All was well...then the neighbors got a dog

[1muttsfan]

Quote:
Another good option

 

[barry750]

I disagree with the imminent danger wording. Does that mean that the dog has to maul one before you can take action? Maybe he was just chasing your chickens so he can lick them and show them where he keeps his dog dish. Perception is all that matters. If you saw a sketchy person walking around your property but not touching anything because they knew you were watching would you just not confront them? No. You have to protect your investment. If you have known your neighbors for a length of time then they knew you had chickens when they brought the dog home and must have known the risks. I say shoot first and ask questions later. They got the dog to protect their property and you have a gun to protect yours.

 

[sandykopandy]

I had a similar situation and very kindly went to the neighbors and just said, "I saw your dog checking out the coop and I'm feeling worried about it." They were totally sympathetic and stopped letting their dog out freely. Of course that didn't prevent a coyote from killing all three :-(.

 

[teach1rusl]

Good neighbors for 13 years deserve courtesy. They have every right to have a dog run loose on their property, whether it's roaming close to your property or not. Now, if it's actually coming on to your property (which it most likely will eventually, since it doesn't know boundary lines), then it's in your hands. But if I have good neighbors, I'm not going to shoot their dog unless I see it going after my birds.
I would speak with them out of concern for the dog almost getting hit in the road, and hopefully they'll restrict him. If you're willing to go the extra mile, you might even ask them to bring the dog over on a leash to see how he does around your birds, and to correct him if he goes after them so that he learns to stay away. That's what I did with my SIL's dog, and now that dog pays no attention to my chickens when she's here.
Maybe he won't learn, and more severe actions will have to occur if he goes after your chickens down the road. But maybe it will help, you won't have to shoot a dog, and you'll preserve a long time neighbor relationship.

 

[barry750]

I didn't mean to shoot the dog on sight. I meant if you see it doing anything remotely aggressive around the chickens or your property to take the appropriate actions to protect your investment.

 

[Ole rooster]

1muttsfan......if you were refering to my post, I said when time comes. That doesn't mean go hunting for the dog. Maybe you just didn't read the entire post. That does happen sometimes.

Barry has the idea. Do you wait till one is killed to consider they may in danger? Is that really wise? But then I guess your concern is the neighbors feelings.

 

[Country Chick]

Quote:
I totally agree!!!! Wish you the best of luck! Let us know the outcome.

I'm glad you are not in the mind set of taking the dog for a ride!!! Like there is not enough dogs that are living in the pound already or strays!!!!

And if I see someone shady on my property - I go out with my gun, tell the SOB to get the &$#% off my property or I'll cap his ass!!

 

[Wisher1000]

I have some neighbors across the street from my drive. We can't see their house from ours, only as we are entering the road. They are not friends but we have spoken at the mailboxes a couple of times. The lady even asked me to keep an eye on her home when she was out of town. With that said, there was a starving dog dropped off on our road last year and her sixteen year old son started feeding it. I went over and talked to him while he was in the yard. I said, "I see that stray dog is hanging out at your house, are you planning to keep it?" He said his mom didn't want him to but he liked the dog. I said that I understood and that I like dogs, too. I then told him I was worried that the dog would eat some of my chickens and that I would have to shoot it. I asked him to keep it up if he decided to keep it so it wouldn't hurt the chickens. I also told him that I knew that if my chickens came to his side of the road the dog couldn't be blamed but if the dog came to my house I would have to shoot it to protect my birds. Soon thereafter the dog was struck and killed by a car on the road and that was that.

Now, they have another dog. It came over and killed one of my chickens. My boys chased it off and it got away before I came home. I didn't know at the time who it belonged to so I went to all my neighbors and asked if the dog belonged to them (the neighbors across the street were not at home) and explained that I needed to talk to the dog's owner to give them a chance to keep the dog home rather than SSS. I would like the same courtesy if it were my dog bothering someone else. I had another hen come up missing about that time and suspect that the dog may have brought it home to his house. I have seen the dog one time in the last three months, tied to their porch. I think that they found the hen and knew that I would shoot the dog if it came back. It is evidently living in the house.

I'm okay with losing the two birds and having the problem solved without any animosity with my neighbors. We both know the score and can still be friendly. I will not hesitate to shoot the dog if it is seen in my yard, and all of my other neighbors know how I feel as well. All in all, it worked out well. I hate that I lost the two birds, but all the cards are on the table and we all understand each other now. I would have willingly given up the birds to accomplish the same goal.

 

[1muttsfan]

Quote:
Sorry, I should have been more clear, I found the posts before yours to be quite objectionable.
If there were a dog actively chasing my chickens I would not hesitate getting out the 22. But this dog has made no aggressive moves, and is on his own property. Lethal force seems excessive, and illegal to boot.

 

[OldGuy43]

And just how "friendly" will you feel towards them if their dog kills one or more of your flock?