I guess I deserve an "I told you so"

[Mattemma]

It is pretty obvious the lady will not compensate.You talked to her,and she knows what happened.Had it been me I would have gone immediately to your home to apologise and give some money.Then I would chain up my dog till I bought a kennel for it. Avoiding you and then reluctant acceptance of the events shows to me they do not care.Dogs get loose and that is understandable.Not coming over right away is very telling to me.Sorry you are dealing with this.Neighbor relations will never be the same now,because your neighbor is a twit.

I would quietly take care of the dog when(not if) it returns. In the least carry some mace and if the dog comes into your yard spray it. I always thought dogs were nice till one attacked my dog in MY yard.

I have plastic fencing up for my hens around their coop.The fencing is $11 for 50 feet.It won't stop a determined dog,but it will slow them down for a bit so you can act.I recommend this fencing , carry the mace ,and a sturdy stick.Lol, for the longest time I carried both in anticipation of the attack husky but the owners have chained it well since they paid my dogs $400+ vet bill.

 

[Wisher1000]

Mamabahre - I agree that in a perfect world, things would be different. Women could walk down dark allys wearing string bikinnis and not fear rape, old people could leave their life savings on the dash of their car while grocery shopping and not fear theft, and we could let our chickens free range, unprotected, and not fear irresponsible dog owners allowing their dogs to roam onto our property. The reality is that we have to protect ourselves and our property if it is to remain safe. Another reality is that chickens are prey and prey is food to lots of creatures (including people.) Expecting dogs, foxes, raccoons, hawks, etc, not to eat them or getting angry is not reasonable. If you have chickens it is going to happen eventually. I, too, allow my birds to be birds and lose them on a fairly regular basis. I can not blame the dog (for being a dog) or the owner (because I have animals that could cause them problems, as well) but myself for making the decision to allow them to range. My guineas will cross the road into the (only) neighbors yard to eat their bugs and seeds and they don't mind, but I realize that the guineas also poop in their grass and drive, and maybe on the sidewalks and porch. I told them to do what ever they have to do (squirt with hose, shoo them, or shoot them) to keep them off the property if they want and I will understand. If they asked me, I would get rid of the guineas rather than cause the neighbors problems on their property, and I told them as much. With that said, they have recently been feeding a stray dog that was dropped off on our road and I explained that if the dog comes to kill the chickens I would have to stop it even if it meant shooting it. I have a chicken-killing dog myself and I keep him penned for the birds' protection and he still manages to get one every now and then, usually when one flies into the dog's pen! You know, you do what you can, you are only responsible for what you decide to do (or not do) and you shouldn't let someone else's bad behavior make you behave badly. I like my neighbors and want to maintain a good relationship with them, I will do my part and that's all I can do. Same with you. Don't expect them to take responsibility for their dog if yours runs loose sometimes, too. They seem like good neighbors to me. Most people don't understand about chickens, anyway. If you want them safe, build a strong coop and keep them up, if you want them to free range, accept that there will be losses. That is the reality.

 

[mamabahre]

Quote:
That sounds scary! I told DH when I am outside with the chickens I am going to carry around the shovel we have and god help that dog if it gets close enough to me. I'll knock it out cold. I have a toddler as well and this dog is NOT friendly. Forget the chickens what if it went after my kid? No second chances with that one.

I know they don't care. Based on all the details from MIL, they knew right away what happened and chose to play dumb to the situation. We are going to do the hot wire on their side of the property. We are ACTIVELY making sure our dog NEVER goes on their property again that way they won't have something to "come back" at us with. I was more than forgiving when I spoke to her and next time I won't be at all.

The dog is not friendly badly socialized and while it has played with our dog a few times she also has gone at her when our dog is on the leash in a pretty aggressive manner. It is so not the dog's fault, daughter of the woman next door got it, then found out she was pregnant and basically dumped the dog on her mom as soon as the baby was born. It never gets walked, never interacts with other dogs because it attacks them a lot and gets pretty much no attention. Honestly if I could kidnap the dog I would bring it to a no kill shelter or private rescue that can handle a dog that needs some behavioral training.

Anyway, we are going to work hard to make out chickens safe but it will be in pieces because we can't afford to fence the darn place off all at once...Although I will check out the plastic fencing so thank you for that suggestion! It might be a good temporary solution, or at least as you said PP slow the dog down.

 

[The Tinman]

Once my girls were big enough to go outside they were free ranged all day. My neighbors are a good distance away. Well one day my neighbor on the right dog got loose and went after my chickens. Non were hurt luckly. I spoke to the guy and he said he was sorry and will try to keep his dog in his yard. After the third time he put in an invisalble fence. Then the day came when my chickens found my neighbors on the left bird feeders. I would go over and try to herd them back but they would just go back as soon as I went inside.(She said it was OK and she loves to watch them but I know chickens can do alot of damage to flower beds) So I went and bought some bird netting. It was 7ftx100 so I cut it in half and put it up between our properties. The chickens would just walk around it. I wanted my chickens to be free range just like you but to fence in my yard would not be feasable. So now they are in a large pen for most of the day. I let them out for the last 2 hours of day light that way they don`t have enought time to make the rounds.

 

[baldessariclan]

"Good fences make good neighbors"...

 

[JoePa]

Quote:
That statement is very very very true -

 

[bobbi-j]

Quote:

 

[paperdragonfarm]

Is it possible to build a pallet construction fence on that side of the yard? You can usually find pallets for free and they can be fairly sturdy. A quick coat of outside paint, if you'r worried about aesthetics, and insta-fence! Doesn't work for beans on my sheer-wall-climbing-spider goats. But I bet it'll keep a dog out.