Dog killed my chickens, I killed the dog

[missnu01]

I am super sorry this happened...but it also makes me feel super lucky...all of our neighbors have chickens so all of our neighbors dogs are used to chickens, and between all the dogs watching all the various chickens nothing comes around at all...every once in awhile a strange hound dog will come trotting down the road, but all the neighborhood dogs band together and chase the other dogs away. I am literally in the perfect place for chickens. We got a puppy that will chase the chickens, but if they stop running then he just sits down next to them...our rooster doesn't run anymore, just flaps his wings at him...but when we first moved here we were the neighbors with the killing dog...It wasn't on purpose, but our big dog--that we no longer have--ran out the door right across the road jumped the neighbors fence and took down a huge goat and dragged it into the woods, me yelling and following him all the way....I got him off the goat and alerted the neighbors the goat survived--thankfully, and we paid the $160 vet bill. I then worked very hard to rehome the dog. I tried taking him to the animal shelter but they wouldn't take him because of the attack. They said they would only put him to sleep..He was great with people, expecially kids even though he was huge...he was an 11 month old mastiff american bulldog mix that weighed 100lbs...so he was scary looking, and really really scary vicious with any other animals. Dogs, cats, goats, sheep, whatever...So we rehomed him to a large man with no animals with a large fenced in property. But alot of people were like what if next time it is a child...? Well dogs can tell the difference between a person and an animal. So don't assume a dog that attacks your chickens is likely to attack a person...Chickens are a dog's favorite toy, they are just too easy to break. So you have to teach a dog very early on not to mess with the chickens, or just have a dog that listens super super well. Our puppy is learning, he so far has no interest in hurting them, but does like to see them squawk and scatter, our older dog, a 4lb yorkiepoo chased the chickens one time and had them scared to pieces, but one just laid down and tried to hide it's head in some leaves and he went over and sniffed it, and I told him no and he hasn't messed with them since. He's a good dog. If the neighbors with the goat had shot our dog I wouldn't have caused a scene..he deserved it. I mean I loved him and he was a good dog, but you can't go around eating people's animals. If I had had a gun I would have shot him myself, but I don't own or necessarily believe in owning firearms, but if you have them and there is an animal predating your property then you are totally in the right to blow it away.

 

[missnu01]

Sorry, but I just have to comment on this. Just because a dog kills small feathery or furry animals does not automatically mean the dog will begin to attack children. Even high prey drive dogs can tell the difference between chickens and children. I know a number of dogs that have killed small animals outside that are fantastic with kids. Many high prey drive dogs can even differentiate between "outdoor" and "indoor" members of the same species. I know people with greyhounds who will leave the indoor cats alone but God help any outdoor cats in their yards.

I suppose for me shooting a dog would be the absolute last resort after trying everything else first. I would rather get bitten trying to get a dog away from my birds than just shoot first and ask questions later. That's just me though--we all have our own comfort zone with these kinds of things I suppose. I would also be concerned about the dog's owners retaliating.

I do agree that these owners should have kept the dog contained and I hope they learned their lesson. It's just makes me sad that so many animals had to pay with their lives.

We had a lab american staffordshire mix that would share his food bowl and sleep with our cats inside or out, but he killed 13 strays in 2 years...He was the most amazing dog. He never left our property except to walk my kids to the bus in the mornings, and down in the evenings. He was a strange one indeed. When you took him somewhere like a friend's house he would set up a perimeter...he would walk a large square around the area and then just hang out, but if something crossed that imaginary square he would regulate it back to the designated area, unless it was a cat... He would chase any dogs out of the yard, and it's like he could hear a stray cat step on our grass, because that was all it would take...We would all be playing in the yard and suddenly he would stop, perk his ears and go tearing off into the back yard and then you would hear a struggle, and then we would bury yet another stray. I know they were stray cats because they all looked the same and they were huge...we would see them as kittens in the spring and then monster cats growling at you from under the porch or car. We never noticed the huge stray cat problem until he died...and then they came out of the woodwork. He wasn't the normal though. You could really see him setting up his area in his mind. It was great when going places with lots of dogs because he could set up his space and just look at another dog in this way that says,"hey, get your feet out of my space", and they would. I will miss him forever.

 

[missnu01]

There's hardly a week goes by that there isn't a news story about a pit bull attacking a child. We awfullize about it a good deal but people still keep these dogs and don't do the responsible things that are involved by having this particular breed of dog for a pet .Dogs are pack animals and put two or three or more of them together and there's a bigger problem. I've had goats and cattle attacked by dogs who,ve packed up and are hunting not because they are hungry but for pleasure. The chickens were where they were supposed to be the dog was not. SSS no second chances and these dog owners weren't responsible enought to take care of their dogs so do you think they will pay up for the dead chickens??

Because the news likes to report pitbull attacks more than others...if you look up dog bite statistics small dogs and golden retrievers bite more people than pit bulls, but people love a pitbull attack story...not to mention not every square headed dog is a pit bull. Any dog regardless of breed can be dangerous, and any dog can bite...

 

[yakkmaster]

I know what you mean. My wife and I went to get more chicken feed on Saturday and when we returned our own dogs apparently killed 8 of my RIR hens. It was so strange since I let these chickens out frequently around the German Shepards and they have never shown signs of aggression when I am somewhere present. I was very close to shooting them both myself but didn't. I tied a dead chicken around each of their necks and made them wear it for 24 hours because another chicken person told me it was effective. I was very surprised how upset I was at the wanton destruction of my harmless hens. If they kill again it's curtains for the dogs. I will get some new pups and raise them with the chickens.

 

[blucoondawg]

Because the news likes to report pitbull attacks more than others...if you look up dog bite statistics small dogs and golden retrievers bite more people than pit bulls, but people love a pitbull attack story...not to mention not every square headed dog is a pit bull. Any dog regardless of breed can be dangerous, and any dog can bite...

I believe this is due to the fact that the Golden Retriever is one of if not the most popular breed kept for a pet, so ya the statistics will point to many bites due to the number of dogs, difference is how many golden retrievers kill or maim people/children, small dogs can be nippy as well, but again, a little dog isn't going to severly injure anyone. Sure any dog can bite, but some dogs are more likely, some dogs have been bred for the fight/kill for hundreds of years and have that instinct in them, these dogs are more likely to do harm than others. This is why home insurance companies ask specifically if you own certain breeds, because those certain breeds are more likely than others to do damage. If any pit bull or dog resembling one comes on my property and even acts like it will make a move at anyone or anything it will be a dead dog.

 

[chickgals]

I have had similar things happen to me
I had a twelve week old kitten that my three dogs attacked and killed. We found her in our closet with dried blood and hair balls all around her. Although there were no punctures I think she had internal bleeding and coughed up blood.
They also killed some rabbits of mine.
Dogs are dangerous when it comes to small animals.

 

[Vamvakas]

Up here northeast killing a dog is like killing a human almost there more worried about dogs than the starving kids around the world. This is why I am trying to leave the Northeast cause people here are strange/rude. I am going to live in the south atleast they understand people.

 

[sourland]

Up here northeast killing a dog is like killing a human almost there more worried about dogs than the starving kids around the world. This is why I am trying to leave the Northeast cause people here are strange/rude. I am going to live in the south atleast they understand people.

Maybe true in your part of the North East, but surely not the truth here.

 

[AVintageLife]

I am so sorry for all of the losses described in this thread. My pet peeve is when I hear someone say "they're just chickens". Unless you have them, I don't think anyone can understand the time, energy, expense, labor of love that goes into caring for them OR the value of their eggs and meat.

 

[hungry4eggs]

My dogs will get a good beating when they make an attempt on my birds when they are grown. I know I will probably have to kill at least one neighborhood dog that comes into my yard. She gets into my trash, which my dogs do not do, she also killed a Guinea Hen from up the road and brought it into my yard. Luckily the hens owner saw the dog and knows mine do not go out of the yard so they knew it was not my dogs that did it.