Can I manage my neighbors instead?

[lisahaschickens]

all I will say is that I am both a chicken lover and a dog lover and I securely fence my large dogs to keep them away from my chickens and my neighbors animals (sheep, horses, cats, etc). That is true love for a dog.

As for that huskie, if it truly threatened you and attacked your dog, you should have called animal control. They would not have gotten the dog back. There is zero tolerance for that sort of thing when it comes to the law. NO DOG should ever act like that. Its attacking the chickens should be the least of their worries - if it hurts a person or a dog, your neighbors could be in big trouble.

This is hard for me to say because my family has lost a beloved angel of a dog that was falsely accused of attacking a cat by an evil neighbor who hates all dogs. But, because of that I know for sure that the law will side with the accuser and a dangerous animal like that needs to be contained or taken out of the home. The end.

Get your chickens. That's your right. If your neighbors can't control their animal, please do not hesitate to get the law involved. Good luck to you!

 

[Akane]

While it should be there responsibility to keep their dog contained I would consider it irresponsible to bring in animals that could be harmed by the dog without improving my fences. At minimum I'd run electric around the whole place. Cheap and easy. It will help keep your chickens in, their dog out, and help keep other predators out. Adding chickens with a dog around that you know gets loose and not adding your own precautions is like standing there with a pair of chicken hawks or coyotes looking at you saying you're gonna let chickens free range. You would be sure to fence your chickens well then or make sure the threat is gone first.

 

[peacockgurl]

I agree with everything everyone has said here, and this is just my 2 cents

I am on four acres and we have a neighbor about six acres away that lets his dogs run wild! We have a double fence on our property: two acres around the house are fenced, then another 1/4 fence coming off the back yard. My chickens are free range in the 1/4 acre. So any dogs that get passed the two fences to eat my chicks are gonna get a taste of Mr. Shotgun. I love dogs, I think they are wonderful animals, but I was bitten by a dog when I was a kid and I am very wary of animals that aren't fenced or on leashes. I was bitten by a "very nice dog" who happened to not like roller blades. So I say, if the animal gets onto your property do what you have to do to protect your investments (not to mention your pets!).

good luck!

 

[lisahaschickens]

p.s. 120 pounds is huge for a huskie... I would bet it's a malamute or a mix with something else. That aggressive behavior doesn't sound like husky at all to me. I know that's not the point here, but I just thought of it.

 

[andisgarden]

I did call animal control... we are outside city limits and the county has no animal control. They said to tell the neighbors to control it or shoot it. Not a lot of options.

As far as fencing we have a no barb wire ordinance in our area and putting fencing up around our land would be cost prohibitive. We will make a safe coop and run that is covered. I will only let them range when I am at home to keep an eye on them. I only hope that their poop rolling mongrel will stay out of my yard.

BTW I have a pointer and Great Pyrenees just wait till that pup is full grown he will put that dog on the run.

I am all about killing my neighbors with kindness but, this is silly. We have discussed it ad nausium and they insist chickens are gross. So the argument goes no where with them. As for sharing poo... LOL that would add insult to injury.. what would the gardener do with that????

 

[speckledhen]

We are on a very low fixed income; nevertheless, we used field fencing to perimeter fence just over 2 acres of our 5.37 ac property. It does not cost much (330 ft costs about $150 plus the steel U-posts) and the birds do not need more than that to run on. Any dog that gets past that disappears. I'm not waiting for it to kill a bird. A 120 lb dog of any breed that corners you on your own property is a dangerous dog and needs to be eliminated. Dont even try to talk me out of that sentiment.

 

[lisahaschickens]

Hey! The Great Pyrenees is great news! They will guard ANYthing! Your chickens will be safe with that kind of guardian. You can leave the dog alone with them even, and they will be safe. you can find many posts on BYC about it, plus I am friends with a couple of people who breed and show pyrenees... my one friend told me the other day that her friend has a pyrenees to guard her alpacas from coyotes in Colorado. One died of a sickness a couple of weeks ago and the Pyrenees sat with the dead body all night, refusing to let the coyotes get it even then. Then, when they buried it, the dog slept on the grave for two nights. They are livestock guardians above all else. Your chickens will be in good hands!

I still think your neighbors dog needs to be eliminated if it is truly people-aggressive and not contained. I can't believe the authorities won't help! If they did tell you to shoot it if it bothers you, I'm sure you could hire someone locally to take care of that for you... though I hate to think it would have to end that way.

 

[ChooksChick]

I fenced part of our yard in cattle panel as a perimeter to the run, then hardware cloth, since big dogs can't barrel through the cattle panel, whilst they could perhaps damage the staples that hold my hardware cloth to the 2' x 4' wood that makes up the run. Further, all of this is behind a 4' chain-link in a residential neighborhood- a rear neighbor had a ton of pitbulls they mill and beat (working on saving the dogs, too).

 

[only one lay]

Please do not feel guilty in any way for the demise of the neighbors dog. If it was aggressive with your child it should be dead. They will just get another dog anyway and the loss of a child is not something one gets over.

 

[hippygirl]

Well, it seems that you won't be able to change their minds about the chickens. Maybe if you offer them fresh eggs (or are they the sort to turn up their noses at "brown/country" eggs?) they will not be so vocal about their hatred of chickens. It's worth a shot, assuming things stay civil.

As far as the dog, I hate to see any animal killed. BUT these owners are supposed to be responsible for their dog and if they aren't, then this is what happens. When you say you are 90 acres away from them, WOW. That's all I can say. I also think they are taking a lot for granted. If you don't kill their dog, someone else will because they won't realize that it is a neighbor's dog. We live on 75 acres and I have neighbors behind me and I would not have any idea if a dog belonged to any of them, you know? A strange dog on my property would NOT be ok at all. That dog is running totally loose. They really don't seem to care? I know the answer already, I guess. I am just amazed.

If the authorities are telling you to kill the dog, then next time he is threatening your family or animals, that might just be what you have to do. It really sucks, but an animal like that running loose is just NOT ok. I am appalled that they do not do anything about it. THEY should be the ones to put a fence up to keep their dog in. Maybe you should tell them that you didn't move to the country to have people's dogs come threaten your family. Holy cow.