Neighbor's Dog Attacked One of My Goats

[wawazat]

Annie seems to be nearly healed. She still has a wound area on her leg that needs to heal. A large (about 3 sq in) chunk of skin fell off yesterday and it looked pretty gnarly underneath. We cleaned and put some antibiotic spray on it. Looks better today.

It won't be as big of a deal in the cold weather, but if it gets warm enough you see a fly, I really recommend keeping a can or two of screw worm spray like below. It will really help keep the wound clean and discourages anything from laying eggs in it.

Screw Worm Spray

A yote can clear six foot fences. We have found them on top of our round bales. My old collie would clear our six foot fence from a walk, she stayed in when she wanted and travelled the pasture when she wanted.

My grandma had a coyote named Charlie that she bottle raised. Charlie obviously still had some wild in him, but he was pretty easy to navigate. As a kid, I taught him to sit and stay so I could run and hide. When I found my spot, I would let out a short whistle and Charlie would bolt to find me. If hay bales were available, he would jump on one and stick his nose to the breeze to see if he could narrow down where I was. In hindsight, I was being mock hunted by a coyote as a 10-12 year old kid, but never even had a close call. You just had to manage how worked up you got him and really learn his body language when he had enough rough housing.

 

[cowadle]

shitt....screw worms are back???? i thought we eradicated those bastards. probably some larva took a ride on a horse or cow snuck across the border from mehico. it isn't just people sneaking in you know???

 

[wawazat]

shitt....screw worms are back???? i thought we eradicated those bastards. probably some larva took a ride on a horse or cow snuck across the border from mehico. it isn't just people sneaking in you know???

I havent had issues with screw worms first hand, but it does keep flies from laying eggs in deeper wounds too. Deciding when/if to spray them or let them clean out some of the dead tissue is the tough part though.

 

[Okdave]

That's a tough situation if you are on good terms. I have a friend who is on 10 acres and has a bunch of livestock (pets), and their own dogs. They have a neighbor that has 3 large dogs that have been on their property and act aggressive toward their animals, my friend spoke with the neighbor but he still let's them roam. One came onto his property again and looked like they were about to attack his dog so he shot it. Animal control and sheriffs won't do much when you are out in the boonies, it's your property and you have to protect it and your animals. Good luck.

 

[SoonerP226]

Animal control and sheriffs won't do much when you are out in the boonies, it's your property and you have to protect it and your animals.

I guess it depends on how you define doing much. A friend's dad had trouble with some homeowners in a newly-built subdivision next to his ranch; they just couldn't believe that sweet, lovable Fluffy would become a cold-blooded killer when she started running with other dogs from the neighborhood, so they wouldn't do anything to curb their dogs' wanderings.

Then one day the dogs started killing calves and, quite predictably, those dogs started getting shot.

Then the homeowners decided to take action--they got together and called the sheriff. He called a meeting with the homeowners and the affected ranchers, with the homeowners very vocally wanting the ranchers arrested.

This lasted until the sheriff explained the laws in Oklahoma regarding protecting livestock and asked one very pertinent question of the ranchers: what was the cash value of those dead calves?

That got their attention, and it got them to curtail the activities of their dogs. In that case, at least, the sheriff got the problem resolved.

 

[feral]

My neighbor has a fairly large shepherd mix dog. The dog roams freely. He's around livestock all the time, including a goat for a while (since gone) and cattle/calves. He runs from my Corgis when they try to play with him. I've never seen him act aggressive...but he's still a large dog. My goats roam around and stay very near to the house and barn. I've thought about the dog and considered the safety of the goats but, honestly, I figured he was around calves and the other goat and never seemed inclined to hurt them at all so I pretty much didn't think he was much of a threat. Well, I was wrong...

I went out to put the goats up. I heard an odd noise coming from the pen. I ran out there and the dog had my largest goat, Annie, on the ground inside the shelter and was biting her neck. This dog is probably 85 to 100 pounds, Annie is less than half that. I thought Annie was dead but apparently she was just unconscious or nearly so. The dog saw me after I yelled at him and immediately released and looked terrified. I kicked him pretty good in the ribs and that sent him howling and packing. Annie didn't look good. About a third of one ear is torn off, multiple bite wounds on one upper rear leg/neck/front leg. Very little bleeding externally, no bleeding from nose or mouth. Her tongue was oddly colored and wrinkled like a raisin...something weird I noticed. Doesn't appear to be any broken bones (as in completely broken) but not sure about fractures or anything like that.

It took a while but she seems to be improving. She still can't stand and is in obvious pain. She's calmed down and her really rapid breathing has returned to normal. Her bleating sounds were very hoarse and odd-sounding but that seems more normal as well. Tried to get her to take some water but she wasn't interested. She did nibble a bit on some straw that I put around her to make her a little more comfortable and keep her as warm as possible. Probably get her to a vet tomorrow.

I talked to the neighbor. We're on very good terms and have done each other some pretty substantial favors. But... While talking he tells me this dog has tried to attack another neighbor's goats at least twice before. That sure would've been nice to know before tonight. He also told me he'd do what he needed to do to make the thing right...and I sincerely believe he will. I told him I was definitely going to take the goat to the vet...wouldn't get crazy but I at least want the goat to be evaluated, get some antibiotics and whatever else. Obviously I wouldn't spend a ridiculous amount of money on a goat but I'm at least gonna try to get her well. If that costs (him) a few $$, too f**kin' bad. I told him this goat isn't "just a goat" to me...she's like a pet...just like a dog. He's also said he has a family member that's gonna take the dog.

I use one of my Corgis to round up the goats and send them to their shelter every day. The goats see Izzy and just head for the shelter now...not much herding needed. I'm speculating that Rocko (the neighbor's dog) wandered over, the goats saw him, and started running for the pen. Probably just triggered a predator thing in him and he chased them. He must've chased her for a bit because the chain-link gate to the fence around the house had been pushed inward...it only opens outward from the yard. So one or both of them hit that closed gate hard. He chased her around a bit and then got her cornered in the pen. Luckily the little goats are OK.

I can see I'm going to have to re-evaluate how and where I let the goats graze. And that really pisses me off that now I feel like they're in danger on our own damn property. I know there's always a danger from wild predators like coyotes. And my Corgis always alert me when something is on the property. They have a fenced area they can roam at any time and they're surprisingly good watch dogs. But they're accustomed to seeing and smelling Rocko...he's not a stranger so they don't react to him the same way they would something like a coyote.

Anyway, mostly just venting. I don't really care to hear about how I should've shot the dog, etc. That didn't happen and it's not going to now. I'm pretty certain that issue will be dealt with and won't be a problem in the future. It's just infuriating the way some people don't take proper care of animals. I know we live in a rural area but why would you let a dog that you know has a propensity to chase livestock continue to roam? As usual, this is more of a people problem than a dog problem.

Being a city boy that moved to rural OK, I gotta say - it's a shame seeing how some folks view and treat their dogs. I understand it's a bit more open, and it's good for them to run, but I don't let mine out of sight or out of control. Every week without fail I hear from neighbors about dogs just loose, killing chickens, chasing cars, getting aggressive with little kids. Sometimes it ends poorly.
Got other neighbors that have a half dozen dogs, don't seem to care much what they do, and excuse it by saying "this ain't the city". It's sad.

 

[cowadle]

I havent had issues with screw worms first hand, but it does keep flies from laying eggs in deeper wounds too. Deciding when/if to spray them or let them clean out some of the dead tissue is the tough part though.

screw worm maggots eat live flesh. i remember those days when if you didn't dip a calfs naval the screw worm would get it. probably why the habit of winter calving took hold.

 

[wawazat]

screw worm maggots eat live flesh. i remember those days when if you didn't dip a calfs naval the screw worm would get it. probably why the habit of winter calving took hold.

That is the part I never could determine. The few times we had issues where that was a concern I had no idea what I was looking for to tell the difference. I just did whatever care my parents or our vet friend suggested.

I think the winter calving would be a logical assumption. It was probably also a motivator behind cutting steers before it got too warm too. We never cooked calf fries so we typically just banded the few we did every year.

 

[cowadle]

That is the part I never could determine. The few times we had issues where that was a concern I had no idea what I was looking for to tell the difference. I just did whatever care my parents or our vet friend suggested.

I think the winter calving would be a logical assumption. It was probably also a motivator behind cutting steers before it got too warm too. We never cooked calf fries so we typically just banded the few we did every year.

banding or docking during screw worm season was a disaster. i remember them getting under the sheeps wool and eating a sheep alive. i hope our southern visitors don't bring them back with them.

 

[jakeman]

Annie seems to be nearly healed. She still has a wound area on her leg that needs to heal. A large (about 3 sq in) chunk of skin fell off yesterday and it looked pretty gnarly underneath. We cleaned and put some antibiotic spray on it. Looks better today.

But, she's getting around fine and back to climbing and jumping on everything. She looks funny missing a piece of her ear...

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I’ve got 4-5 bottles of this stashed around. I use it on myself from time to time. Good stuff. Fixes ‘em right up.