fixin to get ugly w/ neighbors... advise please

What was their reaction to being told that their dogs had done $4000 in damages and you wanted reimbursed?

Just curious,

RedTartan

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I'll tell you what I'd do. (And for the record, I am an animal lover. I have 7 dogs of my own, but they do not run free and I do not tolerate anyone who lets their dogs run free to harass people or livestock.) You know the dogs have been killing your animals and chasing your kids. It's simple. Next time you see them on your property without their humans, you shoot to kill. You kill them cleanly and humanely, you don't tell anyone (that means your priest, your mother, your best friend, us), you burn the bodies, dispose of the remains and that's that. If their owners come looking for them, you look surprised and say, "No, I haven't seen them in a while, have you looked beside the road? Maybe they got hit by a car?" Deny killing the dogs to everyone.
For the future, get a LGD or two. And don't bother warning owners about their dogs killing or harassing your livestock; 99% of them don't care and it will only come back to bite your in the behind when you have to shoot the dog(s). It's best for the dog to just disappear - if you can safely catch it and take it on a trip to a far away animal shelter for adopt to a new responsible owner, that's great; if not, SSS.

TCA, My neighbor has a doxie and my dog is 1/2. We don't have livestock, but what I wanted to say is for the future - these dogs usually dig UNDER to get at anything. I know it's a lot of work, but someday, after you are reimbursed for your losses maybe you could dig hardware cloth down under the perimeter of your bird area. At my grandmother's farm in NY state we had to do this decades ago, due to vermin. Am so sorry for your losses. ldc

""It wasn't our dogs.. No one will believe our little wiener dogs could do that... Go ahead and do what you think you need to do."

was their words...

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Dana

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Honestly, I would have killed the vermin in any fashion without the owner knowing what happened to their little innocent babies. Now that you have spoken to them, you will be suspect if they disappear.
I have free range poultry that have 24 hour open access to a hole in the fence to roost in their shed. But I also have 3 free range German Shepards that have access to liitle dogs that like to kill poultry. I kept finding broken eggs once last spring and was thinking it was the yardbirds. But come to find out it was a coon who had a taste for eggs and not the chickens. Found the varmint napping in a nesting box after a tasty meal of eggs. That was the last meal of eggs she ever had.

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That's just awful! You should get a nice big great dane and let it wander all over their property and see how they like it... (kidding)

Seriously though, try and get some plaster casts of the weiner dog prints for court. I think it would add to your case

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Jessica

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I can see how people today would find it difficult to believe that "little wiener dogs" could do that. My advice to you would be to find a good summary of the history of the breed so that you can show the judge just what "little wiener dogs" were meant to do.

RedTartan

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not only were they bred to hunt & fight the badgers but they dig to get to them. they are hunted here primarily on groundhog. the way this works is they go into the hole the g-hog starts digging away from them and building a wall behind them as they go the dachshund digs out this wall to ge the the g-hog. they have to dig faster than the g-hog or it may stop due to obstructions then it'll stand and fight. at this point the handler digs down w/ a shovel until they open the chamber and the g-hog is killed. it is not unknown for these hunt bred dachshunds (& g-hogs) to dig as much as 20ft of new tunnel.
MOST american dachsunds are the small rabbit hunting size but they have the same fighting, prey and hunt drive of the midsized teckels and badger sized dachshunds that are bred for hunting. while most might not be willing to dig 10 ft or more a couple of feet is within their reduced level of drive. if these dogs have the higher level of drive that hunt bred dogs do then the normal precautions for keeping out predators may not be adequate. which is why it is always a good idea to eliminate predators permanently.
too bad you didn't record the conversation w/ the owners. it wouldn't play well in front of a jury, they didn't deny their dogs ability to do it only your ability to convince the courts. since you are unable to get a good shot, you may need to go with the previously mentioned fast acting poison. then sue like hell.

Ive been meaning to ask TXCLOVER how did you manage to sell the birds ahead of the season? Where you supposed to dress them out or were you going to deliver them live?
Sounds like you did really good on the business side of this deal and id like to know more!