How do I train my dog...

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humph

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not to kill chickens?
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We've had chickens for years now and most of the time he's fine but once he killed a chicken, when we first had them, so I'm always a bit wary that the killing streak might resurface. And it did half an hour ago - he killed one of our chicks.
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He's currently shut in the cool goat house with a stone floor and a bucket of water. He likes comfort a lot so I'm hoping this might teach him but I'm not really that confident. The other two dogs are fine and completely chicken safe. He is a pointer and we have one other pointer and a springer.

Our chickens roam free and I'm not prepared to coop them up, even though I realise it's higher risk. They are shut up at night.

Any ideas - all will be very gratefully received.
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Could you do some resistance training with him? Take him out on a check collar and lead and whenever he shows interest in the birds, rebuke him.

When he ignores them and listens to your command of 'leave', reward him. It will take time and repetition.

If you do not feel he will be safe around the birds at first, practise the 'leave' command using an old rag on a bit of rope to simulate a small moving animal and use the principles above.

If he is a strong dog or becomes unfocused or fixated and "zones out" you may need something heavier than a normal check, but I would definitely not advise using either an electric or pinch collar without seeking guidance from someone else with knowledge of their correct use.
 
Thanks for your replies, sadly traditional training just doesn't work because 99% of the time he's absolutely fine - he's lived free ranging with the chickens for the last 5 yrs and hasn't killed one since the first few months but every so often you can see the murder in his eyes. He knows perfectly well that he shouldn't do it but on these odd occasions his instinct to kill just takes over.

I hadn't thought about an electric collar and don't think we'll go down that route because it's not worth the expense just to save one chicken every 5 years. Having said that I am CERTAIN it would work. He used to chase sheep and when we got some sheep to graze our orchard he went charging off after them and careered into an electric fence. Since that day, he's now the safest dog around sheep that you could find. Perhaps I should fence the chickens in with electric fencing for a bit.

Thanks for your advice.
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I would honestly advise against an electric collar we used one on our dog and it burnt him. So much so he had to be treated by the vets and we were under the supervision of a well known trainer so it was nothing to do with our lack of knowledge and my mum is also a trainer.
 
Thanks Katey, how awful, i'm glad to hear that your dog is ok now though. Our funds don't stretch to an electric collar so there's no risk of me getting one, but thanks for the advice.
 
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