Dont kill the chicken....

[snickering]

My wife is a die hard Scottish terrier fan. After putting up with me and my labs for years, we have finally gotten a Scotty. I will admit that it is the smartest and thick headed dog I have ever owned. (in other words Im hooked on scottys)

How do you painlessly train a dog not to attack chickens and other fowl on your farm.

My scottys routine (in her words)

Wake up "wow Im hungry mom feed me, dad wheres dad hey come on its breakfast time feed me, feed me now. Dont make me nozzle you. Thats it Im going to slam my nose into your ankle till you feed me. Im down here dammit Im hungry feed me.

Ok Im fed, Let me out. Come on Ive been holding it all night let me out. Dont make me bark. bark bark bark. Come on put the coffee down let me out. Im going to cry. Thats it I know how you hate that whine let me out.

Gosh that feels good. Nice day out here. Wow I really had to go to the bathroom. Hey wait a second whats that? Oh my god there are geese on lawn. Must kill the geese, must chase them into the water or make them fly. Must kill geese, Ready set GO!!!! Chases geese into the water, barking damm you flying rats! must kill geese someday. Hey wheres dad, come on lets play kill the geese they are right over there. Dad come on, wheres mom? Mom

etc etc etc

[Northern_bushrat]

None of our dogs are farm dogs or herding dogs, we've got one village mutt, one poodle-shepherd cross, one chinook and one German wirehair. They were all very interested in the chickens and ducks when I first got poultry some years ago. I had the poultry fenced in but the dogs (especially when friends came to visit with their dogs) would sneak over to the chicken run and chase around the fence, with the chickens of course freaking out. Only a matter of time and the dogs broke into the run and killed some chickens. I don't believe in beating up dogs as a way of discipline but all other efforts had failed, so I did whack them all with a stick. They've shown no more interest in chasing my chickens and ducks, or wild ducks, since. I also don't allow the dogs of friends off leash at our place anymore.
Since you guys only have one dog, I think you should be able to break its habit with a big theatrical display of anger, shaking it by the scruff, rolling it over on its back etc, any time it starts after the poultry. But of course you need to be right there and make a big fuss. Maybe the easiest to keep the poultry yard strictly off limits.

[Deberosa]

Sounds like the humans need some training. :)

Dog training books will tell you that you need to be the one in charge. Not that you are abusive but that you are the lead dog. I have a great poultry dog - posted about him on my blog at:

http://deberosahomestead.wordpress.com/2007/12/23/the-farm-dog/

To deal with an older dog - you have to take him with you on all chores on a leash until you can trust him off the leash. Yank him back if he lunges at a bird. But it may need to translate into the rest of his behavior - such as - wait patiently for dinner! We crate trained our dog and I am so glad we did! I think the rest of it becomes easier because you don't have that temptation to spoil him. He is still a great dog - and peacocks in the yard and garden are free game for him so he has a job to chase them out of the garden. But he also knows the guineas are "mine" and doesn't bother them. THey have to know that the poultry is "yours" and you are the boss. It can be done but takes dilligence!

I had a really good dog - Chessy till a year ago - she passed away. But she was a city dog and she was spoiled. SHe ran the house and we only came to agreements on things. This new arrangement with Jake is turning out to be so much more rewarding.

Good luck!

[annabella1]

Scotties are very hardheaded dogs. They also tend to wander. They were bred for chasing small game even into burrows underground and into the water. They need some entertaining game to play and if you don't provide it, they will make up their own. (like chase the birds, tear up the pillows, jump on the cabinets etc). We had a Scottie for a short time when I was growing up. Dad was out shoveling the snow off the walk in front of the house, when this dirty filthy mat of hair walked up to him. Dad said are you lost boy? and this dog wagged his tail and became part of our family. We took out an ad in the paper that we had found a dog, and the only reply we got was from a elderly woman who had another Scottie and said that if we couldn't find the owner she would love to have him. We cleaned him up and he would immediatly find the stinkiest thing to roll around in. He drove our elderly poodle nuts trying to play with him. After three months of looking we called the elderly lady back and found out that her beloved Scottie had just died. She took the dog in and we started getting letters from "Scottie" and Christmas Cards from "Scottie" and occasional visits from Scottie and his Lady. When she died she left Scottie well off, but we didn't hear anything more from him.

[Northern_bushrat]

That's a funny story, Annabella!
I found with our assortment of dogs that no one training method really applies to all of them. The two with husky blood have a high prey drive and are very stubborn. The ones that are eager to please are by far the easiest to train! I assume pleasing you would not be that high on a scotty's priority list, it being a terrier. What really helps with all of them is lots of excercise though, I find. If they get out and moving enough, doing nonsense is generally no on top of their minds.

[cubcadet]

I recently got a free Border Collie/ beagle mix. One of the imperatives at my place is not to leave the property, and that goes for the road. No going in the road. We have people literally flying down our road daily in pickups. So, I devised a way of training a dog to not go in the road. First, is to get a training collar with prongs on it. Sorry if it offends animal lovers, but I need my dogs alive. You must take them on extended duration walks on a long leash (about 25 feet long) .When they start making for forbidden territory, give a firm pull on the leash, saying,"NO." Consistancy is the key. Every day, multiple times a day, go on walks with him, sometimes baiting with chicken skin, placing it on the other side of the road, letting it age. Make him know the boundary by taking the same path every time, and when necessary, correcting him, and when he obeys, praising him to excess. Dogs love praise. Hold your arms up in the air, and make a fool of yourself praising him. High pitched exclamations of," Atta girl or boy", work better than treats. Don`t worry what the neighbors think. They`l be remarking to you how well behaved your dog is. I would like to hear of someone else`s methods of dog training.

[flatwater]

A friend of mine had a husky that would continually go after the niehbors ducks and chickens. He tried everything the books told him would work. Finally he had had enough. The next time the dog came home with a chicken he beat the dog with it until the dog was half dead then he tied the chicken to the dog until it rotted off the chain. To this day he still kills chickens and ducks , he just doesn't bring them home anymore.
Flatwater

[msta999]

I was tought to tie a dead chicken to the dogs neck and that would cure it, but I never try'd it, just something I was told many times over the year by my parents and grand parents.