I can't believe how much this upset me!

[Ash]

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.

They have them, they're called dog parks. However, if this is a dog that's chase-happy, then he wouldn't do good in a dog park, and definitely isn't a dog that should be allowed off-leash.

Laurie, if I were you, I would have called the cops or something. What if the dog had attacked YOU instead?

 

[ChilliPepper]

That would have made me upset too. The owner should have leashed his dog. In most states it is illegal to harm wildlife except at certain times, and it is illegal if the dog is off leash and kills an animal.

 

[Jenn]

They have them, they're called dog parks. However, if this is a dog that's chase-happy, then he wouldn't do good in a dog park, and definitely isn't a dog that should be allowed off-leash.

Laurie, if I were you, I would have called the cops or something. What if the dog had attacked YOU instead?

Ash, if you live in the county, you don't have dog parks. We have taken our dog to trails and let him off leash. He loves to run up and down the trails ahead of us. But we never let him out of our sight, at least not for more than a few moments, and if other animals are people come into view, he instantly goes back on his leash. He is super friendly, but other people and animals don't know that. It is just being responsible with your pet.

 

[momenteller]

(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.)

I do this too! It drives me crazy when parents just watch their kids chase birds. :banghead:

 

[Laurie]

I didn't think of my safety at all just the turkey some would say that's stupid but I once smacked a man who had struck his wife in a bar with a glass pitcher of beer too. I would have scolded the boy for chasing after the geese, I tell any kid or any kid's parents who I know is deliberately killing animals--ie toads, frogs ( because that's all I've encountered so far) that children that kill animals grow up to be serial killers. Only sociopaths wish and inflict harm on living creatures for the fun of it.

 

[Jenn]

I didn't think of my safety at all just the turkey some would say that's stupid but I once smacked a man who had struck his wife in a bar with a glass pitcher of beer too. I would have scolded the boy for chasing after the geese, I tell any kid or any kid's parents who I know is deliberately killing animals--ie toads, frogs ( because that's all I've encountered so far) that children that kill animals grow up to be serial killers. Only sociopaths wish and inflict harm on living creatures for the fun of it.

That is part of the reason why I have my house full of animals. John grew up with very few animals around him, and has some history of terrorizing and torturing animals. I knew I didn't want my boys to grow up with the same lack of respect, so they have been surrounded by animals since they were born. For the most part, they are very caring boys. Although they still torture the ants...and I'm still trying to encourage them that the ants have just as much right to live as anything else! lol

 

[Sandi]

That is part of the reason why I have my house full of animals. John grew up with very few animals around him, and has some history of terrorizing and torturing animals. I knew I didn't want my boys to grow up with the same lack of respect, so they have been surrounded by animals since they were born. For the most part, they are very caring boys. Although they still torture the ants...and I'm still trying to encourage them that the ants have just as much right to live as anything else! lol

I :heart3: you Jenn!

 

[Megan]

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?

Taking me a bit to respond as I don't currently have internet access .

Dogs are not stupid. Venus is a racing greyhound. She has a very high prey drive, and has brought home many rabbits she caught in our back yard. Yet she lives peacefully with a small chihuahua mix. They are not much larger then a full grown rabbit. She is smart enough to not go after the other dog, but will go after rabbits.

Gavin lived peacefully with the chihuahua mix and the Greyhound, yet at the farm he would love for nothing more then to eat the chickens. He is learning to live with 2 cats, which btw he has never lived with before. Gavin has an extremely STRONG prey drive. He is a terrier, after all. Yet we are making progress on the fact that the cats are not food.

I can't tell you know my dogs know the difference between the rabbits in the yard that they will chase and catch, or the small dog that is running in the yard too. Or how Gavin is learning to live with 2 cats after never being around them in his 4 years, but still wants to chase the free ranging chickens. They just know.


How do hunting dogs hunt, yet live peacefully with other animals? How do terriers flush game yet live with other animals? How do catch dogs (dogs used to catch wild boar) know to go after the boar, and not each other? I really don't know, but they do.

Don't get me wrong not all prey driven dogs will be able to live peacefully with other animals, however some can and do.

Cats are predators too... How do people have cats around small animals, yet they go outside and will kill rats/mice/birds etc? How do our farm cats know to kill the mice/rats in the barn, yet do not touch our chickens (both babies and adults)? I don't know...but they know enough that they kill the rats/mice yet have not touched a chicken or chick.

 

[Brittany]

I didn't think of my safety at all just the turkey

That's our instinct to protect. The police got very upset with me when they found out I had confronted the guy who broke into my house, chased him out, and continued to follow him with nothing but my phone and a pen (I didn't event think about the what ifs while it was happening, I just reacted).

Anyway, I'm with you, and would have said something. My question is would the owner be concerned about a wild animal carrying some sort of communicable disease?:hair:

 

[caiti]

Laurie--I think you did the right thing. Maybe hitting the dog with the newspaper wasn't great but it's what you thought of to do. And the dog will be fine; I hope the turkey is, too.

Ger--Fundamentally, that wasn't different from a coyote going after a turkey. If the dog wasn't being fed and needed to eat; it should be allowed to kill all the turkeys it needed. But wild animal prey and predator relationships are more complex. They are in the same environment, and have adapted to eachother. Like Brittany said--what if the turkey had some disease or carried something that could harm the dog? It's not like the dog has evolved to co-exist with turkeys, as their predators have and vice versa.

And turkeys, at least by me, have no sense of urgency. I drove to school today and had to literally stop my car and wait a good 30 seconds for a group of turkeys to cross the road. They didn't freak out or run really fast, they barely jogged away. I am amazed at how slow turkeys are (probably because they're so big). And they suck at flying in addition to moving with any speed. If I ran up to a turkey in my back yard, I would have a decent chance of catching up to it if there wasn't any trees nearby.

I didn't know they were federally protected. My town is practically overrun with them.

 

[Riven]

People may be categorized things, but a chi and a rabbit are not at all the same, so by saying something is the same size just doesn't work. They have completely different mannerisms. Just like how animals can sense if people are happy, sad, scared, etc. They know the difference between a prey animal and not. My little dog will chase my outside cats, but not the inside ones, why is that? They are both cats. It's because the inside cats will scare at him like he's a moron, the outside ones run, making them "prey". He never hurts them, and knows he's not supposed to do it and stops when I yell at him, and at times they can all be standing within 3 feet of each other with no problems. Classify that...