Worst day ever: Dog attack Bella stopped eating.

[aggieterpkatie]

I guess what I meant by the fence comment was not to let your guard down. You don't really have a choice on what kind of fence he chooses, and it's great that he's being responsible for the bills, I just would still be on guard.

Glad she's feeling better today.

 

[elevan]

What did the vet say the "bowing" was caused by? Did she lose that much muscle mass? Dislocated vertebrae? Hopefully she is holding it that way herself out of pain and will gradually straighten up. Maybe some physical therapy when she heals more?

Kind of reminds me of when DH throws his back out...he curves to one side...doctor said it's the body's way of compensating. It always goes back to normal. Hopefully it will for your doe too.

 

[Holachicka]

Well, the muscles in her neck took the most damage to her left side, they were all hamburger, the vet said. Without the muscles supporting that left side, her head bows to the right. There is also the possibility that there is a fracture in the vertabrae, and we won't know until later if her neck will straighten out. He will re-evaluate on Friday when we go in to have the tubes removed. I spoke to him about the quality of life she would have if she does recover. She will probably have permanent damage and have a curve to her neck, but otherwise be perfectly happy.

It's just touch and go right now and I REALLY HATE this waiting game! I spoke to the vet today, and we are probably going to keep her on the pain meds longer that first prescribed because she really shuts down between doses. Poor baby!

Oh, And it turns out I misunderstood the type of fencing the dog owner is going to buy, DH corrected me. I guess that the dogs will wear a shock collar, but there will be no wire, just something that will shock them and progressively get stronger as the dogs go further from the base? Anyone ever hear of this?

 

[carolinagirl]

http://www.hitecpet.com/electric-fence-upgrade.html

this must be what he is talking about. I really would be very fearful about this being the only containment for those dogs that have already proven they are goat killers. Once they have attacked a goat, they are even more likely to want to do it again.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

, he came over, was very remorseful, is going to pay the bills, and has kept the dogs in a kennel since he heard of the attack. He didn't question if I was sure it was his dogs, accepted the fact that I recogized them as his, and is genuinly trying to do the right thing.

Hola, this is great news and i'm sure you feel much better about the whole thing. and i think you have a great neighbor even if his dogs were loose.

i'll agree with Aggie tho and dont let your guard down. its on that guy to contain his dogs but i'd still spend the money to get the security at your place beefed up. if anything its good to know that some kind of predator was able to get thru - if one did then other can too. we heard a fox last nite so i think things are on the prowl these day and will be working to get our placed locked down.

give little bella pats on the head and give yourself a break from all the worry - its been a rough couple of days!

*hugs*

 

[dianneS]

I guess that the dogs will wear a shock collar, but there will be no wire, just something that will shock them and progressively get stronger as the dogs go further from the base? Anyone ever hear of this?

Yes, that is "invisible fencing" or "underground fencing". There is no actual physical fence just an invisible barrier and the dog gets a beep from their collar as they approach the boarder and then they get shocked progressively harder as they try to pass through it.

Very determined dogs will run right through it and endure the shock because once they are on the other side, they are out of range and the collar stops shocking them.

These types of fences are great with docile, obedient dogs. My Cavalier King Charles Spaniel got zapped once and never tested his boundaries again. His sister, a seven pound Papillion always tested the boundaries. If the fence happened to be faulty that day, she would take off if she didn't hear that beep or get zapped.

An invisible fence is harder to maintain since you can't see if the fence has gone down at any point. The dogs can learn to tolerate the shock and escape, the batteries could die in the collar, the underground wire could get cut by a shovel or chewed off by a ground mole. The only way to know if an invisible fence is working is to test it every day and even then there is no guarantee the dogs will respect it. Dogs have to actually be trained to respect invisible fence and if they are not trained properly, they may never respect it.

If the neighbor has his dogs in a kennel and the invisible fence is in addition to that, I would see that as acceptable, but invisible fence alone is not much security unless you're dealing with a mild mannered pet and not a dog capable of attacking another animal.

So sorry this happened to you! Hang in there and keep us posted. I would be a wreck if this happened to any of my babies.

 

[Jansalem]

Our neighbor's dog killed our lamb. We called the police and they informed us that we were within our rights to shoot if it came into the pasture again. When the police spoke to the neighbor he denied that they owned the dog. Since we have seen the dog chained at their house before, we had a private chat with the neighbor. They know now that lying to the police is a crime and have kept the dog chained since.
We also put up electric fencing at the top and bottom. The only reliable protection is an offensive approach. Electricity will keep predators out.

 

[Holachicka]

We have definately not let our guard down since the incident. Loking the goats and chickens up tight at night. Among other things, we have a game cam set up and there are a few coyotes roaming our 5 acres from about 8pm and through the night, and when the neighbor stopped by to pay us for the vet bill, he let us know he saw a mountain lion crossing the street about a half mile away. They have a 5 mile radius and he was worried that it would smell the blood from bella's wounds and come calling.

The fence isn't the underground wire type, once the dog goes past a certain distance from the base station he will get a shock and continue to be shocked at stronger intervals until he returns. BUT what if the battery dies? what if one of his kids takes off the collar? it would only take one time and they'd be back.

On a funnier note, I had one of my "city" friends and her daughter over yesterday for a play date and when I heard my dog barking and couldn't see all of my goats, I put my hand on her shoulder and said: Don't flip out on me ok? and grabbed out shotgun from it's hiding space and ran outside. You should have seen the look on her face when I came back!!! The goats were fine, Dog was barking at a squirrel.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

SQUIRREL!

hee hee hee

i had a similar experience.. the city friends are usually shocked and horrified at what goes on here.
;-)

 

[Livinwright Farm]

We have definately not let our guard down since the incident. Loking the goats and chickens up tight at night. Among other things, we have a game cam set up and there are a few coyotes roaming our 5 acres from about 8pm and through the night, and when the neighbor stopped by to pay us for the vet bill, he let us know he saw a mountain lion crossing the street about a half mile away. They have a 5 mile radius and he was worried that it would smell the blood from bella's wounds and come calling.

The fence isn't the underground wire type, once the dog goes past a certain distance from the base station he will get a shock and continue to be shocked at stronger intervals until he returns. BUT what if the battery dies? what if one of his kids takes off the collar? it would only take one time and they'd be back.

On a funnier note, I had one of my "city" friends and her daughter over yesterday for a play date and when I heard my dog barking and couldn't see all of my goats, I put my hand on her shoulder and said: Don't flip out on me ok? and grabbed out shotgun from it's hiding space and ran outside. You should have seen the look on her face when I came back!!! The goats were fine, Dog was barking at a squirrel.

I know the type he is talking about... it is called a wireless radio fence, and it works great for relaxed dogs(labs, collies, retrievers)... but it does NOT work with determined dogs. http://www.discount-pet-superstore.com/wireless_fence/instant_fence.htm He really should use actual fence with electric run around the perimeter.
As for the mountain lion issue: you need to get the highest voltage electric fence possible(TSC carries one that is good against LARGE predators). We have mountain lion in my area as well... and are going to be installing the highest voltage fencing around the regular fencing.