What to do about stray dogs?

[Mini Horses]

This time of year our hunting season begins and most deer hunters here use dogs. (They sit on the roads and wait for the dogs to run the deer by them ) Any how --- it is not unusual to find a lone dog who got separated from the pack & is looking for a truck to stop & pick it up. Most often there is a collar with phone # on it.

I feel sorry for them as they have been running and I generally tie them at the front with food/water & a large dog house, then call the number. These dogs are NOT aggressive and I have never had one bother an animal here. Generally, very timid. In defense of the hunters, most of these dogs have a tracker on them and often the hunters are seen out searching for them. The are often marked with numbers/colors as you would with a goat marker, to be identified from afar.

NOW -- occasionally a stray appears that is not one of these deer dogs and it is contained for animal control if not after animals. Otherwise, SSS. I know my neighborhood dogs and rarely do they roam or leave their property. Like mine, most are "house dogs" . We did have a small number of coyote a couple years back but my neighbor eliminated them. There are some in the county but, most are several miles away and haven't been an issue. I am fortunate.

 

[NH homesteader]

Is that legal? Certainly is not here! If a dog is caught chasing deer they'll be shot around here. My dog tried it once but we cured him of that. It is legal to hunt bear with dogs though.

We had some wandering neighborhood dogs but the owners were informed that their dogs are liable to be shot if they don't keep them on their own property. My husband saw one of them stalking our pot belly pig one day.

 

[Mini Horses]

Yes, legal. We have large number of extremely well fed whitetail here AND equal number (it seems) of deer dog "kennels". They also have deer stands here and some hunters use those & no dogs. That is more "fair" for the hunted. I am not against hunters, just one who sits eating KFC waiting for the dogs to chase them out of the woods.

 

[NH homesteader]

Yeah that's a pretty pathetic way to hunt. We have several tree stands up on our property and my parents' next door. No baiting and no dogs allowed here. Actually I have to double check on the baiting. I'm pretty sure it's still not allowed. We have a ton of apple trees on our land so they kind of bait the deer for us lol!

 

[Bruce]

It is illegal to bait or feed deer in Vermont. So like you, a hunter would be happy to find deer in an old abandoned apple orchard.

Also:
In Vermont, wardens and officers of the law are permitted to shoot a dog that is found harassing deer or moose, so hunters should be extra careful with their hunting dogs, according to Vermont hunting laws. However, dogs can be used to track a killed or wounded deer or moose that the hunter took legally. To use your hunting dog to recover a fallen animal, the dog must have a Leashed Tracking Dog Certificate, and this permission is only granted during open season. Interested hunters must also take a test to receive this special certificate.

So no hunting with dogs, you can use them ONLY to find an animal after you have legally shot it.

Interestingly bizarre (to me anyway) is that you don't need a license to hunt on your own land, neither do your minor children EXCEPT they need one on "youth deer and turkey weekends". What??? Who came up with that stupid exception??? Also, if your hunting license has been suspended you may NOT hunt even on your own land (like they would know??).

Since I am not a hunter, never have been, I had to look up this information.

 

[NH homesteader]

Sounds about the same as us.

 

[Ferguson K]

Down here on some of the big game ranches they use blood trackers ( usually some sort of hound ) to find a deer that has fallen in the brush somewhere. Other than that hunting with dogs is illegal.

 

[Latestarter]

Down in the "wet" south and up the eastern seaboard, dogs are used to run deer for the simple reason that the terrain is almost impassable for a human (think really thick foliage). Deer populations have exploded to the point that they are causing millions of dollars in damage to vehicles hitting them and crop damage to farmers. Much like the "urban" coyote, there are urban deer as well, which is part of the draw for the coyotes.

Hunting deer with dogs down south has been happening for a very, very long time. In my mind it's little different from upland bird hunting with dogs or running bear, or cougar with dogs.

 

[Baymule]

Deer corn is a big deal here, even the grocery stores stock pallets of 50# corn. It is a Fall rite of passage to load up the 4 wheelers, bags of deer corn, Ice chests, food, BBQ pit, family and go to the deer camp. Thou$and$ are spent yearly on hunting deer.

 

[NH homesteader]

Oh hunting is big here too... But the anti hunting folks are more numerous here I would guess also. I used to work with a girl from just outside NYC (recently moved to NH) and we went to the store to get coffee one day... On the opening day of rifle season... The store is also a weigh station. The poor girl nearly had a panic attack in the parking lot