How well do you know your dogs? My trainer asked this question this morning
as she told me one of her long-time well-bred/trained clients Rottweiler
jumped the fence and killed a goat down the street. Even though you may say,
"My dog would never do that?" You might be surprised. We don't want to think
about some of the things they could do but instinct is strong in all living
things. I'm quite sure about my two GSDs but to be honest from years of
experience not one hundred percent sure! For example: do you know what your
dog/s would do if someone broke into your home when you were not there? You
might be surprised, disappointed or possibly proud praying they don't get
hurt or killed. We can't even be one hundred percent sure what any of us
would do in any situation. Especially if it's a startling surprise no matter
how much we may have practiced for it. Kathy
Will Your Dog Attack Livestock?
The National Agricultural Statistics Service says that 22.7 percent of the
247,200 sheep killed in 2009 were by dogs.
Livestock can be in trouble when dog owners think their household pets or
farm dogs would never kill livestock. However, dogs of all breeds, sizes and
temperaments are potential predators. Predatory dog behavior (prey drive),
as the experts call it, is hard-wired into what makes a dog a dog. Under the
right circumstances, most dogs will chase and kill livestock, unless it's a
dog trained to guard livestock.
Do you think your dog would never kill a sheep. goat, alpaca or foal? You
could be wrong. Researchers in Australia studied 1,400 dogs that attacked
livestock and learned most livestock killers were family pets that got
plenty of food at home. Specially trained tracking dogs followed the trail
of the predator dogs back to their homes and caught a mixture of dogs from 3
months to 12 years old, purebreds and mixed breeds, and intact and spayed or
neutered. Even the dogs bred to not harm other animals couldn't resist the
urge attack livestock, so it's impossible to predict whether your dog will
attack livestock.
Dog owners often think that only packs of dogs attack livestock, but this
isn't so. In the Australian study, 40 percent of attacks were by single
dogs, 51 percent involved two dogs, and only 9 percent were by three or more
dogs.
Dogs attack all types of livestock and poultry-sometimes even llamas and
donkeys kept for guarding sheep and goats. Sheep, goats and poultry,
however, bear the brunt of dog predatory behavior. These animals flee wildly
when dogs attack, and this is the type of action that feeds such attacks.
Securely fence dogs away from livestock areas and only allow your dogs among
the stock when you're around. Unsupervised dogs and livestock don't mix.
Submitted: Kathy Partch www.JoKaySedona.com
