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  • From: "Gloria Morris" <gloriamorris59 AT gmail.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Win Some, Lose Some
  • Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 13:44:02 -0500

Bad neighbors with killer dogs. Boy, have I been there! Here are some ideas.
I've used some. Some are things that other people have done. None are
perfect solutions, but I toss them out for your consideration.

Of course, you know about the SSS option (shoot, shovel, and shut up -- the
latter part would be especially important since your neighbor is a convict -
best he never know how the dog disappeared). Calling the county authorities
to put the dog down (IF they would- animals have more due process rights
than humans in some parts of the country) is an option which generally would
engender much more rage on the part of the bad neighbor - the beauty of SSS
is that the dog disappears and no one really ever knows if it just wandered
off and got hit by a car or what. Where the dog is only out at night, unless
you sit up with the livestock and a powerful floodlight that you can turn on
at need, SSS could prove difficult in your circumstances.

Poison (I have never done this, but I cannot say that everyone who does this
is evil, as one has to protect one's home and livestock) has obvious
downsides in that it can have unintended victims - one would have to be
extremely careful to limit its access so as to minimize the risks - I know
of a farmer who had to resort to this method due to ongoing night-time raids
on calves.

Traps (allowing subsequent dispatch of the offender) can also have
unintended captures, but have their uses - some sheep farmers use "coyote
snares" under fences - be sure to check the traps very frequently to avoid a
long, painful death - make it quick.

Electric fences can be helpful in keeping out predators. These are extremely
imperfect. You have to poison or otherwise keep all grass and weeds out of
the fence, and fence very low to the ground, starting at about 2 inches from
the ground and running hot wires every six inches or so. Of course, if you
have small children, you have to educate them about the fence too!

The water squirting scare crow might deter deer from a garden (I've heard
that until the deer get used to them - a few nights - that they will protect
a harvest briefly). I've had few dogs that wouldn't find such a thing a
delightful toy or draw to the property. My border collie, german shepherd,
and various other dogs, have all loved such things. Others' mileage might
vary, of course, but I would hate to entrust the lives of my animals to a
sprinkler system.

If possible, if all animals can be put in secure (as in, secure from
predators) pens and enclosures at night, that can decrease night-time
predation dramatically, whether from killer dogs or coyotes or racoons or
whatever.

Livestock guardians can be huge lifesavers of livestock. Once I got my
gelding, Sam, my losses to predators, including marauding dogs, stopped
completely. I witnessed him nearly kill a coyote. He tolerated no canines in
his entire area. Of course, not all horses will guard (he's the only horse
in a lifetime of horse ownership that will guard reliably). The very best
livestock guardians are probably livestock guardian dogs that live with the
livestock 24/7/365, if you have an appropriate situation for such a dog.
Llamas are very imperfect livestock guardians and sometimes become prey. I
know one sheep farmer who has had extremely good luck with donkeys - one per
pasture.

Good luck with this. Predation by marauding dogs is a huge problem, and not
one easily solved, as the problem dogs usually also have problem owners!

Gloria





On 8/9/06, SISU! <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net> wrote:



Lynda wrote:
> Bev, have you tried something like The Scare Crow, that motion
> detector that shots streams of water? I would think that it might
> "shock" the dog into staying away since they usually only go where
> they think no one is going to "see" them.Getting "shot" by the water
> usually discourages them.


I wasn't familiar with the Scare Crow, so I just went online and found
the site. Due to the way my property is laid out, I can't figure out
how I could limit the area to a small enough point or bottleneck for
something like this to work. The only possible location that might work
would be the driveway, and since a lot of my visitors arrive by
motorcycle, 4 wheeler, or even golf cart, they are bound to get wet,
too, and since kids would like getting drenched in this heat, my well
would be dry in about 20 minutes...lol....I can see the boys running up
and down the drive setting off the sensor just to cool off..lol....My
own dogs would do the same thing as they love it when I zap them with
the water hose. I don't know if Hobo like water or not...he's a German
Shepherd.
Here's the link in the event it might help someone else. Cool
(literally) idea!
http://www.birdbgone.com/scarecrow.htm

Bev
--
erthnsky AT bellsouth.net BevanRon of EarthNSky Farm NW Georgia USDA
Zone 7
34.498N 85.076W

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