Neighbour’s dog attacked my hens

[pinecone33]

Our nextdoor neighbours have a big white fluffy dog, I was outside with my hens today next to them while they free range and their dog ran after my cat and noticed my hens. The moment the dog saw them it went after them, the ones from my flock flew or ran away and the dog was barking all over the place but as you know from my previous post I’m taking care of a sick hen and she could barely run on her limping leg (I don’t know why she didn’t fly she was just limping and yelling). The neighbour kept calling for the dog and it wouldn’t listen it kept wanting to attack the sick hen (I know this was dumb of me but I kept standing in front of the sick hen because the dog kept trying to have a go at her and it almost got me instead. No regrets though I love my hens and the one I’m taking care of right now, I’d do it again). Now I’m super worried the dog might come back, they’re in their outside coop but what if the dog finds a way to get in? Their yard is literally next to ours (the coop is probably 10 metres away from their yard though) and my hens spend their entire days free ranging or being in the outside coop. I’d hate for them to not be safe in the outside coop either, do you guys think the dog would attack again ? Should I renovate the coop and make it dog proof?

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

Our nextdoor neighbours have a big white fluffy dog, I was outside with my hens today next to them while they free range and their dog ran after my cat and noticed my hens. The moment the dog saw them it went after them, the ones from my flock flew or ran away and the dog was barking all over the place but as you know from my previous post I’m taking care of a sick hen and she could barely run on her limping leg (I don’t know why she didn’t fly she was just limping and yelling). The neighbour kept calling for the dog and it wouldn’t listen it kept wanting to attack the sick hen (I know this was dumb of me but I kept standing in front of the sick hen because the dog kept trying to have a go at her and it almost got me instead. No regrets though I love my hens and the one I’m taking care of right now, I’d do it again). Now I’m super worried the dog might come back, they’re in their outside coop but what if the dog finds a way to get in? Their yard is literally next to ours (the coop is probably 10 metres away from their yard though) and my hens spend their entire days free ranging or being in the outside coop. I’d hate for them to not be safe in the outside coop either, do you guys think the dog would attack again ? Should I renovate the coop and make it dog proof?

I'm sorry. I would renovate the coop and dog proof it. Talk to the neighbors about it and ask them to train their dog. Or demand that they do. Hope this helps

 

[DobieLover]

Now I’m super worried the dog might come back

Is there no dog control or ordinance in Sweden that prevents neighbors from permitting their dogs from terrorizing your animals??!!
The first thing I'd do is go have a candid conversation with your neighbor about properly securing their dog and to train it.
It sounds tight but can you put up a multi-wire electric fence and charge it with at least a 10,000 volt charger as a barricade to that neighbor?

 

[saysfaa]

.. , do you guys think the dog would attack again ?

Yes, if conditions are similar. Or maybe, if the conditions are not very similar if the dog has a high prey drive or is very intelligent.

Dogs don't generalize very well, so he might think the opportunity is only available if x, y, and z. (X, y, and z being whatever happened to allow him into your yard this time when he hasn't come before.)

Chasing chickens is a very high reward thing from the dog's perspective, more so for dogs with a high prey drive. So he is likely to be pretty motivated to try ways to do it again.

Should I renovate the coop and make it dog proof?

That is a good idea anyway. More so now.

If the dog doesn't come when called, I would not put much faith that his people will be effective in training hiim. It is still worth talking to them as the others said.

 

[BeefQuesoritto]

Yeah, not to be a doomer, but I've never had good luck getting people with dogs to be responsible. You can't control them, but you can control your property. I think it may be time for no more free ranging for your chicks unless you have a fence that's dog proof. Every time the dog chases them reinforces the behavior to chase. The electric fencing suggestion is really good. It's cheap, easy to set up, and reliable.

 

[aynesidea]

Our nextdoor neighbours have a big white fluffy dog, I was outside with my hens today next to them while they free range and their dog ran after my cat and noticed my hens. The moment the dog saw them it went after them, the ones from my flock flew or ran away and the dog was barking all over the place but as you know from my previous post I’m taking care of a sick hen and she could barely run on her limping leg (I don’t know why she didn’t fly she was just limping and yelling). The neighbour kept calling for the dog and it wouldn’t listen it kept wanting to attack the sick hen (I know this was dumb of me but I kept standing in front of the sick hen because the dog kept trying to have a go at her and it almost got me instead. No regrets though I love my hens and the one I’m taking care of right now, I’d do it again). Now I’m super worried the dog might come back, they’re in their outside coop but what if the dog finds a way to get in? Their yard is literally next to ours (the coop is probably 10 metres away from their yard though) and my hens spend their entire days free ranging or being in the outside coop. I’d hate for them to not be safe in the outside coop either, do you guys think the dog would attack again ? Should I renovate the coop and make it dog proof?

Absolutely. You can't count on owner keeping dog out of your yard.