Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Doggie Doodle

OK - here is a question for the group...

I'm at my place today having a nice peaceful walk around the lake when a deer comes crashing through the woods...followed closely by (some unknown) large hound barking like hell, giving chase and obviously has been for quite some time/distance.

Would you (?):

1. Ignore him; Heck it’s a free country. :p

2. Yell like heck and chase the “Hound” off and hope he doesn’t come back.

3. Track down the owner and ask politely to please keep “Hound” off your property. :rolleyes:

4. Open target practice immediately; Dern dog probably scares off everything!

Gator

I would vote for 2 then 3.

Hey I had a similar thing happen the other night. I have a 12 year old lab shepard mix who was out doing his business around dusk. As he got into his squat, a hugh noise came from the back of the pond area (left side of property). Out pops a 8 point buck flying across my yard and to the right. Chasing him was a coyote chasing him, but the odd thing was the coyote had a wild turkey already in its mouth. I thought man is that a greedy bugger!!!!! Around that time I realized my dog was out there, I turn to see him and he just gets up from his squat and looks at me like holy SH** did you just see what I missed!!!! He was one depressed dog for the next two day!!!

Gator, how far into your property was the hound?

One thing I've always been grateful for regarding my dog (shep/lab/ridgeback mix, apprx. 75 lbs), is that he's always known that he can't catch a deer. That's saved me a lot of aggravation over the years in not having to go after my dog; I've been able to take him more places without having to worry about him taking off.

As Eric said, I'd do #2 and then #3.

Being a dog lover, a given dog would have to be doing something real bad for me to be able to shoot it.

Now if it was a cat......

I vote a cross between 3 and 4 :

Track down the owner and be prepared to Open target practice immediately.

The dog dosen't know any better but the owner probably did it on purpose in hopes of shooting the deer when it crossed the road or left your property. It happens often on our property.

Perhaps a more governmental approach...
Gather the immediate neighbors and form a regional subcommitee...kinda like a senate judiciary commitee. Set the offending canine down across from this commitee and make the owner set directly behind the animal to bear witness. Commence to pursue a line of questioning that has very little to no pertinence, all the while sending negative inuenedos that question the moral character and integrity of both the canine and the owner. Follow this format incessantly until the owner breaks down in tears and has to leave the room with un-deserving broken spirit and shame. The following link should help you to prepare: beajerkwithoutreallytrying

I have a dog that had to fend on her own before I got her due to irresponsible owners dumping here (long story). To this day she takes off after deer although she never catches them, and gets winded. She may have when younger after she was dumped, but now she's to heavy and older. If she ever got on the next property and a deer hunter shot her it would be like shooting a member of the family. I can assure you if the guy didn't shoot me first I would break the gun over his head and beat the living crap out of him! I knew of someone's dog that was walking in the woods on his masters property and a deer hunter shot him. The dog was able to make it back to the house with his face shot off and blinded and I can assure you there was hell to pay.

Therefore shooting an offending animal is your last resort and could make life a living hell for you if the owner loves his pet and finds out.

Here's a pic of an otherwise excellent dog that listens well, but if she sees a deer or cat she is out of here. (Most of the time I keep her on a lease or inside the house.) I do not let her outside unless I am watching her.

Animals only do what comes natural and bad behavior is usually the owner's fault. The biggest offenders I see are those that just let their dogs roam free.

ARF! ARF! ARF!

What's that girl? You love Cecil?

Gator, I had this happen while deer hunting one year. It was on a day I hadn't seen anything during a season when I didn't see much. Heard a dog barking and coming closer. I turn to look toward the sound and a doe bursts out of the woods and crosses the hayfield in front of me at full speed. Ten seconds later, this fat old beagle comes lumping out of the woods on the does trail. I was PO'd and hollered at him. He stopped right in front of me, smiled and wagged his tail like to say "Did you see what I'm after? This is great!"

I couldn't shoot him, although I might have come closer to it if he hadn't been friendly and so happy. I just resolved to take advantage of deer running 50 yards ahead of barking dogs, and naturally have never seen a dog running another deer since then.

Number 4...only with well placed warning shots, not shots aimed to kill. A dog will remember that sound of a high powered bullet nearby and generally will not return to that same area again for a very long time. Very effective. Made more so if the dog can see you with the gun.

Cecil, thats not fair. Putting a dogs picture on skews my thoughts. Trying to control your dog puts you in a whole lot diffent situation than a lot of rural people. I like dogs but like my dog a lot more than I do anyone elses.

Gator, I've seen that scenario too many times.

Here's my situation. On my land, we used to see 3 herds of deer per day. They were everywhere. We saw possums, coons, coyotes, bobcats, etc. on a daily basis. Life was good and we had a wildlife rich place. Then, several new neighbors moved in and started collecting dogs. They let them roam free and we hit the point where we had very few deer. We had a lot more dog tracks than deer tracks. Deer and other wildlife sightings became, not rare, but unusual and exciting. Lots of us talked to the neighbors but to no avail. I had the Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Biologist come out to do a deer count and he summed the situation up quickly. Very few deer. No deer tracks around feeders, only dog tracks. The problem? Dogs! His recommendation? Shoot em!

Most of us have very significant $ investments in our land and wildlife is our only reason. However, I and others cannot enjoy our investments due to the rudeness of others. These people have made a big mess out of our world. They might as well be poachers using a fishing rod or a gun. I consider them common thieves. I also consider the jerk that dumps his dog in the country as despicable.

I know that dogs are doing only what comes naturally and I can't shoot the owners. They enjoy walking game trails and checking out deer feeders. BTW, they also enjoy chasing horses and calves. Do they know better? Damn right. They haul ass when they see humans on adjoining places. We have been forced to start a dog management program. When I've been part of it, it has made me physically ill. I really resent that. The problem is, they can get more dogs than we can manage. It only takes one dog to train all of the rest in the delights of roaming.

Gator, take care of business but keep your mouth shut. It is against the law to shoot a neighbors dog, no matter what the circumstances. A local trapper told me a story about a rancher who found a dog chasing his calves. He ran it off and went to talk to the owner. The guy assured him that it wouldn't happen again. The next day, he went to feed and the dog was at it again. He shot it and the owner found out. The Sheriffs office was called and a citation was issued. The guy went to court and the judge levied a fine. The shooters response? I'll be damned if I'll pay a fine for protecting my property. The Judge said that was his choice and he did 2 full weekends in the hoosegow. This kinda flies in the face with the TPWD guys recommendation. Belive it or not, several of us have been questioned by Deputies about missing dogs.

Gator, as an absentee land owner you have no idea whether this is an isolated incident. Look for tracks. They will tell the story. If you do the civilized thing and talk to the owner, you better hope nothing happens to the dog. You just might be blamed and, at a minimum, get poked in the nose.

IMO - shooting the neighbors free roaming dog(s) should be an option of last resort if all other options have failed.

One could always pick up and drop these "stray" dog(s) off at your local human society. The neighbors might get the hint if they keep having to go down there to pick their dogs on regular basis.

You could also let the nieghbors know that you have given someone permission to trap your property for fur bearers and that it might not be a good idea if their dogs are running loose off their property and onto yours.

Legally what you can do about the problem is going to vary from one local to another. It might not be a bad idea to check into what is legal and what is not in your area.

Alligator.
My son raises Boer (meat) goats and has a Great Pyrenees that thinks he’s a goat – in fact he has been raised with the goats and must think he is one.
A very gentle breed that takes the goats to the pasture in the morning and back to pens in the afternoon.

He’s still a puppy at about a hundred pound, but we don’t have problems with coyotes or stray dogs anymore, or feral hogs for that matter.

Hog hunters in the area have mixed breed hounds and pitbulls.
Options 3 and 4 are on the table.

CB1 :

I have a dog that we got in the same manner as yours. It will do just like yours. There are no neighbors pets on our land/area. None around or close enough. We do have outlaws who have trained hunting dogs ( radio collars) that release them on the road directed on to our land in hopes of them running deer out to them to shoot on the road. They use watchers with cell phones to be sure no one (the law or us )is around. What they do is unlawful but they can't be caught. What do you do ? One of their methods is after they kill a deer off your property they return and dump the hide ,legs and guts at your gate to let you know they will do what they want. If you confront them you better be ready to defend your life and not with fists.

Around me in Oklahoma, coyote hunting with dogs, mostly Greyhounds, is a popular sport. They drive the country roads (hunters, not the dogs!) with specialized dog boxes looking for coyotes, when one is spotted they drop the gates and the chase is on. They do not have permission to hunt the land, but since the hunters are in the trucks and the dogs can't be given a tresspassing ticket, there is not much that can be done. They seem to start this fun and games just before deer season opens up (muzzleloader, then rifle) so any deer you MIGHT have patterned before season are now scattered due to "collateral damage." I heard that one local hunter shot one of these dogs on his hunting lease and had to pay $2500 restitution. Seems the dog is (was) registered as personal property. If I see them chasing critters on my property, they won't be coming off the property, but will become compost.

As a dog owner, I make sure my dogs have collars and tags. We live WAAAYYYY out in the country, but we have neighbors that have cattle. Our dogs roam a bit, but usually only encroach our neighbors property a bit when chasing a rabbit. Neither chase cattle. Cecil, I respect the heck outta you, but I respectfully and politely disagree. I feel pet owners should be responsible for their pets. If my dogs took to chasing cattle, or deer for that matter, I would take steps to stop their behavior, whether it be training (shock collars can cure all sorts of vices), fencing, or leashes.

Just my two cents.

ewest- These guys that use technology to try and beat the system can always be caught with the same. Cell phones use the time it takes the signal to several different towers to work just like GPS. Data from the cell phone network or a scanner can pick up the cell phone number that is used. They can then use the number to find the owner, or if it is a hacked phone, they can pinpoint where the phone is used most often and find out where they live. Technology is a two edged sword!

There is also dog proof fencing available too! 4" x 4" squares, 36" tall

LOL. Feeling just a little guilty (and nauseous), but LOL.

One old farmer I used to work with told me the difference between dogs and coyotes - dogs wear collars. Like him, I WILL shoot coyotes.

Ponds :

Thanks . I am aware of that. The local law (Game and Fish /Sheriff) are to understaffed to do that and they would have to have probable cause to check. That is not something we can do. Plus they are to smart for that --they have code words ,change up watchers etc. They learned that lesson several years ago when one of them went to jail. They were on an open raido freq. talking about the game warden and said he would get his a** kicked by unknown sources if he checked on them. Problem was the sheriff's office recorded the transmission. That group lost its hunting lease, disbanned and several were arrested. But the rest are still out there.

One thing that we have established here is that if you do shoot someone's dog (justified or not), and that person finds out it was you, you will have developed a life-long enemy. Who knows what some of these people are capable of doing when enraged.

I'm not at all saying that some of these dogs (or owners) don't deserve to be shot.

ewest, you last post made a little guitar/banjo riff play back in my head.

A river, some canoes, squeeling like a pig....

So are you suggesting the latter vivid vision as punishment? Who would carry out the punishment? Do we have any volunteers

PF2, no, I was referring to the risk of having some of these bad element folks still around.

Sunil- Just a twisted sense of humor! Some dry wit! As in it will never rain again.

I have managed to do that (permanant *list status) to more than one person without shooting their dog or having them shoot mine. But the dead dog route would surely work.

You guys are soooo PI, especially Robinson.