Gun Dog Forum

and my 10 month old pup is going crazy! Sitting underneath barking non-stop, standing up on his hind two legs sniffing through the cracks in the wood in the coop and jumping up underneath and banging his head in the wire beneath the coop. The birds are pretty smart- they are trying to hide fom him. I guess I'll have to put up some latice around the legs of the coop to keep him from having too much access plus it will keep him from getting pooped on. I love seeing him so worked up!

Other than the color of the dog and the openess of the yard this could be a reprint of my 16 month old GSP and our pigeon coop. My Hanna checks out the pigeons every morning as soon as I let her out.

It's like a big screen TV for dogs and certainly quality entertainment!!!

I woke up this morning to find that he had dug almost all the way under the latice I put up yesterday and there were big muddy paw prints on all four sides of the coop as high as he could reach. I am glad he is interested in birds but for those of you who have pigeon coops and don't keep your dogs kenneled all day, do yours do this too or will he stop at some point?

I think your coop needs to be away from the dog. You left the dog in the yard overnight with a pigeon coop nearby? I worried about keeping the dogs near the coop but that is really near. If you have to keep that set up, can you put a kennel around the coop and line it with concrete pavers on the bottom? Still I think you are just a accident away from getting your birds killed or liberated

Hate to bump such an old thread, but did you ever find a solution?

Well I put lattice all around the base of the coop, but he kept digging under it. When I would let the pigeons out to fly he would try to catch them. Now out of the original 10 only one smart pigeon remains. A storm ripped the coop out of the ground so the pigeon lives with my chickens now. I have since gotten a mountain cur squirrel and coon dog and she doesn't care about birds at all- she even is allowed in with my chickens. I fenced off the back part of my yard for the chickens to roam in but as soon as one of those cluckers got on the wrong side of the fence my bird dog had it killed in 2 seconds. Bb gun when charging the birds works best

bb gun how?

My sons red Ryder bb gun and pop him in the rump as he is charging them to kill them. Unlike when I used a shock collar he has no idea when I might open the back sliding door and reach out and touch him. He doesn't charge them now he just sits and stares at them licking his chops. I don't punish him for that.

mods might wanna lock this thread its about to go off track

The birddog? That you bought the pigeons to train?
Yeah go ahead and lock this thread before I change my mind!!

Yes. You might want to reread the post above. I only have 1 pigeon now and the rest are chickens. The pigeon even thinks he is a chicken now. So I do not want my dog to kill my chickens. I have been shot with a bb gun many times before as a kid and without the benefit of a dog's fur coat or a dog's high pain tolerance so I have a really good idea of how it must feel to a dog at the very worst. I have only had to do it 5-6 times. How many of you have only had to use an e-collar on your dog 5-6 times?? The bottom line is it worked. He doesn't charge them now, he just stares at them and drools. He is allowed to do that. I sit and stare and drool at certain things myself. But like myself, we can look but not touch.

Dogs are smarter than a lot of people give them credit for. A bird dog can still learn which kinds of bird he can hunt and which ones he can't. Just like a tree dog will know it is ok to tree coon but not possum after you work with it enough.

So if you still want to throw stones, I can't stop that.

I have chickens also as do many folks here - I also Have one dog that would gave been eager to kill our cats before we worked to TEACH him a leave it command. And I assure you that thou you are right that they can learn the difference that is where our agreements end.

PhillipTaylor wrote:Yes. You might want to reread the post above. I only have 1 pigeon now and the rest are chickens. The pigeon even thinks he is a chicken now. So I do not want my dog to kill my chickens. I have been shot with a bb gun many times before as a kid and without the benefit of a dog's fur coat or a dog's high pain tolerance so I have a really good idea of how it must feel to a dog at the very worst. I have only had to do it 5-6 times. How many of you have only had to use an e-collar on your dog 5-6 times?? The bottom line is it worked. He doesn't charge them now, he just stares at them and drools. He is allowed to do that. I sit and stare and drool at certain things myself. But like myself, we can look but not touch.

Dogs are smarter than a lot of people give them credit for. A bird dog can still learn which kinds of bird he can hunt and which ones he can't. Just like a tree dog will know it is ok to tree coon but not possum after you work with it enough.

So if you still want to throw stones, I can't stop that.

i can see you not wanting your dog to kill your chickens but you are comparing a BB gun to an ecollar for trash breaking?..how do you figure shooting a dog with BB's is ok?..if someone shot my dog with a BB gun theyd be pickin em out of their own rear for the rest of their life!!.....ruth

Have someone shoot you on the rear with a Red Ryder BB gun from 20 yards away. Then go put your dog' shock collar around your neck and shock yourself. You will see pretty quick which one is really worse. The problem is the dog thought he didn't have to listen to me if he was far enough away from me. He understands better now. Now if he even looks like he might be ready to run at them a stern "Ahh-ahh-ahh!" will stop him, where for the previous two years that would not have worked. I tried it believe me.

Obviously never shoot a lead pellet or pellet gun at a dog, or anywhere it might possibly hit an eye. The rump is a good place, hurts about like a wasp sting, and less than getting your dog microchipped. But just like getting a dog microchipped you do it to better the dog, not to hurt it for no reason. I will never have to do that again to the dog. He has learned. You don't agree with what I did fine. Go back to your shock collars and convince yourself that it is completely different. How the individual views it is beyond reproach- I'll never understand the cruelty I did in your eyes and you'll never understand the hypocrisy I see in these objections. Hope you all have a good fall season I know I will.

A bb gun has been the reccomended Barking cure for kennel barkers in a couple older training books I've read. There are modern solutions now, but the concept hasn't changed much. I have a good hunch way more dogs have been screwed up with E collars then with BB guns.

Just because it's not what you do (or I do) why don't we all pile on a heavy dose of holier then thou.

If he wants to shoot his dog in the rumb with a pellet to dissuade it let him and you can keep pumping them full of electricity.
At the end of the day he'll train his and you train yours. I don't remember him coming here looking for advice from all of you.

A BB gun was how My grandpa stopped many dogs from chasing cars trucks and tractors worked dam good too.

I've used BB guns too, on the farm with strange dogs and I've shot cows or bulls (shot a bull one time and it tore the heck out the feeder - stupid kid)

My problem with it on a bird dog is the association of the "gun" with "pain"

the dog can hear the report of the bb gun, probably knows it came from the owner thru that window

that and the injury a dog would get eventually, to the eye or soft tissue under the tail.

frankly I could care less this guy is using a bb gun on his dog, but I would hesitate to broadcast that on this forum - where folks come to learn how to teach their dogs.

"hmm my dog chases the chickens, perhaps I oughta break out my sons pellet gun" and that gun might be a little more skookum than a red ryder

so the problem isn't so much that this guy is doing it, its that he's sharing it with others

IMO

He was asked and answered a q, and that is the ONLY reason I am restraining myself.
If he were to have volunteered this as advice I'd be on it.

I have just deleted 3 seperate additional comments - I shall TRY to let it rest at what is unsaid.

Yes people need to use their brain and not use a pellet gun. The report of the bb gun sounds nothing like my 12 gauge. The dog isn't gunshy a bit he loves guns. A lot more dogs have been ruined by ecollars than bb guns I agree. And finally I did answer a question asked and did not say this was the best training method for everyone. I appreciate you leaving those comments unsaid but would have appreciated it all the more to have had all of your comments unsaid. Beat of luck to you

Thanks for the reply.