Fizzybelle - re your comment to MyHaven :
" And the protecting their food argument? Uh, no they were killing your pets, pets are not a food source. "
Sorry, ( and I am not into an argument here ) - but once a dog has been 'blooded' - anything that presents as living kill - IS a food source. The dog(s) don't know any different.
They may not even be hungry at the time but that is of no consequence and their inner urges do not require "to kill for fun" ... they will kill a pet or anything, that is potential for food. It is inherent in their nature, and harks back to their origins. It is only humans who 'kill for fun'.
This is the reason, good - responsible owners of dogs, teach a dog that a bone or meat / food dish, can be taken away from them - at any time the 'alpha' or any other person in a family wishes to do so. This is a must teaching, for all responsible dog owners. Consider what might happen if a dog gets a hold of something really poisonous ? ... it is paramount that it is taught to 'give it up' for the health of the dog than just allowing it to eat whatever it likes.
However, dogs are 'pack animals' by nature ... and when together, roaming at large, can revert very quickly to their inherent behaviours.
Dogs do not make distinctions.
................
An update to anyone interested - about Sonya - the assistance dog we were given to raise.
Our assistance dog Sonya, who did not pass muster and has been returned and sold by the programme to ( I was told - and hope ), a lady who is experienced in dog handling / training - - - rather than give up anything, would prefer to rapidly swallow whole, something she should not have had ( mainly wood ). It was part of the reason she did not make the cut for any category ( along with most of her litter mates who displayed the same tendencies - wood eating, depraved appetite - or 'pica' as it is medically termed ) ... Sonya wasn't hungry - just tried to be dominant over what she thought was food - something found to eat. Wow. ... ( often considered a neurological problem, as well as formed habit ). She did not attempt to bite me when extracting something from her mouth - but was incredible at how fast she could swallow an object before I could retrieve it. Like lightning she was - cunning as all get out.
I have only ever had success in removing objects ( bones, chews, nasties etc. ) from all of my dogs - but Sonya was something else altogether !! . She actually ate floorboards so quickly ( $$$ damage - large ) when not watched for 15 minutes or so, and munched on rungs of chairs, not to mention the twigs and wood debris in the back garden. She was re-introduced then, to another area to defecate and pee, which had little or no wood bits to swallow. ... The patio of all places - all of which has now been removed and replaced - with thorough washing out of the underneath drainage areas.
At the suggestion of the assistance programme, she was 'crated' to prevent further damage to the interior of our family room. NOT a good form of correction, for a beautiful dog. ... There is much more I could tell, but will decline.
It was heart-wrenching for us to have to give her up - at the assistance programmes' request ( they own the dogs outright - even when fully trained dogs are given to people who need assistance - they can recall them at any time !!!) - as she and her 7 litter mates were suspect from the beginning. One of them sadly passed away unexpectedly, one had to have an operation to remove dangerous stuff in the gut ( twice ) - one had operations on two legs that were not right - and only 1 of the 8 puppy litter ( a male dog ) is now ok to continue. The remainder including Sonya were scavengers of the worst kind. Sonya also was feisty ( ok for a pet, but not for an assistance dog ), nervous around trams, trains and buses - and had the eating disorder. I would think they will never again breed from that pairing of stud dog and beitch ( a word to replace the ***** !!! for heavens sake )
Even though she showed problems from day 1, we did love having her - and miss her so very much.
Thought I would take this opportunity to let everyone know - as a few have asked previously, how she is going.
Cheers........
What I meant by my comment is that MyHaven's pets are not a food source for someone else's dog. I get that the dogs' don't know any different of course, and they were acting instinctually, so to them the birds they killed were food or sport, but to us no they are not, and importantly the council should not have made that comment. Someone (in this case MyHaven), who was responsible in ensuring her pets were confined to their own yard, those animals are not a food source for a negligent owners wandering and intrusive animals (I'm assuming negligence here as the dogs yard was not ensured to be secure). To clarify, I meant more from a legal human point of view. The dogs behaviour is awful, but not unusual for a dog. Their owners however need to accept responsibility for any damage their dogs may cause, as the dogs would be considered their property, therefore the dogs behaviour good or bad is on them legally, and the council should do what they're supposed to and penalize people whose animals who cause problems to other people and their property.
I'm sure we both agree though that we hope this goes MyHaven's way, and her new chicks will be safe in the future
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[COLOR=333333]) - as she and her 7 litter mates were suspect from the beginning. One of them sadly passed away unexpectedly, one had to have an operation to remove dangerous stuff in the gut ( twice ) - one had operations on two legs that were not right - and only 1 of the 8 puppy litter ( a male dog ) is now ok to continue. The remainder including Sonya were scavengers of the worst kind. Sonya also was feisty ( ok for a pet, but not for an assistance dog ), nervous around trams, trains and buses - and had the eating disorder. I would think they will never again breed from that pairing of stud dog and beitch ( a word to replace the ***** !!! for heavens sake ) [/COLOR]
