Darn neighborhood dogs!

[Sjisty]

I lost some chickens to two neighborhood dogs this week. I have two dogs myself, and they are great with the chickens. I trust them 100%. We live on a street where several dogs run free but they have never come this far up the street before. Well, Sunday we came home to one dead chicken and two missing. The dead one wasn't eaten or even chewed, but was just lying in the middle of the front yard dead (btw, our dogs are in the back yard). Our stand of elephant ears where the chickens like to hang out was pretty beaten down.

I still wasn't thinking dog until yesterday morning when my dogs started barking like crazy. I went outside and there was two dogs rooting around in the elephant ears. I figure they must have been the ones and were back looking for more! I called animal control. They want me to contain the dogs, and I will try if they come back today. In the meantime, my chickens are in prison in their coops for the day. It might just be time to learn how to shoot. I have no idea whose dogs these are, but they aren't strays - they both had collars and tags.

Darn, darn, darn - I don't want to start a neighorbood war, but I will keep my chickens safe!

 

[speckledhen]

They want you to contain the dogs, huh? Yeah, they'd love for you to do their jobs for them! Telling you to do that may get you bitten.

I won't do that, not unless the dog is a complete friendly attention hound and came running to me for petting. I'm just not inclined to take a chance I'll need rabies shots.

 

[Sjisty]

They are not friendly. The larger black one wags his tail and then runs. The Schnauzer type just ran. Of course, I wasn't overly friendly to them, either. I do have a gate across the driveway, though, so if they come in I may be able to get to it and close it before they get back out. So far I haven't seen any sign of them this morning.

 

[woodmort]

Yeah, my next door neighbor's 2 dogs have started showing up here again and I'm missing one of my SS's. Can't find feathers or body so it might be them or it might be the fox I've captured on my game cam--have photos of the dogs too. Usually they are pretty good about keeping the dogs home but DW talked to him the other day and he said his Invisible Fence has a break in it that has to be fixed. In the meantime he's promised to keep them tied up--a pitbull mix and a yellow lab. I like the dogs but only if the stay on their side of the property line.