I would like your opinion

Question
QUESTION: I have a 10 month old male yellow lab mix.
He's like a giant "baby".  Just wants to be loved on
and likes to play w. you.

We have a 2 acre lot in front of a large wooded
area where he's allowed to roam free.'
He mostly stays in his yard or dog house and playes with
neighborhood dogs on occassion.

We have outside cats and he has never hurt one.  He has
never gotten in a fight w another dog.  He has no aggressive bone in his body.   My 5 yr old can do
anythign to him. He's just a playful curious
puppy, but he looks full grown at about 80 lbs.

Now a neighbor claims he killed ALL of his chickens
this past Saturday night.  His chickens had their
heads removed and my dog was seen in his yard (there's a
golden retriever, same color, size and same red collar
next door, the only differnce is the lenght of the fur...
but who can tell in the dark).  My dog was home all day
and barked like a maniac when the man pulled up.

Why would a "non-aggressive" dog that's never killed anything lay around all day and then sneak off for a while
accross the street between 7-9pm, kill every chicken they
have and then go back home and lay down?  Is this really
possible?  There were no chicken feathers or anything
to be found.  

He's well fed.  He has brought home an armadillo shell,
a deer leg and a dead squirrel before.  I doubt he killed
them.  He just found them dead in the woods.  They were
all dried up w. no blood on them.  So I don't doubt he'd
pick up something dead.  I just don't think he's a killer.

Animal Control (they called them and the sheriff to the house Sunday morning at 2am) didnt' think he did it and just told us to chain him for a few days until things calm
down.  

I've never owned a dog prior to this and I will value
your opinion.  

1.  Is it likely he would kill w/o any reason?

2.  Do underground fence systems work on large dogs?



ANSWER: It is possible your dog killed those chickens, as well as other things (the squirrel, for instance, and even the armadillo.)  The prey drive is high in the Labrador retriever but is supposed to be truncated (that means, stopped before end result, as in: eye (see object), stalk (stealthily approach), chase and kill, the "kill" is truncated to "retrieve", the Labrador retriever is bred for a "soft mouth".)  Your dog's prey drive may very well be over the top and this is a breed, after all, genetically designed to retrieve BIRDS.  It also may very well have been the OTHER dog; time will tell. A high prey drive means nothing about a dog's temperament as a good and safe companion to humans. I suggest you CHANGE YOUR DOG'S COLLAR so that at least the color varies from the other dog's.

Your idea of an underground electric fence has its pros and cons.  First of all, they don't always work: the dog often gets out (past the shock) and then CANNOT come back in (because of the shock.)  If there is sufficient stimulus to get the dog's attention (such as playmates -- other dogs he's accustomed to -- human friends in the neighborhood, and anything running FAST like a squirrel) he most likely will break the fence line. Things can get IN and the dog might run out with them, getting shocked and frightened enough to keep running and not be seen again (it's happened.)  It is not easy to condition a dog to one of these underground fences and needs to be done by a professional.  Real fear can result from improper conditioning and even psychological damage that can generalize to "strangers" or whatever the dog sees or hears when being conditioned and then cause fear aggression.  If you're going to investigate such a fence, you need to do your homework very carefully.  Contact every seller of this type of fence in your area and ask questions about their credentials to condition a dog to the fence line; be sure the FULL SHOCK is NEVER GIVEN for the purposes of training; and get REFERENCES!! GO to the references' homes if they will allow you and observe their dogs along their fence lines.  Further, if your dog is not responsible for the death of the chickens and the other dog repeats its offense at some future time, there is no way you can guaranty that your dog did NOT get through the fence line.

Consider installing a small fenced area inside your lot; I have one around my back door (a five foot chain link fence interior to my two acre property which encloses a 50 square foot area around my back door.)  This will contain the dog while allowing him some space and insure that he does not fall victim to angry neighbors or, if he is in fact the culprit, kill any more chickens.  I know there are many areas where dogs are allowed to roam free; I don't agree with this, especially not such a young dog with no serious training in obedience response.  Too much can go wrong, as you see.

I don't know where you live but in some states it is LEGAL to shoot and kill a dog that is harassing or harming livestock.  Since your neighbor seems convinced that your dog is the culprit, whether or not that is true, he may very well be planning to put an end to this problem at the first available opportunity.  Protect your dog.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I appreciate you're help.   I feel like you really know you're stuff.

We live in Georgia.  We have a leash law but since we're
in the Country nobody adhears to it.  Not sure if my neighbor cares if it's legal to shoot my dog?

Even though we're in the country our neighborhood is zoned
where you can't run a home bases business, has at least
2 acres of land per dwelling, "no livestock" and yet
some people have horses, cows and now I've found out "chickens".

A friend of mine offered a quite large dog pen to me.
Maybe they won't harm my dog before I can get it moved.
It think it'll be best for everyone.  He just won't
be able to go down the street to my aunts pond and swim
anytime he feels like it :-)

Answer
The dog pen sounds like a solution.  Get a top for it (they're sold at any home improvement store) and put a tarp on the top to block sun and rain. Don't confine the dog unfairly out there, he will suffer psychologically.  Meanwhile, keep him TIED UP securely, very securely.  This is a very nice family dog and quite young; learn about positive reinforcement training (go to ClickerTraining.com) and learn about training retrievers.  It may be possible for you to turn this prey drive around if you catch it now.  Here's a link to a Labrador Retriever forum:
http://www.lab-retriever.net/board/curbing-prey-drive-t7283304.html?s=02ecfa62ed

DO NOT expect pet owners to have the experience to guide you, but it's a place to share.  If possible, find a positive reinforcement trainer (NO CHOKER collars, NO ELECTRONIC collars, ONLY reward and praise) in your area.