Dogs!! Help!

[Pip's chicks]

Yesterday my German Shepherds that are inside the house went nuts....the chicken coop is visable from inside...to find a black lab diggin at the chicken coop!! I went out with a pistol and shot in the air to scare it away and it did, but noticed it had ripped a whole in the chicken wire. Then this am again the dogs went nuts and I thought the dog was back.......well it was two different dogs looking at the coop trying to figure out how to get in??!? I was so upset and just thankful that I was home and caught it in time before my beloved babies were killed. My question is what can I do to keep these predators out!! Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated. I can barely sleep now knowing that 2 days in row I have had to scare dogs away. Thank you.

 

[speckledhen]

First thing you do is put hardware wire or 2x4 welded wire instead of chicken wire up. Chicken wire won't keep anything out. And make sure it's fastened securely, with dig barriers at the bottom.

If you know who the dogs belong to, tell them they need to keep them at home or lose them. Then, next time, shoot to kill, not in the air-unless you are a very long way from your neighbors, a bullet can travel and hit someone if you shoot in the air.

 

[KandiandJerry]

Either find out who owns them and tell them to pen them up...call animal control or shoot them....they will be back....

 

[PixieChixie]

Are you using standard chicken wire or the strong square kind? Strong predators can sometimes damage to normal chicken wire.

 

[OvertheHenHouse]

Quote:
X2. Know your target, and what's behind it...and also underneath it. Hoping you're way far away from other houses -

 

[Pip's chicks]

It is regular chicken wire....and I have found out it obviously is not strong enough to keep things out because it took that lab about 30 sec to rip the hole in it. I don't know who the dogs belong to because we live in Arkansas and everyone seems to just let their animals run wild. Nothing against Arkansas, but I am orginally from Chicago and I have never seem such lax attitudes about personal pets. They just seem not to care what their dogs are running around doing and can I mention breeding to whatever!! I could never imagine my dogs just running free to do what they please and it is very frustrating. Plus I live in the county and we don't even have an animal control. I was just wondering what I could use to re-enforce the pen?

 

[Pip's chicks]

yes the next house is far away from where I was shooting! LOL I woud never be unsafe with a firearm...but I do feel bad killing a dog that is just being a dog when I feel it is the owners responsibility!

 

[User105877]

Maybe you should let your shepard out and let him take care of the intruders, lol

 

[gavinandallison]

Check with the local police, tell them the problem and see where you stand with shooting them if necessary. Otherwise, shoot to kill, but please do get hardware cloth, chicken wire is only designed to keep chickens in!

 

[Pip's chicks]

Will do! I will go first thing tomorrow to get hardware cloth! Thank you