Should I warn neighbor that dog might get shot?

[mowin]

If I remember correctly the dog was chasing them, but hadn't gotten ahold of a chicken yet. I'll have to see if I can find that thread, doubtful, but I'll try.

And to my point... Chasing is difficult to prove. You better show some proof. A damaged coop, injured or dead livestock

 

[ValarieF]

Two dogs came into my yard today and chased my chickens and killed one of my roosters. I kept them away with my next door neighbor with a stick and shovel. I wasn’t upset at first, but they came back and tried to get more. I think they belonged to two different neighbors because they kept driving by and one time I heard one car saying I don’t know whose brown dog that is. Then the other car kept circling the block. When the dogs came back one had bubbles all over its chin so my husband got the gun. The dogs ran away but when the neighbors drove by again I yelled, “if your dogs keep killing chickens they’re going to get shot”. I don’t want to shoot any dogs but my husband said I probably shouldn’t have told them that. I’m from a middle of nowhere small town where no one gave a warning. If there was a dog getting the chickens, it would just be a sad day for the dog. What advice or opinion do you have? I am a fairly new chicken owner.

I will not warn anyone or thing; I have a private property sign and if anyone or thing comes on my property threatening my family or livestock it/they will be shot with my 9mm period. Then I will call law enforcement to come get the bodies.

 

[kodster]

What legal hassle?
I've never been through the court system or been arrested or have a record. The law is on the side of the livestock owner. The livestock owner only needs to show the dog was activity trying to get to or attacking livestock. Fairly easy to prove.

Well, obviously, you haven't had to deal with the situation. Who is the one that decides whether or not you broke the law in shooting the dog? The county prosecutor (here in North Dakota, it's the state attorney, which is equivalent to the county District Attorney). The police don't make the decision... they gather the evidence and then write up a report which gets submitted to the DA for review. It's the DA who decides whether or not you get charged with a crime, and in today's broken criminal justice system, they're more likely to charge someone like you (someone who has never had an encounter with the legal system and doesn't know how to fight back, what they can get away with, what they can scam you out of, financially... legal representation, fines, et al). There are so many laws that are hard to navigate, to know for sure whether you're breaking them or not, today unless you have legal representation. More money being spent for your legal representation that you really shouldn't need, but they make it so that you need them.

That's why I said I have a Catch-22 situation here where I live. The town ordinance doesn't allow for firing a firearm within the township limits, yet, the town is so small, and is so rural, that I would be covered by the state law for protecting my livestock I'm allowed to have inside the township limits from any predators. So, if I want to protect my livestock, what do I do? I can't shoot any predator because of the town ordinance that doesn't allow firearm discharges, but the state says I can kill them. That means, poison, which isn't humane, and could also harm my livestock as well. Shooting the predator is the most humane because it is the quickest execution without harming my own livestock or myself (because I would have to come within the predator's range to be able to trap and remove). Also, there are laws as to which animals you can eliminate, and each state is different, as well as federal laws protecting those animals. Do you know which ones they are for your jurisdiction? If you don't, then you've opened yourself up to all kinds of legal traps.

So, you get arrested, and that arrest goes on your record, for shooting a dog, because the police aren't going to make the decision of whether you were in your rights or not... the DA will make that decision, based upon what the police report says. It's an arrest that doesn't come off, if you're found innocent when you stand trial before a judge, or jury. It remains on your record that you were arrested, unless you have it sealed. You're going through the hassle of the legal system to prove your innocence. It's not an easy system to navigate for someone who has never been through it before.

 

[kodster]

You dont teach a dog anything by inflicting pain. You just create an enemy with the neighbour who owns the animal.
We all know its the owner's fault and not the animal, so let's stop speaking as though shooting a dog is an earned punishment.

Talking to the owner could establish the desired result without abusing an animal. So that's the first step people should be making in most situations. I also imagine you'd get in more trouble for injuring someones animal and leaving it to limp home in agony, than for killing it in defence of your own animals.
Anyways, this has all been discussed and discussed and this topic is kinda exhausted by now. Agree to disagree.

If you don't know who the dog belongs to? What do you do, then? Trap the dog, and hope the owner shows up to claim it? In my neck of the woods, the dog is on its own, more often than not, if it gets caught doing something it shouldn't be doing. Where I live, the owners don't care enough about their dogs to ensure that they are kept inside of their yards. And ONCE a dog gets its instincts turned on, to be a predator, it's gone. There is no retraining it. The only answer is to execute it. I'm sorry, but that's the truth. Those of us who live in the world of reality out here in rural America understand this. That's why every state has a law on the books protecting a livestock owner from shooting predators that come on their land with the intent of hunting the livestock or killing the livestock. It's a law that has been on the books for almost the time that each state has been in existence to protect the livestock owner from prosecution for protecting their livestock.

I have a YT friend who just put his almost 6-month old Livestock Guardian Dog (LGD) down... a dog that was being trained to PROTECT his livestock, but went feral on him. The older LGD that my friend has was the one that attacked the pup that was attacking the livestock. As my friend said, 'when I looked in my dog's eyes, I didn't see Bandit anymore. I saw a dog acting on its natural instincts." He had to put the pup down because the injuries the other LGD inflicted upon it, in the act of doing HER job which was protecting the livestock, were too severe to take it to the vet to recover. It was the humane thing to do, put the pup out of its pain. It's reality, hun. You have to deal with it, when you own livestock and you live in an area where predators exist. Your birds are 'beloved'. You'd do anything to protect them, right?

 

[equustears]

Two dogs came into my yard today and chased my chickens and killed one of my roosters. I kept them away with my next door neighbor with a stick and shovel. I wasn’t upset at first, but they came back and tried to get more. I think they belonged to two different neighbors because they kept driving by and one time I heard one car saying I don’t know whose brown dog that is. Then the other car kept circling the block. When the dogs came back one had bubbles all over its chin so my husband got the gun. The dogs ran away but when the neighbors drove by again I yelled, “if your dogs keep killing chickens they’re going to get shot”. I don’t want to shoot any dogs but my husband said I probably shouldn’t have told them that. I’m from a middle of nowhere small town where no one gave a warning. If there was a dog getting the chickens, it would just be a sad day for the dog. What advice or opinion do you have? I am a fairly new chicken owner.

I’d use a paint ball gun !!! Or at least a plastic pellet gun . Both hurt , make noise and I don’t believe are lethal.

 

[ValarieF]

Glad I live in a rural area where Im allowed to shoot a fire arm and kill any animal tha is attacking my livestock including cats and dogs. I feel for some of you guys .

 

[mowin]

Well, obviously, you haven't had to deal with the situation. Who is the one that decides whether or not you broke the law in shooting the dog? The county prosecutor (here in North Dakota, it's the state attorney, which is equivalent to the county District Attorney). The police don't make the decision... they gather the evidence and then write up a report which gets submitted to the DA for review. It's the DA who decides whether or not you get charged with a crime, and in today's broken criminal justice system, they're more likely to charge someone like you (someone who has never had an encounter with the legal system and doesn't know how to fight back, what they can get away with, what they can scam you out of, financially... legal representation, fines, et al). There are so many laws that are hard to navigate, to know for sure whether you're breaking them or not, today unless you have legal representation. More money being spent for your legal representation that you really shouldn't need, but they make it so that you need them.

That's why I said I have a Catch-22 situation here where I live. The town ordinance doesn't allow for firing a firearm within the township limits, yet, the town is so small, and is so rural, that I would be covered by the state law for protecting my livestock I'm allowed to have inside the township limits from any predators. So, if I want to protect my livestock, what do I do? I can't shoot any predator because of the town ordinance that doesn't allow firearm discharges, but the state says I can kill them. That means, poison, which isn't humane, and could also harm my livestock as well. Shooting the predator is the most humane because it is the quickest execution without harming my own livestock or myself (because I would have to come within the predator's range to be able to trap and remove). Also, there are laws as to which animals you can eliminate, and each state is different, as well as federal laws protecting those animals. Do you know which ones they are for your jurisdiction? If you don't, then you've opened yourself up to all kinds of legal traps.

So, you get arrested, and that arrest goes on your record, for shooting a dog, because the police aren't going to make the decision of whether you were in your rights or not... the DA will make that decision, based upon what the police report says. It's an arrest that doesn't come off, if you're found innocent when you stand trial before a judge, or jury. It remains on your record that you were arrested, unless you have it sealed. You're going through the hassle of the legal system to prove your innocence. It's not an easy system to navigate for someone who has never been through it before.

I've killed dogs attacking livestock. I've never been charged or arrested. Never had any legal issues. First person I call is the local DEC officer. Most times the owner of the dog ends up receiving few tickets.

Law is on the side of the livestock owner.

 

[AZMountainMama]

Oh my goodness. I could never shoot a dog over chickens. How.about a tranquilizer gun or bait it and capture then turn it over to animal control. Killing th dog seems extreme

Two dogs killed my entire flock of 12 this week. Didn't even eat one. Just killed them all. Shooting the dogs seems sad, but if the owners won't contain their animals do want to continue to lose my flock? Nope.

 

[centrarchid]

I warn trying to keep a level tone while doing so. I try. when I kill, I tell the owner. last time I had owner come pick dog up because I no longer want to invest effort in burying dogs,

 

[BelovedBirds]

If you don't know who the dog belongs to? What do you do, then? Trap the dog, and hope the owner shows up to claim it?

If possible, I would take it to animal authorities. I wouldn't kill an animal just because I dont know who owns it.

Your birds are 'beloved'. You'd do anything to protect them, right?

For sure, I dont consider a dog, fox or coyote any greater or more important than a duck or chicken.
I would defend my birds if being actively attacked. I wouldnt feel good about it, but I have already made it clear that this is my view. But a dog being on my property? Trying to get into the duck pen? No. I'd do my very best to catch or scare the dog away and then do what it takes to prevent it happening again.