How do I approach my neighbor about her killer dog?

[Cleita]

I just saw my neighbor's dog kill a white bird that could have been a chicken or duck. (We live in a rural area.) The dog is a big friendly dog too. Since we lost a couple of cats on our property recently, the last one on Thanksgiving, I wonder if it was him? We had been blaming it on the coyotes, but if there is a killer dog out there living amongst us as a pet, it really puts our small animals in twice the danger. That's because the coyote pack follows the deer and isn't around for months at a time. I certainly don't want any more of our pets disappearing. I really don't know how to approach this person about this.

[saltpoint]

1. Knock on her door and --

-- ask her opinion on whether she thinks you should get a puma or a Bengal tiger for a pet?

Insist that you value her views and didn't want to make the purchase until she weighed in.

[TeddyKGB]

2. Slowly.

Ba-dum-bump.

Thank you, I'll be here all week. Try the veal.

[RebelOne]

3. One question? Why is your neighbor's dog running loose?

He should be in a fenced yard or inside the house. It is dangerous for dogs to run loose outside. If by chance, the dog killed something else and another person saw it, they could possibly kill the dog or call animal control.

[Cleita]

7. Rural area. Dogs can run loose. There's no law about it.n/t

[DS1]

14. Okay. What's the law about shooting loose dogs?

As much as I love all animals *except birds* I'd have no problem telling my neighbor that if his/her dog was on my property it'd be shot so he/she had better come up with a plan to keep it on his/hers - then I'd go to the local gun store and by myself a .308

[Cleita]

18. You can have guns but I wouldn't really shoot anything.n/t

[supernova]

12. That's my question

and do your cats also run loose? Do you have county leash law? You might be able to report the neighbor for noncompliance on that issue.

Not trying to sound accusatory. We used to be further out in the country living here, and we let our cats have the run of the place. But civilization has encroached upon us. I wouldn't have a cat outdoors unless I could provide it with an enclosed area to be safe. Or run up a tree.

[Cleita]

15. The cats do run loose, but funny enough Benny wouldn't go

out this morning. He was staring out the window at my neighbor's pasture. I went to see what he was looking at and that's when I witnessed the crime. I have had outdoor cats in places as wild as western Montana where the predators run the gamut of cougars, bears and wolves. I always brought them in before sundown and wouldn't let them out until the next day in daylight.

My stepdaughter does the same, so we were surprised when her cat disappeared over Thanksgiving. My cat Fluffy disappeared a couple of years ago over the fourth of July and both these animals just didn't come home that night. It makes me even more suspicious that it's the dog.

[DS1]

19. Your cat was probably eyeing up that chicken

;-)

[Cleita]

21. I doubt it. He's afraid of Big Bird ever since he had a

confrontation with a Red Tail hawk over a gopher.

[Midlodemocrat]

4. I don't think I would approach her

...but I would contact animal control and report what I had seen and my suspicions about my cat.

[jellybelly]

5. don't approach her

she'll deny it and get defensive...she'll blame the deaths on your pets on the coyotes, you'll need proof and then call animal control.

[DS1]

6. Dogs chase birds

My roommates Labradors both go after birds and sometimes catch them, are they "killer dogs"? They seems to really enjoy cuddling up to my cat.

:eyes: :eyes: :eyes:

[Cleita]

10. I suppose if they know the cat as one of theirs, they won't.

However, most of the dogs in our neighborhood really don't kill anything. My concern was that if this dog is killing something as big as a chicken, it could also be killing cats it doesn't know. Maybe he thinks it's a jackrabbit, something that we have plenty of around here too.

[DS1]

13. Is it loose or fenced in?

I think that's the real argument you have. I understand that loose dogs are all pretty much considered threats, but if a chicken or a cat were to wander within its fence, then mother nature takes over.

I think you'd have an easier time with the authorities on the topic of dog control over dog temperment.

[cestpaspossible]

23. Yeah, do you let your cats run loose? Wandering pets are not safe.

[Cleita]

25. When you live in the country, it's really hard to keep them in.

My stepdaughter kept her Gizmo in for two years. I used to see him looking forlornly out the window. Then he started peeing all over the furniture. Her husband, not a cat lover, threatened to take him to the pound so she relented and let him out. That was five years ago. He was the one who disappeared over Thanksgiving.

[Dr.Phool]

26. I believe thats in the dogs job description

Says right on the employment contract. Put bird in mouth.

Most dogs aren't fast enough to catch a cat. Mine chase squirrels all day long and never catch them. They did however kill a lot of racoons, because they would stand there and fight.

[skygazer]

8. Honestly and openly

"Hey, I noticed this morning that your dog killed some sort of a bird - I don't know if you're aware of it. I'm not sure what it was but it might have been a chicken or a duck and the thing is, we've lost some cats recently. Now I'm not saying for sure it's your dog but maybe you ought to consider tying him up or putting up a fence because if he's killing birds, he may very well kill other small animals. And if he starts running deer, he's liable to get shot."

What else can you do? If they refuse to take it seriously, you may have to call animal control or something but I'd just be honest. If it was my dog, I'd want to know. Are they reasonable people?

[HEyHEY]

9. I suggest suddenly and aggresively - like on Jerry Springer

It's hard to say...just be polite and stuff.

[JVS]

28. Knock on the door and then hit her with a lawn chair

[KittyWampus]

11. Cleita, I'd Alert Neighbor To What You Saw, The Disappearance Of Your

cats and politely let them know that while you don't KNOW it was their dog... because the possibility exists it MIGHT have been their dog... you insist the dog be kept off your property.

Cleita, I live in a rural area as well. Some people let their dogs run lose. That is no way to own an animal.

You have every right to expect their dog to stay off your property.

If dog is on it after certain point, I'd get a pellet gun.

[cestpaspossible]

16. Was it on your property?

If not, I don't see how it's your place to say anything to them about their dog killing a bird. However, there's nothing wrong with telling them about your lost cats and asking if they think there's any chance that their dog did it. Have you seen their dog on your property? There's nothing wrong with telling them that you fear for your cats and don't want their dog on your property.

Also, remember that cats roam as well; if you don't want their dog on your property, they have an equal right to not want your cat(s) on their property. I mean, if your cat wanders onto their property and their dog kills it, who is at fault?

Just be friendly, honest and neighborly and don't accuse any person or animal of something that you aren't sure they did and I don't see how you can go wrong.

[Cleita]

20. The bird murder was on her pasture where she keeps her

horses. My back window looks out on it and there is only a barbed wire fence between my yard and her pasture. This isn't my property, and a new fence is on the to do list, but my son-in-law can only do so much on weekends and he just finished re-roofing his house. I really want a barrier of some sort there. I have been trying to grow a tree fence there, but her horses eat them before they get a chance to grow up so I gave up.

[cestpaspossible]

22. 'Murder'? If you cat killed a bird would you call it murder? nt

[Cleita]

24. Yes, I probably would and I am being fascetious about the word.

:-)

Also, before she got that dog the pasture was over run with Quail. They used to nest in the sage brush and were really fun to watch. They were too fast for the cats believe it or not. The daddy Quails used to play wounded bird to lure the cats away from the brood and then fly away after he made his escape, but we noticed that they don't come around anymore. Dog again?

Funny until I witnessed this incident this morning many of these disappearance mysteries are starting to make sense.

[xultar]

17. Cats do that also, the dog isn't a killer per se, he's just doing things

based on his breed.

[B Calm]

27. My neigbor has chickens and has shot several dogs.

It is sad, but sometimes that's the only way you can stop a dog who kills chickens.

[cestpaspossible]

29. Yeah, but on his property, not yours, right?

My dogs have no right to go onto my neighbors property, but my neighbor has no right to tell me that my dogs can't kill animals on my property.

[amazona]

30. good luck

We had no luck at all in this matter in our neighborhood until a 9 year old boy was mauled by the dog that had attacked -- not a bird -- but several other people. People who won't keep their pets under control are usually pretty scary to deal with.