This is so unfair!!!!!

[sunket77]

ok now I don't know what to do!!!! I live in the country and only have one neighbor, one that lives close to us and our kids play together. First I will start with that this past weekend I lost one of my guineas, it was their first time out to free range and one mysteriously disappeared and my dog has not so much touched a chicken, due to lots of time and patients in training her. She is a GSD mix. I was very concerned that my dog had done the dirty deed but was unsure, until I found the dead guinea in her boundary (wireless fence system) then I was very concerned. The neighbors dog however has been loose the last week, not loose but they have let him out and he ends up in our yard and I thought he may have had something to do with it since our dog had a clean record.

Well low and behold today I heard a crazy sound of chickens yelling and screaming so I ran outside to my dog and their dog having the neighbors chicken penned in the corner of the porch and the house. I looked over and the neighbors daughter was crying, the are her chickens, she only has 2 since we gave them to her and they get out of their pen all the time and come free range in our yard. SO I stopped the dogs and shewed hers home and grabbed the little hen. She said one of the dogs grabbed the chicken by the neck and she was afraid she was going to die. I examined the chicken and she seemed to come out unscathed although terribly upset.

I just feel like crying and yelling all at once!!

This is so unfair because of all the effort and training I have put into my dog!!! If I had not been home the little girls chickens would be dead and my dog would have had something to do with it!

all the hours of training flushed down the toilet!!! I scolded her again like I did with the guinea (which she never looked twice at after I scolded her) and she coward and went to her house. She gets very upset if I get on to her, pleasing me is very important to her that is why I think she never went after the guineas a second time. HOWEVER how could any dog resist what looks like so much fun when another dog is doing it

? I just don't know what to do!! These are our only neighbors, we are not great friends or anything just neighborly and now this! I just don't know how to handle it, I told the kids that Presley (my dog) would have never gone after those chickens and they need to keep their dog in their yard. Those chickens are in out yard everyday and she never even looks at them. Ours are in a pen (accept the guineas) and free range in the afternoon now that may be ruined for them.

 

[Dogfish]

Provide a safe run for your birds and only let them free range while you are out there. That could include completely fencing in your yard. Sorry for the drama.

 

[noodleroo]

I wouldn't normally recommend a shock collar, but thats what some professionals use to train dogs to stay away from rattle snakes. I'd talk to a vet in the area and find a really good sporting dog trainer. It might not be something you want to do, but it would probably be a solution.

 

[Tala]

Dogs minds work much differently when they are paired up with another dog. They ALSO know if you are watching them or not.
What your dog might not do alone, it might do with another dog (as you found out). The problem with invisible fences is that they don't keep OTHER PEOPLE's animals out of your yard. I recommend more training and not leaving the dog unsupervised with your brids, and a real, physical fence to protect your birds from other dogs.

It could have been REALLY bad for the girl if she was getting all up in between the dogs and the chickens and taking their "prize" away, so be glad that she wasn't hurt!!!!!!

 

[zazouse]

Don't blame your dog, it is doing what it is supose to.

Keeping strays be it wild or not i what you want it to do right? to the dog this chicken does not belong.
My LGD will run off any bird that flies into the area, even though i have a large varity of fowl, she knows they do not belong, she will also retrieve a kill from a preditor, like if one kills a wild rabbit near her area, she will get that rabbit back, same way with our fowl.

She will not eat it just bring it on the deck and leave it by the door and go back to her area in the pasture.

you can teach her that the neighbors chickens are ok, and she will be fine with them, she sounds like a wonderful dog, don't give up on her because she is doing her job, had it been a coon i am sure you would not have been upset with her right?

 

[zazouse]

Quote:
Excellent post

 

[sunket77]

Thanks everyone! I didn't even think about what might happen if the girl had got in the middle of it. I know once dogs get in "pack mode" they will do things you would never dream of. The problem is we rent. The landowners own the house next to us and 2 others farther away, all on about 16 acres so we are allowed about 4 acres a piece. There is no way I could spend the money to put up a fence,even a simple one, I live in Hill Country (Texas) and the ground is mostly rock. Our lease states that all dogs and the like are to be contained to your own yard and not roam free. Thank you for the encouragement to keep working with my dog, I do love her dearly and she is extremely smart and obedient. After the guinea indecent I did some obedience training with her and another guinea, since then she has just ignored them. I just don't know what to do about the neighbors dog, firstly I don't trust him in the slightest. This dog will come into MY yard and immediately growl at me and anytime I am around him he growls and barks. I have met barking dogs before that bark for attention but to me this is different. I don't know what to do though I hate confrontation and I really don't want to have to start with bb's and go up from there and ruin what little relationship we have with the neighbors but all the time and effort in training my dog and the time effort and money and LOVE I put into my flock I will have to protect them.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Quote:
This is really disturbing to me. If the dog were friendly, or if he were contained by a fence or tie out in his own yard, it would be one thing. But if the dog is actually growling at you when you are present, then that is NOT ok. I'm not a big fan of confrontation either, but you really need to talk to your neighbors about this behavior. Especially if you have kids. They need to be made aware that their dog is displaying this aggressive and potentially dangerous behavior and told that they need to be sure to keep their dog confined. I would mention it to them once, after that the authorities need to be involved. I would tell them that you are not comfortable with their dog barking and growling at you when he gets loose and comes into your yard because you have children and chickens and you are concerned that a dog who would display such antisocial behavior may harm them. If they are also renters, I would remind them that the contract they signed when they chose to rent that house clearly states that dogs are to be confined to their own yard and not allowed to roam freely. After that, I would call animal control and the landlord each and every single time their dog comes into your yard without the owner and a leash. I love dogs, but I have absolutely no tolerance for dog owners who can't be bothered with common courtesy, let alone legalities, regarding their animals. And one or two bad dog owners can easily ruin it for everyone. Not only is the neighbor's allowing their dog to roam annoying and potentially dangerous for your kids and other pets, but if something should happen it also increases the chances that the landlord will become legally involved and decide that it's not worth the potential hassle to allow their tenants to keep pets.

 

[bobbi-j]

One other option for the neighbor's dog. SSS Take it for a little ride, SSS, and come home. "Dog? No, your dog isn't here." I really hope that your and your neighbors can work it out, but if after one warning the dog were to come back into my yard and act aggressively, it would disappear.

 

[bakerjw]

Pack mentality. I ride my road bicycle a lot and we see it often. For the most part single dogs behave in a certain manner but when you get 2 the dynamics change. When there are 3 or 4 we start to get concerned.

Glad you caved the chicken.