# is your dog a killer?



## jack van strien (Apr 9, 2009)

I have two dogs, a 15 month old non pedigree malinois male and a two year old female poodle x.I also have a lot of other animals ,a few cows,chickens, rabbits ,pigeons and other small stuff.When i am home both dogs are running lose in the yard and so are a lot of the other animals.When feeding time comes around most of the animals are all around me and are waiting for their share.Pigeons will almost land on the dogs and dogs are trying to steal chickenfood.The poodle will try to chase the cows away from something tasty and so on.
Both dogs came into this environment as pups and i have put the rules to them from day one.The malinois occasionaly play chases the cows but that is a game the cows also understand.
How are your dogs mixing with other animals?If you have a serious dog can he be around non threatening other kind of beasties?My dogs are also very nice around people, they bark but that is more of a vocal welcome.


----------



## Don Turnipseed (Oct 8, 2006)

Just about any animal can be around my dogs once for a very short few seconds...... depending on how long it takes em to catch it. They are great with people and lesser dogs and that is it.


----------



## Martin Koops (Oct 15, 2009)

I have grown up with Dogs and Livestock and why I've never had a problem is I've never let them interact without my direct control.

A playful chase can turn very nasty quickly.


----------



## Fathi Shahin (Apr 2, 2010)

I have cows - my dogs want to kill the cows !

I have sheep - my dogs have killed some of them and want to kill the rest !

I have cats - some but not all want to kill the cats one of my dogs who happens to be the nastiest is actually friends with one of the cats and lets him eat from her bowl..go figure.

:lol:


----------



## Selena van Leeuwen (Mar 29, 2006)

most of them ignore our livestock (2 sheep, 2 horses, chickens, turkeys, mini pigs, ferrets, cats, till 2 mo ago also goats) by themselves. If they don't ignore them, we tell them they have to :-\" than they do, sometimes they need a verbal reminder (no) after the little talk but we have not any problems with killing by the dogs.

Oh and of course if there is interaction under our direct supervision.


----------



## Vanessa Dunstan (Apr 27, 2010)

I work with horses so my dogs are constantly around horses daily. We have cats also and the dogs are fine with them. They do chase every now and then but they get their butts smacked if they chase. I have had them with livestock since pups so they know the rules. In saying that when we go walking in the bush and come across kangaroos, well if Im not quick enough with the NO then they are off LOL and who knows how long it takes them to come back LOL


----------



## Benjamin Allanson (May 2, 2008)

Kangaroos . I have a pitbull that is 7 and has a medium level prey drive, anything that runs he is after them. We have a farm with alpacas, cats, and chickens I take him down for a walk on a regular basis off lead. If he had his way it would be a free for all, but he knows the rules. Hes actually ok with a few of the cats, only the ones that are ballsy enough to just walk up to him, but if they run he wants after them. And he just wants the alpacas no matter what. Sometimes he forgets and will start a chase so he needs a reminder. And this one alpaca for some reason wants to be friends with my pit even though he consistently tries to bite his nose, whenever steel is near the fence the alpaca follows him the whole time and this is a young male not being protective.


----------



## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

Jack, I have sheep and don't allow them to be around them unless we are herding. They would go into such a prey mode that the sheep might expire! Now for those chickens...again free range lunch can't be on the ticket. Wild rabbits, mice, foxes, or other non-invited critters are fair game for whatever meets their......


----------



## Kerry Foose (Feb 20, 2010)

yup, she is a killer! *chickens- 0 dog -3*
I have a ten month old Sarplaninac Mountain dog (Illyrian shepherd) bitch.
She is in LGD training and she does well with the bigger critters, but in her estimation the free range pullets are waaaay too much fun. The baby goat kids bouncing here and there is waaaaay too much fun. The thirty lambs buzzing and bucking around the pasture is just waaaaay- way too much fun!
So once the chase starts and she is caught in the act, I can call her off and she won't do it again. Problem is...I can't be putting my eyes on her 24/7. Gawd I hope she grows out of it soon!:roll:

kerry


----------



## Lynn Cheffins (Jul 11, 2006)

MIne are ok around big stuff like cattle and horses but totally unreliable with small stuff like birds and cats.


----------



## ann schnerre (Aug 24, 2006)

IMO, this is an OB issue--put a longline, an ecollar, whatever--but YOU control your dog's actions. i WILL NOT (cannot, as i'm not independently wealthy ) tolerate my dog(s) killing stock. 

"an ounce of prevention's worth a pund of cure"

jck, to answer your original question: my GSD will sometimes "test" the horses/cattle--but he's not serious about "killing"--and the stock know that, ie, they'll beat him up and he KNOWS they will if he pushes it.

ps-lynn, your dogs are SUPPOSED to be crazy hunting/hauling dogs


----------



## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

I can walk through a stock field with the dogs off lead but they have both learned the joys of herding and I need to be in control. 
My older GSD was fine with cats till one drew blood on his face. I can still call him off a chase but i doubt it would go well for a cat if he was alone. 
The few times they have seen horses they didn't show more then a little curiosity. 
Don't recall having a terrier that was safe to leave alone with much of anything in a fur coat. I could keep them from running anything IF I was there.
One hunting partner also had cats and my first Border terrier would walk through her house dern near with his head buried in the floor. If he didn't make eye contact they didn't exist.


----------



## ann schnerre (Aug 24, 2006)

ok, i can't type, don't judge!

"an ounce of prevention is worth a POUND of cure". 

(i did spell 'prevention' correctly--do i get points for that?)


----------



## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

Never had my dogs around livestock, I only have smaller critters...

Beau (GSD) could not be trusted to make his own decisions, anything live would shortly not be, when he was done with it. In a way he was very easy and predictable, because I always knew what he would choose to do. No wondering if he'd be OK in any given situation, just manage him. 

Havoc (one of my mals) can probably be trusted with anything. I once left him for a while and came back to find that my baby conures escaped from their cage - he had them climbing all over him, biting him, playing in his water dish, and he just lay there smiling. With any of my other dogs, I wouldn't have a bird left alive, but not him. He also can share a cage and a food bowl with my black cat, but that cat is mean to him... :lol:

The rest of my dogs range anywhere inbetween, anything from ignoring critters unless they do something threatening, to being really fascinated and probably playing it to death if I let them. They call off pretty good, and do what I say when I'm around, so it works out ok.

I do have one suicidal cat that grew up chasing my first puppy mutt (she was playing, he thought he really was that badass) who thinks he can take on a dog and win... He's locked up when my dogs are out. All my other critters are reasonably dog savvy and don't do anything really stupid.


----------



## jack van strien (Apr 9, 2009)

Ann,
Same here,the dog knows enough not to push the cows into defence because they will chase him away.
A baby calf was born two days ago and the mother cow warns from a good twenty foot away not to come any closer and that goes for me also.
Most animals here will defend their offspring with a vengance and the dogs know it!!


----------



## Martine Loots (Dec 28, 2009)

Selena van Leeuwen said:


> most of them ignore our livestock (2 sheep, 2 horses, chickens, turkeys, mini pigs, ferrets, cats, till 2 mo ago also goats) by themselves.* If they don't ignore them, we tell them they have to :-\" than they do, sometimes they need a verbal reminder (no) after the little talk but we have not any problems with killing by the dogs.*
> 
> Oh and of course if there is interaction under our direct supervision.



Same here. No problems but they know very well how we want them to behave.


----------



## leslie cassian (Jun 3, 2007)

House cats are subject to gentle mauling by the DS, the other two dogs ignore them. Cats that come into my yard are chased by all the dogs. 

Squirrels and bunnies are fair game and a couple have lost, but mostly I think the dogs just like the chase.

Livestock much iffier. A friend has a farm with sheep, goats, mini donkeys, and horses. Ronan, the malinois was fine as a pup, but as an adult dog chased and took down, but didn't kill a sheep. One of those bad situations where I thought it was safe to have him off leash and he disappeared around some trees and found the sheep I didn't know were loose. By the time I came around the corner he already had her down. At least he outs on command. 

Chickens are the best squeak toy ever - all that flapping and squawking and running. The LabX was around my chickens for as long as they lasted before the foxes ate them all. Panicked the first time when I realized he was out when they were free ranging.... found him in their pen, more interested in eating the chicken feed than the chickens. Wouldn't trust the mal or the DS with chickens now, though they've seen them through a fence at a friend's place and tend to ignore them. 

So my dogs are not killers, but I keep them under control and don't take chances around other people's critters.


----------



## Maureen A Osborn (Feb 12, 2010)

I have 3 Dogo Argentinos and an American Bulldog, need I say more?


----------



## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

We had a dog nip a CAMEL'S lip in training a few weeks back..Don't let camels try to kiss your dog, they have long wiggly lips....


----------



## georgia estes (Nov 3, 2009)

my dog = will kill anything and everything and should never be trusted around any other animals or dogs... but I know this and take precautions, especially around my dad's 100k race horses. Don't need the dog eating a leg off or something.


----------



## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

My dogs are 100% OK with rabbits. I have a little rabbitry and have rabbits out in ex-pens with the dogs loose and sometimes unsupervised.

If I toss a particularly yummy treat for a rabbit (like an apple core) the dogs will push the ex-pen until they can get the treat. ](*,)

I did have a dog that would absolutely kill anything small that ran or squeaked. She came in handy and ate a loose (domestic) rat in my house once. 

And one of my dogs is d*mn stupid when it comes to horses. He has a habit of ending up in kicking range. We mostly use recall training to keep him safe.


----------

