Not sure where you are located, but here in TX, they don’t have to get into a pasture to become targets. If they are roaming your property, they have violated the county ordinance. And on my place anyway, they run deer and come in my garage. So even though they weren’t actually attacking one of my large animals, they are still eligible targets.
3 Likes
I would much prefer to shoot the owners as they are the ones that are causing all the loose dogs. Unfortunately the legal system doesn’t seem to agree with me.
I’ve had my fair share of loose dogs and I haven’t shot any but it is so frustrating.
4 Likes
I hear you. I just reported my neighbors for the third time to AC, with photos of their dog right next to my barn. AC said they were going to institute an enforcement action against them, which I assume means larger fines. I worry that at some point the neighbors will decide to dump the dog at a shelter rather than pay the fines. I am very upset about the whole situation because I feel like the dog is going to lose here.
2 Likes
^ Just this alone would have vexed me enough to get rough.
We have sheep and chickens too. Luckily only two neighbors in over 20 yrs have had a dog get loose here. I knew who they belonged to. One i put in my truck, took it home and told the woman that her dog was lucky, that my mule is a dog-killer and she better keep it home or it will get chased down and stomped to death. Keep it home (she lived over a mile away). Other dog i put in my horse trailer and called neighbor. Woman, who has a lot of animals herself and understood my problem with her dog, tried to tell me how gentle her dog was with her various animals and i told her: "I don’t care, it’s not me you have to worry about. Your dog only got in the pastures with the cows and sheep. Had he ventured into the horse pasture my mule would have killed him. She needed to keep him home if she wanted him to stay alive. I think they both believed me. I was determined to take each of these dogs halfway across the state to a woman i know who has a backyard rescue org. and never tell them if it were to happen again. And it didn’t.
Putting it on my mule helped keep things more-or-less ‘normal’ with both these people.
The thing you need to keep in mind is that when their dog disappears for ANY reason, they’re probably going to peg you at this point. And your animals could be poisoned by them. People who are as disrespectful as your neighbors seem to be are also not averse to spiteful behavior.
Sooooo… what i’d do is let some time go by, like two or three months, then quietly take the interloper away. Or if you can do it: Shoot, Shovel and SHUT UP (ie: never tell anyone, ever)
7 Likes
I have often threatened to shoot someone’s dog who is on my property. Don’t think I could actually do it, but I’ve found that just the threat alone helps.
1 Like
Right? In the South, “honey” has two meanings just like, “bless your heart.” I saw red for a good five minutes. 
I am concerned about retaliation either in the form of hurting my animals or harassment from Neighbor A. One fortunate thing is their landlord is on my side. A previous tenant trespassed on my property with multiple four wheelers and damaged a hay field and creek embankment. Their lease wasn’t renewed. Sorry not sorry. 
The deputy passed along that threat.
Neighbor B had an over-the-fence chat with me. I’ve established my boundaries. She’s kept her dog under supervision. If she wants to be friendly, I can do the same -as long as my boundaries are respected.
7 Likes
Maybe I should get a mule. I had a 16.3 OTTB who would stomp a dog, but I lost him in 2021. I agree—I don’t want to shoot anything. I even hate shooting raccoons that tear things up and crap everywhere. The last thing I want to do is wreck my day shooting a dog. But geez…I have old dry-stacked rock walls on the place and last week I saw those d— dogs jumping up and down off one of them and running along the top. That explained all the rocks I’ve just seen fallen on the ground along the wall. And it’s not like you can just stick them back. It de-stabilizes the wall and you need a dry-stack person to fix them. $$$$
I don’t want to threaten them because I’ve already called animal control a dozen times and they do nothing. I’m afraid of retaliation too. These neighbors have told other neighbors—with whom I’ve lived here together for 20+ years with NO problems before these neighbors showed up—that I hate them. Great. It’s going to be SS&S when I can get a safe shot, which I haven’t had yet.
4 Likes
you could live trap, i’ve seen coyote traps at Tractor Supply, and either shoot the dog while it’s in the trap, or load the trap and haul it off to a pound in another county. A training partner that is a vet said you should really ‘cross two rivers’ to remove a dog away from an unsuspecting person.
4 Likes
Yeah, but I don’t want to have to buy a trap that big. These dogs are large. I’ve live-trapped coons and feral cats but these dogs are too big. Much easier to bide my time and wait for the shot. I have 90 acres and can put them where they won’t be seen, except by the vultures. And I have complicit neighbors 
2 Likes
