I’m looking for some advice and opinions: I have an 18-month-old Siberian Husky who has eaten my neighbours' chickens. He dug a hole under the wire fence, dashed into the chicken coop, and killed 17 chickens in total. Of course, we paid them back for the loss; the owners were very understanding, so there wasn’t really any drama, and we made sure to fill the hole back in properly.
Two months later:
My dog managed to get out again. He went through another neighbour's garden and got back into the one with the chickens (they’d bought some new ones). I think he’s eaten more of them because he was covered in feathers.
I’m scared that this time the neighbours won't be so understanding and might even want me to give up my dog. They haven't come round to complain yet, so maybe I'm mistaken and it wasn't actually chicken feathers, but my dog was definitely gone for 20 minutes. No matter how much I called him, he wouldn’t come back, and the neighbours were likely asleep. What can I do? Can the neighbours report me? Could the RSPCA come and take my dog away from me?
Thanks for reading this long post :)
Translated from French
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Haha, you’ve just bumped a thread from 2017! But yeah, it’s clearly our fault if our dog gets up to no good. Have a look at the law regarding pet owner responsibility, keeping them under control in public, and straying, which is a punishable offence.
Hi everyone, my neighbour has seven hunting dogs that are constantly getting loose. After killing a neighbour’s rabbit and repeatedly chasing our chickens—we’ve had to fiercely drive them off in the past—yesterday we found our five hens and our cockerel disembowelled. Some were eviscerated, while others had their back ends completely crushed... Our cockerel was just like a pet dog to us; he was born here, he’d come over for a stroke and used to go on the swing with our daughter. The sheer cruelty of it, the agony he must have suffered... despite another neighbour giving a statement saying he heard both the dogs and the chickens in distress, the owners just mocked us and said it must’ve been the postie’s dog!! What’s more, we found our animals laid out in a row like a trophy (the husband is a hunter)... anyway, we’ve reported it to the police but nothing will be done because they’re "only animals"!! Well, I’ve got no sympathy left now, because there’s clearly no justice and those dogs are just going to keep roaming the village killing every living thing they find, whether it’s someone's pet or wildlife...
My 10-month-old Husky has just killed a chicken belonging to the neighbour across the road. We’ve told them we’ll buy a replacement and give them over £85 on top of that. Their son has been making death threats against my dog, even though it’s the very first time he’s ever done anything like this. I really hope they realise how sorry we are and I hope it never happens again. It’s actually our fault because I went to the car for a split second to check the boot and he bolted past me; otherwise, our fencing is spot on.
Do you think his reaction is normal?
It’s a really tricky situation, this.
You really should give an electric fence a go, even though I’m personally against them. On the whole, your dog will soon catch on that he shouldn't be trying to dig his way out.
The other option is putting him on a long lead when he’s outside, but it’s a right pain if you’ve got trees for it to get caught on.
As for the gunshots, it’s true you’ve got to be careful of hunters; some wouldn't think twice about doing away with their own dog if it’s not up to scratch. So, if it’s someone else's dog or cat helping themselves to a bit of food out there, I dread to think.
Good luck with it all.
To be honest, apart from reinforcing the fence, there’s not much else you can do... it’s just instinct.
And if worst comes to worst and he keeps digging under the wire, there's always an electric fence... I was dead against the idea myself, but as he was constantly escaping—and even though he wasn't hurting anyone—the local farmers were threatening to shoot him. It broke my heart at first when he got a few zaps (I tried it myself and it's not too bad), but the problems have stopped now and there are no more holes in the neighbours' fences. They were starting to lose their patience as well, to be fair...
As for the RSPCA (I volunteer there), we’re already completely overwhelmed with strays, cruelty cases and evictions, to the point where there just isn't enough kennel space. So, a neighbourhood dispute over chickens... we already struggle to rescue mistreated dogs as it is. A friendly dog with good owners who happens to dig under a fence to get at some chickens? They’ll never come out for that, don't you worry!
Huskies are hunters; they're natural predators and he'll go for the chickens again the second he gets the chance. That’s just how they are and there’s nothing you can do about it—if you look back at their origins, you'll understand. They aren't actually used as hunting dogs, mind you. The only solution is to properly secure your garden. Plus, Huskies are real escape artists, stubborn and headstrong; it’s in their DNA. Recall is also a nightmare for the reasons I mentioned above. I’ve got a 6-foot fence, but if the opportunity arises... oops! On walks, mine even goes after doves. At eighteen months old, he's still young. Best of luck to you, but don't give up—they are absolute gems and so devoted to their owners.
