Occamstazer~Work hairdos and a blog you've got to read!

[Occamstazer]

#$%% dogs!
They killed a chicken today in the freakiest way possible.
Their yard is fenced, but there is a small area where the fence doesn't quite meet the house, so there is about a 2-inch gap between the post and the house. The air conditioner is outside the fence there, so it has never been an issue.
Until you have a suicidal hen. My barred rock decided it would be fun to wedge herself in this place and try to stick her head into the dog pen, with predictable results.
I am not a happy camper right now!
The dogs were quite smug when I got home. I'm not normally a fan of fear as a behavior modification tool, but when it comes to killing livestock, that's the only option for a bunch of set-in-their ways adult dogs. Each dog (except the tiny one) got some serious smacking and a chicken carcass across the face. Artie (my avatar) got the strongest correction because I know she was the ringleader. They got the message, but I don't expect it to stick.
Ugh. I love my dogs, and they of course come before chickens, but this is SO FRUSTRATING.
And yes, it is my fault for allowing it to happen, I should have blocked that area off.
I was only away for a couple hours, but the bird was cold and stiff, too dead to process. Extra annoying because only her head was damaged.
Waste. Ugh.
That fenced yard is like a ring of death for all creatures. I don't mind them hunting moles, but last week they killed a screech owl. No idea how they came through that unscathed.

I'm so dissapointed in Artie, particularly. She's my top dog, my beta, and we have the greatest relationship. She's incredibly intuitive, brilliant, rarely needs verbal commands, and she can pick up the tiniest cues to sense what I want her to do.
She's also a husky/chow mix, and has a ridiculous prey drive, which occasionally overwhelms her normally stellar behavior.
Frida and Kojak just followed her lead, I'm sure, because that's what they do. Little Eldee is blameless, she's one of the softest dogs I've ever worked with.

So today's project: covering that little alleyway in chicken wire and not holding a grudge.

 

[SKR8PN]

Sorry to hear about you losing a hen. You have my condolences.

That being said.........
I have a dog trainer friend on mine that lives and works in Okeechobee Florida. He makes is living breeding and training hunting Labs, as well as training other breeds for hunt trials. He has multiple grand champion dogs to his credit.
His favorite saying is: "Don't blame the dog, he is just being a dog"

 

[Dace]

Awww....bummer.

I am lucky that our dog is too lazy to gie a hoot about the chickens. He did swallow a live mouse once, but that was only because he was racing the cat to see who would win the prize

I am surprised to hear that your avatar pup is a chow husky mix....I always thought it was a Doberman!

 

[Occamstazer]

SKR8PN, you're so right! I've said that very same thing many times to many people, and I was whispering it to myself when correcting them, to keep my temper in check.
I can't get very seriously angry when I set them up for failure. :/
I do sometimes expect too much from Artie because she sets the bar so high on her own.

Dace, Artie is much hairier when not bundled up in a blankie.
You'd see the husky in a second if you met her, she walks up to new friends and says "Dwoooooooo!"

 

[Occamstazer]

This is not a good day for studying nor a good day for chickens.

Peacefully studying, occasionally peeping at SS, when I hear alarm calls from my birds and ruckus from my dogs.
I looked out the window to see a giant Boxer looking thing CHASING MY FLOCK!
Rage ensued. I am eternally grateful that no one was around to see me charging barefoot through the woods like a rabid Mastodon at maximum adrenaline-speed. While waving a rake and screaming, no less.
I don't want to hurt a dog, but as of right now half my flock is unaccounted for. If he comes back he's getting a booty full of birdshot. I nailed him with a rock the first time, so hopefully he's decided this place is not worth the chickens.

The best part was my super-fun experience with Tuscaloosa County's finest. I called the office to check the ordinances about protecting stock...

Me: Hi! I just wanted to check the County's laws about protecting my livestock from a dog that is trying to hurt them.
Him: You can't have livestock in the city limits!
Me: Uh (you moron, I didn't say I was in the city), I am not in the city, and I definitely may own livestock.
Him: *transfers call*

Six transfers later, I got an answering machine.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

wow! ok so an owl???? i'd have paid money for that! i'm picturing a flying leap and snatching it out of the air. wow!

dont feel bad about correcting your dog. its always more effective if you catch them in the act, tho. but pointing at the hen and damanding (in your meanest mommy voice) "WHAT IS THIS? WHO DID THIS" works too.

we had one extremely sad dog beatin' day and that was the last hen they went after. they may be 'being dogs' but around here they need to work first. silly hens - they always try and find new and exciting ways to die.

do you teach your dogs the concept of "thats mine" (thats my hen, thats my goat, thats my sandwich, thats my cat etc etc etc). this has worked really well with us.

chow/husky mix tho - wow! thats a pretty primal dog. you shoulda set her on that boxer she woulda showed him what for!
;-)

 

[Occamstazer]

wow! ok so an owl???? i'd have paid money for that! i'm picturing a flying leap and snatching it out of the air. wow!

dont feel bad about correcting your dog. its always more effective if you catch them in the act, tho. but pointing at the hen and damanding (in your meanest mommy voice) "WHAT IS THIS? WHO DID THIS" works too.

we had one extremely sad dog beatin' day and that was the last hen they went after. they may be 'being dogs' but around here they need to work first. silly hens - they always try and find new and exciting ways to die.

do you teach your dogs the concept of "thats mine" (thats my hen, thats my goat, thats my sandwich, thats my cat etc etc etc). this has worked really well with us.

chow/husky mix tho - wow! thats a pretty primal dog. you shoulda set her on that boxer she woulda showed him what for!
;-)

were you watching from the bamboo?

We work long and hard on "MINE". We don't have many dominance issues because Josh and I are both, um...very firm personalities. She is definitely very primal, and the other dogs follow her lead without hesitation.

From the way Hen was wedged behind the air conditioner, I'm wondering now if something CHASED her back there, perhaps Mr. Boxer! I was so dissapointed to find her, because the dogs typically spend their days a scant few feet away from the foraging chickens, with only a fence between, and they are normally quite mellow about it.
However, if the hen was in a panicked state and trying to cram herself into their pen, well, I could see them all losing their senses and getting predatory.
Nice enough hypothesis I suppose, but I'll never know for sure.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

I was so dissapointed to find her,

yep i know. we've had some losses and its always a heartbreak to find them.

we've been working with our hard workin' farm dogs that those little pip poppin' goat babies are MINE. they get it and there is a lot of nose sniffing. given the chance those.. wow, they think the goaties smell delicious and would love to just have ONE bite....

 

[Farmfresh]

As current owner of a Husky/Shepherd and past owner of a AKC Husky I will testify that you have a HARD row to hoe as far as prey drive. Even my current dog Cassie that is very rule bound and totally devoted cannot stand the temptation of plucking the chickens when ever she gets the chance.

She never kills them, but the bald chickens still don't like it very well!

 

[Occamstazer]

Yeah, she's definitely a hunter. On the other hand, SHE was not breaking the rules, SHE was where she was supposed to be.

I could bite through nails about that loose dog, though. Josh is cleaning the shotgun right now