Had a visitor over with a dog, stupid move.

[chicknduck]

Chickenduck, I feel for ya. When you put the time and energy into teaching your pets to behave a certain way it just drives you nuts to have it disrupted. I have a roommate who has managed to ruin my dogs. Before she arrived, they were well mannered 'fur kids' who were welcomed visiting friends or family. Now, I have to lock them up if I know someone is coming over. Or if they arrive un-expected I have to either go out and escort the person across the yard, or drag the dogs inside and put them in a bedroom. They beg, fight over food, jump on people, race out any open door - and when possible in open doors too. They can no longer be allowed out of the fenced in yard without a leash because recall no longer exists. It's maddening to say the least.
Thankfully, your sister in law was only visiting (right?) so you can just make it clear that her dog is no longer welcome in your yard.
Did you say that the dog nearly killed one of your chickens??? How is the bird now? Did she recover?

Also, I'm sure War Chicken was kidding. I LIVE by spell check because I can't spell worth a hoot. What gets me is when you spell it right so spell check misses it, but it's the wrong word.

I knew War chicken was kidding, but what a terrible typo. I am getting used to the site changes that have been made since I was active last. I am a terrible speller at times as well. She was just visiting but invited herself her boyfriend and her 3 kids to stay over, I couldn't wait for them to leave the next morning. I pride myself on being a good hostess but I did not even make a hot breakfast for them, I just put a big box of pop tarts and a gallon of milk out for the kids. I think she got it. Thanks for your responses everyone. It feels good to know others feel this way.

 

[urban escapee]

someone who is incapable of raising a child is definately incapable of handling a dog.

 

[effie]

someone who is incapable of raising a child is definately incapable of handling a dog.

ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!!! I say that all the time--you raise you dog the same way your kids--if they have awful misbehaving kids the dog will be too. It is pretty simple.

 

[bucky52]

It was your place to say NO,do not bring the dog.When it comes to the safety of my chickens i have no problems saying what i need to say.If it ticks them off so be it.And she did asked.

 

[ReikiStar]

It was your place to say NO,do not bring the dog.When it comes to the safety of my chickens i have no problems saying what i need to say.If it ticks them off so be it.And she did asked.

I'm with Bucky52. NO ONE's FEELINGS GO BEFORE THE SAFETY OF MY IMMEDIATE FAMILY and that means my ANIMALS. I would rather hurt my own mother's feelings than endanger helpless animals who depend on me for their well being and safety. And trust me...I have.

I think it's particularly hard for women to set boundaries because of the desire to make everyone happy. There is a time to compromise and there is time to put your own needs first. Keeping animals safe is a worthwhile priority.

I'm sorry for your poor chicken. She didn't deserve that. Sorry the kids had to see that. Hopefully they will understand how fragile life can be.

 

[bj taylor]

it's amazing how many people seem to think children raise themselves & dogs just know how to behave. next time she comes (if), tell her the dog stays home.

 

[Stonerowfarm]

So sorry you had to have this "lesson." No one understands when I tell them not to bring their dogs to my house. I don't care how well trained the dog is, or if it's leashed. A well trained dog who has never seen a chicken can still be a threat to my birds. That being said, this woman does not seem like she has the ability to handle much of anything so I think putting a shock collar on her dog was probably not the best thing to do. That poor animal will never learn anything from this person and will likely be ruined by her ineffective handling of it. I hope you confiscated the collar before you turned this woman out.

BTW - in my house she would have been lucky to get Pop-Tarts and not a big bowl of goat berries

 

[bobbi-j]

This is why I have a run. My son and daughter-in-law have a golden retriever that they bring when they visit. Murphy has not been trained to leave chickens alone, so they stay in the run. Problem solved. I guess the difference here is, I like to have my family come visit, they don't have real children, so the dog is their substitute. For me it's worth the effort to have them here.

 

[Firefighter Chick]

Yikes! perhaps you have placed too much trust in this person. Perhaps next time you make the visit to their place and decide to leave whenever things get overwhelming. If they ask why they can't come over, just tell em. Sometimes it is better to keep your distance for your own peace of mine. You don't need her dog teaching your dogs bad behaviors.

 

[Myles]

I don't mean to sound heartless.

But you must shoulder much of the blame for this. She asked if she could bring the dog and you said yes (knowing she was not responsible). You also must act as a "rooster" and protect your flock. I assume you left them out of their pen, although I guess it is possible the dog broke into the coop.
I lost 2 hems to a coon a few days ago. I feel awful about it because I left the run open and usually I close the chickens into their coop. Ultimately I blame the raccoon, but I also know I didn't do my part.