Trashy dogs!

I love all dog breeds and it's not the dogs fault they act like this... It's the owners fault. The dogs were never trained to act right. I have a red nose pit mix and she's a sweet girl,but she knows all birds are off limits. She actually watches them for me, her favorites are the Polish.

I'm sorry you lost your chickens :hugsand I'm sorry that you have to deal with neighbors like this.

training if a dog helps, for sure. But, they still have inherent instincts. So, it is simplistic to think that only the dog owner is at fault. There are dogs that act badly/can’t resist their prey drive despite much training. In any event pit bulls ARE strong and large and can seriously harm a person or animal. Add in running in a pack, and it can amplify that. Comparing your well trained single dog to this situation isn’t a great comparison. I’m glad your dog is smart and well behaved and a good help to you!
 
training if a dog helps, for sure. But, they still have inherent instincts. So, it is simplistic to think that only the dog owner is at fault. There are dogs that act badly/can’t resist their prey drive despite much training. In any event pit bulls ARE strong and large and can seriously harm a person or animal. Add in running in a pack, and it can amplify that. Comparing your well trained single dog to this situation isn’t a great comparison. I’m glad your dog is smart and well behaved and a good help to you!

Can we be fair and say there are many large, strong breeds that may also have instinctual impulses?
 
Reality it is not the dogs fault. It is bad owners and it is them you need to vent to. When you have animals you need to make a safe environment for them, whether they are chicken, frogs, or horses. You must contain them. I have a dog that will kill my chickens if he gets a hold of them. I don't hate him, I love him. I know he does this so I keep him contained when he is outside. I would never let my animals just go where ever. You need to confront your neighbors who possibly should not have animals in the first place. No bad animals, only bad owners.
 
When my kids were younger we had just adopted a large heeler/Shepard mix dog. My son accidentally left the back door open and she escaped running full force to the neighbors with chickens loose. I was in my socks and ran about a 1/4 mile to catch her and keep her from getting shot. I caught her before any chicken damage. Now I have 21 chickens and they adopted a giant pitbull. As soon as we saw that dog we put a gate across our driveway, which should be the only east access to our property. They are nice neighbors though and fenced there yard for the dog. Thank goodness. Not all neighbors suck. But a lot do. Sorry about your girls. I have 4 dogs..all fenced away in a giant yard away from my chickens too, cuz they'd eat em in a second.
 
My neighbor is obviously blissfully unaware that he harbors such trashy animals on his property.
He is unaware that his dogs killed your chickens and destroyed your coop?

I bear him no ill will but his dogs on the other hand will unfortunately get what is coming to them.
He is responsible for containing and managing his dogs.

Fine if you just want to rant, this thread will go onandonandonandonand with such sentiment, but if you want to 'fix' the situation, plenty have offered viable advice that you don't seem interested in.
 
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I have a neighbor who has three dogs. I grew up liking dogs until I got chickens. I have one dog that belongs to my baby girl that stays in my yard and she is well behaved in a contained area. The neighbors dogs however are allowed to roam at will and impregnate whoever they see fit. This past week they decided to have a little fun with my two best chickens and see if they could sling them around like rag dolls by their necks. The chickens had no choice but to play along. Unfortunately my wife and I were not there when this all happened. I could have condoned it if the dogs were hungry and needed a meal, but they left the chickens in the neighbors yard with the necks snapped. I ended up burying my poor hens and hating the neighbors dog. I guess when I rebuild the coop I will make it a Fort Knox of a coop, although as large as these pit bulls are, it may not make any difference in the long run. My neighbor is obviously blissfully unaware that he harbors such trashy animals on his property. My favorite Australorp and Red Sex Link RIP..:hit
I am so sorry. Is there any ordinance that requires the pet leash or containment of dogs??
 
Sorry you lost your hens. That is really sad and unfair. Have you talked to the dogs' owners to see if they might be more careful with their dogs and replace your chickens?--of course, that won't bring back the chickens you loved and lost, but it would at least show that they are interested in making things right with you.

I love dogs (as can be seen in my avatar), but I do NOT love bad, irresponsible dog owners. Bad dog-owners only make things harder for dog-owners who try their best to be responsible. Some breeds, and some individual dogs among those breeds, have more prey-drive than others, but it is an instinct. Some dogs more than others can be trained to ignore those instincts, but it is up to the owners to make sure they contain their dogs. Although, we live out in the country without terribly close neighbors, I keep both my chickens and my dogs contained in large chain link enclosures so that they are safe and don't bother the neighbors.

Look up the laws in your state/county. If dogs must be leashed or contained on the owner's property, you can contact animal control to report your neighbor's dogs at large. Do you have proof, or did you witness the dogs killing your chickens?--if you do, obviously that will bolster your argument. If you are certain that the neighbor's dogs (and not wildlife or some other random animal) killed your chickens, I would talk to your neighbor, ask for restitution, and request he keep his dogs on his property.

Good fences make good neighbors, as the saying goes. If you are handy, or can at all afford to have one installed, a nice solid fence can prevent a lot of stress and conflict. Our chicken yard is just a 62 ft x 20 ft chain link fence with a bird-net over the top--not 100% predator proof until I add an anti-dig apron and hardware cloth around the sides to keep out small predators, but so far I feel like it meets the needs in our area.
 
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I am so sorry. Is there any ordinance that requires the pet leash or containment of dogs??
Every state in the country has nuisance animal laws. The owners can be fined, imprisoned, or both. They can also have the animals taken away. He needs to confront the neighbors. It is their fault and he could get reimbursed for his coup and animals he lost.
 

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