Neighbor's dog came back for our ducks today! What to do?

[RosemaryDuck]

Just wanted to comment and say please go to er/urgent care right away. This is a dog you don't know, and have no proof of having a rabies shot. It's uncommon, but rabies is a quick killer and a horrible way to die. Please go get a shot right away if you haven't already. It only takes a few days to set in (5-10 days) and then there's nothing they can do to treat you if you contract rabies.

 

[bhawk-23]

I'm late to this ball game...but my husband works for the Health Dept in our state and is the person responsible for dealing with dog bites in the county. IN our state (your laws may be different), any dog bite that is reported to health officials (either your doctor or a hospital) MUST be reported to authorities by state law. At that point, the authority in that county MUST see vet records to show that the dog was PROPERLY vaccinated for rabies. If the owner CANNOT show vaccination records FROM A VET (many try to do it themselves), then they have two options - 1) dog must be quarantined by the state for 14 days at owner's expense OR 2) dog is put down, head chopped off and sent to a lab for rabies analysis.

Either way, these people can threaten all they want but the law is on YOUR side. Their animal came onto your property and threatened your livestock and yourselves. You are completely within your right to shoot it, hit it with a shovel, or do anything else to it that you choose. If they don't like it, they can pay the damages and keep their dog on their property.

This! And the dog is a "fear aggressive" dog and is actually one of the most dangerous because you can never know when and how they will react in situations. Most definitely get to a Dr to be seen and they will know what to do for your particular local laws.

Reporting this is a necessity because unfortunately many kids are not taught proper dog etiquette and a fear biter can, and will, lash out at unpredictable kids in fear.
Best case scenario these are good, but ignorant, dog owners. The dog will be up to date on all shots and they will quarantine. They will also be educated about dog laws and their responsibility as owners and get the proper help for their beloved pet. End of situation. OR, they choose to be ignorant and you've helped a dog get out of a bad situation. Either way, it's a win.
PS, I've worked at vets and attended vet tech school. I've see both types of owners. Most have the best of intentions just lack of education. The other ones are better off without a dog.

Please update with how you and your bites are doing!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Hillbilly, you know there is nothing normal or good about a duck isolating herself from the flock. I know she will be lonely by herself, but I think you need to bring her inside and put her in a bit larger area than the Rubbermaid tub. She doesn’t need to be outside where she over exerts herself and, even worse, possibly falls into the pond and drowns. I don’t think she’s as well as you’re hoping/thinking. It may just take time for her to heal and be completely back to normal, but I think limiting her activity is a start.

If I put the puzzle pieces together correctly from the pictures you posted, she has bite wounds on BOTH sides of her body at about the shoulder level or slightly to the front of the shoulder. Of course she is extremely sore and would benefit from something stronger than baby aspirin, maybe metacam or carprofin, from the vet. And in addition, if the dog was able to get its mouth clamped down on either side of Nona Duck’s body, she quite possibly could have internal injuries. Retrievers are known to have “soft mouths” and I have a story to share about that for another time. But even with the possibility of a soft mouth, a lot of damage could have still been done.

Of course, you know me and the fact I suffer from CRS, so you may have taken her to the vet already, but I think we all were more concerned about getting you seen by a doctor. I don’t think you did take her to the vet, but if you did could you remind me of the outcome...to save me from reading through everything again?

She needs antibiotics and a pain reliever and her own little apartment inside with y’all.

Nope! Nona is in the best hands - ummm wings? - she can be, here is a snapshot from the DuckCam:

The duck in front of her is Katharina and nobody, really NOBODY messes around with Katharina the Great! Even the much larger drakes are afraid of her and bow their heads!
To the left sleeps Nona's sister Curiosity and in front is Limpy Drake. Together they are tough as nails. One foot long nails!
Nona would feel terribly lonely if i take her away from her family!
And no, i didn't took her to a vet as she was much better on Friday morning. If she had serious internal injuries she would have been much worse on Friday. I assume she feels a bit like me at the moment: I moved a ton of 3 month old compost from the left side of the compost "bin" to the right side to make room for the current content of the duck house. Then hauled 6 wheelbarrows of 9 month old compost into the sweet potato bed for this year and finally moved the remaining 30 patio stones around the house.
My muscles feel like i've been hit by a bus or chewed by a dog…

 

[Alaskan]

A dog that is agressive towards humans is always a bad thing.

If you have a fence for your ducks, you should be fine.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Ugh! - I called animal control and ended up in a voice-mail. Described what had happened, left my contact data and asked for a call-back.
Called the non emergency line and they forwarded me to county animal services who declared themselves not responsible as the dog had not killed lifestock.
Called the sheriffs office and they recorded the case and told me an animal control officer would call me back.
That was an hour ago.
Not sure what to do about the injury, already have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow for something else, so she might be able to tell me what to do with it.
I rinsed the wound with 150 proof alcohol and applied some antibiotic ointment. It burns like hell…

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Did you tell animal control that you were bitten? That causes them to have to report and come out.

Sure did, but there was only a voicemail picking up my call... I am still waiting for them to return my call.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Thank you very much for your answer! - Yes, the doctor told me that they have to report it to the authorities and that the dog must be quarantined for two weeks.
But according to the animal-police officer who called me today (see my post above) i am not allowed to hit an animal with a shovel. That is permitted only in self-defense after the dog has eaten you.

I find the animal control officers response completely off base... Not just because my husband deals with these situations every day but also because I have PERSONALLY dealt with two dog bite cases myself.

When I was 5 years old, I was mauled by 4 dogs and spent many months in the hospital. Had to learn to walk again. All the dogs involved were family pets of surrounding neighbors.

Also my daughter was attacked by a dog when she was little.

In both of these cases, the owners were held liable. In my case, the city was also held liable because the dogs had attacked other people prior to me and the city did nothing about it. This was before leash laws but my case initiated them.

There is so much case precident that backs YOU up on dog bites, it's overwhelming. That's why I said the city would have your back in a hot minute because THEY don't want to be held liable for mishandling your case

 

[Ferd Berfel]

I don’t see how you are going to be able to work with your neighbors. They have already lied about the situation and they are being very aggressive. The dog needs to be gone.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I think I understand. I would worry too. Are they people who will work with you? Is there anything else you can do to keep predators out?
There are electrified fences and such, but that‘s extra money.
Not sure where you live but There is a fence which can be made out of tree branches, which is solid out enough to keep out predators unless they jump over. I will search for the name.—it‘s a wattle fence.
I am sure you have racked your brain already trying to protect your ducks so this may not be helpful at all, or work for your layout, but just in case thought I would mention it. Pretty cool fencing.

Love the idea of that wattle fence, it is cheap to build and i have ~35 acres of forest to get all the branches, the only things i need to buy are the posts! Initially have to deal with about 500 meters (~547') of fence, but i can build that segment by segment. Great Idea!
Edit: And such a fence is much easier to build on uneven or steep land!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

question did you hit the dog with a shovel yes or no I just want to clarify all of this

Absolutely not! - Had i hit the dog with my shovel there would have been no need to call the neighbour anymore…