Is it legal to shoot a dog on my property if they kill my chickens?

[Smokin Silkies]

citrus, I can't remember which links they were but I'm going to try and find them again. I may have misread it too? My dog is an inside dog and the best dog Ive ever owned. He takes a heck of a beating from my toddler and tolerates it. I couldn't let him go after those dogs....he wouldn't make it

 

[ijon1]

Shoot it, shovel it and don't talk about it.

 

[Smokin Silkies]

The local dog warden is out of town til the 17th so as soon as he returns I'm going to call him and find out for sure.

 

[Buster52]

Quote:
Well, he probably wouldn't have to. Mine is a lab and she has no trouble repelling larger dogs. They come to recognize another dog's turf. She fought some neighborhood dogs, one of them a rottweiler, when she was establishing her turf, and she didn't always get the better of them. But they don't come on her turf any more, either. They will come right up to the fence and no further. She is very much the Alpha Dog. Even my nephew's two large GSDs follow her lead and submit when they are on her turf (although it is reversed when she is on theirs... that's how things work in Dog World).

But our flocks are important to us, and we don't feel she is quite enough to protect the whole place once we expand so we have brought in reinforcements. A Great Pyr pup. It will take a while before she is ready, but when she is...

While I might be able to shoot some of the predators after my flocks, I can't get them all. A couple of dogs can.

One last thought. From your statute it appears it is only legal to shoot them if you catch them in the act. So what if your flock is attacked when you aren't home? It doesn't take dogs long to decimate an entire flock, if you go by the stories here. What then?

So you get restitution, provided you could prove it was these dogs. Your birds are still dead.

Seems to me a good deterrent is better than making up for a loss.

Just some things to think about.

 

[gamebirdsonly]

Quote:

I have done it few times. and now there is another one roaming the area and if that bugger gets in my yard it's dead.

 

[purpletree23]

Learn from my experience and kill the *&%$%@#$*. I lost a chicken to dogs that kept coming back for a chicken dinner. The owner said his dogs were tied up 100% of the time. Well I thought I would be a law abiding citizen and take the owner to small claims court. Approx $375.00 later for court costs and sheriff fees and police report fees we will see each other in court in DECEMBER. I filed for court in June. I missed work and it wasn't easy to get all of the information I needed. Here in New Hampshire you can shoot dogs who are killing livestock. I should have listened to my father and done the deed.

Ask the police to accompany you to the owners home and tell the owner of the dog that the next time someone comes around looking for a chicken dinner there will be consequences.

And then be prepared to protect yoursel when the dog owner comes looking for fido. Be proactive and not reactive.

 

[Over Easy in Adna]

Quote:
Get a good dog and you won't.

I love this answer..... except for the fact that I hate dogs. Now, if I could only train my cats to watch over the chickens.

 

[bigdawg]

if they have killed once there is no breaking them from it. shoot to kill and be done with it. and be descreet. dont talk about it.

 

[Buster52]

Quote:
Sure there is, but now I'm starting to repeat myself.

Look, if y'all want to shoot dogs and you can find a legal means to do so, I guess you are just going to go ahead and shoot dogs. But if you want to protect your birds, there are more effective alternatives.

I have noticed a common theme among those suffering predator attacks of all kinds. They don't have good dogs to guard their flocks. They spend a fortune and all sorts of time building fort knox, take all sorts of precautions, and they still lose birds.

I don't think I have read a single thread where someone had a good guard dog on duty and lost birds except maybe some chicks to snakes, or to the occasional hawk.

 

[()relics]

Quote:
I completely agree...Let's not shoot dogs especially if they are some ones pet...There has to be a solution other than shooting/killing them...I would start with their owner. They should be responsible enough to keep their pets in check...Then as was said, The animal control officer...Something...I would hate if my dog wandered into your yard and you shot her just because she was a dog....I put a piece of electric fence around my chicken yard about 12" off the ground....My dogs learned right away "stay away from the wire"...I suspect it might work for you too.
It doesn't seem fair that the flock owner has to go the extra mile to protect their flock but Really do you want to shoot your nieghbors pets?