Losing my patience with neighbor's dog....

sourland said:

The neighbor is not going to change nor is the dog, and we know it's not the dog's fault. Have you considered putting hotwire around your pen?

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I have not given up on the people. In any case, they will only be here on vacation for a week or two and then they go back to their regular life. I really don't want to put hotwire around the chicken run.

Penpal said:

Maybe you should ask the kids to come over and you can show them your set up, let them hold a chick.

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The kids are all about 12 years old and older. Not little kids. They used to come over in previous summers with their step mom to visit the chickens, but that family unit broke up and step mom is no longer in the picture. The other mother with her kids looks like she is all alone, no man in the picture as far as I can see.

I don't hold any of my chickens, so they are not tame. I would not want to chase a chicken down to let a visiting kid hold it when I don't do that myself. I prefer my chickens to be afraid of strangers. They run into the coop when someone new comes around and they take their time coming back out when they feel they don't have to be concerned. Same with visiting dogs, the chickens run for cover which I believe is good for them.

sourland said:

Once upon a time while we were on vacation, my animal caretaker found my pens destroyed, and most of my birds killed. The culprit, a black lab,

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I grew up with black labs. Great hunting dogs. But I would not trust any of our labs around a backyard flock. Their instinct was to trap and kill. Sorry for your loss. I'm still trying to prevent any birds from getting killed.

Miami Leghorn said:

Old dog likes hens?

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Doesn't everyone like a chicken dinner? I don't think the chocolate lab was trying to make friends.

gtaus said:

I have not given up on the people. In any case, they will only be here on vacation for a week or two and then they go back to their regular life. I really don't want to put hotwire around the chicken run.



The kids are all about 12 years old and older. Not little kids. They used to come over in previous summers with their step mom to visit the chickens, but that family unit broke up and step mom is no longer in the picture. The other mother with her kids looks like she is all alone, no man in the picture as far as I can see.

I don't hold any of my chickens, so they are not tame. I would not want to chase a chicken down to let a visiting kid hold it when I don't do that myself. I prefer my chickens to be afraid of strangers. They run into the coop when someone new comes around and they take their time coming back out when they feel they don't have to be concerned. Same with visiting dogs, the chickens run for cover which I believe is good for them.



I grew up with black labs. Great hunting dogs. But I would not trust any of our labs around a backyard flock. Their instinct was to trap and kill. Sorry for your loss. I'm still trying to prevent any birds from getting killed.



Doesn't everyone like a chicken dinner? I don't think the chocolate lab was trying to make friends.

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Old dog likes hens to eat.
Time to teach him a lesson.
The one who passes judgement swings the sword.

UPDATE: Well, the dog was back again this evening. Not that anyone is surprised. Both Dear Wife and I were out in the yard watering plants, mowing grass, etc... So the dog knew we where there and did not go near the chicken coop or run. She was sneaky that way. But she was wandering around the yard, the house, and the garage. I walked her back home, again, but took a different approach this time....

Coops Dad said:

Next time, bring him back and tell the owner "you know, I keep blocks of rat poison around because of the chickens and feed. Your dog managed to find a block but I think I got it away from him before he ate any. Now that he knows where it is, he might go straight for it next time."

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Yeah, that's probably a good idea to put the scare into them. I did something similar this evening. My property boarders the highway, and I saw the dog up around the road, not on it, but close to it. Anyways, when I brought the dog back this time, I told them their dog was back in the yard, but saw my wife and me outside so it did not bother the chickens, but it was wandering around the highway and I was worried that she would get run over. The neighborhood has had a number of dogs that have been run over on the road, so I told them I hope they don't have to bury their dog before they go home.

Coops Dad said:

After the fourth time, I went to have a face-to-face chat and made it crystal clear that if his dog came on our land again, I would shoot it dead on the spot.

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I have considered taking out my air rifle and scaring off the dog with a BB pellet in the butt. But, really, the dog is very old, weak, and limps really bad. Probably been the family pet for about 13 years. I don't think I would have the heart to ping her with a BB to scare her off. I don't have any firearms anymore. So, shooting a dog, or any predator, is not an option.

My grandfather was a great outdoorsman and he had me out deer hunting before I was in kindergarten. I grew up with firearms like so many other boys my age. When I was in college, my grandfather was in the hospital from a heart attack, and someone broke into the house and stole all our firearms while we were visiting him. Unfortunately, it was a relative that had a drug and money problem that set it up. Not too hard to figure out, but, of course, the cops were clueless even given all the info we had. They said they could do nothing without more proof. Well, grandpa died, and none of the stolen goods, including all our firearms, were ever recovered. I never bought any more firearms because I mainly shared that experience with my grandfather, and those days were gone.

If I ever experience a predator attack, I may change my mind and buy a 12-gauge shotgun for livestock protection. I'm not at that point yet. I would not have a problem shooting a wild predator, but I am much more hesitant about taking down someone's family pet. Maybe I'm getting too soft in my old age?

Miami Leghorn said:

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Yeah, that's really not me. Maybe when I was younger, but not today. Understand anyone who decides to protect their animals with lethal force, but I'm trying to avoid it.

gtaus said:

I would not have a problem shooting a wild predator, but I am much more hesitant about taking down someone's family pet. Maybe I'm getting too soft in my old age?

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The one thing a pet has that a predator does not: an owner who might be trainable! (As in, you might be able to train an owner to keep a pet dog contained.)

No, I don't think you are getting "too soft." You are just dealing with the situation in a different way.

It's time to get serious or you ARE going to lose your
birds. These people have had plenty of warnings and
have to continued to ignore them. Either shoot the dog
or set out poison.Either do something or stop complaining.

rayrose said:

It's time to get serious or you ARE going to lose your
birds. These people have had plenty of warnings and
have to continued to ignore them. Either shoot the dog
or set out poison.Either do something or stop complaining.

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Poison? If you had a clue as to how painful that is for an animal you wouldn’t even vocalize it. Someone who poisons a dog is a monster.

Dispatch it, fine. I’ve shot many. The dog is being a dog. Advocating setting out poison is terrible.

I would definitely not poison or kill him.
He's only being a dog, and it's not his fault if his owners aren't being responsible in looking after him.

SourRoses said:

You are being too nice. Next time the dog is over, call animal control. When they have to pick the dog up from the pound they will realize what's at stake. You are within your rights to shoot the dog, even if you have no intention of doing so. Do they give a poo about the dog or not?

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I live on a lake, out in the country, and there is no animal control to call. I'm sure the family cares about their dog, but so far, they have not shown much responsibility for her by letting her run free and going on to other people's property. I'm a little frustrated with the owners, in this situation, but they are good people too.