My Patterdale bit a chicken this morning

[YasandCrystal]

My lab/springer unfortunately being a wannabe retriever chased one of my chickens (she is never normally in contact with them) over the garden gate and straight into the jaws of my patterdale. He bit the poor young hen and then retreated after I shouted at him.
The hen has quite nasty puncture wounds in her rear end which I vet sprayed quickly and put her in a warm nesting box to recover from the shock after a cuddle. I have checked her a couple of times and she seems ok - probably still shocked.

I told both dogs off vocally and they know I am unhappy with what transpired. Problem is as I said to my hubby - the springer cross just wants to gently catch and retrieve birds - she always has and the patterdale was imo just reactive to the opportunity of live lunch coming straight to him. I feel disinclined to try and now desensitise them to the hens as I normally keep them well apart.

Do any other HHOers let their dogs (particularly terriers) and chickens mingle?

 

[Devonshire dumpling]

I have a patterdale (lovely soppy dog) but will kill anything that moves, well have a go, hes even tried with a cat but he got beaten up

My jack russell has played with the guinea pigs and tortoise, he waggles his tail and is gentle.

The Patterdale is a terrier through and through you could never ever teach him otherwise so I don't bother, he was from the Eggesford Foxhounds terrierman and its just in him! He is 16 now and had a go at a large hedgehog 2 days ago, my husband was concerned he had harmed the HH, but all the blood on its spikes was my dogs lol .

So my opinion is really its a terrier, its what they do, just don't give them the chance?

Having said that my jack Russell wouldnt ever dream of it, depends on how terrier like they are!

Patterdales are pretty hard core and difficult in my experience, I spent yrs training him, he did it all, clicker, gundog, conventional, he has never been perfectly behaved!

XX

 

[YasandCrystal]

Thanks DD - you are telling me what I think I know in my heart! I couldn't really blame him in this situation as the chook literally flew to him!!!
We have an elderly patterdale - she is rough coated and they seem to be so much more trainable (not just my view but other seasoned owners!).

He is a lovable scoundrel - his eyes are always full of regret about the antics he gets up to I disagree with, like swinging off daughter's cob's tail; that is a favourite sport. He is banned from the horses now as we have a 'dog hater horse' who would kill him and he doesn't quite deserve that. I was impressed that he stopped on command this morning.

We also have a sckipperkee and he wouldn't touch any of the other animals, cats, guinea pigs horses chickens, but he would nip any man he doesn't like the look of.

The trioplease note chewed off cupboard handles - that was hisnibs!!)

Rough ans smooth!

 

[Devonshire dumpling]

OMG at your smooth!! looks like my elderly little **** lol

He also sleeps with his nose up his bum!

that was when he was a baby, about 2 I think and next pic is not aged 16

 

[Devonshire dumpling]

and at xmas sticking his nose in where it wasnt wanted lol

 

[jrp204]

My daughter's patterdale x disappeared on a walk, found out later he had got in with 200 pheasant poults and had killed about 75!! Gutted didn't even come close as they weren't even ours. He was rehomed to a HHO'er and hopefully is being a good boy. He was lovely in the house but couldn't be trusted near anything else with a pulse (except people).

 

[brighteyes]

I took my Patti on holiday once, and stayed with a lovely lady in Clunbury. She had all sorts of feathered things wandering about and my little dog never even looked once at them? She would have loved to nibble my guinea pigs, though.

Current dog (JRT) is a total terrier and undergoing strict recall training. She chases birds and is even more keen to sample the guinea pigs.

I think yours was acting on instinct and seems 'sorry' enough...

 

[hayinamanger]

I've got 2 Patterdale x terrriers, they are lovely with people but any small furry/cat/chicken spotted by them is in mortal danger I hate that side of them but it's what Patterdales were bred for, they are serious killing machines.

 

[YasandCrystal]

Yes methinks you are all speaking the truth! And it also seems that we have him for the next 14 years at least! Judging by DDs little man and our rough coated old lady who is at least 16 now ( a little incontinent and deaf and partly sighted and a litlle senile too agh).

What a similarity hey DD? We got ours both as 'rescues' as the smooth coated one was dispensed with after they had the 5 months of 'puppy fun' with him and the rough coated was to be shot as she fought with the owners other favoured hunting dog. Terrible really.

 

[Devonshire dumpling]

Yes methinks you are all speaking the truth! And it also seems that we have him for the next 14 years at least! Judging by DDs little man and our rough coated old lady who is at least 16 now ( a little incontinent and deaf and partly sighted and a litlle senile too agh).

What a similarity hey DD? We got ours both as 'rescues' as the smooth coated one was dispensed with after they had the 5 months of 'puppy fun' with him and the rough coated was to be shot as she fought with the owners other favoured hunting dog. Terrible really.

Yeah Rippy is 16 and had a grade 3 heart murmour and is stone deaf, but can still run flat out for a 4 mile hike lol...... lets hope we have a few more years! xx

 

[Bosworth]

If you really want to sort him out once and for all then get him in with a cockerel, often they are seriously aggressive and will attack dogs, humans in fact anything they feel like, especially in early spring when their hormones are rampent. Today i took my 11 week only pup in with me when I fed my chickens (I don't have a cockerel at the moment), they went across to have a look at him, he backed away, they followed him. he did get pecked once, that will be enough to put him off chicken chasing as a sport. he is a bedlington so is destined to be a determined hunter. My other dog Poppy, a 4.5 year old bedlington whippet lurcher was introduced to the chickens in this way when she was a puppy, as a result my chickens can wander around the yard without being pestered by the dogs. My chickens actually follow the dogs round as they hunt for rats, in the vain hope they will be able to steal the freshly killed rat from them, a truly treasured treat.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Ditto Bosworth above really.

We have two dogs here: one a rescue (dunno exactly what!) 9? yrs; the other a Lakeland X terrier, 2 yrs old. Both thought (up till now) that anything feathered that moved was fair game for them.

We've got a bantam hen with six chicks at the moment. Both dogs have been eyeing the chicks up for a few days, and I've had to watch them both like a hawk, knowing that if I turned my back for a split second there'd be a massacre.

Yesterday, I was feeding the fowls, and the dogs must have got a bit too close to the hen and her chicks and she obviously felt they were a threat - coz she absolutely FLEW at them, no messing!!! Exit two dogs thoroughly chastened with tails between legs! Lesson thoroughly learnt. Hallelujah.

A sassy little bantam cockerel will do just as well.

 

[Devonshire dumpling]

Ditto Bosworth above really.

We have two dogs here: one a rescue (dunno exactly what!) 9? yrs; the other a Lakeland X terrier, 2 yrs old. Both thought (up till now) that anything feathered that moved was fair game for them.

We've got a bantam hen with six chicks at the moment. Both dogs have been eyeing the chicks up for a few days, and I've had to watch them both like a hawk, knowing that if I turned my back for a split second there'd be a massacre.

Yesterday, I was feeding the fowls, and the dogs must have got a bit too close to the hen and her chicks and she obviously felt they were a threat - coz she absolutely FLEW at them, no messing!!! Exit two dogs thoroughly chastened with tails between legs! Lesson thoroughly learnt. Hallelujah.

A sassy little bantam cockerel will do just as well.

Hmmmmmmmm wouldn't like to put it to the test, my boy used to boss the bullocks around and got put in hospital because one trampelled him, he never learnt, and at 16 hr had a massive go at a big hedgehog and came off really badly, he was still bashing it around the garden, the red mist comes down with my boy! he was also beaten up by a hare when he was younger, hes not particularily good at killing, but goes into a frenzy. Having said that hes never come across a cockerel!

 

[Vizslak]

hmmm bad idea with the cockrel thing I think, you will end up with a dead cockrel and a scarred up dog!

 

[Foxhunter49]

hmmm bad idea with the cockrel thing I think, you will end up with a dead cockrel and a scarred up dog!

I am inclined to agree with you!

There are numerous dogs around here and pens of chickens, ducks and turkeys, the only dogs I trust with the birds are the two Labs and my GSD. The BC would kill them in a flash! I do let the terriers in the pens when I am there and there is a rat about but I would never leave them alone together.

I have some chicks under lights and the GSD was stood there whilst I fetched them some water. When I returned, all of a minute later the dog was sat looking at the chicks which were less in number. I turned to her and saw her mouth was puffed. I held out my hand and told her to return them to me and she spat four out, one at a time. None hurt, just wet. She wants to mother everything!

 

[Bosworth]

I very much doubt you will end up with a dead cockerel, most dogs will run a mile rather than meet a cockerel face to face. They do not react like hens who if faced with a dog run round like idiots. Cockerels will turn and attack with spurs, claws and beak. Phenomenally ferocious and terrifying to any dog that is an opportunist like the patterdale the OP mentioned. Yes a violent agressive dog may well injure the cockerel, but to be honest that is not what the OP was talking about. Its a bit like with cats. My tom cat will take on any dog and has never backed down or been injured. He rarely has to unsheath his claws. he has stood his ground to a racing greyhound and he was a known cat killer,and as a result the racing greyhound proceeded to ignore him scratched its nose and muzzle badly and as a result was left to live in peace. He never runs, as a result he never gets chased. But I have seen the wild farm cat be chased by the same greyhound because it always runs away.

 

[Vizslak]

this is a patterdale we are talking about, there will be a dead cockrel...alright for dinner I guess

 

[Vizslak]

I know a lot of dogs that would also kill the cat no matter how good at standing up for itself it is. Dangerous advice to post on a forum, anyone could read this and decide to chuck their dogs in with cats/cockrels and end up with a blood bath.

 

[CAYLA]

this is a patterdale we are talking about, there will be a dead cockrel...alright for dinner I guess

Memories lol
Not just pats, one of our shepherds killed 3 batches of 16 lots of hens and a good 5 cocks, he killed scranned them, there was only legs left, the step father from hell was furious, they where his pride and joy
Would not care I never deemed him high drive, but suppose when there is no one about lol
We said a fox broke in, but that grew thin, an we eventually found a dead fox, he also killed that, can u imagine the fight that would have put up, he only have a few scars on his nose
This was at the stables I kept my horse.

 

[CAYLA]

I know a lot of dogs that would also kill the cat no matter how good at standing up for itself it is. Dangerous advice to post on a forum, anyone could read this and decide to chuck their dogs in with cats/cockrels and end up with a blood bath.

Yep....I think it def depends on the dog, if its wants the cat dead, the cat is a gonner, there was a notorious cat killer round here, it killed one of ours (years ago) and she was feral and pretty mean, the dog had wounds like you would not believe, but he would kill for the love of it, he also killed alot of foxes and a few tethered goats

 

[Vizslak]

If they eat it too you have double lost out, dont even get it for dinner

 

[CAYLA]

If they eat it too you have double lost out, dont even get it for dinner

I exactly our shep ate them, but the 2nd dog I mention never did, he just killed them and left them.

 

[Devonshire dumpling]

Also Bosworth saying you are right and the attacking dog get a good spur in his face, is it worth the vets bills for a damaged eye? x

I say this not to be contrary, but my patterdale in his youth took on a Hare!! It totally beat him up, yes he retreated but he had a damaged eye, took us a good mth to get him right , terrier tend to go in face first they aren't really thinking just instinctive x

 

[YasandCrystal]

I am not going to try with a cockeral or one of my cats - too risky I pick up stranded worms on the pavement so I won't take risks with my pets. My dog is quite responsive to my call/instruction so I think I will just need to be very careful.

We have attended obedience classes and he is quite attentive and respectful of all the family members most of the time. Sometimes distraction tactics do not work, but they do for the most part.
The only comment I would make is that he is (probably just typical of the breed) such a feisty dog - he reminds me of a gobby yob (he has been neutered too) who is always bristling for a fight with other dogs, so any slightly non submissive type he meets wants to fight with him.

 

[Vizslak]

Sounds very typical of the breed! They remind me of asbo yoofs too! Cool little dudes. That character type generally means anything that fights back is even more game on hence the cockrel being a jolly bad idea!

 

[Clodagh]

We've had a few patterdales and most were fine with the chickens but one just shut down and went into kill mode, you couldn't stop her once her blood was up.
When we have hound puppies when they are very small they meet a large broody hen with chicks, who terrifies them and they are OK with poultry after that - they don't seem to work out they have grown!
Perhpas try him, on a lead, with a broody hen who is defending her chicks and see what happens, chasing chickens is such fun for a dog though, all that flapping and squarking and then a tasty meal at the end.

 

[YasandCrystal]

I know what you mean about a broody bird and nasty - there is a pheasant female at my summer paddock and she hides with her 1 little chiick in the long grass - I have twice come accross her and she goes mad holding her wings out and hissing at me!

 

[whisp&willow]

not just terriers! my american bulldog has thw same loves in life...!

she used to be fine with the chickens... chased them once got a boot up the butt and left them be... but her prey drive has kicked in big time! cats are no longer safe, and i'm guessing given half a chance no chicken or cockerel would be either!