My dogs killed neighbors chicken

[trihounds]

The OP has to look at the legality of housing chickens in his subdivision. Zoning may prohibit them and if so, case closed on the loss.

I would (and did) put up an inexpensive utility fence around our 3 acres. This way, no critters (or people / unwanted neighbors) come in and the dogs don't get out.

 

[ljohnson778]

I hope everything works out well for the op. I am not.going.to be quick to jump to conclusions only based on what has been said. Its a crazy world we live in. And lots of sue happy people. While the op may indeed loose a lawsuit over the biting of the neighbor, I think that would be wrong. Dogs are smart, and can sense things. If the op was raising g his voice toward the neighbor, warning her not to approach, and she did anyway and made a move toward the dog, no doubt the dog felt threatened and/or felt the op was being threatened. As to the chicken, dogs are predatory animals by nature. And unless the dog was raised with chickens, it didn't know any better. I have 2 dogs and 2, cats. They all get along great. But the dogs also take care of any groundhogs, coon, opossum, etc that threaten their territory. I imagine if a neighbor of mine had chickens, it would be no different, cause they haven't been taught otherwise. But cats are fine, cause they have been taught to ignore their predatory instincts towards them. If I were the op, I wouldn't make any rash decisions just yet. Talk to and get a feel for the neighbor first. Invisible fence, hard fence, etc. No matter what you do, if the dog wants out, it will eventually succeed. And no matter what, its the dogs turf and it will defend it for you. If the neighbor had a knife or gun (which the dog has no way of knowing) you would have been praising. So I guess my question would be, in the midst of all of this, did you give the dog any commands? Or were they all directed at the neighbor to halt which she ignored? If you were giving the dog commands that were ignored, obviously you need to work with the dog some more. But if your commands were only directed at the neighbor, I cannot fault the dog at all.:2cents:

X2...

 

[Sigarms]

Our neighbors have chickens that sometimes get onto our property. We have 5 dogs, some of which like to chase and kill animals if they find them on our property. Dogtra "two dog" training collar. It's expensive, but it's the best training collar I've found, and with all of the dogs, if they decide to get a hankering of their own and not listen, properly trained, you only need to use the vibrate function. No chickens killed as of yet on our land. You still need to train your dogs with the collar and not just zap the crap out of them if they don't listen, but it's a great tool IMO.

The neighbor went onto the OP's property, but the dog still went up to the approaching neighbor and bit them. Even if someone is on your property, your dog/dogs still need to obey your commands and at worst, stay at your side unless you feel comfortable with your dog and other person on your property being in closs proximity together.

 

[papabear]

So OP,if and when you ever need to shop for homeowners insurance and they ask you if you own a dog and if your dog has a history of biting (and they all ask that) what will your response be?

 

[GPintheMitten]

I think he has plenty of advice guys. Let's not beat him up.

 

[paulharvey]

Well, the way the neighbor, or I would see it is; your dog bite me, you didn't do anything about the problem animal, or take any action to contain it after you know it attacked someone... I could see why they might sue. If after the bite, you got rid of the dog, fenced it in, or at least chained it up, then I could see them letting bygones be bygones; but when you just leave a known aggressive animal on the "honor system" of e-fence you haven't done a thing.

Chicken isn't your problem, but I would suggest you take the attitude that they are being extremely easy going about your problem. And your dog IS your problem.

Of coarse you do have a stellar defense, "there kids ride loud motor cycles" ....

 

[boggen]

time for a real fence.

 

[Oaktree]

Just an observation....The OP warned the neighbor lady to not approach his dog...She ignored him and trespassed...

Seems kind of stretch to consider that "trespassing". A responsible dog owner would have either controlled it or restrained it in some way to ensure it didn't attack a visitor. Unfortunately, way too many dog owners don't think their pet can do anything wrong.

But if your commands were only directed at the neighbor, I cannot fault the dog at all.

Bull. The owner should have had their dog under control. Maybe the neighbor didn't hear the comment, or didn't understand what the OP meant. Again, she wasn't skulking around the yard, she was coming over to introduce herself to her neighbor. No excuse for the dog to attack in a situation like that, none.

 

[Travelover]

I've noticed that some people use their dogs as vicarious aggressors. If you stood at the edge of your property screaming threats at passers by they'd take you away in a straight jacket. If you train your dog to do it for you, then you are just a regular Joe.

 

[prosperity]

Wow - what a scary thread!

This is why I live on my property with no neighbors.