I REALIZE THIS IS A POULTRY SITE BUT!

[horsejody]

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Come on over and pick up these ridgeback terrors. Then they will be somebody else's problem.

 

[kwynn's birds Alaska]

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Well heck -- why do people want gamefowl breeds if they're not chicken fighters?

Pits -- whether pit dogs or pit birds -- are bred for courage and "heart". These can be very attractive parts of a personality, whether you fight the animals or not.

My breed of choice is dobermans -- another breed that people often see as dangerous. I greatly admire the courage of both breeds.

And speaking specifically of pits, you need to remember that real fighting pits are bred specifically to NOT be aggressive to people. Remember, during a pit fight the "pit man" has to be able to separate the dogs WITHOUT getting attacked himself.

Both pits and dobes get a bad rap, in large part because of ignorant people who misuse and misbreed them. It ain't the dogs' fault if the people are idjits!

All that said -- IMHO these ridgebacks probably do need to be put down. Unfortunately, they have already shown fatal aggression towards multiple species -- and if their owners are as stupid as they sound, the dogs could be a serious danger to humans as well. I don't know whether it's already been mentioned here, but remember that ridgebacks were created to hunt LIONS. They can do a lot of damage.

I like this post. I have a pit, who as never showed aggression toward my birds. He loves his chickens. Actually he has never showed aggression except for one dog up the street that chased me. My diesel must have sensed my fear, because that other dog sure was sorry. COURAGE. when he was still a pup, he put hisself in front of me when I spooked a bull moose last fall. And he did not back down.
Not a lot of people don't know that pits werent bred just for fighting. i read somewhere that they had earned the name pitbull for the pits that they were raised to fight in. I'm not sure if that's true or not...I also read that farmers used to use them for protecting their livestock. Mine does just that. he don't evenlike other birds around the chickenpen. it has been due to careless owners who did not train them right, or well that pits got their nasty rep. There is a lot of time, training and effort to raise a pit, or any dog for that matter.
My mothers voice just popped into my head..."It's called responsibility!" I also like what Ellie-NY-chick said about taking care of children and pets, and the world would be a better place.

I totally aggree

 

[Mom 2em All]

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what you said...and I am also reinforcing something I said around page 8
"there are too many wonderful loving and gentle dogs that are on death row in need of a home, to keep an aggressive or killing machine, alive". (my previous sentence, only now more glorified)

I neglected to chain the gate tight enough to my chicken yard. I finished my earlier post and went outside, and discovered my weiner dog eating on one of my seramas. The chicken gate had opened just big enough for one of them to squeeze through.


Oh, and I would like to also state:
"Tying a dead bird around a dog's neck doesnt work so well when said dog is a weiner.

All I did was pack her a lunch.

 

[tackyrama]

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Homo Sapeins (us) are in a unique station in the world. We are at the top of the food chain. We have evolved/progressed to a state where we do not need to hunt or even farm for a living. There are those that do but they are a small fraction of the whole population. We are now in the middle of the biggest extiction period in the entire history of the world. Most people do not know or realize this because it is seemingly happening at such a slow pace. To most people anything that takes place over a period of say 200 years is not worth paying attention to. 200 years is just a blink of the eye in the big picture. In the blink of an ecological eye we will probabley force into extinction most of all species in the entire world including possibly US.

Our food sources are not threatened by hawks or coyotes or any other predator. We will not starve if we lose 2 or 10 chickens. If a couple of chickens get killed we go to the supermarket and get some more. By killing any and all predators we are only accelorating the extinction process (already a runaway freight train).

Being at the top of the chain makes us responsible to ALL living things. Wild animals kill to live thus they are hunters. People who kill needlessly or for fun are not hunters but killers. I am not a killer.

 

[fowltemptress]

I always find these threads interesting because of the completely different mentalities that enter into it. While the OP expressed concern over the numbers of people who seemed to advocate putting down lose dogs, I have the opposite opinion . . . I find it truly alarming that so many people seem to want to save every stray dog and cat. No-kill shelters truly bother me, because they tend to have old, unwanted animals taking up a space for months or even years that could have been filled by more adoptable dogs. There are tons of strays everywhere, and not being willing to put down one of them now and again, especially one that does kill chickens (since shelters tend to not mention those types of things to potential adopters), seems to me to be doing a disservice. I don't find providing an animal a quick death inherently cruel to the animal. Cruelty to the owners, maybe, if they loved and cared for it, but most of the time that won't be the case.

 

[redhen]

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I also have 2 Saints..and yes, they can be very protective of their humans...but, i do not allow it at all, in ANY FORM...when my male was younger a stranger came into my yard..and i did not like the tone of his bark at this person at all..it was kinda aggressive...i shut him up real quick...I'll tell you why i dont let my dogs "protect" anything...because THAT is what leads to aggression...and, who knows ,one day, they may attack something that IT percieved as a threat..but it was really just the Avon lady...lol......my dogs know that i will protect them...that i am the pack leader...letting a dog be protective, is in my opinion, a bad thing...it tells them that they can have agression towards a human when THEY decide to...and to me thats a scary dog..so for me..nope..i'm keeping my 3 dogs sissys...

 

[Bleenstar]

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becaues like all dogs, when trained properly, they make great pets. they are very courageous, Loyal, and friendly none of mine showed aggression unless well...for my attention lol. It really depends how the person raise their dog, there is not one strict rule to train a doggy. You gota work with them.

Now with ridgebacks, they are incredibly smart dogs BUT they have some " bad hardwired traits." They are hounds that are breed to attack large game such as lions under their OWN judgement. Now...if a child runs across the room yelling and screaming, the ridgeback would most likely pounce on the child because of instinct. THese type of dogs acts on its own alot even without owner's approval. Main point was, if you, cant handle a ridgeback... dont get one. If your neighbor has one, talk to your neighbor and take precaution. If it already killed your chickens or showed aggression, talk to your neighbor again give them information about that breed and talk to your local animal shelter about feeling unsafe (They'll most likely then talk to your neighbor about training the dog or give the dog its own run). give them a chance before putting down the dog at least. But when it comes down to necessary yes you are all right, your own safety is greater then the sake of letting a dog live. Just make sure the owner do everything he/she can first to contain their pets.

a great site that talks about ridgeback personality http://www.twohillsrr.com/whyarr.htm

Also, if you have a dog and it shows aggression towards the childrens. Then that means the dog believes its in a higher position then the child. like...HIgher in the "pecking order" you have to...HAVE to make your dog understand the the child is its owner. Or else the dog resort to aggression to protect its rank. They're not doing it because they are evil or wants to eat the kid. lol You have to be responsible to train dogs. Never try to break up dog fights unless you know what you are doing. I'd recommend anyone who is near a dog or who owns a dog read up on how to break up dog fights safely

I dont know if we're allowed to post links like this but, this site shows great examples of how dogs act even as puppies, this dude is pretty knowledgeable about the dog behavior, its kinda cute to watch (its a video) and you learn quiet a bit...but hes also tryin to sell something on something (training video) you can just research yourself

Let me know if it needs to be removed :x

http://www.twohillsrr.com/whyarr.htm

I also wrote a book on how to handle dogs, dog behavior/psychology and training methods. If anyone is interested I'll make it into a ebook and everyone who is a BYC member have it for free

Or I can mail you the book but you gota pay for shipping

its a big book...lots of pictures and includes a instructional/ educational CD. Also an extra DVD on our current listed dog breeds and basic behavior and training style. (this got me my PHD btw

You'll see me, my little girl Emily, and my DW mostly in our PJs...

warning: emily is 3, there is a few time she was naked please close your eyes !!


Edit: after reading above, just a note I never say dont put down any dogs period

Just innocent ones that can have a chance. I understand there are way too many shelters with way too many dogs and when its necessary dogs need to be put down. I'm only lettin you guys know the information I know and have studied and learned. please dont take it as me being a dog activist or tryin to offend anyone. anything

I love chicken and dogs alot . When its too hard for someone to retrain an aggressive dog then I'm sorry to say it does result to putting down the dog which sad, what i'm tryin to make clear is to properly train and handle your dogs before the problem happens... and there are no dogs born evil.

and airheart43 I cannot find anything that state how the dogs was raised or the behavior prior to them getting the dog from the family who planned to breed the dog

sorry. and i Have seen many cases similar. Dogs killed a human (which by law hav to be put down), We were fortunate that the court grant us dogs that killed or harmed a human so we can conduct research, studies etc (but of course after our research the dogs still had to be put down) reason why I said not intentionally is because the dogs I encountered, we were able to see WHY they did it and then we put it into rehabilitation. 97% of our test subjects were successfully rehabilitated. Of course this is not a significant study. That is why its still going on...but when they are sure and have enough information It will help alot of dog owners learn how to handle their dogs properly especially aggression prone dogs.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

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You obviously have the funds and ability to hop down to the store and buy some chicken. Not everyone on this board does. Some folk make a living by raising chickens, some people are disabled, some people are living below poverty level. With some folk, a predator coming in and killing their flock means their family will not eat. It's one thing to look at the big picture. But sometimes we need to look at the little picture, person by person. It's easy to spend time theorizing about ecology, extinction, the end of the world, etc, when you have a full belly and a roof over your head. Not everyone has that luxury.

. . . and,

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Bleenstar, you obviously never heard about this case:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/01/27/MN139736.DTL

 

[tackyrama]

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OK, I'm assuming you are referring to my post. Thank you for your sympathy.

Those of us that think the dogs should be put down don't take it lightly. Most of us have dogs and love them dearly. The dogs in question have not only killed chickens. In the the past they have gotten loose and killed or injured other dogs. A pomeranian was ripped apart in his own yard and killed by them. A Lhasa Apso suffered bite wounds and bruising from them in his own yard. A mixed breed was seriously wounded and nearly died when attacked by them in his own yard. Yes, the original problem is the people that own the dog. But keep in mind that these dogs are a problem now too. It shouldn't matter what type of pet is killed. If a dog is savage and goes on brutal killing sprees, it has to be stopped. You may not think that a chicken shouldn't take precedence over a dog, but why should these dogs take precedence over my chickens?

Also, we should use our sensibilities and not confuse the issue. Nobody was complaining about noise. The chickens were on my property and the dogs were off theirs. The only wandering involved was the dogs'.

Chickens are not only domesticated dinner. They are also domesticated pets. If you don't belief that, go to a poultry show. If they were strictly dinner, we wouldn't have some of the beautiful ornamental birds we have. Dogs do have hunting instincts, but when the domesticated hunter is out of control, something has to be done. Since we can't remove the owners, we only have the option of removing the dog. Also, when the domesticated hunter is indulging his nature to kill, and a small child panics and tries to save a beloved pet from from the beast, is it OK for the hunter to also indulge in his instinct to guard his prey and attack the child? I guarantee that will eventually happen if these dogs aren't stopped. I thank God that my neighbor's grandson wasn't in the yard or in the coop petting and feeding the birds when this happened. When he visits his grandpa on weekends, he comes to see the birds. I keep a stash of corn in a place he can get to so he can throw them treats. That child could have been in the middle of this if it happened on a Saturday instead of a Thursday. Think about it. This is a tragedy waiting to happen. The lives of those dogs do not take precedence over the rights of people and other pets to live safely.

Go ahead and be angry. That's your right. We all have freedom of speech and the right to our own opinions. But please don't think that others don't have a right to be angry that their chickens are slaughtered. BTW the way I'm glad that you mention that our chickens are precious, because they are just as precious as any other pet. My chickens are obviously more precious to me than marauding dogs are to their irresonsible owners. If those owners actually valued and loved their pets, they would be managed and kept on their own property.

Yes, stuff happens. Sometimes difficult decisions have to made. Sometimes dangerous animals have to be put down. Sometimes bad owners have to be prosecuted. So take a deep breath and realize that sometimes we have to do what we have to do. It's just unfortunate that some owners of domesticated hunters don't take responsibility, and they force others to have to make hard decisions and take action. And it is only common sense to realise that the lives of these dogs are not more valuable than what they have taken or are capable of taking in the future. If your dog is precious to you, keep it in your own yard. Problem solved.

Thank you for your gracious post. I am truly sad for you. I thought I made it clear that I do not condone marauding dogs. I do not. Putting them down is often the only answer. I have put down dogs in my lifetime. Wild animals are another matter. In this age of endangered and protected species we really have to balance the scales. What is more important? A chicken although loved and cherished can be easily replaced. A predator, say a peregrine falcon, is almost priceless and cannot be replaced at almost any price.

 

[hypnofrogstevie]

I dont think buzzards should be on the endagered list lol. We have 10 that sit up in the trees and watch the chickens. They also fly down and scare them. Thats when homer (my beagle) chases him away. Same thing goes for chicken hawks 3 of them where fltying in the air staring at my girls. I supervise all the time but I know other people cant since they have a family to look after or a job to go to.