Be responsible for your dogs !!!(graphic pics)

[horsejody]

Zchickens, How is it going with your neighbors? Has the dog been back? Free roaming dogs are always such a problem.

Years ago we had a neighbor with a husky that was always loose in their yard. We didn't have poultry at the time, but we had the horses and rabbits. The dog would show up at least once a week. The owners swore up and down that the dog never left the property and was the best dog in the world. After all, it was obedient and very trained. The stupid thing would chase my horses and ripped apart a rabbit cage. Thankfully, we got there before the rabbit was killed. The dog was friendly and lovable to people, but was a menace to other people's animals. The owners had their own horses, rabbits, poultry and waterfowl that the dog didn't bother. Because of that they were convinced that their little darling couldn't possibly leave their property and harm others. I finally just started catching the dog and calling the sherriff. I finally had to tell them it would be shot because it was biting horses. They were apalled that myself and other neighbors would be upset that their wonderfully trained companion animal could be blamed for occasionally wandering and following its instincts. The daughter finally moved out and took the nasty wandering preditor with her.

Anyway, I hope you get compensation from the neighbor. I would write him/her a very civil letter stating that you would like to remain cordial but require compensation for the losses. A letter is much less emotional than a face to face conversation. Also, send one copy registered and one copy regular mail to them (that's how lawyer friends have advised me to send grievance letters). That way you have proof of mailing, and if they refused the registered mail, they still get one regular mail. It is a very common practice. I have learned from past experience that there is a certain class of neighbors that will always treat you like a doormat if you let them. Even if you let it go once for the sake of peace, you should put up a legal fuss if it ever happens again. Some people will always beleive that the liberty of their dog is more important than the security of your pets.

Good luck to you. Hopefully you will work out a resolution with the neighbor. Maybe they will turn out to be better neighbors in the future and keep their dog at home.

JMHO
Jody

 

[Beekissed]

I have a prey-driven dog that I love dearly. If he hadn't been amenable to my training in this regard, I would have given him to someone else. Someone who has no livestock, doesn't live near livestock and someone that was well-informed of his livestock killing proclivities. I doubt that I would kill him outright. He's a great dog and I've had several people who wanted to buy him, so I don't think I would have a problem with giving him a new home.

Having said that, I will say, that shooting your own dog is not as easily done as most folks think. It takes an iron will and a certain resolve that most people, who love their pets, lack. Its brave talk, really, but I doubt if there are many on here who would put a gun to the head of an animal they have loved and blow its brains out onto the grass.... for chicken killing. If it were sick and suffering, maybe. If it were wounded badly and suffering, maybe. I'd be willing to bet that most folks that talk of killing their own dogs for this infraction have probably never done so and, therefore, don't know what they would do in this situation. Maybe have the vet put it to sleep, but shoot it? Probably not.

 

[Ellie_NY_chick]

It just so happens there's a big yellow lab running around my yard this morning. I know he's not one of my neighbor's dogs. I've run him off twice. Now I have to stick around all day and guard the coop, and my birds can't range. I wish I could catch him but he takes off whenever I get near him.

And no, I'm not going to shoot him. A vicious dog getting ready to attack ME I would shoot at, but a dog just being a dog? No. I would think if your own dog gets to your chickens, that's YOUR fault, not the dog's fault. Find him a new home if you can't manage your own animals properly.

 

[Oblio13]

Quote:
Didn't you guys ever watch "Old Yeller"?!

 

[Ellie_NY_chick]

Didn't you guys ever watch "Old Yeller"?!

I still can't watch it to this day!

This thread bums me out. It's a valid discussion, seeing as I'm dealing with it myself this morning, but all this talk of blowing the brains out of domesticated animals saddens me.

I know this isn't the case everywhere, but where I live it's animal abuse and you'd either go to jail or get a hefty fine for doing it. Same with drowning kittens or any of the other methods of animal disposal that goes on everyday that find repulsive and I'd just rather not know about.

This from the girl who used to think nothing of going to look for Dad at the slaughterhouse.​

 

[Bawkadoodledoo]

shoot shovel shut up the neighbor

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
You might think differently the day you see that yellow lab surrounded by the carnage of dead and dying chickens and a screaming one in his mouth. You will then think that you could have prevented all of that needless suffering. It is pretty horrific for a chicken to be attacked and mauled to death by a dog. It is sad to shoot a dog or haul it off to the pound, but it doesn't compare to the horror seeing a dog slaughter your pets and the sadness of knowing it could have been prevented. Then the anger part comes in when the dog owner says, "They're only chickens, and he was just playing. Besides, he's just being a dog, and the kids really love him."

 

[Ellie_NY_chick]

horsejody wrote:

You might think differently the day you see that yellow lab surrounded by the carnage of dead and dying chickens and a screaming one in his mouth. You will then think that you could have prevented all of that needless suffering. It is pretty horrific for a chicken to be attacked and mauled to death by a dog. It is sad to shoot a dog or haul it off to the pound, but it doesn't compare to the horror seeing a dog slaughter your pets and the sadness of knowing it could have been prevented. Then the anger part comes in when the dog owner says, "They're only chickens, and he was just playing. Besides, he's just being a dog, and the kids really love him."

We agree that it's the dog owner who's the problem. I would certainly be furious with someone who was unapologetic about their animal attacking and or killing mine.

I think there's a big difference between shooting a dog and hauling it off to the pound. I've had loose dogs hauled off to the pound, including one that was threatening my neighbor's 4 year old. A week later that darn dog was running loose in the neighborhood again. Talk about infuriating! If I catch Mr. Yellow Lab, he's going to the pound too. It's for his own safety as well as for the safety of my dogs, cat, and chickens. And me too, for that matter.

There's also a big difference between "imminent danger of an attack" and "if I even see that dog around here again". I think everywhere you have the right as a livestock owner to stop an attack that's imminent or in progress with a gun, but here it's illegal to shoot a dog that's not causing an immediate threat, including your own dog. Again, I see a big difference between the two.

I know this is an emotional debate, and I'm glad to see people's opinions are, for the most part, being respected. I think it's a good thing if you can post your feelings on a topic without being singled out with someone saying "you might think differently...". No, I won't think differently. I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but I respect your opinion nonetheless.​

 

[moenmitz]

Quote:
That is dominant behavior. Tim is, in dog language, ordering humans to do what he wants. It's already established in his dog brain that he makes decisions and they obey. It's a dangerous attitude with a large dog because it can easily go beyond demanding ear scratches. We don't tolerate it from our dogs. A good way to turn it around is to tell him to, for example, "sit" before you give him the affection he wants. That way, you instantly change the situation from him being rewarded for giving you a command, to him being rewarded for obeying.

It is not dominance, I do know the difference. A paw placed on a person and held there, IS dominant-Tims is a lazy handshake that is more like a kid tugging on your arm for attention. He always IS sitting when he makes his request-plopped right in front of people. It is when they dont properly return his greeting that he gets up and comes in front and plops down again. I never said he was perfect. He is like a very well behaved...CHILD. He is a bit needy...but not dominant. Wouldn't YOU find it impolite for someone that YOU said hello to to walk by and not acknowledge you? You might think..."Oh, perhaps they didnt hear me, or understand me. I will say it again, a little louder this time..." Tim was taught good manners. He was taught to sit and shake hands when someone came home by his other family, fromt he time he was a pup-so it is just an old trick being religiously performed by an old, lazy dog. They would pay him with a weiner every time though and I wont give him hot dogs so he seldom initiates an actual handshake on his own anymore-just a half hearted wave/thump. Even polite dogs have their limits you know. He cant fathom why any human might not have those same manners. And this "behavior" had gone on for his entire life- almost 11 years, so I am thinking he is probably not going to flip out and bite the next UPS driver that comes by.

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
We agree that it's the dog owner who's the problem. I would certainly be furious with someone who was unapologetic about their animal attacking and or killing mine.

I think there's a big difference between shooting a dog and hauling it off to the pound. I've had loose dogs hauled off to the pound, including one that was threatening my neighbor's 4 year old. A week later that darn dog was running loose in the neighborhood again. Talk about infuriating! If I catch Mr. Yellow Lab, he's going to the pound too. It's for his own safety as well as for the safety of my dogs, cat, and chickens. And me too, for that matter.

There's also a big difference between "imminent danger of an attack" and "if I even see that dog around here again". I think everywhere you have the right as a livestock owner to stop an attack that's imminent or in progress with a gun, but here it's illegal to shoot a dog that's not causing an immediate threat, including your own dog. Again, I see a big difference between the two.

I know this is an emotional debate, and I'm glad to see people's opinions are, for the most part, being respected. I think it's a good thing if you can post your feelings on a topic without being singled out with someone saying "you might think differently...". No, I won't think differently. I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but I respect your opinion nonetheless.

Saying that you might think differently is not singling anybody out. It is the voice of experience. And, yes, taking it to the pound is better than shooting it. I never said otherwise.