domestics dogs

M

MIKEINEUGENE

New member
My wife and me went out calling this weekend and we called in two domestic dogs,is this unusual?I am new to predator hunting and thankfully the one dog that looked very much like a cross between a coyote and a wolf had a collar on and i quickly realized that it was a domestic dog.We were at least a mile from any houses calling in the thick woods of the coastal foothills so these dogs must be running loose.The dog that came in spotted my rigor rabbit decoy and got within 20 yards of me which gave me the opportunity to see the collar.In an area where there are quite a few deer and elk hunters and a few predator hunters it does not seem wise to let dogs run loose because another predator hunter may have shot this dog from a distance.Is it a fairly common occurence to run into feral dogs when calling?I am lucky that these dogs came in close enough for me to see a collar or i may have had on very mad dog owner to contend with.I suppose that i am just venting here about this but i think that i was mostly angry at the owner for letting their dogs run loose.
 
We call in several dogs a year. It is pretty common to call in a dog or two every now and then. Around here nobody has thier dogs on a leash and they will respond just like any coyote will, probably better LOL.

Todd
 
Feral dogs are a problem, but just because you're a long way from a house (or think you are) you need to be very careful about shooting one. From the sounds of it, you did exactly that. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif

Usually a feral dog looks really rough, much more so than one living at home and being fed regularly. I also can't remember ever seeing a collar on a true "dog gone wild."

But they are out there, and I know more than one hunter who has been confronted by a pack of assorted bad boys. Since they have no ingrained fear of man, it can be pretty spooky.

Kind of exciting being the prey, isn't it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Daybreak
 
I called in six the other day. I seen no collars. these dogs also run like hell whene they see a truck ,cause weve seen this pack before. I called them in within 50yrds but didnt shoot in fear of what might happen. They would either eat me or drag there worthless,wounded A$# to someones porch and i would get sued for protecting all the ranchers cattle or some little girl walking down the road,you never know what these domesticated dogs got up there sleeve. Next time all fear gone im goin to shoot,Yotes dont bother cattle around here much but a pack of dogs well chase them and take them down religously once they start.
 
Marion, Ia last fall.

A rural landowner came upon a feral pack. They had a coon bayed under a log. Along an old abandoned [timbered] rail line. He startled the pack...[himself as well], they came at him.

He backed himself up against a tree. They kept lunging for him. He yelled & kicked dirt in the two most aggressive one's faces's.

If he would've bolted out into the open area. Perhaps, he would not of fared so well. He stood his ground.

Iowa has it's share of feral's.
 
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I would have shot them all if I could have. All of the feral dog's I've ever encountered know exactly what a gun is and run like hell in all directions. I've came across several packs like that but since I'm new to pred hunting havn't auctually called them in like you discribed, but rather I've come across them while on my 4 wheeler doing ranching chores....It can be hella fun chasing dogs on a 4 wheeler shooting the hell outta them /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif


Last pack I came across I managed to get 3 out of 5, not bad concidering how hard they tried to hide and how widely they scattered. I woudn't have shot them but this pack had a reputation and I recognized the leader alpha dog, he was first to die and that in itself pretty much ended the pack but the other 2 dying ensured the pack would be no more. I debated putting their collars in the owner's mail box, but the better part of valor got me so the dogs were buried with their collars on.
 
I had a small ranch out of Dolores, Colorado years ago. Everyone, including me, had trouble with dogs in our sheep. Dog owners do not believe that they are problems.
I chased one dog into the owners yard, and left him a note that his dog was in my sheep that day. He called right away and said it couldn't have been his dog. The next day that same dog killed his daughters goat. He came to my door wanting to pay me for any damages.
Many years ago, I lived 12 miles north of a town across many county roads.
There were lots of dog attacks on the area sheep and the sheriffs office set up an ambush. They shot six or so dogs out of a pack of twelve one night. They found many well bred dogs, and traced the owners back to Cortez 12 miles away. They are not all ferral.
Not all dogs will have wool in their teeth either, if they have been running sheep. It was an owners way to tell that their dogs weren't involved.
 
I've let more feral dogs go than I've killed, it's a hard call to make.

But anyone who lets their dog just run loose, is asking for problems.......... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
I'd kill em, no question. Especially if you were on someones ranch that you know. Out here I hunt ranches in the 50,000+ acre range. i know the ranches dogs. They are always thrilled when you tell them you got a wild one. A ranch north of here that I hunt has no sheep. He has two border collies. nearly a thousand cattle, and NO sheep. Well, he said he was having trouble with coyotes tearin up his cows. My eyebrows raised, as I hardly ever see coyotes dead or alive over 35 lbs out there. He showed me a bull that had wounds. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Well, I shot two huge white pyrenese the next day. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif 30-06 turned them inside out. anyway, Ryan was pumped, and the goat farm 7 miles down the road is missing two dogs. They'll have to get some more.
 
Let's not get this wrong, I don't run around shooting dogs just cause they came to my property. I try to contact the owners and let them know and I do my best to chase them off.


Sometimes however the dogs just won't learn /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
I called in a short hair to about 20 feet, and his owner into about 100 feet, he was yelling at his dog the whole way. I scared the stuffing out of him when I stood up. He just about shot me.
 
Im with pied piper, shoot them all. Last year in the month of December we killed 35. If they have a coller and we can tell where they came from we will go and see the owner. The will get a bill for what ever cattle have been lost.
 
Last winter I had a neighboring landowner's yellow lab sneak up on me from the downwnd side when I was calling. Before I knew it I felt him sniffing and growling at my feet (was lying in the prone position). Scared the sh## out of me and made my hair stand on end with this experience. Once I got up and knew what it was I said some kind words to him and his tail started wagging and wanted to play. This experience runs through my mind every time I lay down to call that it could have been a lot worse. Lets just say that I pay more attention to my backside now.
 
I agree with shooting the feral dogs for the most part. I hunt where cattle are ran. I have seen for myself the problems these dogs cause. It is legal to shoot them. I caught two the other day (one husky and one pit bull cross). They were chasing about 6 cattle and would have taken one down. My friend and I scared them off the cattle. They swithed over and started chasing a herd of antelope soon after this. The larger one was shot and the other got away, collars and all.
These dogs destroy wildlife and possibly people, as they don't kill to survive but just to kill and are not considered a game animal. I may not shoot one if it is near a home and doesn't appear to be aggresive, and has a collar.
 
Datkota,

That is stinking hilarious! Or maybe the stink was just a pair of britches that needed changed. Too funny!

Ryan
 
Tough call on this one, we have shot them in New Mexico when I used to live there for the Ranchers if we kept seeing the same ones being a problem. Still most of the time dogs were not aggressive.

John
 
In early September we set up at mid-night by some big rolls of baled hay and turned on our caller. Within two minutes we had three sets of eyes racing to us. Once within range we quickly determined they were "feral" dogs, no collars, not well fed, and ready for a quick and easy meal. The lights of San Antonio, TX were visible on the horizon and this ranch had a lot of cattle in an adjacent pasture. We were set up on a plowed field and they came across it from a river / creek area that was very thick brush. The shotgun downed one, the AR-15 busted one, and my son made a great running shot at about 65 yards on #3 with the AR. None were large, the biggest about 40-45 lbs and the smallest about 25 but all were running wild. Our policy is any dog running loose on our deer lease is shot. Wild, feral dogs on a calling stand are fair game.

Regards,
CharlesB
 
Quote:
Im with pied piper, shoot them all. Last year in the month of December we killed 35. If they have a coller and we can tell where they came from we will go and see the owner. The will get a bill for what ever cattle have been lost.



I love it. The only thing better would be sending the owner a bill for the bullet.
 
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