listed some of the ways to stop this behavior.
We divided the method into five steps that can help you manage the situation. Any of these steps can help you achieve a calm environment between the dog and chickens.
How to stop a dog from killing chickens
Leashed Command and Pull
You will have to leash your dog and gradually introduce your chickens to it. If it displays any aggressive behavior, you have to reprimand it.
Step 1:
You should put your chickens inside of their chicken coop. However, they must be visible to the dog.
Step 2:
In this step, you have to leash your dog. You should keep the dog some distance from your chicken coup.
Step 3:
You have to slowly move towards your chickens and ensure that the dog sees them during this movement. You should stay calm when you get to the chickens and watch the reaction of your dog.
Step 4:
If the dog acts aggressively or lunge towards the chickens, ensure that you pull the dog away and command it to stop such behavior.
Do not hesitate to reprimand it to let it know that the behavior is not acceptable.
Step 5:
The process should be repeated until the dog understands that chasing or hunting chickens is not allowed.
When you get it right, the dog would stop its aggression towards the chickens. Finally, you can let go of the leash.
Step 6:
In this step, there is no need for leash. You should allow the dog to come close to the chicken.
If the dog does not attack the chicken, the experiment is over.
Close Proximity
Dog with leash exercise
In this step, you should get the leashed dog close to the chicken. You have to wait for them to relax before you can praise it.
You can command the dog until it gets closer to the chickens without attacking. If you succeed, the dog will stop hunting the chickens.
Step 1:
You should leash your dog as you walk toward the chickens. When you get close and the dog reacts aggressively, tie it up.
Step 2:
When the dog calms down from its attack, you should praise it. Nevertheless, you can only praise it when it has calmed down.
Step 3:
You have to walk the dog close to the chicken and repeat this process over again.
Step 4:
When the dog stops reacting towards the chickens, you should give it simple commands like lie down or sit in the presence of the chickens.
The aim is to ensure that the dog carries out your instruction without distractions from the chickens.
Step 5:
You have to repeat this process of giving commands when the chickens are around to get your desired results.
Step 6:
When the dog starts obeying all your commands in the presence of the chicken, you can remove its leash and start the process afresh.
Drop on Command
In this stage, you have to train the dog to learn to give up toys or treats on command. This would help the dog to give up things when you ask it to stop.
With this training, the dog can stop attacking the chickens when you command it.
Step 1:
You should give the dog treats or toys like a bone or a ball that is strong enough to keep it busy during training.
When the dog has the ball in its hand, you have to hold the other end while holding a tasty treat near its mouth with the other.
Step 2:
You should talk to your dog to drop the ball. When it opens its mouth, remove the toy and offer it a treat along with praises.
Meanwhile, you have to coax the dog to release the treat at first.
Step 3:
You have to repeat the process until the dog gets comfortable letting go of treats or toys.
Step 4:
You should begin to talk to the dog to “drop the treat” at random points through the day when they have a toy or treat in their mouth.
Ensure that you repeat this repeatedly.
Step 5:
The next step should be trickier. You have to do the same drop it game with the toy, and pretend to have a treat in your hand.
When you have dropped the treat, show the dog your empty fingers and still, it treats as a reward.
Step 6:
You have to repeat the step again until the dog learns to drop the ball for your empty fingers. You don’t have to offer it treats in this step.
Step 7:
You have to move to something more appealing than a toy. Hold the item while your dog has the other end in its mouth.
The next thing to do is to pretend to show the dog a treat and say “drop it”. If the dog does it, you should display your empty fingers.
Offer the dog some treats once and don’t give them again.
Step 8:
You have to continue the process until the dog drops the items every time you ask.
Step 9:
The next thing to do is to repeat the entire process and offer it treat until the dog will drop anything when you command.
Distance Training
When it comes to this method, you should give commands to your dog when approach the chickens. Each day move closer to the chicken as you give the command.
Step 1:
In this process, you have to leash the dog and move towards the chickens at a slow speed.
Step 2:
In this step, you have to offer the dog-simple commands like lay down or sit.
Step 3:
You have to make a mental note where the dog begins to listen to you and pay attention to your chickens.
From there, you can continue with your steps away from the chicken and continue having your dog perform commands here.
Step 4:
You have to repeat the steps but move closer to the chickens often.
Step 5:
Every day you have to repeat the process until the dog is right next to your chickens.
Step 6:
You have to repeat the whole process once more with no leash. When the dog completes the obedience commands around the chicken, the attack will stop.
Positive Reinforcement
The final method has to do with praising the dog while it remains calm around your chickens.
However, the praise ends when it shows signs of aggression. You have to teach your dog to learn how to remain calm around your chicken.
Step 1:
You have to begin by securing your chickens in a pen, but you have to leash your dog.
Step 2:
Start about 10-15 feet from the chickens, and begin to walk slowly toward the chickens with your dog beside you.
In this step, you have to praise the dog and pet it to make it feel special.
Step 3:
However, if the dog shows the slightest aggression towards your chickens, you must stop the praise and reprimand it.
You should stand completely still and silent without attention to the dog, and don’t move closer until the dog has calmed down.
Step 4:
When the dog has calmed down, you should praise it alongside and several minutes of playtime.
Step 5:
You have to repeat this process daily and move closer to the chickens than the previous one daily.
Step 6:
If the dog can move to the chicken without losing its cool, you can take out its leashes, and begin the entire process again.
Step 7:
If you walk your dog with no leash to the chickens and it shows see no signs of aggression, your dog should be done attacking your chickens
A dog that attacks a chicken could be a problem to you or the owner of the chicken. Sometimes, it can cause you frustration if you cannot correct the problem.
As a result, many pet owners find ways to control their dogs. Meanwhile, if you cannot handle this problem, you may have to hire a dog behaviorist to help you.
My dog killed a chicken what should I do?
You must not punish your dog because it does not understand why you are punishing it. You have to teach it to learn how to stay around chickens without attacking them.
The steps we listed can help the dog become calmer when it sees chickens.
If a dog kills a chicken will it kill again?
You can consider using the Electric Collar if the case is difficult to handle. However, you should learn how to use this device before you use it.
You can decide to rehome the dog with reasons for your actions.
Before you do this, you should consult a dog behaviorist or trainer to teach your dog how to overcome such behavior.
You should train your dog in obedience and especially the “leave it” command. If your dog should get loose again,
Why do dogs kill chickens?
Have you wondered why your dog kills chickens? If you own livestock or a farm, you might be aware that other wild animals often come around.
Hence, you take a drastic measures to stop them from entering your farm. Therefore, you know how dangerous things could be if you let them in.
However, many people don’t believe the danger could come from their beloved dogs. When your dog start killing your chickens, you should plan on how to stop my dog from attacking chickens.
While some dogs are curious and want to chase chickens around, others may have the urge to kill them.
Meanwhile, even if your dog does not kill chickens but chases them around, they may suffer from a heart attack or stress. Some may even get their necks broken.
If you have egg-laying chickens, the stress might affect production and cause you loss. Therefore, you may have to find the perfect way to stop the situation.
Why will a dog kill a chicken? First, dogs still have the instinct of a wild animal. Naturally, they should be carnivorous, but domesticating them changed them.
However, domesticated dogs still love hunting and chasing animals around, especially chickens.
As a result, you have to build a fence to stop the dog from entering the chickens’ area. You can use the steps we listed to help the dog stop chasing chickens.
You should not punish your dog if it kills a chicken. Punishing it may worsen the situation, and make the dog irredeemable.
To handle this situation, contact a dog trainer or behaviorist for support. You can keep the dog engaged, exercised, and trained to prevent it from getting bored.
Do not believe that your dog’s good manner can stop it from attacking a chicken. You must train it to avoid chasing or attacking chickens.
The process may take time, but the training is worth it. Since you want the dog and chickens to stay relatively within their borders, you need to keep your dog busy after training.
Finally, when you have a trained dog, you would have little challenge worrying about the safety of your chickens while away.
As we said, do not punish the dog, but take away the attention when it attacks your chickens. Many dogs from shelters often exhibit this type of behavior. Puppies are easier to train to relate well with chickens than the older dogs.