Re: Re: Breaking a Dog from Killing Chickens

Posted by RamonaRanchGirl on January 04, 2008 at 17:50:53 from (69.43.129.124):

In Reply to: Re: Breaking a Dog from Killing Chickens posted by Jim Jen on October 09, 2007 at 19:31:42:

Jim & Jen's answer was by far the most helpful. We raise and train wolf hybrids and until recently, had only lost two chickens. Recently, though, one of the females who was the best socialized has begun killing chickens, nipping at the goats and chasing the horses. She respects me as the alpha and immediately backs down when I reprimand her, but I'm concerned. I think two things are complicating this:
1. She's pregnant and in that "fight for extra food" mode that pregnant bitches get into a few weeks before whelping.
2. The chickens are dumb enough to challenge her for food. They love both dry and canned dog food (the little cannibals even eat chicken dog food) and a couple of the gutsy but not too bright ones tried stealing from her, which could have caused the problem.

The bottom line is that wolves are predators and chickens are prey. No matter how well they're trained, in unusual circumstances, such as pregnancy or adverse weather, the predator's natural instincts cause it to forget its training temporarily. I never deliberately kill or rehome any of my animals. When I take one in, I give it a home for better or worse. But I've been a farm girl all my life and know that death is part of life. It's a tough one for kids to learn, but a valuable one. Thanks for the ideas!

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