Dog Attacks

[dogowner2020]

Im not a duck owner, Im a dog owner. I own 2 rescue dogs that are mutts. They appear to be bully mixes of some kind, mainly American Staffie. Their pray drive is insane. Both are a little over a year old and are rescues so we are still working on some behaviors. I live in a lake community.
Today I was walking the 2 of them around the lake. We were working on walking in heel in an area where there was no wildlife in site because my dogs really need the practice. These dogs, being bully mixes have a very strong pray drive that we are working on training out of them, with variable levels of success depending on the day. Anyway, both are walking well, when all of a sudden a bush shakes, and both my dogs dive in at super speed before I realize whats happening. Turns out a group of ducks had been hiding in there. The more dominant one comes out duck in mouth and her sister grabs onto its butt, both are shaking now to get it away from the other. Im screaming at both dogs, pulling their choke collars, the duck is thrasing and the dogs are trying to pull her away from each other, I grabbin the dogs shaking them off the duck. It finally gets free of their jaws, and runs off, not looking immediately hurt, but it got out of there as fast as it could before I got a good look. I look down and see feathers, 2 splashes of blood and a bloody paw print on the ground. I quickly check over my dogs, and deduce, as I expected, that it is duck blood. The duck at this point is gone and has dived into the water so I wasn't able to catch it and check how bad the injuries were, and if I had, my dogs would probably continue grabbing at it. Is there anything I should be watching for or anything I can do for her or will this duck and her flock take care of her? There are a lot of ducks that live on my lake so I would not recognize her, unless I see her walking around looking visibly injured.

 

[so lucky]

I feel for you, having a dog with a very strong prey drive of my own. She has killed several rabbits on our property.
You might want to take a walk around the lake without the dogs in a day or two. If the duck is badly wounded, she might be out of the water and away from the group. Taking her in to dress her wounds would be up to you at that point, if you could catch her. But in reality, a wounded bird in the wild is usually a dead bird, taken by predators.
Sorry you are having to deal with this.

 

[dogowner2020]

Thank you for the kind response. Obviously this is my first post and I was worried the duck owners would all come after me. I am working with these dogs but even on leash these things can happen. I will keep an eye out for her in the next few days, and definitely will be going without the dogs when I do as there is no way she could safely be transported with them around.
I spoke with an animal rescue who said she should be alright if no other predators take her which is a big if around here. Luckily the main threat to ducks in this complex is dogs- my dogs and others!! We dont have many of their natural predators around.

Im just worried about the risk of infection. My dogs are up to date on all meds and vaccines but God only know what goes in and out of their mouths on a given day that could be on their teeth and getting introduced to the duck's wound.

Im a big time animal lover so it makes me sad to see the duck hurt, even though she isnt mine.

 

[johntfs]

One of the things I heard a lot was that if you had ducks/ducklings to keep them away from any dogs/cats you own. While there's plenty of videos/story about dogs and cat playing with and getting along with ducks, ducks are very much prey animals. They can easily display behaviors that will trigger the dog/cat predator instinct.

And realistically, you're probably not going to be able to "train out" their predator instincts. They're dogs. You're not going to turn them into cows or rabbits. Figure the best way to avoid a recurrence of this situation is get a good idea of where the ducks and when, then make sure your dogs aren't there at the same time.

As for infection, watch the dog carefully, but it probably won't be an issue. These are apparently wild/semi-wild ducks that live around a lake. While ducks crap everywhere, ones with access to water will likely be much cleaner overall than those kept in coop by humans because they "wash themselves" more readily.

 

[dogowner2020]

Thank you for your response. I was a bit worried about infection both in my dogs and in the ducks, but my vet said exactly what you did, my dogs should be fine but watch closely. They are being their usual hyper selves and barking at ducks out the window (because in their minds obviously its time to catch another....)

These are semi wild ducks that unfortunately are near always around so my dogs could hardly walk at all if we avoided them. I will try to monitor the bushes more closely. The struggle is the dogs are still young but are quite large. The 2 of them together are only slightly lighter than I am and they without a doubt have more muscle mass than I do, so if they want something bad enough I dont win the fight.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

anything I can do for her or will this duck and her flock take care of her? There are a lot of ducks that live on my lake

I have rescue bullie mixes... they are extremely easy to train if exercised properly first... this is a must... and a walk will NOT do it.

Keep your dogs on a leash until you can be more aware and have better control... also only take one dog out at a time as the pack mentality makes it very hard for any animal to get away (as you saw) and just as hard for you to get their attention. Training multiples without experience is almost always going to be harder if not impossible as they feed off each others energy. You must watch the dogs and their focus and stop the reaction BEFORE they have bolted. Teach them self control individually... After exercising, take ONE out and let them see the birds from a distance. When they start to focus or pull that direction, gently say "this way" and walk the opposite direction... pulling ALWAYS leads the opposite way than they wish to go. Once they have refocused on you... try walking the original direction and repeat, repeat, repeat... in short 15-20 minute sessions to avoid boredom and frustration.

If you're going to have them off leash consider using a muzzle to protect other animals and possibly people. (I know the huge difference between prey drive and standard aggression, so I don't mean to insinuate that your dogs are a danger to people by this statement).

No rudeness or judgement intended here, we are all doing our best. Thank you for coming to a known bird loving community to seek suggestions and support! We care about people and other pets to.

Obviously this is my first post and I was worried the duck owners would all come after me.

Listen, if someone owns and cares about their ducks... they would NOT be left out on the lake for predators to take. Duck(or any) owners cannot blame you or anyone else for their own ignorant actions. The majority of us know that domestic dogs are a number one predator to domestic fowl and they hunt for fun not food. People should NOT be dumping domestic ducks on their local lakes! One park we visited in Las Vegas was soooo over ran with domestic drakes that were obviously raised with human interaction as they had no fear (known as respect of my space in the poultry world).

Im just worried about the risk of infection. My dogs are up to date on all meds and vaccines

That's awesome that your pets are vaccinated! The good news is that ducks (and all of us) actually do have immune systems that create antibodies to fight off infections. I did have a duck scalped completely by a raccoon that made a full recovery without extra help from me. Of course this can be impacted by age, nutrition, and so many other things.

We dont have many of their natural predators around.

Many folks don't realize the sheer number of animals that like to prey on poultry.. most natural predators are not seen but lurking somewhere. Even rats will still eggs and eat chicks...

Please add your general location to your profile so folks can make the best suggestions possible at a glance.

Victoria Stilwell, "It's me or the dog" videos have immensely helped my understanding (and patience) of dog behavior, communication, and positive reinforcement training. The transformations seen are incredible! I didn't get her at first, but watching consistently in differing situations really did clue me in! I watched free on Amazon prime.. It's especially interesting to see the training she taught implemented incorrectly according to what the people grasped and remembered and then see her teach how to implement it correctly again so the people can get it right. Oh boy how many times have I twisted the suggestion unintentionally. But seeing it done again gives you an ah ha moment!
https://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/its-me-or-the-dog/

Looks like full episodes might also be available on you tube..
https://www.google.com/search?q=its...5j69i60j0l3.3746j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Good luck and best wishes for your bullies and you!

 

[PirateGirl]

I appreciate that you are trying to be responsible with both the ducks and your dogs. I think reaching out to the wildlife rescue was an excellent idea and if the duck is injured and isolating itself, perhaps they can come and take care of her. Accidents happen. That being said, you need to be able to control you dogs. I know this is an extreme situation, but if your dogs are on leash (which I think it sounds like they were) you need to be able to control them. I would work with a trainer if you are not already. If a person with a small dog or small child had walked around the bush (instead of some wild ducks) and startled your dogs would you have been able to prevent something bad from happening? I know that we cannot always stop prey drive, but there are different training methods available as well as many different leashes, harnesses, halters, muzzles, collars, etc. that all have appropriate uses. I do not want you to find yourself in a dangerous situation with your dogs and another dog/human/pet/etc. Also, as you have probably seen, trying to stop a dog when it is excited like that can be dangerous to yourself. My dog and my roommate's dog got in a fight one day and it was traumatic and my roommate himself got bit trying to break them up, even though he is a trusted human that both dogs have known for years. Even well trained dogs can be hard to control when instincts take over. I hope the duck makes a full recovery and I hope you are able to get some help with your dogs and continue to provide them a good home and good training.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

Thank you for caring about your dog's and the duck. I have a mix but she is part cattle dog and thinks the ducks are here to protect.