Chicken Killing dog (It's my own dog)

Sorry to open another one of these but I have a small Beagle pug mix that we tried to find a home to but turned out to be a stray, we took her in and for about 3 weeks she was gentle and careful with the chickens then we went away for awhile and she stayed at my parents house where they have a much bigger Racoon hunting dog, some mix of a boxer and hound. After she came back from there within a week she started killing chickens. We secured the perimeter around the chickens And now ducks, but she kept getting in. In total she killed 3 chickens over 4 weeks and attempted to kill three more. Worst part of it was she wasn't trying to eat them, she would just chase them till they dropped dead. She recently killed a young duck of mine and that made me quite mad as she has been clean and not touch a chicken/duck for about 4 months. I was even letting her roam around freely in the coup as long as I was there. She sees me as master for sure because she respects me at all other times. I've tried treats, shock collars, immediate correction and tie ups/kennel time outs, and nothing seems to work. I'm pretty much at the end of what is possible. So this is my cry for HELP!

Is it possible the dog is bored? Is it possible to find it some sort of a job or at least some alternative form of exercise than chicken chasing?

I don't know if the dogs bored or what. She has been very resistant to any form of training and seems to enjoy playing with our young cats and us but she will get anxious when we leave but she has only killed when we are home.

I have not found the solution. I keep my chickens in a large pen when the dogs are outside.

My dog is not a chicken killer in the sense that she grabs the chickens, but she has a tendency to want to chase such as your dog.

I constructed an enclosed coop and run for my chickens in order to prevent any intermingling. The bottom portion of the run is covered in 1/4 hardware cloth held with staples, nails, and galvanized strapping. It has been the best investment because I have had other local dogs that got loose come and inspect the chickens while they have been out in their run. Not one loss so far.

I'd recommend only allowing the dog out when it can be under control by someone right now while you work on obedience.

Timothy Norton wrote:My dog is not a chicken killer in the sense that she grabs the chickens, but she has a tendency to want to chase such as your dog.

I constructed an enclosed coop and run for my chickens in order to prevent any intermingling. The bottom portion of the run is covered in 1/4 hardware cloth held with staples, nails, and galvanized strapping. It has been the best investment because I have had other local dogs that got loose come and inspect the chickens while they have been out in their run. Not one loss so far.

I'd recommend only allowing the dog out when it can be under control by someone right now while you work on obedience.

Thanks for the advice I have a smaller homestead within a spread out suburb so unfortunately hard wiring the ground wont work too well, and we tend to be gone a lot more than we hope on day trips. Like i said she never kills when we're gone, we are putting up a 5 foot welded wire fence that goes all the way around the chickens, but not the ducks as we put a 3 foot fence around them and she never questioned it. What would be the best way to teach obedience in a small dog like that though?

It is tough to give you an exact, each dog is different and each style of training is different.

I have exclusively rescued adult dogs except my most recent dog who I got from a pup. One of the adult dogs I have had was a beagle who allegedly came from a puppy mill and had a LOT of anxiety. He was a people please but his biggest motivation was food. Specifically cheese.

Does he have basic obedience down? Sit/Stop/Stay and the like? I would recommend working on the basics. This is not for the tricks themselves but to establish your working relationship between the dog and you. Trust, for a dog, trickles out positive effects throughout their life. Find what motivates him, use it to your advantage. Some dogs just want a special toy, or affection, or food like most of mine! Once you get this down, it is distraction time. Start throwing curveballs to try and get him to lose focus on you. This will help them build self restraint with the goal of ignoring LIVE animals.

It is all easier said than done. Where about would you say the dogs training is at currently?

This thread might also have some information that could be beneficial to you. - https://permies.com/t/210371/cure-chicken-killing-dog

Timothy Norton wrote:It is tough to give you an exact, each dog is different and each style of training is different.

I have exclusively rescued adult dogs except my most recent dog who I got from a pup. One of the adult dogs I have had was a beagle who allegedly came from a puppy mill and had a LOT of anxiety. He was a people please but his biggest motivation was food. Specifically cheese.

Does he have basic obedience down? Sit/Stop/Stay and the like? I would recommend working on the basics. This is not for the tricks themselves but to establish your working relationship between the dog and you. Trust, for a dog, trickles out positive effects throughout their life. Find what motivates him, use it to your advantage. Some dogs just want a special toy, or affection, or food like most of mine! Once you get this down, it is distraction time. Start throwing curveballs to try and get him to lose focus on you. This will help them build self restraint with the goal of ignoring LIVE animals.

It is all easier said than done. Where about would you say the dogs training is at currently?

This thread might also have some information that could be beneficial to you. - https://permies.com/t/210371/cure-chicken-killing-dog

No she does not have any of that I tried training her about a 3 months ago with very little success. she would look at me and stare whether i was showing a treat or not or even when i didn't have a treat. Sorta like she could only comprehend the possibility of a treat, no effort put in by her to sit even after i forced her butt down she would just stare hoping for a treat. We don't give her treat ever unless she's done something good, I gave up after being out there for a month everyday at the same time with the same routine, I just took it as she was one of those love owner but hate everyone else, untrainable dogs. We did get her to stop biting us however, whenever she bit us, playfully, we would stop petting and tell her NO with a light slap on the nose. she got the memo about 4 months later. as for food she is not interested in any dog food unless it is wet food, she threw up last time i feed her cheese.  I haven't tried lunch meats yet though. Anyways Thank you so much for the advice, If you have any other tricks to try to get her trained I would much appreciate them. I have also have read that thread its how I found out about all this.

Edit: I went out and watched her around the poultry in the morning she heels next to me without command but seems to try to find a way to chase then without me looking, as if she knows she can't kill it in front of me. She definitely shows way more interest in ducks then chickens even though they are about 50% bigger and hiss + chase her. also turns out my kids have already taught her how to sit but nothing else, she also only sit when she sees treats in our hands.

I recommend hiring a qualified dog trainer, since you the human have as much to learn as the dog does, in this situation. It's challenging for total newbies to successfully change their dog's behavior, unless they really invest in their own education first.

If that's not in the cards, here are some resources for you:
https://pupford.com/30-day-perfect-pup-with-zak-george/ (Free class for basic manners)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-qnqaajTk6bfs3UZuue6IQ (YouTube channel with LOTS of good tutorials on basics and behavior problems)
https://predation-substitute-training.com/ (not free, but directly addressing predatory behavior)

Here are the most important things:
- Never let the dog rehearse the behavior - that means not leaving her outside unsupervised and/or physically keeping her from getting to the chickens/ducks - the more she does this behavior, the more entrenched it becomes.

- Have a means to IMMEDIATELY interrupt the behavior when you are out there with her. Chasing animals is VERY fun, so she won't stop unless you are able to intervene effectively and immediately. Having her leashed to you or dragging a long leash behind her will enable this.

- Before training sessions, set her up for success by making sure she's had enough exercise (so she's less likely to take off chasing), that the chickens/ducks are not currently being super active (for example, train when you've refilled their feeder so they're all congregated there), and that you are far enough away that the dog is able to resist trying to chase (the closer she is to the animals, the harder it is to resist).

- Bring her FAVORITE toys or treats out. (Try TINY pieces of people food like cooked chicken, sausage, hot dogs, etc.) Praise and reward with play or treats the moment she LOOKS at the other animals without trying to chase. At the beginning, you're only looking for her to NOTICE the animals without immediately chasing. Repeat several times.

- If she's orienting to you easily, then delay the rewards slightly - let her watch the animals for a few seconds at a time. Build up from there.

There's a lot more nuance than can be written out in a forum post, and more steps after these, but this is the bare minimum you should be doing for training. If you can't, then you have to physically prevent the dog from getting at the animals and call it a day.

Source: am professional dog trainer