One less dog in the neighborhood!

[BantyHugger]

I feel you were in the right. I would hate it if that happened to my lab/bc cross, but then again i take responsibility for my pup. She has he own yard and has been trained to leave the neighbors' animals alone. You gave her a warning and she failed to take care of her pet. I hope she learns from it.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
And i agree with you 100%. I really do! also, i just want to say, i understand where you were at! i also would not tolerate a neighbors dog in my yard..EVER. i'd warn them once..maybe twice. then their dog would take a ride somewhere. shelter or something. i have 4 very large dogs..and i would NEVER expect my neighbors to tolerate me just letting them run loose all the time...when my dogs get out i am frantic! and my neighbors know this and help me round them up.(i love my neighbors)..they know i respect their yard/pets..and they respect mine. I just find it so sad when idiots dont care and then the dog has to suffer because of it!

its not your fault..and its certainly not the dogs fault either! espically as you said it was a hunting dog...was it a bird hunting dog by any chance?

 

[Judy]

To the OP: What a shame, that you were put in the position of finding it necessary to kill a child's pet. I do sympathize with this. Not a pleasant choice. Obviously you should never have had to make this choice.

This thread is exactly why I would not post here about killing an animal, unless I were unsure of what choice I should make. Once we make the choice we feel is right, we do not need to read an onslaught of alternate opinions. Surely, few if any here would take an animal's life casually, without respect for life, or in fun, or out of spite, or for similarly, let us say, uncivilized motives. This is a chicken site, and there are members who are vegetarians, and others who raise chickens for meat. Obviously there are varying viewpoints. We need to remember that a wide variation of opinion or viewpoint can still encompass thoughtful and moral approaches.

OK, off my soapbox now.

 

[mediazeal]

KHayward, I feel for you. I know this was a hard position to be in. I'm not criticizing you. I imagine you would like a better option as well.

I just want to advocate for calling a rescue whenever possible. I've called them before. They will make an effort to come pick up. They will rehome dogs that are trainable and have a good temperament. Even if they happened to kill chickens which are seen as prey due to lack of training. They will just warn everyone that the dog should not be trusted with chickens. No way would I trust even my dogs to not chase and grab chickens that ran. They shy away from dogs that bite people or are vicious. It's the temperament they are looking at.

And I want to advocate for suing people for damages. They aren't going to listen til it costs them something. Make the true offenders pay not the clueless animals.

Clearly the lab owner was willing to sign a death sentence rather than be reasonable. She would have behaved differently if it cost her money instead of a dog.

 

[Judy]

Quote:
The OP already said that animal control, rescue, etc. was not available.

 

[Hozer]

I had a problem with the my neighbors cutting loose a 80+ pound male rotwieler (sp?). No leash, no pen, just let it roam around. It was in my yard and trash every day. At times my wife was afraid to go out the front door. It took out the neighbors turkey. Killed another neighbors dog. An old man that walks his dog every day carried a sling shot to nail it with and keep it away.

I was thinking, "Why hasn't anyone talked to them (the owners)?" The dog was holding the neighborhood hostage. I figured...typical bad dog owners...no concern for the rest of us. I was starting to fume and carry a 357 when working out in the yard. I thought, I'm getting all worked up...I need to talk to them...give them the benefit of the doubt."

I saw my neighbor was warming up her car and tried to flag her down. Of course the dog confronted me at the property line. This is a big, mean dog. She called the dog in the house and went in herself. I thought, "That's it?" I almost gave up. As she was pulling out of the driveway I waved to her. She stopped and rolled down her window. "I want to talk to you about restraining your dog." I said. She asked if he was a problem. I told her he was in my yard and trash. She asked how often and I told her every day. She apologized at least 4 times. Said she was thinking of setting up a kennel for him. I told her if I wanted an 85 pound rotwieler I would go and buy one. No mention of the large piles of dog dookie and piss on my wive's car. I am getting worked up as I type this. She also said, "At least he isn't bothering anyone's chickens." I told her something killed the neighbors turkey last month. She looked shocked. I found out later the older guy (with the slingshot) saw the dog kill the turkey.

Like I said, she apologized profusely and offered to pick up the trash and take it to the dump and that she would keep her dog penned. I told her it was cool and that she was fixin' to lose her dog. Not an idle threat...just stating a fact.

We're talking Homer, Alaska here. Rednecks and commercial fishermen. We had a similar problem a few years back with someone cutting a pitbull and her pup loose every night. It killed 5 chickens before my neighbor's wife killed and buried them. Everyone knows what happened except the owners...who didn't seem too concerned.

I'm suprised no one tried to talk to the owner. So far so good. I'm glad we came to a peaceful solution. That was a "dead dog walking."

 

[babylady4]

I just wanted to add something here.

My mother-in-law has had issues with dogs killing her chickens; even her own dogs. Her answer to the problem is the takes the dead chicken and attacks the dog with it over and over again so the dog is afraid of the chicken. She does not have a probem after this happens, the dogs do not mess with the birds once she 'beats' them with a dead one.

She has been successful with this tactic for over 40 (?) years and she is no city girl!

Taking the dog out like that was a bit tasteless; I understand why but the method is along the lines of leading a kid away with candy.

M

 

[rachiegirl]

I'm so sorry, that must have been so rough for you on so many levels.

I'm dreading the day when I'll be faced with that same situation.

 

[TexasVet]

Quote:
I wish it was that simple. I've been friends with this neighbor for 3 years. Our kids go to school together. My kids take care of her animals when she's on vacation, and her kid takes care of mine. It's a very small community, with a lot of connections and relationships. (For instance, the father of the other neighbor with killer dogs is the local Sheriff. Sure don't want to tick him off by killing his daughter's dogs just as my kid is getting a drivers license.)

She has offered repeatedly to buy replacement chicks, so money is not the issue. The issue is me raising replacement chicks for months and months just to have them killed the next time the dog gets loose.

Kathy, Bellville TX
www.CountryChickens.com

 

[Over Easy in Adna]

To the OP, I understand what you did and why you did it. Good job on a tough situation.

To all the "monday morning quarterbacks", if I said what I wanted to, I would end up banned........