Lil Misfit
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So, I currently have a 1yo pit bull, he's VERY game and he finds chickens to be the most interesting animal on the farm, even though he's been around them his whole life, and I've always made it clear that he's not even supposed to look at them. He had no interest in the chickens initially, until about 6mos old. I have used balanced training methods from the beginning, prong collars, E-Collars, treats, toys, and lots of praise. All of it is ineffective if there's something small and furry for him to get.
He's caught the chickens a couple times but never hurt them, he's even held the chicks in his mouth and was bouncing on his front paws trying to play. The only chicken to ever fight back really turned him on, he was very excited and I think he would've killed her. He's good at listening, so when I tell him to stop taunting them he turns to come to me, but then he turns around two seconds later and goes at them again.
He is extremely high energy and even after working him really hard he still comes inside shaking from exhaustion and paces all over the house, he's always chewing something, always knocking something over, always opening packages, "shopping" in the pantry or play fighting with the other dogs. I can tell him to calm down and he'll lay down on my feet for a minute, but man his doggy ADD is bad. He has zero drive when it comes to staying on task, the only time he gets in the zone is when he's mercilessly chasing a chicken or pursuing a game trail. I have tried to train him (just basic obedience with high value treats) around ducks and chickens in the past, and he'll pay attention for a minute, but he can never focus, they're always more interesting than the treat or toy in my hands.
I get the feeling he'll never be trust worthy in the house while I'm gone or around the animals if I turn my back, and I'm prepared to deal with that, he's going to have a whole yard to himself and a playmate to roughhouse with. But I'm just wondering if anyone has ever had a dog like this calm down and become a well adjusted adult? Is there anything that can be done to improve his attention to my commands or his ability to be around chickens without trying to kill them? I don't expect him to chill with them, but if one got out I'd appreciate it if he could simply ignore it.
And another question, this time about dobies. I've always loved them, and I've always wanted one. Is it likely that another high prey drive dog would turn out this way, even with balanced training? Do dobies generally behave well around chickens, ducks, or livestock once they're well socialized and they know the boundaries?
Edit: He's been fixed. I didn't want to fix him before 18mos but he had other bad behaviors as well as level 10 energy. Getting him fixed definitely helped with his bahavior and even his energy levels.
He's caught the chickens a couple times but never hurt them, he's even held the chicks in his mouth and was bouncing on his front paws trying to play. The only chicken to ever fight back really turned him on, he was very excited and I think he would've killed her. He's good at listening, so when I tell him to stop taunting them he turns to come to me, but then he turns around two seconds later and goes at them again.
He is extremely high energy and even after working him really hard he still comes inside shaking from exhaustion and paces all over the house, he's always chewing something, always knocking something over, always opening packages, "shopping" in the pantry or play fighting with the other dogs. I can tell him to calm down and he'll lay down on my feet for a minute, but man his doggy ADD is bad. He has zero drive when it comes to staying on task, the only time he gets in the zone is when he's mercilessly chasing a chicken or pursuing a game trail. I have tried to train him (just basic obedience with high value treats) around ducks and chickens in the past, and he'll pay attention for a minute, but he can never focus, they're always more interesting than the treat or toy in my hands.
I get the feeling he'll never be trust worthy in the house while I'm gone or around the animals if I turn my back, and I'm prepared to deal with that, he's going to have a whole yard to himself and a playmate to roughhouse with. But I'm just wondering if anyone has ever had a dog like this calm down and become a well adjusted adult? Is there anything that can be done to improve his attention to my commands or his ability to be around chickens without trying to kill them? I don't expect him to chill with them, but if one got out I'd appreciate it if he could simply ignore it.
And another question, this time about dobies. I've always loved them, and I've always wanted one. Is it likely that another high prey drive dog would turn out this way, even with balanced training? Do dobies generally behave well around chickens, ducks, or livestock once they're well socialized and they know the boundaries?
Edit: He's been fixed. I didn't want to fix him before 18mos but he had other bad behaviors as well as level 10 energy. Getting him fixed definitely helped with his bahavior and even his energy levels.