The dog owner called me... WWYD?

[chickenwhisperer]

I also have dogs and chickens, and if my dogs killed my chickens, I would go get some more. I dont want to offend anybody, but c'mon, does a chicken prtect you? does a chicken keep your feet warm on a cold night? does a chicken treat you like youre a God? NO, they dont. We eat them and their offspring, they couldn't give a rats @$$ about us other than we must feed and water them. If a dog gets out, it will always still want to be around people, If a chicken gets out, Id give it a week before it is totally wild. Where I live, there are signs everywhere about a ranchers right to shoot "my" dog if it harrasses livestock, but if that rancher actually shot my dog, I would make his life hell, legally, untill he wouldnt have a peaceful day ever.

Two wrongs dont make a right, and I know youre mad now, but how could you even contemplate lokking a dog in the eye(cause you know itll be looking at you) and killing it. Just because you can do something, doesnt mean you should.

I would definatly make a report, and have the lady reimburse you, but shooting her dog, even if there is a next time, gimme a break. Wouldnt it be easier to make friends with that neighbor and talk about the situation rather than threaten her dogs life. What if your dogs got out one day and did something bad at the neighbors house, would you be OK with that neighbor shooting your dog, just because they can?

If you want me to, Ill buy and send you chickens every time her dog kills yours. Arent we supposed to be animal lovers here? I have all kinds of different animals, and my dogs are the only ones that listen, obey, need me, and MOST importatnly- dont use my house as a bathroom.

Maybe you should use this situation as a wake up call and make a coop that is 100% predater proof.


I really dont mean to offend, but when I hear that somebody wants to shoot a dog over a 5$(at most) chicken, that offends me. Even a so called "predater" like a racoon doesnt deserve death if it got at my chickens, because I just tell myself that they were here before me, and will be here when Im gone.

 

[silkhope]

Chickenwhisperer, I'm not really offended (it actually takes quite a lot) but do you have children? That play out in your yard? Would you not be worried that a dog like a huge german shepherd is unsafe, a dog that would destroy your property to kill something... would you not be just a little concerned about your child? Or your other dogs? What if a dog attacked one of your dogs and killed it? What would you do then?

I personally would not shoot the dog, I don't have it in me but I would have no qualms about my husband doing it. If my dog were in someone else's yard destroying their property and killing their animals... I would be upset, extremely upset, but they are within every right to take it into their own hands. It is my responsibility to make sure my animals stay within their own yard. I love my dogs with all my heart, they are my CHILDREN and are spoiled rotten and sleep on the couch or in our beds every night. I would be devestated but know that it was my fault.

AND ACTUALLY, I have seen and lived around wild packs of dogs... because their owner neglected them and turned them loose, and they killed our cat, ran us into our house, and were eventually all shot by people in the neighborhood, so don't tell me that they will ALWAYS want to be around people.

My chickens may have only cost $5 (at most) but they were my pride and joy, they were MY little backyard farm that I never had growing up and I raised them and fed my family their eggs (never them). I still habitually look up towards their coop when I'm outside, leaving in the morning or coming home in the evening, even though they're gone. They were a part of my daily life and routine and I truly enjoyed their presence and their individual personalities. I'm sorry you don't feel the same way.

 

[Judymae]

I do!

 

[thechickenwhisperer]

silkhope

,
Take chickenwhisperer up on the offer

. Figure out how much the chickens cost, how much feed you spent, and how much for the cost of your time, care etc. because those account for your total loss too.

BTW I am still in a bit of a snit about the similar name. I don't want to ever be mistaken for chickenwhisperer posts.

Bottom line, this is a chicken lovers site (not that we don't love other animals too). And loving our chickens, the laws state we can take measures to protect our property lawfully-so some may need to get over that fact.

Edit...by the way, I have YET to hear of a feral or pet rooster on the loose killing other animals and scaring little children and adults-think about it.
The day any of my chickens kill a dog and threaten anothers safety is the day I'll hang up my farming hat and pack up my pitchfork and shovel...

 

[Cheri]

chickenwhisperer. I had a dog that I LOVED to death. He nipped a girl on the butt and arm and I gave him up. My little dog ate my rooster. I gave him up. My Lobo killed one of my ducks. He went bye bye also. I can't have a vicious animal on my property. I shot a dog after two years of warning the owner. I didn't kill it. How would that make me look if I shot his dog but didn't punish mine? My mom is skeered of sweet Molly. Molly loves to jump on people. I blame her former owner and I am trying to train her out of that.

ps my point is........if my dog did something really bad like kill someone's livestock or pet.........I would hurt it.

 

[chickenwhisperer]

Listen, I know that typing cant really portray the way Im trying to tell it, But I know I rubbed ya wrong and IM Sorry. I dont feel the same way that you do, and thats ok. Here is my logic on yours and my last posts:

First of all, the dogs did not kill or even attack your children, so please dont say that. That would be a totally different situation.
Secondly any breed of dog can attack a child, would you be scared of my 13lb Jack Russel? No probably not, but he is the most bullying and stubborn and downright mean dog I have ever seen, and I know alot of my friends with pitbulls and boxers and such"bully" breeds dont let me take him over their houses because he beats up their dogs(thank god hes only 13lbs). And I would feel way more comfortable leaving my kid alone with a known protecter like a German Shepard rather than MY JRT.
Now down to it, In my 30 years here I have had just about every kind of animal that are legal to keep, and some that arent. Ranging from snakes and lizards(which I currently own more than 25) to racoon babies to hedggehogs to cockateils to you name it, at one time or another Ive owned one. And yoe know what, the only ones, in my experience, that listen to and respond to people are dogs and cats. And I know someone will say something about horses and pigs and such, and I know theyre smart, but actually do they really need us besides food and water.Anyways I learned more than 15 years ago that I should not be giving certain animals personalities. This is a very "human" thing to do. If I gave every snake or bird or whatever, a name or personality, I would be a very depressed person with all the selling, trading, or even culling that Ive experienced.
So, "chicken personality". Has a chicken ever come to you when you called its name? Of course it has, because it associates your presence with food and water. Same with a dog, right? Try standing across the yard and out of sight to call its name.
has a chicken ever "played" with a ball or toy? Of course they have, because either one of two things happens- they either see it as a threat("playfighting") or think it might be food(pecking) and once they realize its neither, what happens? Same with a dog, right? Try giving a tennis ball to a dog and see what happens.
Do you ever see a chicken, out of the corner of your eye, look to see if youre watching as it SNEAKS a burger(ok scratch) off the picnic table? Is that the same as a dog?
Has your chicken ever come out of your room cowering because it had to pee on the floor because you forgot to let it out? No, they just go where and when they please because they do not UNDERSTAND that theyre suppesed to go outside. And if someone says dogs dont UNDERSTAND, then why do they go to the door to let you know its time? If a dog didnt UNDERSTAND the concept of housetraining, it would never LEARN it.
These are just a few examples, if you want more I got them. But my point is, sorry to burst everyones bubble, that in probably 98% of kept animals, "personality", though usually amusing, is just a natural instictual response or lack of response to any given stimuli. My 4' tegu lizard rushes the glass every time I go within 3' of ITS cage, does that mean its happy to see me?no just means I have food. Once I take it out of the cage, that reaction is gone, and it will start to "chase" the cat around or "curl up" on the couch. Wrong, it is hunting the cat by its scent trail or basking in the sun, both things it insticually knows to do. It just so happens that my house is not an Argentinian rainforrest, so the couch and cat will have to do. And you know what its name is, Boots, can you guess why?
My chickens come to me when I go to them cause they know I mean food, But not one out of the flock takes it upon itself to seek me out to, I dont know say, scratch its belly or lick my ear( and yes I know chickens cant lick) or chew one of my shoes, and dogs dothis because whatever theyre chewing on smells like you and he MISSES YOUR COMPANY. And no chicken I ever heard of wants nothing more in life than for you to be pleased with it.
And I know that not every dog is a people dog(more personality??you tell me).Show me even one chicken that really, actually, not just trying to stay warm on a cold day, wants to curl up in your lap for a good ear rub.
Look, Silkhope, I know what an owners responsibilities are in regards to their animals care and behavior, and if my dogs ever caused damage to someone elses' stuff, and they have gotten loose a couple times, I would do whatever could be done to make sure restitution is taken care of. And if my dogs ever did attack a person I would cut in line to have them put down. There is always a chance your chickens couldve gotten out and wandered into you neighbors yard and ate all his corn and then pooped all over the place and then his dog ate the poop and got sick and died. Its a long shot, but it would still be your fault for not properly containing your"nuisance" chickens. Would you have a problem with that neighbor killing all your chickens the next time they INSTICTUALLY went there to look for food. Or would you rather go and have a CIVIL, non threatining conversation with him/her to see if there is some way for you both to be satisfied and remain or even become good neighbors. I mean, if she wanted to she could probably even have you arrested for making threats towards her property.
Ill end my logic with this: just work it out amicabally with your neighbor, after all she did offer to make things as right as she could, this day and age, most people would just say "go pound salt".

 

[chickenwhisperer]

what exactly is a snit?
and if I were you, cheri, I wouldnt get any more dogs.

 

[PurpleChicken]

The dog debates on this site get a little crazy. I told myself that I wouldn't get involved
again but I can't help it.

1-Chickenwhisperer you said something that not many people seem to accept. Our
dogs are a little higher in value than our chickens. I have both and I love both. If
my dog killed a chicken I would blame myself as I am responsible for that animal.
I would not get rid of the dog. If my dog attacked a human for no good reason I
would still blame myself but have to put the dog down. It bothers me how fast people
seem to get rid of their own animals for things where the owner is to blame. Training
and containment are 99% of having a dog. I wish people understood this.

2-I'm not innocent myself. When I was twenty I had a young Husky who I let roam
one morning. It killed a wild duck in a pond at an apartment complex.
Animal control gave me $300 in tickets and a court summons. I got rid of the dog.
I WAS THE IDIOT!!! IT WAS ALL MY FAULT!!! I let the dog out. I didn't proplerly train
and control him. I took the easy way out and got rid of him. I screwed up and the
dog and duck paid the price. I got away with $120 in fines. The only positive thing
that came out of that was I learned a lesson and never let it happen again. My hound
has gotten away from me a two occassions but did no damage and was returned to
me by neighbors who's kids wanted to keep her.

3-I had an awesome dog hit by a car. We lived in a neighborhood with lots of
dogs and lots of dog lovers. My Lab Mix went accross the street to say hello to
our neighbor. I didn't know where she was and called her. She was trained well
and ALWAYS came to me. Well, this time she came to me but ignored the car.
It was 10 years before I could forgive myself and get another dog.

I'm really sorry to all of you who have had your animals hurt or killed by irresponsible
people not caring for their animals. This is always a hard subject.

One of the best things we can do is judge each of these situations on a case by case
basis. There is a big difference between a dog owner who lets there dogs run
wild compared to the owner who accidentally let the dog out the front door or who
didn't make the dogs pen strong enough. Is it negligence or an isolated accident?

Thanks for reading my ranting.

 

[herechickchick]

Quote:
I understand the idea behind what you are saying but hurting the dog when it does something wrong, especially when it is after the fact does nothing to correct the behavior, trust me I know I have tried. I guess we love our pets so much that we do not want to think that they would hurt anything but I would NEVER scold or physically reprimand my dog for killing a chicken, It is what they do, it is born in them, that would be like scolding a small child for going to the toilet instead of his pants. However each case is different and all dogs are different. My friend had chickens as a child with a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, A dog specifically breed to hunt and retrieve birds and he never touched them. They lived in a Utopian state because the "prey drive " simply was not there. I guess what I am saying is as much as we would like for, and think of our dogs as people they are not. They are just dogs.

Back to the original post, which is where we should be instead of off on the irrelevant tangents, If the dog is threatening to you, your family or other pets deal with it! Either Shoot it or call the authorities. As I said earlier, Good Luck, I really think everything will be fine.

 

[herechickchick]

Quote:
Here, Here! That is an excellent post! Thank you. I agree completely. If one of my dogs killed one of my chickens it would be my fault because the chickens are behind a fence that I put up! I would not get mad at the dog he/she was doing what came naturally to that particular dog.