I can't believe how much this upset me!

[Laurie]

I posted this on fb to those who aren't my friend I would like to share. This afternoon while going down to get my mail and newspaper I heard a horrible screeching coming from outside. I thought for sure something was being killed and I rushed outside to see what was going on. There was a dog going after a wild turkey which live in our woods. The poor turkey was holding his own but screeching something fierce. The dog was unleashed and their owner--a man--was just standing there watching the debaucle.

I yelled at the owner to do something and ahole simply stood there.

Well I was not one to stand by and watch an animal who deserves to live freely in our woods be mauled to death by a dog so I took my rolled up newspaper to the dog and started swatting at him until he stopped going after the turkey.

I then lit into the man about how his dog is supposed to be on a leash and his dog isn't wild and therefore does not have the right to go after the wildlife in our area.

I have never wanted to kick something so bad in all my life as I did with that man.

Some might laugh and think this is silly but that poor turkey was terrified and he LIVES in our woods not the dog.

I get frustrated and fed up sometimes listening to so many people talk about how horrible cats are and how they are vicious killers--it seems people forget man's "supposed" best friend can be and often is a vicious killer as well.

For that reason alone dogs should always be on a leash--not the mention the fact a loose dog can get hit by a car!

I'm having a difficult time with being angry with this dog because it is really not his fault--dogs are predators and some are bred for the purpose of hunting--but to hear the fear in the turkeys call and even see terror flashing in it's eyes breaks my heart and does make me angry with this dog.

 

[Siany]

Its up to the owners to be responsible, it makes me mad too and i would of said something to him. Poor turkey...

 

[Gabby88]

If his dog would go after a wild turkey like that, who's to say it also wouldn't go after a smaller dog or a cat? Usually dogs with instincts like that will be aggressive towards anything that moves, so the fact that he didn't have it on a leash is troubling.

My dog is ALWAYS on a leash, and she's a perfect angel. But it's for her own protection because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if she ever got loose and got hit by a car or ran away.

I would say the stupidity of people always amazes me, but honestly, it doesn't anymore. lol

 

[addictedtochins]

I would call the Fish and Wildlife dept. That might be considered hunting without a license and would carry a big fine and jail time.

 

[Megan]

If his dog would go after a wild turkey like that, who's to say it also wouldn't go after a smaller dog or a cat? Usually dogs with instincts like that will be aggressive towards anything that moves, so the fact that he didn't have it on a leash is troubling.

Aggression and prey drive is TOTALLY different. A dog can have a huge prey drive, and be perfectly safe around people and other dogs(or cats). A dog can be dog aggressive, have a prey drive and STILL be safe around people and kids. A dog can be HUMAN aggressive and be perfectly fine with dogs, cats, and small animals.

Just because a dog has a prey drive does not make it a threat to pets and/or people.

That said, you can't blame the dog. All dogs are predators. I don't care if you have a Great Dane or a Min Pin...they are still predators, and that drive is still there. Some may have more of a drive then others, though. It's the idiot owners who are at fault. He should have had the dog controlled

Too often the dogs are blamed...but it really is the owners.

 

[Gabby88]

Yeah, but a turkey is a large animal. Unless they have hunting training and only go after animals on command, there's always the possibility of them being an aggressive dog that does not know the difference between a pet and a prey animal and will go after anything that's moving.

To a large dog with minimal training and a prey drive, there isn't much difference between pets and prey.

I think my point was that you would never know where the dogs prey instincts stopped, whether it just be turkey or whether it be any smaller animals. Of course no dog is alike and many will chase squirrels or bunnies but be fine with cats and small dogs. But when it's not your dog, you just wouldn't know. Plus, if you know your dog has a prey drive, why not leash it? The possibility is also there that it could chase a small animal into the street and get hit by a car.

(I'm an AVID dog lover, and not trying to say that just because a dog chases birds that it will eat your cats and chihuahuas, but if I saw a dog attacking a turkey I would wonder where it's prey instincts stop)

 

[GorillaJTA]

Call me an unrestrained evolutionist and cold-hearted, but how is this any different than if a coyote went after the turkey? If the turkey was too slow or too dumb to avoid the dog (i.e. fly up into a tree or escape into the woods) then natural selection would take its course.
Why can't a man let his dog off the leash in an open field? Dogs still have an instinct to run and explore and walking on a leash just does not do it.
BTW, how did the man respond to you terrifying his dog by assaulting it with a blunt object?
I do not think the man should have let his dog harass the turkey, but one would honestly think the turkey would have retreated into the woods when the man approached.

One last comment for about cats... Most dogs I know that succumb to the prey drive eat their prey... they don't leave it on my pillow. :impatient:

 

[Gabby88]

Was it out by the woods or out by the street/sidewalk area?

 

[SusieJJ]

We have turkeys around our house and my dog would LOVE to go after one. I keep him far away more for his safety than the turkeys tho.. Turkeys can be vicious - they have terrible claws on the feet that can rip you apart.. Was this a young turkey?? I don't know why it didn't attack the dog back or fly away..

But yea, people shouldn't let their dogs attack wildlife - for the safety of the wildlife and their own dogs.. Not smart

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

Aww that poor Turkey.

We have a wild turkey that lives in the wood behind our house and last year she had babies.

We thought our dogs not to bother them.

 

[Laurie]

Susie it was a wild turkey and it seemed cornered by a shed in the back by the woods and a dog. I didn't think to think of any of this earlier like why it didn't fly away I only know it didn't. I have gone out in the woods a few times today trying to find it in case it is hurt but I haven't seen it. I was honestly too busy yelling at the owner about not having his dog on a leash--as it is the law here--to see where the turkey got off too.

And Jer I understand the whole evolution and circle of life crap and so it is that we will all die but when someone dies from an illness or cancer or even murder no one is so insensitive as to say oh well we are all born to die.

 

[Laurie]

Correct me if I'm wrong and Megan I really love you, but I believe it was man that gave all animals their classification and not they animals themselves. That being said how is a dog able to distinguish a cat as not prey? A cat is the same size as rabbit and cat runs away or flees like a rabbit--how does a dog know the difference between the two?

 

[Jazicat]

I think you did good! However you should have hit the owner up side the head with that newspaper as well. I worked with bird rescue and while it's been a while I do know turkeys are federally protected. Last I heard it was a five thousand dollar fine to even have a feather of a protected bird. It's been a few years since I've been active so it could have changed. Also since they can be hunted the rule on feathers may be different or could it have do do with the migratory bird laws.

Also turkeys don't fly well and need time/ space to get lift. They usually just fly up into trees to roost. This is also baby season and a lot of what look like adult turkeys are babies. Turkeys are flight rather than fight birds so the defenses mentioned would have little affect on a dogs thick skin. The only way that turkey could have gotten away was if the fence weren't there or someone called the dog off. Nothing like if the turkey were in a natural environment. Lastly dogs carry disease that can kill a turkey if they are bit or scratched. One puncture will kill most birds. To me this was abuse and I am so happy you were able to stop it.

 

[JodiO]

Yay!! Laurie the turkey saver!!!!
All jokes aside, I think the behavior of the dog owner was disgusting & cudos to you for telling him off!!!

 

[AZChins]

He should have had his dog on a leash. This wasn't the man's personal piece of property that this happened, was it? If it wasn't, the dog should have been leashed.

Laurie, you did what came as naturally to you as the dog trying to eat that turkey came to him. You can't feel bad about following your instincts! It's just the circle of life that you smacked the dog, right?

 

[CTChin]

The dog obviously has a moron for an owner. The dog is not leashed and he is amused by his dog torturing another animal. He probably thought he was giving his dog some good fun. Dogs pick up cues from their owners. The dog should be under its owner's control at all times.

 

[LovinTheSmallAndFurry]

Aggression and prey drive is TOTALLY different. A dog can have a huge prey drive, and be perfectly safe around people and other dogs(or cats). A dog can be dog aggressive, have a prey drive and STILL be safe around people and kids. A dog can be HUMAN aggressive and be perfectly fine with dogs, cats, and small animals.

Just because a dog has a prey drive does not make it a threat to pets and/or people.

That said, you can't blame the dog. All dogs are predators. I don't care if you have a Great Dane or a Min Pin...they are still predators, and that drive is still there. Some may have more of a drive then others, though. It's the idiot owners who are at fault. He should have had the dog controlled

Too often the dogs are blamed...but it really is the owners.

I was going to say the same. My dog is part Lab--and I believe to be part bird dog, ironically--and I've seen her bark after ducks (on a leash of course), and she has chased a cat or two (although when close she's never attempted to touch them--most cats she wants to befriend, they don't feel the same). With every other dog and human, she is completely harmless.

And regardless of whether it's "circle of life" or not, we live in a (suppose to be) civilized society where rules exist and are to be enforced; if the dog was in a domesticated area, it needed to be on leash regardless. Here people get fined for that, and if the dogs don't have tags proving their license and rabies are up to date, they can get thrown in the pound.

And kudos to you, Laurie! :high5:

 

[3CsMommy]

Great, another stupid pet owner getting his dog blamed for his own lack of neural pathways. It is not the dog's fault; the dog has clearly not been taught not to attack other animals, regardless whether he does it out of play drive or prey drive. To me, that says the dog needs to live w/ someone else that doesn't get his jollies by watching "the circle of life" take place in someone's back yard.

Document this, Laurie, and be prepared to report the King of the Undescended Testicles to fish and game and the SPCA. The only way to protect those wild animals and that dog from this waste of oxygen is to hit him in the wallet, and possibly w/ jail time. (And one time I made a kid at the park cry b/c I stopped him chasing a family of geese w/ babies. Sorry, but the kid was going to get whacked by a ticked off goose, which HURTS, and could well have harmed the birds too. I'd rather be that mean/crazy lady than sit on my hands.)

 

[starleomach]

That man needs a beating

 

[Jenn]

I never blame the animal. It is the actions of the owner that get me angry. I think there are areas that a dog owner should be able to let their dog off their leash so the dog can run around. The dog doesn't get much exercise on a leash. But if this had happened to me, and my dog and I had come across this wild turkey, I would have taken the steps to leash up my dog once again. Not only do I not want my dog to harrass any animal, I would also be concerned that the wild turkey could injure my dog or take off and my dog would run after it, getting itself injured.

Maybe this man was thinking of dinner...? Or maybe he just didn't care about the well being of this turkey, or what could happen to his dog. I'm just glad there aren't too many people like him.