Dog pulled my hen's leg off!!

[RHRanch]

God forbid it happens to you, but if someone's dog came and slaughtered all of YOUR chickens, just for the fun of it, you might see things a little differently.

Or maybe she/he's like me and put their money where their mouth is... Maybe having a dog slaughter their chickens still wouldn't change their feelings about shooting a dog... I know its happened to me, and guess what - I still oppose the automatic excecution of a dog on the first offense especially and I wouldn't do it. Yes its upsetting, yes its financially devastating, but I too will not resort to violence unless it would be the only way to stop an attack as it was happening - but I would try other things before I went to lethal methods. I guess I can just accept the risk and possiblility of loss, too... I just can't get worked up to the point of letting my emotions get the best of me and make a decision to shoot a dog when I don't know if its a one time thing, if somehow it got out accidentally, if maybe its owners may be reasonable people, .... too many unknowns for me to just execute a dog on my assumptions about the situation, the dog, the owners... Everyone just thinks the worst of each other, their animals, etc.... Sad, really.

 

[Ole rooster]

The one point you and I differ on is just he end results. Sure mistakes can be made. But if a dog kills my chickens and is caught in the act, then his choice is sealed. The only think that would leave me to run him off and let him survive one more day, is if I see the animal is starving and killed "a chicken" in order to eat. If he come to kill as many as possible for the fun or it, then his time is end there. I really don't care why or how the dog is out, killing my animals for sport will not be tolerated. My do work with my chickens very well. When he goes off on some of his excursions I expect the same conduct from him as though her were home. If he happen to forget his training with and animal and a neighbor puts him down, I would be sick as hell but I do understand his thinking and I'm in agreement with the neighbor.

 

[Country Parson]

Sounds like you have a great neighbor, and I hope he says the same about you---you have certainly proven that your reasonable and want to be neighborly. With that said, you learned some painful lessons:

1. For traumatic injuries, it is best to immediately cull. I know that sounds mean to some, but the only alternative it to let the animal live in extreme pain with no real way to fix the medical issue at hand. BTW, I've often erred on the side of waiting far too long, so I'm preaching to myself too.

2. No chicken is safe free-ranging. I'm not saying don't free range (I do), but it always opens the possibility of predation.

3. Good neighbors are to be cherished. You might want to send him a card or a dozen eggs as a way of saying thanks for how he handled the situation.

Personally, I would not shoot a neighbor's dog that was attacking my chickens---but keep in mind that I get relatively inexpensive birds (I don't show or breed for show), and my income isn't tied to them. I personally wouldn't shoot a neighbor's dog over a hobby--and it seems this particular dog was friendly to you (it let you catch him and restrain him). But even under that scenario there would be a limit to my pacifism and I may eventually pull out a gun. I HAVE shot a dog that threatened my kids when they were toddlers. There was a pack of 3 dogs that terrorized the neighborhood for a while, and I caught them growling and circling around my 3 yr old and I was just 5 ft away at the time. They showed no fear and acted like my toddler was food. I scooped him up and ran him into the house. The next time they came around I put one on the ground, and never saw the other 2 again. Also, I would shoot my dog (whom I ADORE) if he posed a safety risk to be neighbors.

 

[RaeRae2]

I agree with whomever said violence doesn't solve problems. I had a stray dog come into the rabbitry and chew off a rabbit's leg through the wire. One of my mother's wonderful family dog, Springer Spaniels killed one of my show rabbits and was parading around with the dead carcass. My Pit killed one of my hens, and broke the leg on another. At no time did "kill the dog" even BEGIN to enter my mind. I cannot imagine that.

Heck, last winter we had a fox come in the barn and kill a chicken, and injure several more, and I tried for 3 days to find a wildlife rehabber to take him. He was terminally mangey and my husband shot him. To this day it haunts me to see that little fox sitting there and get popped in the head with a .22 shell. I just wish he could have gone to a rehabber, gotten medicated, and been released into the wild. He came into my barn because he was freezing, and starving. I actually let him have a last meal of all my chicken eggs. I locked my hens up, and gave him eggs, cat food, and water, while I tried to find someone to take him. When everyone said NO, I decided hubby had to shoot him. I didn't have the knowledge or skills to treat him, and I couldn't leave him locked up in my chicken pen.

These are ANIMALS. If we establish a food chain in our back yard, ocassionally animals WILL act on their impulses and a predator will pick off a prey. It is unfair and unreasonable to kill any predator who acts on instinct and takes prey down.

HUMANS prey on the weak and defenseless for sport too!! It is a multi million dollar industry. We have NO reason to go out into the woods and try our level darndest to outsmart wildlife just so we can shoot them and hang their dead carcass on the wall, BUT WE DO IT.

I don't care if a dog has been bred for generations to be a "stock dog." IT'S A DOG. It was a predator for thousands of years before it was a Labrador or a Blue Heeler.

I caught my dog in the act of attacking a cat, and I knocked him down on his back and pinned him to the ground by his throat and made him think I was going to murder him right on the spot. He totally got the message, and has NEVER pounced on another animal since. That was 3 years ago. The cats now rub all over him, and lay between his legs. He gives the chickens a wide berth and doesn't even offer to look in their direction.

Would I turn him loose in the barnyard with a flock of chickens and kittens, and trust him for 3 days with no supervision? NO. But his little come to jesus meeting made him believe that the alpha dog on this farm would skin him alive if he dared harm another animal.

It amazes me that want to kill an animal (even a family pet or working farm dog) for acting on their instinct, but if a kid does something stupid, we slap it on the wrist and tell it to go to its room. Why not shoot the kid and throw them out with the trash for screwing up?! SARCASM here, but you see what I mean.

Violence does not fix anything. Protect your chickens, take reasonable steps to reform the dog, or keep him locked up. But death is not the answer to all of life's problems. You kill one dog, and next thing you know there is a skunk chewing heads off. When you have chickens, that kind of crap just happens unfortunately.

Yes certainly if a dog is a persistant problem, the owners refuse to control it, it is a multi-time offender, this problem is ruining your life and costing you major losses, then you may need to dispatch. At that point, the dog is probably beyond reform, and he's got to be miserable running the streets anyway. But a randon, one-time event, no.

 

[nzpouter]

some people value their pets lives more than other I suppose....

I agree with whomever said violence doesn't solve problems. I had a stray dog come into the rabbitry and chew off a rabbit's leg through the wire. One of my mother's wonderful family dog, Springer Spaniels killed one of my show rabbits and was parading around with the dead carcass. My Pit killed one of my hens, and broke the leg on another. At no time did "kill the dog" even BEGIN to enter my mind. I cannot imagine that.

Heck, last winter we had a fox come in the barn and kill a chicken, and injure several more, and I tried for 3 days to find a wildlife rehabber to take him. He was terminally mangey and my husband shot him. To this day it haunts me to see that little fox sitting there and get popped in the head with a .22 shell.

These are ANIMALS. If we establish a food chain in our back yard, ocassionally animals WILL act on their impulses and a predator will pick off a prey. It is unfair and unreasonable to kill any predator who acts on instinct and takes prey down.

I caught my dog in the act of attacking a cat, and I knocked him down on his back and pinned him to the ground by his throat and made him think I was going to murder him right on the spot. He totally got the message, and has NEVER pounced on another animal since. That was 3 years ago. The cats now rub all over him, and lay between his legs. He gives the chickens a wide berth and doesn't even offer to look in their direction.

Would I turn him loose in the barnyard with a flock of chickens and kittens, and trust him for 3 days with no supervision? NO. But his little come to jesus meeting made him believe that the alpha dog on this farm would skin him alive if he dared harm another animal.

It amazes me that want to kill an animal (even a family pet or working farm dog) for acting on their instinct, but if a kid does something stupid, we slap it on the wrist and tell it to go to its room. Why not shoot the kid and throw them out with the trash for screwing up?! SARCASM here, but you see what I mean.

Violence does not fix anything. Protect your chickens, take reasonable steps to reform the dog, or keep him locked up. But death is not the answer to all of life's problems. You kill one dog, and next thing you know there is a skunk chewing heads off. When you have chickens, that kind of crap just happens unfortunately.

 

[bobbi-j]

Quote:

I agree with whomever said violence doesn't solve problems. I had a stray dog come into the rabbitry and chew off a rabbit's leg through the wire. One of my mother's wonderful family dog, Springer Spaniels killed one of my show rabbits and was parading around with the dead carcass. My Pit killed one of my hens, and broke the leg on another. At no time did "kill the dog" even BEGIN to enter my mind. I cannot imagine that.

Heck, last winter we had a fox come in the barn and kill a chicken, and injure several more, and I tried for 3 days to find a wildlife rehabber to take him. He was terminally mangey and my husband shot him. To this day it haunts me to see that little fox sitting there and get popped in the head with a .22 shell. I just wish he could have gone to a rehabber, gotten medicated, and been released into the wild. He came into my barn because he was freezing, and starving. I actually let him have a last meal of all my chicken eggs. I locked my hens up, and gave him eggs, cat food, and water, while I tried to find someone to take him. When everyone said NO, I decided hubby had to shoot him. I didn't have the knowledge or skills to treat him, and I couldn't leave him locked up in my chicken pen.

These are ANIMALS. If we establish a food chain in our back yard, ocassionally animals WILL act on their impulses and a predator will pick off a prey. It is unfair and unreasonable to kill any predator who acts on instinct and takes prey down.

HUMANS prey on the weak and defenseless for sport too!! It is a multi million dollar industry. We have NO reason to go out into the woods and try our level darndest to outsmart wildlife just so we can shoot them and hang their dead carcass on the wall, BUT WE DO IT.

I don't care if a dog has been bred for generations to be a "stock dog." IT'S A DOG. It was a predator for thousands of years before it was a Labrador or a Blue Heeler.

I caught my dog in the act of attacking a cat, and I knocked him down on his back and pinned him to the ground by his throat and made him think I was going to murder him right on the spot. He totally got the message, and has NEVER pounced on another animal since. That was 3 years ago. The cats now rub all over him, and lay between his legs. He gives the chickens a wide berth and doesn't even offer to look in their direction.

Would I turn him loose in the barnyard with a flock of chickens and kittens, and trust him for 3 days with no supervision? NO. But his little come to jesus meeting made him believe that the alpha dog on this farm would skin him alive if he dared harm another animal.

It amazes me that want to kill an animal (even a family pet or working farm dog) for acting on their instinct, but if a kid does something stupid, we slap it on the wrist and tell it to go to its room. Why not shoot the kid and throw them out with the trash for screwing up?! SARCASM here, but you see what I mean.

Violence does not fix anything. Protect your chickens, take reasonable steps to reform the dog, or keep him locked up. But death is not the answer to all of life's problems. You kill one dog, and next thing you know there is a skunk chewing heads off. When you have chickens, that kind of crap just happens unfortunately.

Yes certainly if a dog is a persistant problem, the owners refuse to control it, it is a multi-time offender, this problem is ruining your life and costing you major losses, then you may need to dispatch. At that point, the dog is probably beyond reform, and he's got to be miserable running the streets anyway. But a randon, one-time event, no.

You are looking at it from a totally different viewpoint than a rancher or farmer. Not saying you're wrong or right, it's just another viewpoint. On a working farm or ranch there isn't alot of room for a stock-killing animal, and even less room for dog that kills the neighbor's stock. In the country (where there can be many miles between neighbors, not "country" right outside of town where your neighbors are on the next acre or plotted out lot) good relations with your neighbors is very important. When you're 20 miles from town, the ambulance and fire dept. are 1/2 an hour away - who's going to help until they arrive? The owner of the dog in question was trying to be responsible and keep good relations with the neighbor. The OP understood that the dog was a one-time thing and not a repeat offender. They showed mercy and spared the dog's life for the same sake of being a good neighbor.

The difference between correcting a stock-killing dog and a kid that does something stupid is, the dog is an animal, and the kid is a human. It's apples and oranges.

I'm not trying to change your mind, I know that you won't do so any more than I will change my mind on the matter. Just trying to explain how things are on the other side of the fence.

 

[18Hens]

I'm new to this forum but I've lost chickens(my FAVORITE) to foxes. On two occasions. But I free range them. I figure it's better to give them a great life than guarantee a long one confined.

We have German Shepherd who is 10 months old and 85 lbs and still growing like a weed. At about 6 months he got outof the house(someone let him out and I didn't know it) and he killed a chicken. Did I shoot him? NO. I instead have worked extensively with my trainer and on my own to train him to be around my chickens. Now at 10 months he will "work commands" with all of my gals within 10 yards. He looks at them. I know they are enticing. But he LISTENS to me.

Guinea Hens have seemedto taken care of our fox issue...and hawk issue. ever since they became old enough to flock and patrol with confidence, they really do chase anything out of the yard that doesn't belong there...crows, foxes, caterers...lol.

 

[bobbi-j]

I'm new to this forum but I've lost chickens(my FAVORITE) to foxes. On two occasions. But I free range them. I figure it's better to give them a great life than guarantee a long one confined.

We have German Shepherd who is 10 months old and 85 lbs and still growing like a weed. At about 6 months he got outof the house(someone let him out and I didn't know it) and he killed a chicken. Did I shoot him? NO. I instead have worked extensively with my trainer and on my own to train him to be around my chickens. Now at 10 months he will "work commands" with all of my gals within 10 yards. He looks at them. I know they are enticing. But he LISTENS to me.

Guinea Hens have seemedto taken care of our fox issue...and hawk issue. ever since they became old enough to flock and patrol with confidence, they really do chase anything out of the yard that doesn't belong there...crows, foxes, caterers...lol.

All good and well that you have trained your dog to leave the chickens alone. I think most people would give a one-time offender a chance. Especially if it's a pup and it's their own chickens that the dog has killed. But this thread was talking about a dog who got loose, killed a chicken and its owner wanting to be responsible and make sure it never happened again. Fortunately, the chicken owner showed mercy and gave the dog another chance. As I stated before, just a view from the other side of the fence...

 

[Nambroth]

HUMANS prey on the weak and defenseless for sport too!! It is a multi million dollar industry. We have NO reason to go out into the woods and try our level darndest to outsmart wildlife just so we can shoot them and hang their dead carcass on the wall, BUT WE DO IT.

Good heavens... if you are talking about hunting, this is a very ignorant statement! Many people do it to put healthy, non-commercially farmed meat on the table...

 

[Zewlie]

Growing up, we had a dog (pit mix) who we rescued after she was dumped out of a moving car in front of us. Sweetest, most loyal dog in the world with people. Seriously. She once attacked a porcupine and ended up with hundreds of quills in her, many of which we had to pull out of her by hand. The process was extremely painful for her, and not once did she growl, snarl, or try to nip. She treated children more gently than 95% of dogs I've seen.

But she had probably been trained on some kind of small prey (dog fighting was a big problem where we lived, sadly), and over the years she did get a few of our chickens and one of my pet rabbits. It was extremely hard on our family to lose our pets to another pet. And when we moved further out into the country, we had to be careful to keep her in sight and away from livestock. Three or four years after the move, it finally happened - she got loose and killed two of a neighbor's goat kids.

My parents did the only thing they could reasonably do - reimbursed the neighbor and had Penny put down. It was hard on our whole family, but they really didn't have a choice. When you live in a ranching community, you've entered a sort of social contract: independently, everyone is working to cut down on predation and other problems that affect the whole area. If you're enabling the problem, *you* are the problem.