Neighbours' dog attacking our hens

[jensner]

Hoping for some wisdom from dog training experts here. We have 3 hens which we keep in a section of our back garden. Neighbours 5 doors up have a field spaniel who I think is about 6 months old. It first got into the garden last week and attacked the hens. The kids and I were there so scared it off - it was very upsetting and traumatic. One hen missing a large chunk of feathers and some bite marks but nothing serious. Chickens put in their small run as precaution. Dog returned the next day and the day after. Owner only accepted it was their dog when I showed them a photo of it in the garden!

They said they had fixed the fence, we tried to secure our side, chickens let back out. Dog returned again - made a new hole in hedge/chicken wire and attacked again. Chased off quickly but one hen with lots of blood and all tail feathers removed. Told neighbour and gave them vet bill which they agreed to pay.

They assured us fence is really fixed this time. DH buys more stuff to Fort Knox our end but chickens still in run. Neighbours children left the gate open today and the dog came straight round.

Obviously now the dog knows they are there, he won't give up. I suggested to the owner that they should look into training the dog to leave them alone but he poo-pooed the idea. Could a spaniel who doesn't live with hens still be trained (with our cooperation) to stay away? All the examples I've found online are of people who have dogs and hens together all the time.

Sorry that is so long - must work on my ability to condense information!

I am so sorry to hear you are dealing with this.
Would it be possible to put an electric fence around the chicks? It won't actually seriously harm the dog but may be a deterrent - you obviously can't rely on your neighbours taking appropriate steps. Its also good for safe guarding against foxes.

I can't give dog advice - but I have kept chickens for years....
Your poor hens.

I am currently minding my sister's hens because of a dog attack.

I'm sorry but I think (even if your neighbour was cooperative) they cannot reliably train a dog who has attached poultry (& tasted their blood during attack) to not consider the hens some sort of exciting dinner on legs.

The electric fence is a great idea.

How is it getting into your garden? Just secure your boundary..?

Our spaniel doesn't bother our hens so I guess they can be trained. Given that your neighbours sound fucking useless I'd be investing in some better fencing to keep the dog out of your garden.

Yes second/third everyone else. Don't waste your time on stupid dog owner. Protect your hens with electric fencing.

Dog is not under control and breaking laws.

I'd be mortified if this was my dog

Also will protect against foxes.

What fencing do you have? My garden is surrounded by dogs, they have never got near to my hens. I have 6ft wooden fence panels on a concrete base. The gate at the side of my house is also 6 foot.

Forget the dog, not the dogs fault.

Your hens need to be secured at all times from predators

My spaniel didn't bother the chooks, actually they slept on his back - but that's because he lived with them.

To other dogs they're just tasty running snacks.

Up until 10 days ago, we had mostly considering the fencing etc to keep the hens in, rather than dogs out. The dog is getting through where we thought it was secure. DH is on it today - he's cutting the hedge right back and has bought fence posts and wire fencing so that's today's job.

At dusk, they are locked away in their fox proof run.

I just feel like I won't be able to relax with them in the garden again as he's so persistent. That's why I was hoping we could do the two-pronged approach with training.

How does electric fencing work if you have kids?

Meant to say, as well, electric fencing doesn't look like an immediate option, cost wise. Perhaps further down the line.

If the dog is in your garden, catch it. Call dog warden and say loose dog in your garden scaring the kids. It'll cost the neighbours £200 ish to get their dog back.

Once you've done this a couple times they will get the message.

Unless you want a neighbour dispute to lower the resale value of your home, don't do this

It's not a neighbour dispute. It's a stray dog dispute

Not wanting to get into dispute with neighbours (our kids go to the same (small) school) and couldn't catch the dog if I wanted to - next door tried the first day and on subsequent visits but the dog is fast and I have mobility issues.

If you could see where the dog is getting through, you'd be shocked. It's like the canine Houdini.

Mrs Neighbour is mortified and very nice. Mr Neighbour tried to explain that the dog wasn't trying to kill the hens but just wanted to catch them and bring them home - like that helps!

The trouble is, even if they train their dog not to chase your hens, it sounds like other dogs, foxes, badgers etc could get to the hens. As a pp said, forget the neighbour and his dog. Invest in decent fencing to keep your hens safe.

Dog warden every time.

Your neighbor shouldn't have a dog they can't contain.

Our neighbours dog got into our garden and killed our rabbit secured in a run. It was a springer spaniel and it had previously killed chickens in our village. It was owned by our neighbour's daughter who was disabled and used a wheelchair. This happened many years ago but was devastating for us at the time. But telling you because I think that dog will kill your chickens if he gets the chance.

How does the dog get from his garden 5 doors up? Is he coming through all the neighbours' gardens or running along the front of the houses? If he is getting in at the same spot then definitely secure it and check the rest of your boundaries. A springer with the taste of blood isn't going to give up! If I was the owner I would be mortified.

We think he's going into their next door's garden, then down their drive, along the road, up our drive, through the front hedge into our neighbours, into their back garden and then through the hedge into ours. It's nothing if not tenacious!

It's mostly hedges, not fences here so harder to spot holes etc. It has escaped 5 times that we know of in the last 10 days and bar one time, they haven't even known it was gone.

Unless you want to go down the dog warden route, and run the risk of the dog killing chickens the next time, your only option that I can see is making sure there's no way the dog can get to them.
Electric fencing is probably the easiest option.
If that's not doable then I would keep them shut in a smaller run and only let them out when you're there.
Get a super soaker and squirt it at the dog every time it shows its face, or make some noisy rattle tin things (coins in an empty tin can, cover and seal the top, shake it whenever the dog comes near), it might shock it out of its usual routine.

Your neighbours are idiots.
Super soaker for the dog every time.

It is their responsibility to dog proof their garden so the dog is secured. The dog is at risk of being injured or causing an accident on the road as well as the damage it is causing to your hens.

A hedge is not a secure barrier to dogs. Not your fault or responsibility, but the hedge won't keep the dog out. Our dogs used to go through a metre of pyracantha to get to a rabbit colony when we where overseas.

MrNeighbour sounds like an idiot, so keep talking to Mrs Neighbour, tell her she needs to secure her dog. One effective way is for them to attach chicken wire to their fence, they need to dig down about a metre and about the same back, lay the wire and then bury it. All around their parimater. And if they just have a hedge rather than a solid fence then chicken wire on the hedge too.

They won't like it, but their dog is their responsibility.

Surely there must be some kind of deterrent? Like a chemical spray or some kind of device that will emit a high pitched sound? I know that for cats you can use lions' waste. There must be sonething similar for dogs?

Alternatively you can sue under tort for trespass/peaceful enjoyment. The court would order an injunction but I doubt it would be much good, you would probably end up going g to court several times until you neighbourwas facing more severe consequences.