I'm looking for any kind of advice... We live on a little country road and our neighbor is my husband's sister. They have a large german shepherd which they refuse to keep on their own property. It is known around the neighborhood as being a destructive dog. Last year we had a goat and her dog killed it in our backyard. This caused a huge blow up where we asked them to keep their dog off of our property. She always says that she doesn’t want to tie up her dog because she feels sorry for it, to which we respond, “that isn’t our problem”. They ended up keeping their dog under control for a month or so and then let it run everywhere again. Fast forward to now and we just built a chicken coop and bought 5 chickens. My daughter is already so attached to these chickens. Last night we looked out and saw her dog hanging around the chicken coop. We ran it off, but there’s no way we can be there all the time to make sure they’re okay. I want to approach my sister in law about it, but I also don’t want WW3 to erupt. It complicates things because she is both a neighbor and family. Suggestions please??
There are a couple of things you could do here.
First, the dog in question is not going to be the only issue you encounter, so a non-confrontational and more "big picture" approach is going to be to beef up your property to prevent attack by not only this dog but any predator. If you provide photos of your setup we may be able to help you determine how secure your coop/run are as they stand today and suggest ways that you can better protect your flock. Is fencing your property an option? Again, this would address not just the dog in question, but create an additional barrier between your flock and other strays, roaming dogs, certain predators, etc.
Second - arm yourself with knowledge. Find out what the ordinances are for your area with regards to domestic animals (pets) and harassment of livestock, also with regards to domestic pet animals "at large" in general. Get a copy of the actual ordinances. This is where you have a choice to make - you can either approach your SIL or you can keep your knowledge to yourself. If/when the dog comes back you can a) call A/C and have the dog picked up, b) SSS (Shoot Shovel and Shut up - this is one you want to refer to the ordinance to verify your rights as a livestock owner) which would avoid the confrontation until she comes looking for her dog and you would have to decide if you would tell her or just let her wonder what happened, c) catch the dog and call your SIL to pick up the dog and let her know this was the ONE pass and next time there will be no phone call and no more dog - present her with a copy of the ordinances you found or d) talk to her now vs. waiting for that to happen.
Unless an actual attack is taking place, I am not going to SSS on the first encounter - if I know who owns the dog and they are a person I feel I can approach, I will speak to them face-to-face to let them know their dog was harassing our animals and that the dog needs to be kept off my property or I will take the next step.
BUT - you have already done this and she has made NO change, she had her chance. If the person is not approachable, I would have the animal picked up - they can either find it at the shelter or not, either way the dog is no longer a problem to my livestock for the time being and, if they do pick the dog up they will be paying a fine and being told why their dog was picked up so would hopefully make corrective action. If an animal is actually in the process of attacking my livestock, all bets are off - my responsibility to my livestock trumps my feelings about someone else's pet that they can't be bothered to keep care of.
Ultimately, whether it starts WWIII or not, you have to do what is right for you and your animals. Frankly, *my* SIL would not have had a dog after the loss of my goat.
