To all irresponsible dog owners; UPDATE; THE LEGACY CONTINUES!!!!!

[WillieBoy]

Sorry for your loss. I too am tired of irresponsible dog owners..I have two free ranging mutts in my neighborhood.Today i saw them both entering my driveway, at seperate times.I spoke to one owner who denied their dog runs loose.I see these two running around the neighborhood all the time.Today was the first time i saw either one of them come on my land.Guns are on the standby, i have over fifty laying hens, four of them are old pets i let roam my yard.My property is entirely fenced.I open my driveway gate in the AM to do my daily chores, and close te gate in the evening.I'm not going to live like a prisoner and keep myself locked in my property all day, everyday. When i catch them on my land again,and if i can get my rifle fast enough, SSS..period....I'm not waiting for some free rangings mutt to kill my hens and chase my cat...

 

[Apollo's Mum]

Sorry about your loss. I would never shoot the dog though - at the end of the day its the owners fault for letting it roam and the dog is only doing what comes natural. I live near a river which is a local dumping ground for unwanted animals now and then, but I have been lucky to catch any dog thats wandered up onto the property - and either return it to the owner if it has simply run off or rehome it myself. My own 3 dogs I got as rescued adults and all 3 wanted to kill my chooks on their first introduction - but it is simply training and socialization thats prevented them and they are now fine and trustworthy.

If you can figure out where the dog lives (I would go door knocking and find the property) talk to the owner and let them know whats happened - and I would tell next time the dog will be shot just to deter them from letting their dog wander.

Otherwise ring the local animal control and lay a complaint about the dogs. Wea I am we have strict dog bylaws and any dog caught or suspected of attacking or killing another animal is usually impounded, the owner fined and the dog released back to the owner once they have sorted out how to prevent it happening again and the are fines payed. The dog owner may also have to pay compensation to replace the animal(s) that were killed.

Good luck with your chooks and I really hope this never happens again. I just found one of my young Polish killed and eaten this morning and it is not a nice thing to find - I suspect its a rat, stoat or weasel - so I'm going on the warpath!

Emma.

 

[Churkenduse]

This dog getting off the leash or out of the fence thing is making me crazy. I am sorry about your little ones.

I never had that problem with my hens but my dog has been attacked several times while I was walking him, I resorted to carrying a stick. I have told the owners that they better get their dog away or I will hit it. One laughed. But when I reminded him of the leash law and I had a right to kill it, his tune changed.
You are right, owners have no respect, I have had dogs and never once had one go to someone else's property. The few times they did get away for a moment they were trained enough to come as soon as I called.

I believe you have a right to defend your pets in any way you can. As long as you have a leash law in your town or state no court would punish you.

 

[llaaadyel]

Very sorry for your loss. There are so many irresponsible animal owners out there its really sickening. I own 2 dogs and I have to be honest that they have at times gotten out because one of the children left a gate open, however I have also lost an entire day of work driving around chasing them down until they were back in my yard. In the State of NY the owner of the dog is not only subject to a fine but they are also responsible for the replacement of the pet. Not worth a whole lot when the pet was a loved member of the family.

llaady

 

[chicknmania]

The people who said their dog was missing since January actually blocked my number. Haha. I know they did b/c I was able to get through on another number I have not called from for a while. I couldn't believe it, but in hindsight I guess I should've easily believed it. They told me they had had other people call about their dog. They did come over to try and catch it one day and I guess they got tired of walking in the mud in our woods and not finding the dog.

The other people, would be the ones where I would go back and try and talk to an adult. I was going to today but I was so upset I was afraid it would turn into an altercation. When I talked to the kid he at first told me they were letting the dog run loose, then when I said it was in our yard and we had chickens, he changed his story. Thing is I can't PROVE it was their dog. The dog warden basically wants the dogs to come close enough for me to try to catch, then they will take action. The County only has one dog warden and they are running him ragged. He will do something if I can actually prove whose dogs they are, but not just on my suspicions, apparently.

It would be very hard for me to shoot a dog. Or any animal. But comes back to the same thing. The wild predators are afraid of people, and except in rare instances here we can set up deterrents or barriers that work pretty well most of the time to keep them away from the flock. But the dogs are not afraid. And unfortunately the chickens aren't afraid of dogs, they are used to our dog, and she will not hurt them. So what else CAN you do?? Not much, when you don't have your own personal dog warden and the dog owners are no doubt making rude hand gestures when my back is turned....I will go back and talk to the owners who don't have my number blocked, and see if I can be nice and polite and neighborly but still get the point across.....

 

[hennyannie]

We have no leash laws here, but the word of mouth train usually makes livestock chasers disappear. One time warning, no 2nd chance.Also the donkeys on our pastures work hard training dogs to behave.

 

[hennyannie]

Isn't it funny how they seem to not be responsible for the dog because it left home? Gosh its not a grown child its a dog they still own.

 

[chicknmania]

Quote:
That's the way the law is here too, as long as the victim's dogs are licensed, you can get compensation for your pets or livestock, although valuation of poultry is not much. Everyone's dog, pretty much, is capable of wandering occasionally, ours included in the past..not so much now as she is getting up there in years. But regardless, we always tracked her whereabouts if she was out of sight past fifteen minutes. (we have a lot of land) For exactly that reason...I never had much interest in alienating my neighbors and setting myself up for liability. Our dog wouldn't kill chickens, but she might kill another dog. I don't understand why some people don't worry about that. Also, these dogs traveled two to five miles to get to our property (!) so obviously they were gone from home a while. In tracking down these dog's owners i talked to someone who said they had their dog put down after it got out of their yard and killed a neighbor's goat. A bit extreme, but a responsible dog owner in the end.

Now they have an invisible fence for their new dogs.

 

[chicknmania]

I would LOVE to have a donkey. Right now our field is in corn, but have been thinking about fencing and converting to pasture someday. I have always heard donkeys are good guards for the other animals. Wonder how our next door neighbors would feel about crowing AND braying?

(they tell us they love to hear the roosters..)

 

[hennyannie]

OH where is that beautiful music coming from?