Ridgetop
Herd Master
Therry: Boxers are bred from the ancient bull baiting dogs. Dobermans are also high prey dogs. Can you put a pipe stall in a corner of the field and wrap it with stock wire to keep the dogs from getting at the horse? It will mean feeding hay instead of pasture, but that wil be cheaper than constant vet bills. I believe it is the dogs escalating their behavior, and one oif them might get in a lucky bite and sever a hamstring. This would be natural behaviour for dogs and wolves to bring down large prey. At that point you will lose your horse. It is a tricky situation with the field owners not wanting to pen their dogs away from any livestock. With this behavior they will eventually kill smaller animals like sheeop or goats if they can get to them. Believe me the owners will be in denial until the unthinkable happens. I was and I should have guessed that my own dog was doing the killing.
Here is the story of what happened to us:
Southern: My dog was a 5 year old intact male Weimaraner. He was a Grand Champion and obedience trained. I co-owned him with the breeder who had breedings arranged for him. We had had him since he was 12 weeks, he traveled with us on vacations, was a house, couch and bed dog! He was a wonderful companion, loving with the grandchildren, good watchdog, one of those all around winners that becomes one of your forever great dogs. I have owned and trained Weimies for 50 years. In that time we have had sheep, goats, calves, horses, rabbits, poultry, etc. and lost nothing. Our Weimies never went afte anything. One of my old bitches would recaopture rabbits who escaped from their hanging cages in the rabbitry and hold them for us to come and recapture, barking an alarm bark. None were injured. Our guardian dogs were to keep coyotes, cougars, and neighborhood dogs out of the yard.
Ricky had never even looked at the sheep in the 3 years we had them with him. With the kills I was misled by the absense of any ripping or tearing of the sheeps' legs or flanks. There was just always a bite in the throat - 4 punctures and then the animal bled out. The first two we didn't find the carcases for several days and there was almost nothing left. So probably coyotes feeding right? The third one in broad daylight we thought our dogs had frightened the killer off right away because the carcasses was still warm, the blood hadn't even coagulated, and it- hadn't been eaten. After that we got our guardian dog. The fourth and fifth kills were partially eaten again. This time the Anatolian was guarding the eaten carcasses. We thought she had frightened away the killer of #4 who was again killed in the gully of the large pasture. I realized what had happened and who had killed the last eweling when I saw the way it was layiing and where. We had 2 older ewew with lambs inlambing stalls (one lamb had a broken leg in a cast) so after this kill we moved the remaining 2 ewelings into the old goat pen. this pen is 100x100 adjacent to the milking shed which is connected to the barn. The barn is on the other side of the driveway only about 25-30 feet from the house. The dead eweling was laying on the hillside feet facing down. The Anatolian was in the main field so she could patrol and keep predators out of the field. Nothing should have been able to get to these ewelings since the pen was surrounded on all sides by protected and fences area patrolled by the Anatolian. they were safe right? The dead eweling had beenpulled by its legs through the chain link fence by the Anatolian. I could barely get her legs out of the fence to free her. Rika (the Anatolian) was very upset and Figured she had tried to pull her to safety on Rikas side of the fence. I quartered the field looking for any evidence of a predator but when I turned to look uphill at the milk shed I realized not only what had killed her but how it had gotten to her without Rika stopping it.
The milkshed used to double as a hay shed and there was a long window into the field. The old 12 x12 goat shed was build off the milkshed. Where the window was we had build a goat feeder about12 feet long so the kids could fill the feeder from the hay shed without any wasted hay. Since we no longer kept goats in the old pen it was pretty much abandoned although in good conditino and we never tear down a building that might eventually be used again. The Weimaraners used to go through the milkshed window and through the small pasture where there had been until a few weeks previously a gap in the fence. They could get to the oposite end of the property after coyotes that quicker way.
It hit me like a bolt of lightening and I knew Ricky had killed all those sheep. Rika hadn't stopped him because he was the dominant male in the pack and she was the new girl in town. She would have attacked the 8 year old Weimaraner bitch whom she had already displaced as dominant female,but not Ricky. In fact, just the previous day I had seen him warn her off with a nasty snarl and she backed off fromhis dog bed. So Southern did I get it right FINALLY? It just breaks my heart that I lost 2 good young ewes almost due with twins, 2 beautiful ewelings, and 2 market lambs. Ricky cost us a lot of money and I was in denial the whole time. I didn't even get the satisfaction of shooting him since he was co-owned! How could I have been so stupid! Feel free to castigate me but please definitely give me your opinion on how I could have seen it sooner. I am still sick about the time it took me to realize it.
Here is the story of what happened to us:
Southern: My dog was a 5 year old intact male Weimaraner. He was a Grand Champion and obedience trained. I co-owned him with the breeder who had breedings arranged for him. We had had him since he was 12 weeks, he traveled with us on vacations, was a house, couch and bed dog! He was a wonderful companion, loving with the grandchildren, good watchdog, one of those all around winners that becomes one of your forever great dogs. I have owned and trained Weimies for 50 years. In that time we have had sheep, goats, calves, horses, rabbits, poultry, etc. and lost nothing. Our Weimies never went afte anything. One of my old bitches would recaopture rabbits who escaped from their hanging cages in the rabbitry and hold them for us to come and recapture, barking an alarm bark. None were injured. Our guardian dogs were to keep coyotes, cougars, and neighborhood dogs out of the yard.
Ricky had never even looked at the sheep in the 3 years we had them with him. With the kills I was misled by the absense of any ripping or tearing of the sheeps' legs or flanks. There was just always a bite in the throat - 4 punctures and then the animal bled out. The first two we didn't find the carcases for several days and there was almost nothing left. So probably coyotes feeding right? The third one in broad daylight we thought our dogs had frightened the killer off right away because the carcasses was still warm, the blood hadn't even coagulated, and it- hadn't been eaten. After that we got our guardian dog. The fourth and fifth kills were partially eaten again. This time the Anatolian was guarding the eaten carcasses. We thought she had frightened away the killer of #4 who was again killed in the gully of the large pasture. I realized what had happened and who had killed the last eweling when I saw the way it was layiing and where. We had 2 older ewew with lambs inlambing stalls (one lamb had a broken leg in a cast) so after this kill we moved the remaining 2 ewelings into the old goat pen. this pen is 100x100 adjacent to the milking shed which is connected to the barn. The barn is on the other side of the driveway only about 25-30 feet from the house. The dead eweling was laying on the hillside feet facing down. The Anatolian was in the main field so she could patrol and keep predators out of the field. Nothing should have been able to get to these ewelings since the pen was surrounded on all sides by protected and fences area patrolled by the Anatolian. they were safe right? The dead eweling had beenpulled by its legs through the chain link fence by the Anatolian. I could barely get her legs out of the fence to free her. Rika (the Anatolian) was very upset and Figured she had tried to pull her to safety on Rikas side of the fence. I quartered the field looking for any evidence of a predator but when I turned to look uphill at the milk shed I realized not only what had killed her but how it had gotten to her without Rika stopping it.
The milkshed used to double as a hay shed and there was a long window into the field. The old 12 x12 goat shed was build off the milkshed. Where the window was we had build a goat feeder about12 feet long so the kids could fill the feeder from the hay shed without any wasted hay. Since we no longer kept goats in the old pen it was pretty much abandoned although in good conditino and we never tear down a building that might eventually be used again. The Weimaraners used to go through the milkshed window and through the small pasture where there had been until a few weeks previously a gap in the fence. They could get to the oposite end of the property after coyotes that quicker way.
It hit me like a bolt of lightening and I knew Ricky had killed all those sheep. Rika hadn't stopped him because he was the dominant male in the pack and she was the new girl in town. She would have attacked the 8 year old Weimaraner bitch whom she had already displaced as dominant female,but not Ricky. In fact, just the previous day I had seen him warn her off with a nasty snarl and she backed off fromhis dog bed. So Southern did I get it right FINALLY? It just breaks my heart that I lost 2 good young ewes almost due with twins, 2 beautiful ewelings, and 2 market lambs. Ricky cost us a lot of money and I was in denial the whole time. I didn't even get the satisfaction of shooting him since he was co-owned! How could I have been so stupid! Feel free to castigate me but please definitely give me your opinion on how I could have seen it sooner. I am still sick about the time it took me to realize it.
. That's heart breaking
