AAARRGGH...Canine Serial Killer! Help!

[Nutcase]

We had plans to relocate our flock to our relatives' acreage so we could go on holidays to the USA, but...while seeking out a good coop location on the property, we saw two of the neighbours' goat kids lying dead on the field. There's now a dog next-door with the taste of blood in his mouth. He's broken into the property several times but fortunately our relatives don't have animals to kill...yet. Is there any chance we could deter the dog without killing it?

 

[NEChickenNoob]

Lead is your solution. High velocity lead! Once a predator gets a taste of blood and knows where the meal ticket is, good luck keeping it out, especially if the owner of the dog doesn't discipline. Now, there are less lethal lessons you can use. Rock Salt in a .410 Shotgun. That works for dang near everything. I know my advice is not PC or kind, but neither will the dog if he gets ahold of a chicken. Animals think in terms of "Is the risk worth the reward?". If the consequences are quite painful, the one may outway another. But understand this, if he gets one, he will more than likely never be broke of the habit. Other than that, keep em under lock and key or behind some friendly electric fence. And don't spare on the Joule rating. Seen dogs bolt under .5 joules before. 1 joule will light up a dog enough that it will be his last go round.

 

[ChaoSS]

Killing domestic dogs is immoral and illegal. Some of you should be ashamed of yourselves. Call animal control.

Actually, most states have laws that specifically permit the shooting of dogs that have "worried livestock".

Under the laws in many states, a dog that has harassed your livestock may be tracked down and shot, so long as it isn't on the owner's property.



As for morality, an unrestrained, untrained dog can be a threat, especially when they start forming packs. Perhaps you could say that you have a moral responsibility to take care of the issue if you can.

 

[bobbi-j]

If you are opposed to permanently making sure this dog doesn't get into your chickens (i.e. killing it), you might want to look into electric fencing around your coop and run. I'd put several strands around them, starting around 4" from the bottom and then 8" or so spacing after that. Of course, if your birds are going to free range, all bets are off.

 

[Folly's place]

Good hot electric fencing! Fresh chicken will be worth suffering citronella spray! Mary

 

[ChaoSS]

Electric fencing is usually the best bet. You can set up a temporary electric fence pen for under a hundred bucks.

 

[MrSelf Destruct]

I have heard that you can sprinkle chili powder around the perimeter of the property. As the dog comes in it will sniff it and then decide on it's own not to come on the property anymore. I'm not sure if this works but I have heard it from several sources. Something to try if you don't want to permanently ensure the dog doesn't come on the property.

 

[Mister B]

Talking about pepper gets me to thinking if you can do a sort of Pavlovian experiment. Maybe take a pile of chicken feathers and some chicken meat and cover it with some pure capsaisin, ghost chili, habenero or something like that. Dog checks out nice chicken smell and gets a snoot full of that stuff. PAIN. Repeat until the smell of chicken makes the dog wince. Think that might work?

 

[evemfoster]

Talking about pepper gets me to thinking if you can do a sort of Pavlovian experiment. Maybe take a pile of chicken feathers and some chicken meat and cover it with some pure capsaisin, ghost chili, habenero or something like that. Dog checks out nice chicken smell and gets a snoot full of that stuff. PAIN. Repeat until the smell of chicken makes the dog wince. Think that might work?

Dogs get used to peppers fairly quickly in fact they can develop a taste for it. I doggie sat a neighbors dog for three months while they were in South America visiting Family. Nearly everything they ate had hot peppers in it. The dog refused to eat anything without peppers in it. By the end of the summer i had gone through 4 bottles of different kinds of ground hot peppers. I even had to "pepper" its kibble. So don't count on the pepper working for too long. It didn't take more than a couple weeks for my dog to enjoy and prefer hot peppered dog food too.

Same thing with those crystals they sell to scare away pests. They get used to the smell and ignore it in no time.

 

[Anigozanthos]

We are in Queensland, Australia and own rifles. To clear things up, you need a licence for any type of rifle, including air rifle. In order to get the licence you need to demonstrate you are the member of a gun club, or require it for work purposes, or live on a rural property over 40 acres where it is required for protection of livestock, or have permission from an owner of a property over 40 acres to shoot on their property for the purpose of animal control or to make a livelihood. Or that it's a heritage piece that has been rendered inoperable.

You also need to pass criminal history checks and semi-automatic and automatic weapons are banned from civilian ownership. So if the OP's relative's acreage is not a large one, it may difficult for them to keep a rifle.

Also, I second the pepper idea NOT working in the long term. We've tried it to keep our own dogs digging up our reticulation systems and it didn't deter them at all. I'd go with the electric fence if it were me. We've done that and it has been quite effective.