Dogs attacking livestock-local or general problem?

[caveman]

Yesterday while leveling bench legs on the mill, my neighbor from the end of our road was frantically blowing the horn of her SUV while another neighbor and her adult son approached me at the mill.  They informed me that a bull that had been attacked by a dog had run up our driveway.  We opened a gate and penned the bull into the pasture north of my parents' house.  The bull's ears were chewed up and bloody as well as his scrotum.  I got in touch with the owners of the bull and a while later he and his dad showed up with their gooseneck and cow ponies.

Meanwhile, my neighbors and I were doing repairs at our other neighbor's house (the lady who was honking the horn who is a recent widow but is an immigrant from Hungary and former Olympian).  The bull, with the Rottweiler type dog giving him the business busted through a gate, broke a water line, tried to enter her house to escape the dog-causing some damage to the screened enclosure and busting up some of her lawn ornaments.

After a time, the bull was herded by the two on horses and a few of us on the ground back to his pasture a 1/2 mile away.  The bull was not injured as bad as the steer pictured.  Shortly after the bull was returned, another fellow pulled up into my driveway after seeing some of the commotion.  He had just been searching the ranch across from my house for three lost young heifers, which he was unable to find.  Later today I will go back down to the neighbor's place and attempt to finish gluing her yard art back together.

This is a charolais x steer that was attacked in a pen at school by two dogs two days before Christmas in 2015.  The owner and her family were in WV at the time.  I checked the cameras in the barn and those dogs attacked the steer for over two hours, resting occasionally or taking the opportunity to kill show rabbits.  We had to be really careful on how and what to treat the steer with as the attack was only about a month before its terminal show so we had to pay real close attention the withdrawal times on the meds administered.  We were able to get him cleaned up and nursed him back to health but he lost weight and barely made the minimum for the county fair.

Some of the folks who keep cattle have a donkey in their pastures to help protect the cattle from dogs and coyotes.  Do many of you have to deal with dogs attacking livestock?   

  

  

 

[red]

SSS

[Ox]

There was only one time we had trouble with cows and dogs.  But it was coydogs/coyotes (we assume since we'd been seeing them and hearing them over on the back 30) and they ran our heifer herd out through a 4 strand high tensile fence one night.  We had animals all over these hills and didn't see a few of them for a few days.
Those pics make me feel bad for the poor animal and I'm not overly lovey towards cows.
I know that some of these so called domesticated dogs can be more vicious that wild animals because they don't have the natural fear of humans and so are emboldened even further.
I also know that a single dog hardly ever does anything like this.  It takes a pack.  Pack mentality.  This is why it's dangerous to find yourself in a city at night with a gang coming your way.  Pack mentality works with humans too.  Mob mentality.  It's a scary thing.
One dog good dog.  Two dogs bad dogs.
We don't have trouble with wandering dogs around here.  They would be killed immediately if they started causing any trouble of any kind.  However, I understand people can't be home and vigilant at all times and a fence built for cattle won't keep out dogs.

[chevytaHOE5674]

We don't have too much trouble with domesticated dogs as there aren't too many around but when/if I do its SSS. We do have problems with coyotes and wolves with the cattle (once again SSS if I'm there), but since adding a couple of donkeys to the heard we haven't had any more issues :Knock on wood.

[newoodguy78]

If I was the owner of those cows, the dogs involved would not be around for long...

[Ox]

Why the SSS?  It's totally legal to shoot a disturbance animal.  Or is it not this way everywhere?

[Dave Shepard]

It is legal in MA to protect your animals. The last domestic dog problem we had was in the early eighties. I know it was a German Shepherd, but I don't know whose it was. I seem to remember it was a dog we had gotten somewhere that went wild. We haven't had any coyote problems in a long time, twenty years or more. I think there are many more easily gotten meals out there right now. In the nineties we had a pack of domestic dogs roaming around. They didn't cause any trouble. I followed them on the tractor once, and as each dog came to it's house it would break off from the group.

[RPowers]

Free range animals that are vicious or damaging persons or property are permanently dealt with here. My thought is if the owners had any concern for the welfare of their animal then it would be properly contained and monitored by them.  If it isn't and is on my place causing a problem then I can certainly contain it here.

[Chuck White]

Here in NY, it's absolutely LEGAL to shoot a menacing dog if it's running your cattle, and for that matter, anyones cattle!

If you're driving down the road and you see a dog attacking someones cattle, you can legally stop and shoot the dog.  Just make sure that the dog and the cattle aren't the property of the same owner!

There's not much worse than 2-3 dogs from the village going out into the rural areas because they will usually find a way to get in trouble!

[chevytaHOE5674]

Shooting a dog or coyote can be legal here, but shooting a wolf on the other hand is bad news.

So for that reason its just as easy to SSS in all instances.

[Roxie]

Dogs are going to be dogs.  The problem here is dog owners that fail to control and confine their pet.  Hold the dog owner accountable and call the police to handle it.  If I had such a problem I wouldn't hesitate to put a mule or donkey in with the cows, and then tell your neighbors with dogs that you have taken that step to protect your livestock. 

[drobertson]

Had issues quite a few years back, a pack of rogue dogs, it took a few weeks but we neighbors got rid of them, they roamed bout three sq. Miles,  live stock around here comes before any critter, rural police too far away, they suggest handling it old school.  Owners soon figure it out. Now harming neighbors pets is a different ball game, each case can be different,  Ive  hauled a few back home in the truck when they are getting into mischief, and fetched mine, her main problem is she likes cat food, and walking on in the back door, Susan laughs, I don't, but good neighbors are nice!

[plowboyswr]

We generally don't have too many problems around here with coyotes it's domestic dogs. City folk like to dump them off out here then they end up creating a pack. And as Ox stated they get that pack mentality and start killing everything they see. So as soon as we see any strays it's time to open season.
My aunt who was raising sheep and goats had 3 of her Neighbor's dogs pack up and went on a killing spree on her herd. Caught them on tape. Uncle went and confronted one of the neighbors on his dog who called his dog to him saw the blood on its nose and grabbed his gun right on the spot put it down, then turned to uncle said what do I owe you. Gun still smoking uncle said," not a durn thing you already did what I wanted done."

[GAB]

My dad had a neighbor whose calves, tied in the barn, had their ears chewed on.  The neighbor suspected his German Shepard and kept an eye out.  Sure enough he saw the dog do it again and played tug of war with the dog.  Problem solved.
Gerald

[fishpharmer]

Have had packs of feral dogs attack my cows around here.  They are bad news.  Here is my mini donkey fighting back...

https://youtu.be/9EC3mk-jhLo

[coxy]

 I will also do it if a dog is running deer in the winter sss  most of my neighbors know how I  am so they keep there pets at home  8) 8)

[gspren]

   Back when I raised goats I had a standard sized donkey, about 700 pounds, to protect them. I told a new neighbor to make sure their young German Shepard never got in the pasture and they said "don't worry he is friendly", so when I told them the Donkey would stomp him into mush they got kind of sick looking and kept him confined after that, he had been running loose.

[Gearbox]

Are local sheriff told me years ago no one looks for bullet holes in a run over dog .

[Ox]

The attitudes and responses are reassuring to me as to why we still have a great country. 

[wesdor]

Years ago (50), my uncle had a pack of dogs running his cattle.  He shot them and dumped the bodies in a ditch. A "Hunter" claimed the dogs were his prize hunting hours worth thousands of dollars each!  The hunter claimed he was lost for three days (but was found at a local bar that supplied women of negotiable  virtue).
Police came and arrested my uncle, put him in cuffs, booked him and he spent a night in jail. Ultimately he got a good lawyer that had the case dismissed,but it cost $$$.
His problem was that he didn't cover the dogs. As others have implied, dogs like this should be shot and then quickly buried.

If the owner begins asking questions, perhaps the first line of answers should be "what are you going to do about the vet bills for the cattle." 

[red]

There have been a few postings like this over ten years . Another idea is having an excavator that dogs deeper than the Sheriff's backhoe. 

[Roxie]

This a case from my area:

http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20131029/update-chesco-man-who-shot-neighbors-dogs-avoids-jail-time

Found guilty. 

[LeeB]

Sorry, but I would have done the same. I just lost two dogs of my own because they were harassing a neighbors cows. He took care of them before I could. Had it been the other way around I would have done the same to his.

[coxy]

so in that neighbor hood they let the dogs kill or mangle your live stock then you have to ask whos dog/s it was and tell them with a smile on your face your dogs did the right thing because they got out of your yard  you can bet your sweet   if it was the old guys dog that was after there live stock and they shot the dog/s it would have been justified I have been down that road before  : my little fufu would never do a thing like that errrrrrr          forgot to put neighbor in front of hood

[red]

Maybe in towns where a yearly dog tag is issued ? And dogs have Chips . Wild packs of Dogs have an unkept appearance.