my dogs are suddenly interested in my chickens

[bj taylor]

my male german shepherd (3yr/old) caught and ate his first half grown rabbit the other day. he ate one yesterday my cat had killed. it seems as if he's suddenly acquired a taste.
this morning I noticed him stalking my mama chicken and her babies. he has never done that before. I verbally reprimanded him. he pulled off, but sat staring at them. I corrected him again. pretty concerned we may have turned a corner in his mind. time will tell.
until now, the chickens have been all around him (for more than a year) with no problems.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

Keep an eye on him, you don't want those chickies to become macnuggets. He might think their peeping noises sound like squeaker toys. Thats why I don't give my dog toys with squeakers in them any more.

 

[journey11]

The thrill of the chase....sounds like he's turned on to it now. It's in their nature anyway, so I would keep a close eye on those chickies!

 

[Nyboy]

Keep a eye on his stool eating wild animals is a easy way to pick up parasites.

 

[majorcatfish]

Keep a eye on his stool eating wild animals is a easy way to pick up parasites.

so thats why my dog loves rabbit poop....chase them down and scare the crap out of them...

 

[baymule]

Sounds like the honeymoon is over. Yep, better keep an eye on him. Maybe go after him with a rolled up newspaper if you catch him stalking again. You could set him up for it, turn the chickens out and walk away, but stand where you can see him, but he doesn't know it. Then when he gets too interested, spring out of hiding and wallop him a good one with the paper. My dog is terrified of the newspaper and it rarely comes out, but when it does, he NEVER does that again!

 

[bj taylor]

we went out today for several hours. I was afraid my chickens were gonners. when we got back, not one single chicken was eaten. good boy sam!

 

[baymule]

we went out today for several hours. I was afraid my chickens were gonners. when we got back, not one single chicken was eaten. good boy sam!

 

[catjac1975]

I had a chicen hating, cat hating alpha male dog many years ago. He did not bother the chicks in the pen-he could walk in the coop with me. If they got loose it was a different story-he seemed to think they were fair game. The squawking and wing flapping was irresistible. It could be your dog is now mature and his attitude has changed towards the chickens for good.

 

[luis_pr]

Scary thought bj. While the dog might have been trying to control them and keep them away from areas like outside of a gate, the stalking attitude would bug me enough to somehow separate them. My dogs came with pre-developed attitudes that only dogs are allowed in the yard. I suggest contacting a dog trainer or vet office just to see what do they say.

Sigh, I have found all kids of pests, birds, pets, whathaveyou, that my dogs killed. Burns me up but I realized I could not have cats (good, as I discovered I am allergic to some of them) or even bird/bunny nests. Even caught a now deceased GS foaming at the mouth after eating a toad. Brother... gross.... Unfortunately, they do not seem interested in eating mosquitoes. I would not mind that.