Nice letter, but I have my doubts he'll do anything, sorry.

You're much more patient than we would be. Any dog chasing our horses or hassling our goats would be shot and buried on the back of the property. No second chance when our livestock was at stake.

 

Have you sent that yet? DON'T.

Someone with no regard for the lives of your animals may very well respond to you shooting his dogs by harming your horses, other animals, or property.

Let the law handle it as far as you can, then abide by all three S's. Hmm?

I'm sorry, and I'm glad your Jenny is okay. Half wish she'd turned and stomped a few times, though.

 

I had a beautiful horse crippled once because a neighbor's dog chased her into the fence. I don't give dogs a second chance now. The law allows me to shoot so that's what I would do if I caught a dog chasing my stock. I have had too many animals killed or maimed by other people's dogs.

 

Actually, Jen, I just got off the phone with the sheriff. He said we are well within our rights to shoot the dogs, and the owners have had fair warning. However, it will be SSS when they come back, probably tomorrow morning. The dogs owners will hear the gunfire, and know exactly what it is.

 

Yes, absolutely your right. I just wouldn't tell somebody like that I was going to end their dog, you know?

 

I hope he will, but he probably won't.

 

it will be SSS

(Shoot , Shovel, Shut Up)

No, because you already talked about it.

The proper response would have been to SHOOT first
I skip the "shovel" part and just drag the bodies out into the woods
The "shut up " part applies before AND after

 

To all the SSS folks, this usually happens when hubby isn't home. I don't trust my own marksmanship skills with a rifle to hit a running dog, and not the horse or donkey that it is chasing. I'm great with a hand gun, but that is for short distances.

 

To all the SSS folks, this usually happens when hubby isn't home. I don't trust my own marksmanship skills with a rifle to hit a running dog, and not the horse or donkey that it is chasing. I'm great with a hand gun, but that is for short distances.

Won't help right now, but you need to get to the rifle range in the near future.

Can you bring the animals up closer to the house when DH isn't home?

 

I can bring the animals closer to the house, but I can't contain them there.

Hubby will be off this weekend.

Getting some practice will help. Only with stationary objects. How do you practice for running objects?

 

Most dogs will happily jump into a car. Get in the car/truck and drive it to where the dogs are causing havock. Open the back door and jolly them up. With any luck at least one of them will get in the car. Follow the others and try to lure them to the car. Use treats.

Take them to the animal shelter. Tell the clerk that the dogs have been running your livestock and you don't have the heart to shoot them. They'll want to know the owner's name and addy. Fine, give it to them. The dogs are not licensed so that will mean a fine. The dogs will be held for a certain number of days before being put up for adoption. However, since they run livestock they may be put down.

 

The camp manager is an idiot. "There is no law here???" LOL!

I would not have sent the email. At the time of the encounter, depending on the attitude, I might have simply stated "We shoot coyotes and dogs. Saves our having to sue the owners." Or, I might have just said nothing.

You are about to have your livestock injured. Tonight, take the gun and do some practicing. If the guy has a clue, he'll keep his dogs in tomorrow. If he doesn't, set up a rail or stand, and shoot to kill.

Some people just don't get it.

 

I can bring the animals closer to the house, but I can't contain them there.

Hubby will be off this weekend.

Getting some practice will help. Only with stationary objects. How do you practice for running objects?

Hopefully the dogs will come back when DH is there locked and loaded!

DH is better at stationary targets, I'm better at moving targets (although I can still nail a stationary target, don't get me wrong). I used to shoot skeet on our ranch and I think that's what helped me so much with moving targets. Stationary targets bore me. With a moving target you've just got to 'lead it' a little bit with your shot, it's not that tough.

The main thing is to get some extra ammo and get out there and shoot to build your confidence. The lives of your animals may depend on it.

DH once took out a dog that was chasing (and killing) our friends' sheep back in California. He was shooting downhill, in a wind and took a couple shots at about 250 yards with a .243. The dog ran off, so we thought he missed. But we later found out from our neighbors that the dog went home and died. Unfortunately he'd killed multiple sheep over about a weeks period of time before DH got him. His owners had been warned and chose not to heed the advice to keep him penned.

I'm looking forward to hearing about your upcoming planned range time gal!

 

Julieq, rifle practice will be this weekend, here at the ranch.

 

Sure you don't have time to practice now? So that Mr. Idiot can hear it and maybe get the impression you mean business?

 

Julieq, rifle practice will be this weekend, here at the ranch.

That's great news! Be sure and put your best target up on your refrigerator for everyone to see! :goodjob:

 

Since you spoke to the dog owner alreadythe conversation should have gone like this. When the manager said "well just chase them away. There is no law here"
I would have ended his sentences with: "Well, guess I'll have to use a gun cause I just can't run that fast and I know there is a law sayin I can do so"............

I myself do practice SSS.

 

Emails telling someone that you're going to shoot and kill their precious pets always comes back to haunt the killer. It's legally admissible, and is ----ing evidence against you, the killer. It shows premeditation, intent, etc.

Verbal conversations are admissible as well, but only as hearsay. It carries much less weight.

Learn to shoot, eliminate the problem. Don't brag, don't threaten. Call the police by all means, but observe the reaction of the LEO.

 

^^^ In this case, the dog owner has no legal recourse, the law is completely with the shooter protecting their livestock, tho I agree that it's best to ask them to keep their dogs in, then simply do what you have to to protect your animals, and say nothing before or after.

 

If it were me, I would of let the owner know there was a problem. If problem persisted, I would notify owner, and inform him/her I will be forced to protect my animals if it happens again. If it happened again, I would shoot the darn dogs, then promptly call the owner and tell him to get the stinking carcasses off my property.

 

If the dogs' owner is a camp manager, not the owner, you could contact the folks who do own the camp and let them know what a bad neighbor their employee is. Those sorts of jobs aren't all that easy to come by, imo, and someone who doesn't represent the camp/group/owner well is a liability. Also, as a camp manager, one would think he would know the law concerning pets, livestock & wild game. Maybe they will fire him, & he will take his dogs with him.

 

No you never should admit to maybe wanting to kill them or after the fact. the SSS is what should be considered. And when the opener calls etc and asks have you seen my dogs. Nope they have not been here. And leave it at that. And if some dogs were after my horses, donkeys whatever, they made do it once, but the next time No Way would they get away again. SSS will do it.

 

It's about the time the dogs have been showing up. They aren't here yet. Maybe they are being kept inside?

Foxtrapper, In the email, I provided the dog's owner with the law that says that I can kill dogs that are chasing or worrying my livestock, and the dog's owner has no recourse against me. I also provided him with the law that says that if his dogs injure or kill my livestock, he is liable for double what my damages are. I did call the Sheriff,and explained it. He said that we were well within our rights to shoot the dogs, and that we had given the owner fair notice.

Use Less, this camp is a church camp. It is an odd situation. This camp once owned our ranch. They kept it as an equestrian camp for about 10 years. Their campers got into the habit of coming over to the ranch every year to pick apples, and they never got out of the habit when the church sold the ranch. They kept coming, and inviting friends. Then, one of the camp managers would tell campers that they should take a lovely hike to our ranch. He continued to do this for years after we bought the place and after we asked him to stop. We were forever finding people from this camp, taking apples, or playing in and by our pond, or breaking into our pioneer structures. I always explained that the church had sold the ranch in 1994, and we were the new owners, and were not affiliated with that church or camp, so please quit picking apples, and go back to your camp.

The main house at our ranch sits on the opposite end of the ranch from where they enter. They come on foot, and unless we are outside, away from the house, we don't see or hear them. So they get away with the trespassing and taking apples far more often than we ever catch them.

I have spoken with the camp many times over the years to ask them to please stop sending hikers here, and when we opened our orchard for You-Pick, I offered campers from there a 10% discount, but, here's the kicker. They couldn't just hike over from the camp. They had to drive over. Because the location where I have myself set up in the orchard allows me to see every car that comes and goes, but if they sneak in on foot at the other end of the ranch, they can take apples from the part of the orchard that we don't have open to the public, because of the pioneer structures. over the years that we have been open to the public only two campers from that camp came to pick apples and pay for them. The rest were indignant that they had to take their car, and pay for the apples that they were used to taking for free. We have strung barbed wire fencing across the old road (now only a trail) where they used to enter. We have always kept NO TRESPASSING signs up. The point of telling you this, is to illustrate that the owner, the church, is not really interested in being a good neighbor. They never have been.

 

If it were me, I would of let the owner know there was a problem. If problem persisted, I would notify owner, and inform him/her I will be forced to protect my animals if it happens again. If it happened again, I would shoot the darn dogs, then promptly call the owner and tell him to get the stinking carcasses off my property.

You would not do that where I live. If you did your name would probably be in the newspaper the next day cause most of the people here that let their dogs run lose are crazy----crazy enough to kill you for killing their dog. I am a animal Lover, but I Love my animals more than "Your" animals. The dog being allowed to run free is not the dogs fault so I hate to kill it for doing what is natural for it do. That being said----If a dog is even on my property and could become a threat, I grab my shotgun loaded with low powered bird shot----holler and shoot into the air. If the dog is harassing my animals, I run out and shot into the air as a warning ---the dog/s usually start running away when they get at a distance that I know I want kill it. I give them a second warning---I fire straight at them which gives them some good stings from the pellets. If a dog or anything had a hold on any of my animals as soon as I could get them seperated its SSS. I have never had to SSS a dog because one of the two warnings described above has always worked.

I use to be one of them dog owners that allowed my dog to run loose in the yard-----had no idea my dog was ganging up with 3 more dogs and would go to a small chicken farm a mile away and harass the mans chickens, ended up getting into the pen and killing some chickens. The owner sent my dog home licking some bird shot wounds(found out with a Xray from the Vet). I asked around and found out from a friend that his neighbor has shot at a dog like mine for killing his chickens. My dog was in his chicken pen killing his chickens, the other 3 dogs were outside the pen---he hollered at the dogs, run to his truck while all the dogs were running away and got his gun. My dog was trailing the other dogs because he had to get out the pen. I was very THANKFUL that the man sent my dog home with just bird shot(I would have SSS if I were the man) because I Loved my Dog and got to spend 7 more years with him before he passed, but I never allowed him out my sight again, which I do not think he would have ever visited that chicken pen again.

 

Around here, there have been too many legal precedents set where hitting a wandering dog with something non-fatal (BB, shot, paintball, sling-shot, etc) was deemed to be animal cruelty and the perp (the defender of the farmyard) was hit with a nasty fine. Sometimes, an animal cruelty charge gets your own animals removed from your posession! There is also a very high risk of revenge, so SSS is the only way to go here. No warnings, no second chances. If the owner of the dog has half a clue, he'll maybe get another dog and keep it home next time so it doesn't "run away" like the first one did. Sorry for anyone who has lost a dog in this manner or didn't realize that, much like human children, their little well-behaved poopsiekins wasn't such an angel after all when out of sight and with a pack of buddies, but it's the unfortunate reality.