What to do about Wild Dogs
 

Not really sure where I should ask this question, but I'll ask it here anyways. My family owns 30 acres with a house on it and for the past three months we have been seeing two dogs running around on our property and chasing all the deer off of it. We have driven up to the dogs on our ATV hoping to scare them off, but they wont budge and they don't act very friendly at all. My first intinction would be to shoot them, but they have collars on. We've asked all the neighbors if they know who they might belong to but nobody does. So I guess I'm just trying to figure out what you guys would do. To me it seems these dogs have definitely formed a small wild pack and they are almost constantly on our property.

If they have collars then they probably aren't wild. But if they are causing too many problems and don't leave soon. Call the animal control. They will get them.

If you don't want to call them. I would just shoot them. I remember reading a post on here a while back of a pack of dogs that had banded together to be like 15 or more of them. They went rampage on a certain neighborhood and ended up killing a young girl. No way I would let that happen.

laws about dogs running like that vary from state to state but one solution is SSS (shoot,shovel,shutup) and never mention it!

shoot them

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll look into that animal control and if that doesn't seem like a good option I'll be sure to take a good shot. Don't want those dogs around for the next round of fawns.

Wisconsin, we shoot them. DNR or landowners do not want them here.

Indiana we can shoot them as far as I know. I was in north Carolina and had a neighbors dog running my yard dragging stuff off and chasing the turkeys off. When I got chicken he tried to get a hold of them. I called the local sheriff to ask what I should do. He said honestly I would shoot them it is perfectly legal. I was a little surprised by this but so be it. I did ask about hauling it off and he said it would be theft. One day my dad walked outside and saw it sitting by the fence around the chicken coop. He hauled it two counties over and gave it to some random guy at a gas station. When he came up he walked out back and popped off about 5 shots and went inside. Two days later the dog house was sitting right on the little creek between our houses and it was facing our house. He could not shoot the thing. Had it been me I would have. I had about 500 bucks in my chicken and they had come to be like family.

If no one that borders you has claimed them, then its tough luck dogs, your number is up. I would check again with the neighbors to be doubly sure, and then eliminate them if no one claims them. Animal control will catch them and do the same thing.

Not to change the subject but that is one expensive barn yard pimp right there!! A $500 dollar chicken?? He better bring you a beer whenever you need one lol

Here in Va. if a stray shows up and acts standoffish or appears it maybe violent you have all rights to shot it. A buddy of mine had one stay in his back yard for two days, he called animal control and told them he had tried to run it off but it wasn't working. They told him he had the right to shot it, so he did, they even came out and picked it up afterwards.

I have killed many dogs in my day, that is one thing I don't play around with. When I was younger, I had a dog tree me. I was in that tree for hours before I found the nerve to shoot him, after than, I have always shot unfimilar dogs first and asked questions later.

Our "dog catcher" (use that term very loosely) won't come out to get the dog unless you have already caught it. Makes alot of sense, huh? I would have already shot them and not made a thread about it lol.

my mistake. lol. I read the topic too quickly. I thought it was wild HOGS.

Tricky situation! I have owned Dogs my entire life, but I always keep them under control. Kenneled or I am with them. It is a Sad thing when other owners do Not and allow them to run wild. I can Not believe they really care for these dogs at all.

Sometimes you have to do what you have to do!

There are No Bad Dogs! Only Bad Owners!!

Dan

I have one of them I have seen it twice in the last 2 weeks chasing off deer on my land, its gonna be hard not pop him if I get him in my sights.

x2. As long as they dont look sickly, like they've been deprived of food for a long period of time, that may indicate that they are still domestic. If they appear threatening, take 'em out. Good luck.
BigBuck95:fighting0007:

I know someone in WI that was prosecuted for shooting a 'wild' dog. If the owner finds out, you have no legal leg to stand on unless it's an act of self defense.

You're better off IMO calling animal control and/or trapping them. It's fairly easy to trap most dogs in a live trap. Plus, it's more ethical. If the dogs have collars, it's someone's dog...that means it's not a matter of bad dogs, but rather, bad owners. I've trapped a few dogs and turned them over to animal control (humane society). It's the best solution for everyone IMO...the dogs are rid of the bad owner and get adopted by someone more responsible, and you're rid of the dog. ;)

It they're truly wild and rapid, that's a different story, as they're actually a danger to people. Most 'wild' dogs, in my experience, aren't wild, but just strays that crappy owners let run loose.

Thanks for the replies everybody!

I am a little worried about the collar thing so I think animal control would be the best option. Quick question. If animal control catches the dogs who will end up paying the bill? The owner of the dogs or me?

Trespassing dogs/cats get shot on my properties. Toss them in a gully...buzzards have to eat, same as worms

i agree with the most of you. i'd shoot them

Usually, they take the dog to the pound, and the owner pays if he wants it back. You shouldn't have to pay a dime if you're calling them to remove the animal from your land.

As for everyone shooting dogs...I sure hope your pet never gets loose if everyone is that trigger happy out in the woods. Occasionally, my bird dog gets twisted around and I have to double back to retrieve her. If some dumb redneck shoots her, he is going to be out a lot of cash.

Habitual, diseased, wild dogs, I can understand. But if you're shooting someone's pet that just got loose once or twice...you're not the ethical hunter that you claim to be IMO when there are other ethical options out there. I've taken care of numerous stray dogs and have yet had to shoot one.

When I see a stray dog on my land it normally doesn't come back after I've given it a "warning shot" into the ground near it, those that do tend to stick around. I don't sympathize with dipsheits who let their dogs or cats run loose, there are laws about that and if you don't abide by them as I do then you took a risk and lost. Cats are terrors on small game and songbirds, and dogs aren't much better. Control your pet or lose it, it doesn't matter if it's to me or the dogcatcher, it's still youir fault for letting it run loose.

If they don't have a collar (irresponsible owner who SHOULDN'T own a dog) and they're chasing deer, they catch an arrow (it's legal here)! Real simple.

Yep, I don't disagree that owners should control their pets. However there are better ways to control them than by shooting on sight...especially if it's a one-time event (first time the animal got loose). Even the best owner can have a pet get loose or lost (e.g. while hunting). They're not all 'dipsheits'...however shooting someone's pet the first time it gets loose is a surefire way to turn several more people off against hunting. The anti-hunters already have a lot of propaganda in their arsenal; don't give them yet another reason to lobby against hunting.

As I've said earlier, I am also against pets running loose. I've trapped several of them and turned them into animal control. Problem solved. The animal is under control of the authorities, away from the negligent owner, and I'm not guilty of shooting someone's pet (a criminal offense in many areas if you're caught). Finally, and probably best of all IMO, I haven't given the antis another reason to brand hunters as being Neanderthal rednecks.

If no one claimes them, collar or not & animal control doesn't come for them-as someone said S, S, S.

UPHUNTER, I'm with you on not shooting on sight.

However, it is reasonably easy to tell if a dog runs loose a lot, versus one that does not. Your hunting dog will likely not be aggressive towards another person, while a commonly loose dog likely will be.
I shoot cats, if I find them while out hunting as I don't hunt near towns or homes. Dogs, I give a second chance to as long as they are not acting aggressively. I found a springer one weekend while duck hunting with friends that just wanted attention, (no collar and no other people anywhere near us) wound up taking her home with me.

Yeah, I'm in total agreement with you, and this is essentially what I said in my first post in this thread. Also agree with you on cats, as they shouldn't be running wild in the woods...and I've caught a couple of the neighbor's that they let run loose and turned them into animal control.

I'm differentiating between actual, wild dogs, and a pet that got loose. What I took exception to was the attitude displayed by some that they'd shoot a dog even if they knew it was someone's pet that got loose. That's just assinine.

Dogs need to be under control of the owner at all times. Many states have leash laws. First call animial control....still a problem... SSS Good luck

I'm not sure what the laws are in Illinois.

I do know that lots of people are confused about their own state laws and think that they can legally shoot a dog for being on their property or chasing deer. Often they are wrong.

As a general rule of thumb, if dogs are on your property and are posing a direct threat to humans or livestock, then there is generally no problem with shooting them. Beyond those scenarios it gets very iffy. Always best to consult the local authorities and find out what you can actually get away with. Thirty acres is not a lot of ground for hiding multiple dog graves and all you need is one local prosecutor who is a member of the Humane Society to make your life interesting. Always best to do your homework before pulling the trigger.

Had you read my post more losely you'd have noticed that I didn't say anything about shooting them on sight, the warning shot is into the ground near them, not in them. They tend to grasp where they're not welcome quickly that way, so repeat offenses are fewer. Last year I refrained from shooting a dog that chased a buck right through my ground blind as I was sitting in it, it looked familiar and had a collar. I later discovered that it belonged to a friend down the street, it didn't normally roam so I wasn't used to seeing it outside their property. I advised my friend to keep the dog on their peoperty, especially during hunting season, since most of our neighbors aren't as selective as I am when it comes to strays. Abandoned strays also have the problem of going feral, a huge problem in rural areas. Ferals are a definite safety problem, especially when they pack up. I've been treed by a dog pack before, ethics go out the window in that situation.

I would shoot my OWN dog if it started to chase deer!! We train our dogs the way they should be trained, #1 to listen, #2 to hunt the animal we want them to, and #3 not to chase deer.. Someone in this thread had said there are not bad dogs just bad owners, I believe this is a great statement.. Sooooo, if your dogs get loose and is chasing deer on my property, I would shot the hell out of them and I promise I would not pay you one cent for them--You should've had better control of your pet!!

If you can train dogs to the point that there is no chance that they will chase deer then your services should be in high demand. I've hunted over all sorts of dogs, for all sorts of game, and all sorts of settings and haven't seen too many that wouldn't occasionally go off on a hot deer track or chase them a little ways by sight. That's not to defend dogs running all over private property, but hearing that is like hearing from the guys who claim that their dogs are completely under their control 100 percent of the time. Sorry but I take it with a grain of salt.

But this is kind of getting off topic since we seem to be dealing with somebodies yard dogs that are running loose and how to deal with it, not deerproofing somebody's redbone coonhound or German Shorthair....

Kill em all!!!

The few instances i have come across usually includes an owner that thinks his dog has the right to run wherever he wants, and will not do anything to change it. In that case the dog is SOL.

If there is a domestic dog season, you have a dog tag and you plan to eat the dog, I'd shoot them.

I'd never shoot an animal out of season just to leave it rot. That's what poachers do.

I was treed by 2 collared german shephards while bowhunting about 6 or 7 years ago. I was only like 14 at the time and had already had a few bad experiences with dogs. They came running in only a few minutes after I sat down in my stand, and plopped down in my food plot. I decided to leave because I figured the hunt was over, and when I started climbing down my ladder they came running over barking and growling. I wasn't about to try and find out if they were 'excitedly' barking or 'aggressively' barking. I called my dad and he called animal control. I had these dogs at 15 yards for 20 minutes, and not once did I think about shooting them. For those of you with the impression that all the dogs go to the humane society and get adopted by more responsible owners, time for a reality check. They'll most likely stay in there until the tests determine they aren't suitable pets and then get humanely put down. I can honestly say now that if those dogs got me up a tree up north, with no neighbors w/in a mile, and no collars, they would have been target practice.