How do I make this right?

[Christi in VA]

One of our dogs just brought up one of our neighbor's chickens and laid it at our door. Dead. One or the other of our dogs likely killed it. Do we offer to replace it? Just replace it? Ask him how he'd like it handled? ?????? We've only lived here 2 months. That's not a good record.

[Rachel Jane]

Was your dog off of your property or the chicken off of his?
This counts.

I'd have to 'fess up and ask him want he wants done about it. You'll probably have to contain your dogs better, which is unfortunate for them.

[Rachel Jane]

Was your dog off of your property or the chicken off of his?
This counts.

I'd have to 'fess up and ask him want he wants done about it. You'll probably have to contain your dogs better, which is unfortunate for them.

You aren't certain that your dog killed it though.
That counts too. My Golden wouldn't kill another animal, but he would definitely carry around a dead one...and has. Both squirrels and bird. :tongue:

[Gail in NY]

We have chickens. We have dogs. My dogs are excellent with the chickens, but I still wouldnt say they are beyond killing them, when we arent around. Unless you actually saw what happened, I would replace/pay for the chicken for the sake of good neighbor relations. Right now in our area the going price for a laying hen is $8-$10. A small price to pay for peace. If the chickens are on your property or your dog on theirs - either way it will result in casualties. You confine the dog, they confine the chickens. I know it's hard. We had a dog running to the neighbors years back and killing his sheep. We had no idea the stinker was sneaking off. The neighbor shot the dog, :cry: but he had that right.

[Rachel Jane]

when we arent around. Unless you actually saw I would replace/pay for the chicken for the sake of good neighbor relations.

I don't get what you are saying. Should she or should she not pay for the chicken?

[Rachael]

Are your dogs fenced or leashed? Are their chickens behind a fence? If the chicken flew into your fenced area, I don't think you are obliged to replace it. If your dog went onto their property, you are obliged to replace it. A young hen already laying will cost about $15 here.

[stacy z]

we have chickens. once our neighbor's labs came on to our property and killed several of our chickens, terrorizing the rest! he replaced them with some layers (maybe even a couple more than were killed. the dogs never came back, so apparently he corrected that as well.

when we moved to our new property, a neighbor's dogs were used to roaming over on to our land. when we took it over, my dh would encounter the dogs who would growl and bark at him. these dogs also used to chase the deer through our woods. let me tell you, if the problem had not been corrected, my dh would not have thought twice about shooting them. several phones calls later and finally a visit from the DNR officer, the problem was solved with an invisible fence. thankfully, no dogs were harmed in the solution. :)

so if i were you, i would replace the layer and make sure that my dogs don't wander.

[Paige P]

We have a friend who as chickens who dogsled Honey when we are out of town. Thet have a pup who doesn't chase chickens unless honey is there, but when honeys there, they chase and kill chickens. The first time, we offered apologies and offered to pay. They declined. The second time, we gave them extra money to replace the dead chicks and future ones. The last time she was there, there were no chicken deaths :clap:

[Christi in VA]

the neighbor's chickens free range and are not caged. most folks' dogs here are not contained except at night, as is the case with ours. There are kind understood thoughts that everybody has a dog and all the dogs visit around, play with other neighbors' kids, dogs, hang out, whatever. Their dog visits our house usually first thing every morning for a little tussle with our dogs, etc...repeat by mid afternoon. NO big deal. Except when there are chickens, apparently. :(

I will offer to pay either way..and dh was livid!!! :(

[Rachel Jane]

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I will offer to pay either way..and dh was livid!!! :(

That your dog killed a chicken? Dogs are predators and chicken tastes an awful lot like chicken, which is a main ingredient on most dog foods.

[Rachel Jane]

I am not entirely convinced that your dog killed this chicken. Dogs love to roll in dead things and carry them around. Gross but true.

[Christi in VA]

RJ,
Yes...:) that our dog killed a chicken. We've only lived here two months and our neighbors are the best people and we don't want to go off having problems before we've even got "history" with these people. They really are wonderful (he plowed our garden up for us just yesterday)....we feel just awful. You might remember that we have just been having ongoing dog issues of late....and I think dh is just "done" over all of it together as a whole.

[Robin in Colorado]

When I was a child, our dog killed the neighbor's chicken. Daddy was ticked off at her. He applied some training. She was a free-range dog all her life and never did it again.

And he offered to reimburse the neighbor.

Recently, the neighbor's dog was a problem. We have chickens, live in the 'burbs, have a 6ft privacy fence around our yard. The dog was digging under the fence; we blocked it with stones. The dog then was pulling slats off the fence and squeezing through. I was screwing plywood to the fence. I was confronting the neighbor who was denying, saying the dog just wanted to play. Um, no.

So the dog got into the yard with my Belle out there, grabbed a mouthful of chicken and ran. My girl was hysterical (our birds are pets as well as layers). I went over to the neighbor, banged on the door, burst through her house and into her yard looking for our bird. You could hear my children wailing with grief. We didn't find our bird (she was later found alive). But I told my neighbor - I like you and your dog and want to be good neighbors. The only way that is going to work is if you fix that fence, and keep your dog at home. Well that was enough shock for her and she did it.

All to say - if it happened once, as a chicken owner I'd expect reimbursement. If it happened twice, I'd want the dog permanently contained. A third time and the dog would suddenly turn up missing.

So, perhaps offer to your neighbor that you don't know if your dog did it, but that she did bring you the bird as a present, so you'll gladly reimburse for the bird and keep your dog at home. Hopefully it won't happen again.

I'm sorry you're going through this.:group:

[Rachel Jane]

RJ,
Yes...:) that our dog killed a chicken. We've only lived here two months and our neighbors are the best people and we don't want to go off having problems before we've even got "history" with these people. They really are wonderful (he plowed our garden up for us just yesterday)....we feel just awful. You might remember that we have just been having ongoing dog issues of late....and I think dh is just "done" over all of it together as a whole.

:sad:
I am sorry. I hope it can be resolved and with as little grief as possible.

[Kendra AU]

the neighbor's chickens free range and are not caged. most folks' dogs here are not contained except at night, as is the case with ours. There are kind understood thoughts that everybody has a dog and all the dogs visit around, play with other neighbors' kids, dogs, hang out, whatever. Their dog visits our house usually first thing every morning for a little tussle with our dogs, etc...repeat by mid afternoon. NO big deal. Except when there are chickens, apparently. :(

I will offer to pay either way..and dh was livid!!! :(

Bummer. I'd pay for the chicken and invest heavily into an underground fence for my dogs. Dogs adjust pretty quickly to them and it would mean your dogs stay where they belong. Mind you, I've been pretty darn tempted to but the collar on neighbors dogs who visit my yard. While I never mind them coming for a play, I do not enjoy untrained dogs in my yard.. ;)

[Christi in VA]

Saw the neighbor out doing some burning today and chatted with him about the situation. He said that he's actually missing 3 chickens! I offered to replace all and he was so kind. He said that he didn't want us to replace them, just to keep the dog contained so that it wasn't an issue in the future. And I believe it sounds settled to me :) Whew! And he'll sure still shake my hand at church tonight ;)

[Rachael]

Christi, it sounds like both you and your neighbor are trying very hard to do the right thing and have good neighborly relations. That is so awesome! :clap: I'm happy it's working out for you.

[Rachel Jane]

Saw the neighbor out doing some burning today and chatted with him about the situation. He said that he's actually missing 3 chickens! I offered to replace all and he was so kind. He said that he didn't want us to replace them, just to keep the dog contained so that it wasn't an issue in the future. And I believe it sounds settled to me :) Whew! And he'll sure still shake my hand at church tonight ;)

:clap:
Glad he was able to be reasonable.

[KathleenM]

Dogs are predators and chicken tastes an awful lot like chicken, which is a main ingredient on most dog foods.

:lol: Getting a laugh out of this tidbit of wisdom! :lol:

Christi, it sounds like your neighbor is a good guy. Your honesty and willingness to replace the chickens is the right approach to take, and it sounds like you have earned some goodwill with him. :thumb: