Serious Dog Problem

[Ferrah]

We have had this husky dog come to our house on two occasions. At first he was afraid of the Miniature Horses and other than circling their paddock, did not seem to bother them very much.

The second time he came he was getting more aggressive so we had to chase him away. Well he came back today and he was circling the pen, barking and growling at my horses and he nearly made it under the gate! He was also trying to scare the horses into running.

I caught him and locked him on our porch and called animal control who came and picked him up. The animal control officer is going to tell the owners what the dog was doing so obviously the owners of the dog are going to know who called animal control on them! I am afraid that they will call us or worse come to our house and start swearing and yelling and acting like lunatics.

I would have called the number on the tag, but I was too afraid of the dog owners reaction. My mom and dad also did not want to call for the same reason.

Now I am really paranoid that the owners are going to yell at us and it is very exhausting!

 

[Minimor]

Do you know the dog's owners, & do you know that they are rude, obnoxious people who are sure to react in the way you describe?

In your position I wouldn't be too concerned at this point; if the people do behave that obnoxiously I would (if they came to my door) tell them to leave, & if they didn't I would then call the police or (if they phoned) hang up on them. If they can't be civil & discuss the problem rationally then I would not listen to them.

Hopefully the animal control officer will tell them the dog was harassing horses, but won't tell whose horses they were. Now if your horses are the only ones for miles around, yes, they might have a pretty good idea, but if the animal control officer tells them the right things--like what they can expect if the dog does something like this again--then hopefully they will take note & keep quiet & make sure the dog stays home after this.

I've been in this situation before, only I didn't catch the dog & didn't call animal control--I ran the dog out of the pasture & then followed along after him as he trotted back home (almost a mile away). I went to the owner's door, told them what their dog had been doing, told them what our horses were worth, what action would be taken if their dog ever caused any harm to our horses...I was polite, the dog owner was polite, and we never saw that dog here again!

On the other hand I once called a neighbor who lives just behind us & asked him (nicely) to keep his dog home. It was here constantly. He did not appreciate it at all, & he retaliated in a very nasty way. Long story, won't go into it here. He did his very best to cause us all sorts of trouble with the other neighbors, with the police, with municipal and provincial officials. Very nasty. We were in the right, & he eventually had to give up...just in time to avoid the harassment charge I was all set to file against him.

We haven't had a dog problem in a long, long time now--I think my neighbors know I mean business, & it just takes one warning for them to know I mean business.

 

[Miniv]

Ferrah,

How do you know what kind of dog owners they are??? They may be reasonable and you will have nothing to worry about.

Do you know who they are? If you know that they are indeed irresponsible and nasty, your mom can be on guard and can prepare to let both dog control and police know of any harrassing phone calls or visits. Until then, don't get too carried away with worrying about something that hasn't happened......

Just my 2 cents.....whatever that's worth.....

MA

 

[Ferrah]

I do know where the dog came from. The people who own him are indeed a bit obnoxious and they have not owned a dog in a very long time since their very nice white Lab died. Now they have this new husky dog that they parade all over the neighborhood and they really enjoy showing him off...but there is nothing wrong with that he is a beautiful dog!

Anyway these people don't tie him up and they do not have a fenced yard, he roams about the neighborhood as he pleases. We are nopt the only ones upset with this dog, many neighbors are upset about him pooping on their lawns.

The people who own him are the kind of people who set off fireworks about four times a year and never on the actual holiday they bought them for and they usually do it at about 11:00 when a lot of people are sleeping. They had the Christmas fireworks reall really early this year and freaked out our Miniature Horses. They are also the kind of people who will come to your door and tell you that your green house and your rabbit barn is ugly and an eyesore and you should take it down and build a new one. They have also called the police on us and many other neighbors for being a "disturbance" when all they were doing was having a small family get together with some family friends playing guitars around the fire and it wasn't even late at night!

We have counted five occasions where they have called the police on us or others. The fireworks they set off were illegal, and so are the huge burning piles they have twice a year where they burn things they really shouldn't.

Anyway to make a long story short we were not too excited to deal with them on this issue. Maybe we should have tried calling first...I don't know.

I'm still trying to figure out if we did the right thing or not.

 

[Happy]

yours sounds like our neighbor l had before moving. nothing they did around the area including the dogs and cats they owned was seen as any problem for them just other nasty jealous neighbors who had nothing better to do then find fault instead of cleaning up their own garabage at home was always the line. one day they lost the dog that l didnt like around in my yard every day. l took him in as a stray to the spca they found and bailed him out didnt take long l got him again and took him in a second time but to the pound. the people never saw me do it but made some noise about it being me. l decided the 3th time if l had to remove him from my yard they werent going to be able to bale him out of anywhere. and lm sorry that it came to the 3 s's shoot shovel and shutup. l dont feel for the people but l do regret it for the dog he was the innocent that got the short end. l was happy when the peolpe packed up and left they were renters not owners. l like to look after my own without outside worry when lm not around they will be mained or killed by someone elses..

 

[WebbsMiniAngels]

Well, this is ironic but this morning my daughter woke me up to let me know 5 dogs were running the horses and had already attacked and killed one of my barn cats. Our neighbors own and fight pit bulls and one of the dogs was a female pit. I love animals better than anyone but I will not sit and watch one of my minis taken down by a pack of dogs. My little welch mare has a huge gash on her nose where one of them got her. My SIL shot the pit and would have killed the other ones if they hadn't run off.

The part that really makes me mad is the fact that it was not the dogs fault. It was the owners that are irresponsible, but one of the dogs paid the price. Which just breaks my heart.

Needless to say my SIL took the dead dog down to their house, but of course they said it wasn't theirs. Just so happens a male pit was chained to a tree and we know these dogs was theirs. I hope they keep them up but all my barn lights will be turned on tonight and my gun will be loaded and waiting if they come back. My beautiful long haired tom cat was innosent as well and he lost an ugly fight for his life.

I sure hope this isn't an example of what my New Year has in store for me. I also hope none of you get mad at me for this but I will fight to the death for my animals.

Judy

 

[Miniv]

.  I also hope none of you get mad at me for this but I will fight to the death for my animals.
Judy

533007[/snapback]

​

No flames from me..... Dogs running lose and causing death or injury to other animals like that need to be controlled -- either by authorities or by the "SSS" method.

And no, I agree it isn't the dog's fault. It is the owner.

Ferrah, you may want you mom tell the dog control people that you have had some problems with the dog owners in the past so they will have a "heads up" on how to handle to situation.

MA

 

[user 488]

No flames from me either. I would have done the same. UGH! I HATE STUPID PEOPLE!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

If he comes back take the collar off, take him into the next county and hand him in. Nice dog like that will find a home in no time

I do understand if you could not bring yourself to shoot him.

I also understand if you could.

You need to be firm about this- you are in the right, and these people have no right for their desire to have a breed of dog well known for roaming, impact on your life.

 

[WebbsMiniAngels]

MA,

That's the thing of it....we live in the country and if you call you are told to shoot to kill. If dogs are on your property you have every right to protect your livestock.

I did however make pictures of my mare. She has a bad gash on her nose and blood all over her legs and feet. Just in case I need some type of proof as to what happened. After the dog was shot she stomped and pawed the dog as if to get a little revenge for what had happened to her. She has stood all afternoon in the corner of the horse lot facing to where the dogs came from as if to say I'm ready for you to come back. I have spent most of the day out with the horses and she has settled down quite a bit.

Thanks for understanding. It makes me sad to think of the dog because stuff like this is so uncalled for.

Judy

 

[minisaremighty]

I would definitely do as Miniv suggested, call the animal control officer, just to give them a heads up. I've had to do that and they were glad I did. So was I in the long run.

Judy, I'm sorry your horses had to go through that!!! Also sorry your SIL had to shoot to kill, but sometimes it's necessary. We would have done the same thing.

 

[journey]

I guess I am lucky. My dog will not stand for other dogs coming up to the fence and he has a loud and obnoxious bark. He will chase them off. Also our neighbors next to us got a lab pup about a year ago. When he came outside, he got attached to our old dog(we don't have him anymore), the new dog we got and our horses. They let him off the chain for about an hour a day and I have actually seen him chase a chow off from our fence. I guess he thinks it is his job to protect our horses too. If a stray were to ever show up, We would have to take him or her to our local shelter and pay them $25 to take the stray (which I am still having problems with that since I have had to do it once and it really made me angry!). Our animal control here is a joke and they do not pick up animals unless they bite. If they ever did bite, they would certainly be dead, cause my Hubby would shoot it himself.

 

[keeperofthehorses]

I agree with shooting the dogs if they are jeopardizing your animals.

If you are not of the mind to do this, go for the wallet. Find out if they are owners or renters. Go after whoever insures the property they live on. Give them a heads up that you have valuable animals and they (their insurance company) will be held financially responsible for damage to ANY of your property, including the animals, should the dogs return. Hand them the card of your insurance agent and your lawyer (some photos of your mare would also hammer the point home) and ask them for the same. Then call the insurance agent. This works particularly well when the problem people are renters, as the landlords will not want to deal with this.

The day I moved into my house, my new neighbors met me at the fence. After exchanging names, the first words out of their mouths were, "I see you have dogs. If I ever see your dogs in with my cows, I will shoot them first and call you second. If your dog hurts one of my cows, they are registered breeding animals worth between $3,000 and $5,000 a head and you will pay for them. I would like to be on good terms with you, so I think you should know this up front." We shook hands and became friends. They've been good neighbors and we get along with them better than most around here. When another nieghbor's dogs were killing the calves, we would take shifts with them through the nights guarding the calves.

Ugh... infuriating... Sometimes I think there should be a test for pet ownership.

 

[Black Magic]

We had a loose dog on our property when I was riding our QH Pressa... and a loose dog came and tried to get her juggler. She scooted backwards, I jumped off to chase the dog.. big mess.... she was trying to protect me, and I was trying to protect her. I shattered my tibia and tibia plateau. Need I mention a year plus later, I still have problems with that leg? Do you know those dummie denied owning a dog?? We had to get an attorney... for my $20K medical bills.

So don't mind if I shout "SHOOT THE BEASTIE!" No, seriously... I couldn't shoot either. However, I did tell the woman, that first I was concerned that her loose doggie could get hit by a car or something worse, and thought it was better to call the animal control people then to let it get hurt. I would also tell her, that your little horses could kick her DOG in the head... and it'd be lights out, and you didn't want that to happen either. PLUS... you got a BIG MEAN CRAZYfriend that heard of a similar situation and went and shot the dog and left it on the owners door steps at night, and you don't want anything like that to happen either. A friend of ours, fires a gun right next to any stray dogs that come on his property and then calls the pound. Heck the entire neighborhood knows when Tony sees a stray dog. Dogs just don't come back... (I think it hurts their ears or something).

You really don't want to have to get an attorney, but your horses could suffer stress related problems from the dog (we have one with an ulcer)... so you did the right thing. But draw a line, stand on it, and LET THOSE FOOLISH people know, there will be dire consequences if a loose dog comes on your property again!

If the dog then shows up.... take a photo of the dog... call the pound... call the sheriff's office.. and find a good equine attorney.

God Bless,

Lynn W

 

[CyndiM]

This is just what I was explaining to my son and DIL. They moved here from CA the first of the month and brought a (very well papered AS) dog with them.

Long story short my son had to have him put down last night. The dog had always been confined to a yard with a tall block fence and he was ready to attack anything that he saw. They tried everything but he was VERY aggressive towards strangers and now other animals. He was good with them and the two grandkids but I worried he might turn on one of them. So I agree that some people should never own animals, but I have also seen a case of some dogs are just mean. My daughter called this dog Cujo and said it was crazy a couple of years ago after a visit to their house. These kids are the type of people that would kill an animal with kindness and love, so I know it had to be the dog. They are all very upset but knew it had to be done before it was more serious than it was.

 

[Danielle_E.]

You absolutely did the right thing by shooting the dog and you had every right to do so. If the people denied owning the dog well at least they know you are serious now about not allowing this to happen and it could happen again, so all their denying in the world isn't going to change that and they have now been WARNED! As others have said let you law enforcement agency know about it, even if it's just a phone call and let them write a report that you also have pictures and maybe give them a copy or photocopy to attach to their report.

I know we had 2 dogs chasing my full size horses up and down the fenceline and my son called the animal control and they were here within 25 minutes and off they took the dogs.

I would also shoot a dog that was attacking my barn cats. I protect ALL my animals on my own property whether horses, cats, dog, etc. Nobody messes with my animals