At wits end. Neighbors dogs

[highcountrychickens]

Quote:
I used pepper spray (bear spray) on a couple of dogs that were here (before we had chickens). It worked like a CHAMP... The sound of the spray scares the heck out of them, then the pepper kicks in as they're already running. It's quite satisfying.

One warning though... be SURE the wind is at your BACK when you spray...

 

[twentynine]

ps... Twentynine, I'm sorry you didn't have a better lawyer... what a rotten thing you went through -

Thanks, I did not hire the lawyer other than to give him a few bucks to advise me. Never placed him on retainer, and he never appeared in court on my behalf. Small claims type thing, no telling how much the lawyer would have cost me, and the amount I could have recovered was probably less than $200. Remember this happened going on 25 years ago.

Now, today in our local we have parish wide animal control. I have to give those guys a pat on the back. The few times I have used them, they showed up right away, and stuck with the job until the dog/dogs were captured.​

 

[kidd42]

I have to agree with Poultryhaven, shoot, shovel, and Shhh.
You tried taking the legal route. The dog owner seem's to be in denial, or unwilling to admit his wrong. Go buy a 22 cal. and then dispose of the dog's body. I have three dogs of my own, and love dog's. But not if they are killing my livestock.

 

[jjdward]

I live in Georgia and here it is also legal to kill a dog that is harrasing your livestock. My neighbor's dog chased all my chickens out of their run. It was a bloodhound and about 75 pounds and just knocked the door down. She didn't kill any chickens but I almost never got them back in the run. They liked life on the outside I guess!

I talked to the neighbors and told them that I wasn't trying to be difficult but I had a lot of time and money in my chickens. I told them that I didn't want to have to shot the dog but that I was more than willing to. They were nice and made sure the dog was at home. I guess I was lucky. As far as your situation, I hope all things work in your favor. For now, just take pictures of the dogs on your property and if they bother the chickens or more importantly you/your family, shoot the dogs. Also, I have found that an electric fence around the pen/coop works great for dogs. I have 6 strands and have had no losses (knock on wood). It will knock my basset hound for a flip i know that!

 

[Paegglvr]

I don't know what jurisdiction you're in, but ordinarily you can seek punitive damages in a trespass action in addition to the actual damages causes by the dogs (i.e. dead chickens). I'm not a lawyer and not giving you legal advice, but generally speaking trespass is a tort where damages is not an element; meaning you don't need to prove that your property was damaged to win. Generally speaking if you win, you get costs, but be careful, expenses like developing pictures, purchasing police reports, etc. may not be costs taxable to the losing party in your state.

Something to think of might also be to seek an injunction along which your request for money damages, i.e. a court order to keep those dogs off your land. Any subsequent dog problem would then be contempt of court... police could enforce the order, your attorney could get his fees from the dog owner, etc.

Generally most local bar associations have a lawyer referral service and allow for a free consult... it's always worth it to hire a lawyer before resorting to shooting at anything!

There are a number of organizations that provide free or low cost legal service & your county bar association might be able to put you in touch with them.

I understand wanting to shoot a dog, i have been tempted myself... but its not the dog's fault, its the owner who should be brought to task. (And you don't want to risk breaking the law over a chicken... even if its a nice chicken and not a mean rooster).

 

[mediazeal]

Quote:
BRILLIANT!!

 

[Castaway]

Quote:
I used pepper spray (bear spray) on a couple of dogs that were here (before we had chickens). It worked like a CHAMP... The sound of the spray scares the heck out of them, then the pepper kicks in as they're already running. It's quite satisfying.

One warning though... be SURE the wind is at your BACK when you spray...

I'm assuming pepper spray would be effective against any predator.

 

[Castaway]

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I agree. This seems to be another case of a dog simply walking unobstructed into a yard.

 

[danielbrown]

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Yep. I lost almost 50 chickens to 2 dogs that broke in to the pen. Only 1 chicken was left alive when the dogs were shot. A whole flock killed in minutes.

 

[jjdward]

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I agree. This seems to be another case of a dog simply walking unobstructed into a yard.

I will agree that a fence might have stopped this from happening but can I assume that you aren't trying to blame the chicken owner?