Dog Problem

[nina]

This winter has been a hoot.   A few days back one of my yearling beef heifers was on her brisket drooling with a slight bluish cast to her eyes.   I was really puzzled as she is an extra plump healthy looking cow.  Yesterday, I caught two dogs circling the cows lunging at them.  They bolted as soon as we drove up.  It was the same two that earlier we caught chasing my neighbor's horses.  Much earlier another neighbor had all his sheep slaughtered and right after is when I caught those two dogs chasing the horses.  They talked to the neighbors that they thought owned the dogs and thought the problem was solved.  Well in the last couple of days those dogs threatened a man in his own yard and attacked his dog causing serious injury to one of his legs.  The neighbor I'm closest with lost 7 chickens.  After contacting everyone nearby we all have had losses and now I'm getting a text from a neighbor saying they were after my cows at 7:30 this morning.    People naturally want to believe coyotes are doing the killing but it's definitely these dogs.  Most of the killings happen Sunday morning when everyone is at church.  The two times I caught them they bolt very quickly.  We were slow getting a shot off.  When I saw them after the horses I had a chance to run one over with my truck but didn't have the guts to do it.   Now I'm going to call animal control and hopefully they will send someone out to talk to the neighbors and figure out exactly who owns these dogs.   Any ideas how to catch the dogs in the act?  I got pictures one time, but this last time I just ran out of my truck without thinking.   It's real frustrating because I don't have a good place to put 10 yearlings right now, which are in a rented neighbor's field.  These are very wily dogs, they attack when people are not around, and I can tell by how fast they bolt they know they are doing wrong.  The man they threatened is afraid of them, I'm just too mad to be afraid, though I should be since most of the time I'm alone when dealing with cows.  Sorry for the rant.   Now I have to move the one cow but don't have a good place to put her.  My mini ponies are unhappily locked up in the barn and my big cows are going to be rough on her.  

[corrae]

I think the time has come for the three S solution.... Shoot. Shovel. Shut up. Hate to do it, but those dogs are a danger to you, your animals, and the community. It's not going to get better. It's getting worse. What makes me furious, in these situations, is that it isn't the dogs' fault... it's the owners' fault.... They are the ones who have allowed these dogs to run wild, become a pack, and run livestock. Shoot the dogs and be done with it.

[suzorse]

I agree you are going to have to shoot them , as in most states dogs caught killing or harassing livestock can be shot on sight , or like here chasing deer or elk can be shot on sight ,here it is a 1000 dollar fine for dogs harassing wildlife
Suzanne

[mommasquilts]

A game cam would provide proof. But I agree...time for SSS

[throwback]

Sadly in the time it takes to contact animal control and then wait for them to issue their warning, many bad things can happen and THEN when the dogs disappear the owners and animal control have a good idea of who was responsible. I agree it's not the dogs fault but something has to give.

[mommasquilts]

Yeah, just deal with it and don’t be calling anybody

[serendipity]

Maybe I read the post wrong, but I don't think the issue is a willingness to SSS. I think the problem is being able to catch them in the act so as to be able to do the deed. The OP said they "didn't have time to get off a shot".

I almost think you'd need a blind or somewhere to sit and wait that the dogs wouldn't know you were there. Do you have a pasture you can see from a house window?

[eljay]

^^^^^^Clever!^^^^^^^

[northstar]

I would use a live trap, then shoot them in the trap. We've only gotten a shot off once at a dog harassing the livestock. They usually take off as soon as they hear you.
Marsha

[karenp]

Jan 8, 2018 17:13:09 GMT -5 northstar said:

I would use a live trap, then shoot them in the trap. We've only gotten a shot off once at a dog harassing the livestock. They usually take off as soon as they hear you.
Marsha

This would be my suggestion, but honestly, I don't know if I could shoot a dog looking me in the eyes.

[nina]

Jan 8, 2018 14:13:02 GMT -5 serendipity said:

Maybe I read the post wrong, but I don't think the issue is a willingness to SSS. I think the problem is being able to catch them in the act so as to be able to do the deed. The OP said they "didn't have time to get off a shot".

I almost think you'd need a blind or somewhere to sit and wait that the dogs wouldn't know you were there. Do you have a pasture you can see from a house window?

Animal control came out and the first thing the guy said, " I'm surprised nobody shot them yet."   They are going to set up a trap, maybe tomorrow.   They are big dogs I don't want to spend a fortune buying a live trap big enough for them.   I saw the animal control guy driving up and down the street so I think he did his job and made inquiries at the suspected homes.   Later I heard gunshots and wondered what that was about.  It was 41 degrees with light rain, but in Alabama it's not uncommon to hear gunshots.    I'm suppose to get another call from animal control when they put the trap out.  I signed something with a lot of fine print without reading.   The guy said it was an agreement to replace the trap if damaged or stolen.  Sigh.  I would gladly shoot them, so far they have taken me by surprise, by the time a gun is loaded they are almost out of sight in places you can't follow with a car, besides the one time they were chasing horses and I had an opportunity to run them down and didn't.  Did I mention the dog they attacked is a 100 lb expensive well trained dog,   I think its a Briard.  This was in the Briards own yard.    I'm thinking about getting a donkey but really don't want one as it will want to be with my ponies not the cows.       I can't see them through a house window where they chase the cows.  I have seem them running through the woods behind my house.    Seeing them is an infrequent event so it would be very hard to wait for them.  Hopefully the baited trap will catch them, but I'm pretty sure the fox that lives in my pasture will set off the trap the first time.    I hope one of the cows smashes one of those dogs flat.  I sold my mean cow Tabby, and my other mean cow Rosie is very pregnant in no condition to fight dogs.  

[mommasquilts]

How very frustrating. Glad the guy is sympathetic.

[northstar]

I've shot cats in the live trap that were killing chickens and wild birds, I'm sure I wouldn't have any problem with a dog that was doing damage. I think of those pictures a few years ago, I don't remember the member, whose Jersey's ears were torn off.
Marsha

[corrae]

I remember that poor cow too, northstar... that was truly awful. I would have shot those dogs with no hesitation... 😕

[lew92]

Too bad the guy doesn't take care of his own dogs so others don't have to. Surprised no one had shot them yet? What a turd!

When I was a teenager and staying at my brother's for the weekend, he shot two of his neighbor's dogs. The third one got away and the neighbor shot it himself after my brother called him and told him that the dogs had killed over 50 of his meat birds, within 2 weeks of butchering. I believe the neighbor wanted to make it right, but my brother wouldn't accept money. He was sorry enough he had to shoot the dogs and felt that they were even.

[rileycows]

If the dogs are usually out sunday morning i would sit somewhere they cross with my morning coffee and 30-30 and wait. Dogs have a routine, look for thier path and find a good spot. They are much easier to hunt than deer!

[eljay]

Is it possible that the dogs don’t actually belong to anyone - maybe strays that have joined up?

[nina]

Jan 8, 2018 19:03:46 GMT -5 lew92 said:

Too bad the guy doesn't take care of his own dogs so others don't have to. Surprised no one had shot them yet? What a turd!

When I was a teenager and staying at my brother's for the weekend, he shot two of his neighbor's dogs. The third one got away and the neighbor shot it himself after my brother called him and told him that the dogs had killed over 50 of his meat birds, within 2 weeks of butchering. I believe the neighbor wanted to make it right, but my brother wouldn't accept money. He was sorry enough he had to shoot the dogs and felt that they were even.

Sorry, I was pretty cold wet and numb writing.   It was the animal control officer who said, he was surprised nobody shot the dogs.   These dogs are really alert to human activity and wait till things get quiet. I think that's why they have killed on Sunday mornings.   I'm not a hunter or really good with a rifle, so they would need to hang around for me to get a good shot.  The couple that lost the chickens the husband deer hunts.  They have a loaded rifle waiting.   Their house is made of logs which deaden sound pretty good, so I think that's why they missed  hearing their chickens being killed.  They have 3 small dogs that didn't alert them either, but I think they are old.  I'm sure the dogs ran off as soon as they heard the door opening hence only half the flock died.    

[nina]

Jan 8, 2018 21:14:02 GMT -5 eljay said:

Is it possible that the dogs don’t actually belong to anyone - maybe strays that have joined up?

They seem pretty strong and healthy for a strays.   I hope they are strays, because if not there is someone out there that thinks its just fine to let his big dogs run loose which is really depressing.  People do dump dogs on country roads around here, but those dogs seem lost and terrified.   What's frustrating is I may never know the outcome.  I was perplexed why the neighbor's didn't tell me they chased dogs away from my cows until I contacted them.    Five different homes have had losses from these dogs, so hopefully we can work together and figure this out.    

[rileycows]

They sound like someones pets and they are being let loose. They have the taste now and the only way to treat them is to put them down. That sounds cold but even if they are caught and given back to the owners, they will be at it the 1st time they get loose