Neighbour attracting foxes

[Another leaf]

This is a bit of a weird one and I'm not sure what to do

Sparing unnecessary details our neighbors refuse to stop feeding the foxes

Now I'm going to try and answer all the obvious questions in this space here.
The coop is literally bear proof. It's been tested, I know. There have not been any successful attacks since we got our LSG. Further to that, yes, and he is a natural, too good. I'll get to that in a minute. Yes I tried talking to them. Yes I called the ministry. No I did not choose to get them involved, yet, that is still very much an option. In my region we are going into winter. I live rurally. I do not want to kill any foxes.

Now. The situation is that the neighbors are attracting foxes to their house and my dog turned out to be an expert. He took to chasing away predators without even being trained. This leads him to the neighbors yard and their aggressive and perpetually tied up bigger dog. I do my absolute best to keep him in our yard. He is very responsive to recall commands. He is in no way interested in going outside the property. Unless there's a fox. Both dogs actually. LSG runs and the little one points and barks.

TLDR
Neighbors attract foxes
LSG does his job
Neighbour gets mad
Winter soon, foxes will become more of a problem
Ministry told me to give up his name and they'll investigate or I can shoot them, the foxes
1 Debating neutralizing the lot of them as they're dependant now
2 Debating giving him up and being labeled a rat in this small community. Won't do anything about the foxes
3 Left field alternative option, just saturating the area the foxes regularly come from with bear spray. May deter foxes, should stop LSG from trying to find them. Might aggravate chickens. Is perfectly legal. Still doesn't really solve the problem

What do?

And just to make it abundantly clear, my dog absolutely does not seek out their property for any reason at all. He's running off foxes. When he's called, he comes right back

 

[NatJ]

It sounds like keeping your dog on your own property would solve the problem.

Can you put up a fence at the property line, and teach your dog not to cross it?

The bigger and stronger the dog, the harder it is to make a dog-proof fence. If you can teach your dog to respect the fence, even when a fox goes over or through it, you can get away with a lesser (cheaper) fence than if your dog will try to jump over or run through.

Electric fence may be worth considering, maybe in addition to a physical fence. The combination can work in many cases where just one or the other does not. The physical fence makes it obvious where the boundary is, while a strand of electric wire (or an "invisible fence" collar that makes a shock when he gets close) convinces the dog that it must respect this fence.

 

[mowin]

It's only going to take one time for your dog to get too close to their dog and you will be blamed and they most likely won't hesitate to call the authorities on you, or worse, shoot your dog.
1. Shoot the foxes.
2. fence in your lawn
3. Give them up. But, you'll still have to deal with fox issues as they will be hungry.

 

[Another leaf]

1. Shoot the foxes.
2. fence in your lawn
3. Give them up. But, you'll still have to deal with fox issues as they will be hungry.

This is exactly where I'm at. I don't like any of these options, last resorts even.

A fence is something I'm exploring but I can't justify thd cost. If it was a couple hundred $ sure, at least I tried. But I've neither the time nor money, it would cost over a grand and days of time

So if it's true that these foxes will soon be a much greater threat. What's the most effective way to get them? Plural

The last week the dogs have been wired. There's definitely more activity now, im wondering if it's a female with kits and one of their dens is very close

Shoot, trap, snare or poison?
Trying to shoot them will be a massive time sink and likely without much success and a ton of risks

Finding a den might be possible but I've never tracked a fox before so I'd consider any success would be a matter of chance

Traps and snares are going to be much more effective but assuming there's more than 1 what is the best approach? To me a targeted approach would mean Trying to get them all at once otherwise they'd become much more careful.

Could I reasonably expect to bait them to get a true number on how many there are and how to deal with them?

Can I assume that going into early winter they'll come after the chickens soon?

Poisoning is also a consideration in this case? Could that be the most effective way, or is it just not that easy?

I'm trying to be as responsible as possible. And I need more input before I make a plan

 

[Another leaf]

It sounds like keeping your dog on your own property would solve the problem.

Can you put up a fence at the property line, and teach your dog not to cross it?

The bigger and stronger the dog, the harder it is to make a dog-proof fence. If you can teach your dog to respect the fence, even when a fox goes over or through it, you can get away with a lesser (cheaper) fence than if your dog will try to jump over or run through.

Electric fence may be worth considering, maybe in addition to a physical fence. The combination can work in many cases where just one or the other does not. The physical fence makes it obvious where the boundary is, while a strand of electric wire (or an "invisible fence" collar that makes a shock when he gets close) convinces the dog that it must respect this fence.

My dog is leashed to a 4 foot rebar spike in the ground by a 3/8 nylon rope when not in my direct control.

When he alerts to something I follow this procedure
1 call him and wait for him to sit
2 unleash him
3 allow him to go
4i follow him and recall him if I lose visual or I don't like how far he is
5 after 1 or 2 minutes I recall him and reward him before immediately returning back
6 I hook him back up and reward him again

I
He is extremely protective of the chickens ONLY. He's shown absolutely no aggression otherwise. He has absolutely no interest in leaving the property unless he's doing his job.

If I catch hiim running without authorization He's recalled immediately.

The rare instance I don't notice I recall him and he returns. Depending on the situation I might discipline him.. Rrefusal of his reward and a stern look gets the point across quite clearly.

As for my dogs welfare, he does not pursue dangerous predators. He alerts and performs a defensive role until I investigate. He stays within 10 feet or so, strictly. After some time we return and he is rewarded

On the other end of things the neighbors have a dog that they couldn't possibly control physically, they never trained it, they don't walk it, they don't socialize it even. It stays tied up behind the house 100% of the time on a short lead.

My dog is trained, socialized, submissive, friendly and content

So please tell me how I'm being irresponsible again?

 

[NatJ]

So please tell me how I'm being irresponsible again?

Huh? You said the problem is when the dog goes on the neighbor's property. So I talked about one way to keep the dog OFF the neighbor's property. Isn't that what you were asking for, suggestions to avoid the problem?

 

[Another leaf]

Huh? You said the problem is when the dog goes on the neighbor's property. So I talked about one way to keep the dog OFF the neighbor's property. Isn't that what you were asking for, suggestions to avoid the problem?

I said that the neighbors are attracting foxes.

I've explored all reasonable options I can think of. A fence simply isn't a reasonable expenditure for me be expected to endure. In time and money

I'm asking for moral and reasonable solutions to stop them from attracting predators.

Do I turn him in or kill every fox in half a mile? Is there a middle ground?

 

[Red Mangrove]

Kill them all, let God sort them out

 

[Gax000]

I said that the neighbors are attracting foxes.

I've explored all reasonable options I can think of. A fence simply isn't a reasonable expenditure for me be expected to endure. In time and money

I'm asking for moral and reasonable solutions to stop them from attracting predators.

Do I turn him in or kill every fox in half a mile? Is there a middle ground?

I don’t see a middle ground. I think you should turn him in. Feeding wildlife is not a wise move, especially predators. Bad for the foxes, and bad for the chickens. I’d also be tempted to turn them in for not properly caring for their own dog. Most dogs need socialization and training to thrive. In my opinion, they are treating the foxes better than their own dog.

 

[NatJ]

I said that the neighbors are attracting foxes.

I've explored all reasonable options I can think of. A fence simply isn't a reasonable expenditure for me be expected to endure. In time and money

I'm asking for moral and reasonable solutions to stop them from attracting predators.

Do I turn him in or kill every fox in half a mile? Is there a middle ground?

I don't know what will work about the foxes.

It looked to me like your dog was effectively keeping the foxes away from your own chickens and yard-- so just making sure your dog never goes over the property boundary would solve the problem of the dog going onto the neighbor's yard. So that's what I suggested.

If a fence wasn't the kind of suggestion you wanted, you certainly don't have to follow it. But I was not trying to call you irresponsible, and I was thoroughly confused that you thought I was.