Hi everyone, my Golden Retriever won't stop catching baby birds and killing them for fun. The thing is, I don't find it funny at all. I really don't know what to do to stop him from doing it. I've looked for the birds to see where they are coming from, but I haven't found them. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be very grateful for the help.
Translated from French
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Good evening,
I spend a good part of the spring rescuing fledglings that fall out of nests in my garden and those of my immediate neighbours.
I adopted Mia when she was 5 months old and I immediately taught her that "birds are friends". If trained when they're very young, dogs can learn not to hunt. For example: a blackbird once flew head-first into one of my patio doors. By the time I’d run over and opened the door, Mia was already standing over the fledgling, energetically licking its face – which probably finished off the poor little thing's trauma! With Mia, there's no trouble at all; she wouldn't even nip at a wounded animal sitting right under her nose for an hour.
Then I adopted Naïs... same training, I did everything exactly the same... but it didn't work at all! She chases anything with fur, feathers, or prickles that crosses her path, whether it's in the garden or out on a walk.
I've concluded that depending on a dog's nature and how strong their primal instincts are, training isn't always the most powerful factor. That said, I'm getting better at managing Naïs, who is now a year old; even if she can't help but "charge", if I'm there and I say "no", she backs off immediately.
So my advice would be to use positive reinforcement by rewarding them for walking away from the target. The catch is that you have to actually witness the "attack" in progress, be ready to react on the spot, have a dog that's very receptive to commands... and have an instinct that can actually be channelled.
Needless to say, there are no miracles, but I’d encourage you to give it a go...
Sadly, the bird is still just a "toy" to your dog. You need to find something he loves even more to distract him! And if you can't manage it, don't tell him off – it’s just part of his instincts, much like a cat will still love hunting mice, shrews, voles and the like, even when they’re well-fed...
Well, he’s got a marrow bone that he wouldn't put down before he started killing birds. The problem is, nothing seems to interest him more than these fledglings.
Unfortunately, your dog still sees the bird as a "toy". You’ll need to find something he loves even more to help distract him and redirect his attention! And if you don’t succeed, don’t tell him off—it’s just part of his natural instinct, much like how a cat still loves to hunt mice, shrews, and field mice, even if they’re well-fed...
Hi there, it’s a bit of a tricky one because it’s just instinctive behaviour – at the end of the day, he’s a dog...
You shouldn’t scold him as he isn’t doing it to be "nasty"...
You could teach him a "leave it" command using treats and lots of praise, almost as if it were a new trick. Alternatively, try distracting him with a toy he can "hunt" or chase, etc.
Dogs often have squeaky toys that make a noise when they’re chewed...
To him, this is exactly the same...
Even if the poor little chick isn’t exactly on board with it! ;)
Anyway, I don’t think punishment is the right approach here; he simply wouldn’t understand why he was being told off.
