Dog killed my chickens, I killed the dog

[farmgirlforever18]

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That's what people don't understand they may be just chickens to them but what If they were your lively hood what would they say if that was them well it's just a dog I love dogs and chickens but if one cones and kills them I will shoot it we have problems with my neighbor but he won't do anything about it so we had to call the sheriff and the problem has lowered. I mean if your going to have a dog keep it on your land.

 

[SoORchick73]

I have a husky, and chickens. There is no doubt in my mind that given a second my dog would kill every last one of my flock. Shes killed seagulls before, and is still an escape artist...though its rare now. These are not dogs to be owned by just anyone. I am still deciding how I will safely be able to free range my girls even though the dog has her own yard. it would 100% be my fault if she got to them.

OP very sorry this happened to you.

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[Cetawin]

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Well actually, in all honesty, that IS what Husky's do. Many have an extremely high prey drive and a very strong desire to be out running and hunting and can be very difficult to contain. This is exactly why they are not a dog for just anybody to own, especially people who are ignorant of the breed and incapable of maintaining them. This of course applies to a lot of dogs but Husky's can be especially challenging.

I am no bleeding heart for livestock killing dogs, I will not hesitate to shoot one thats after my animals. I just hate that ignorant owners allow their dogs to get into trouble and the dog pays for it in the end. I really wish there were much stronger penalties for owners of dogs that get out and cause so much destruction.

I disagree with the labeling on the husky, many other breeds have high prey drive, some even higher. ANY dog can be trained to be boundary respectful, obey and behave or can be controlled. I have a half Labrador Retriever half Great Pyrenees, labs instinctively and naturally go after birds...mine pays them no notice because he was trained to leave them alone. It is the responsibility of the dog owner not the chicken owner to train the dogs.

 

[farmgirlforever18]

I disagree with the labeling on the husky, many other breeds have high prey drive, some even higher. ANY dog can be trained to be boundary respectful, obey and behave or can be controlled. I have a half Labrador Retriever half Great Pyrenees, labs instinctively and naturally go after birds...mine pays them no notice because he was trained to leave them alone. It is the responsibility of the dog owner not the chicken owner to train the dogs.

i agree with you my dogs go after birds in the yard and stuff but never touch my chickens or ducks. its more of how they are trained when there young​

 

[SoORchick73]

So what if they never had exposure to birds or chickens while they were young? Its not always about how you train them. They are ANIMALS.

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i agree with you my dogs go after birds in the yard and stuff but never touch my chickens or ducks. its more of how they are trained when there young

 

[jjthink]

So what if they never had exposure to birds or chickens while they were young? Its not always about how you train them. They are ANIMALS.

We're all animals but they (like us) are also predators - and as we all would agree, unfortunately not enough dog guardians even remotely think about that fundamental fact. With the right training and right disposition, a dog can be trained to not mess with what would otherwise be considered prey. BUT anything shy of the right training and the right disposition can result in irreversible tragedy. I know that none of my neighbor's dogs are trained - they all - husky, pit bulls, Jack Russells, Goldendoodles, terriers, retrievers, etc. - would torture and murder my birds given the chance. A few have tried (have had attacks on my birds with long healing times but thankfully no deaths due in part to luck, immediate intervention and to extreme care - - from husky, mixed breeds, pit bulls, retrievers....) and I worry every day since many of the dogs' people do not behave responsibly to control their dogs. Even though my poor bored birds are these days largely confined to a run because I can't trust other people, I know that if strong dogs were on the loose and I wasn't there to intercept there is always the unthinkable possibly that they could overcome my protections, ram their way in and murder my feather-kids. And I would feel pretty murderous as a result - my anger would be less with the dogs than with the people who didn't responsibly control their pet predators. I appreciate dogs for their many more pleasant wonders but I do not appreciate irresponsible dog owners. And I will add that I find it pretty frustrating that my pets can't enjoy my own yard which as humble as it is, costs a pretty penny in property taxes. I know many folks here can relate! Somehow, someway, we need a paradigm shift to occur amongst a critical mass of dog "owners," so that they really get that their dogs are not just cute fluffy Fido, but that they are also potentially deadly predators, and that along with that fact, comes a solemn responsibility to never let them harm another.

JJ​

 

[cafarmgirl]

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Well actually, in all honesty, that IS what Husky's do. Many have an extremely high prey drive and a very strong desire to be out running and hunting and can be very difficult to contain. This is exactly why they are not a dog for just anybody to own, especially people who are ignorant of the breed and incapable of maintaining them. This of course applies to a lot of dogs but Husky's can be especially challenging.

I am no bleeding heart for livestock killing dogs, I will not hesitate to shoot one thats after my animals. I just hate that ignorant owners allow their dogs to get into trouble and the dog pays for it in the end. I really wish there were much stronger penalties for owners of dogs that get out and cause so much destruction.

I disagree with the labeling on the husky, many other breeds have high prey drive, some even higher. ANY dog can be trained to be boundary respectful, obey and behave or can be controlled. I have a half Labrador Retriever half Great Pyrenees, labs instinctively and naturally go after birds...mine pays them no notice because he was trained to leave them alone. It is the responsibility of the dog owner not the chicken owner to train the dogs.

I was not my intent so much to label Husky's in particular as much as I was simply responding regarding the particular dog in the post. We raised Husky's years ago and my personal experience is that they are a very high prey drive dog, they are not people pleaser's and therefore are not the easiest dogs to train. That's why I do not think they are the right dog for just anybody who is not willing to invest the time training them. And yes, absolutely any dog can have a high prey drive. Again, I was replying to the previous post.

I also agree that it is every dog owners responsibility to train their dogs. It is also every chicken owner's responsibility to provide protection for their chickens. Unfortunately the day will never come when every dog owner steps up and takes responsibility for their dogs. All we as chicken owners can do is protect our birds so they do not have to suffer.

 

[dretd]

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Respectfully, I disagree. There are some dogs that are very difficult to train and cannot be trusted even though they have been trained. Again, respectfully, even though labs are birds dogs, they are in the top 10 for willingness to learn owner-pleasing behaviours and are highly trainable. They are also bred to sit by their owner and fetch downed birds. Contrast that with a Pointer who has been bred to run fast and point birds. They are much more difficult to train than labs.

Within any breed there are stars and there are delinquents. You also have a certain palette to work with somewhat determined by the breed. Some dogs are black and white, some are neon colors. You can create a lot with each color palette, but you can't paint a pastoral scene with fluorescent colors and have it look tranquil. I strongly feel that there are some bad eggs that no matter how hard you work, their brains are just wired a certain way and you can only take the training so far.

Northern Breeds are one of the most difficult breeds of all to manage in my opinion, and although someone can do a very good job of training them, I would have a hard time trusting them off-leash or unattended not to chase or kill something that could be interpreted as prey. On an individual basis, perhaps, but 100% of them all the time, nope.

 

[skookumchuck]

I had this happen today, I came home from picking my Son up at the airport to a pile of feathers on my front porch. I saw dag tracks and the feathers heading out of the yard so I jumped in my truck and drove down the road. I found the culpret pulling feathers off of my daughters pet hen. I jumped out and ran up to the dog and got the hen back but he had ripped open her crop so I had to put her down. I went to the neighbor's house to talk to them but no one was home. I chastized the dogs and went back home to no chickens in the yard or pen. A bit later I saw my rooster come back and one hen, then a couple more hens came out from under the front porch. So hopefully I had only lost the one. I then went in to go on a confernce call for work and after the call looked out the back window and the Dog was back running away with another of my hens. I am a Dog lover and have amost always had a dog and have a very soft heart for them but this was the third time that the dog was back taking a hen. I grabbed a rifle and shot at it as it was running to get it to drop the hen and just nicked it in the leg. I did save the hen and patched up the dog so in all it will be tyed up from now on until they can get their fence built. The neighbor was very sorry about the chickens and understands what happened as he has had to shoot dogs injuring his cows. I feel terrible and at least the dog is not dead hopefully we do not get into this situation again. All in all a sad day I lost three of my best laying hens and had to hurt someone elses's pet that they love.

Good bye Harriet, Beatrice and Hazel

 

[The Lazy L]

A bull dog came up in my yard, killed 19 of my chickens and I had to take care of one other one because it's back was split wide open. I killed the dog. Shot it dead....

That makes you a Sheep dog!