Oh, man. Panicked call from my neighbor - “Emergency, we need you down here right now!” Their Anatolian shepherd got loose and attacked one of their old dogs and killed a couple sheep. She said she was sick and couldn’t help her husband. (She’s about 30 and I’m a 59 year old woman.)
So I drive down and go into the field. The bad dog is attacking the old dog, while dad and son are trying to untangle the dead sheep from the electric net fence. I grab the bad dog by the hind end and drag her off the other dog, yelling for them to get a rope. The dog wrestles loose (she weighs about 130 lbs) and goes back to attack the old beagle mix. I grab her again and pull her off and half lay on her to keep her down while they try to find a rope. Finally they get a line on her and I hold her while they find a place to put her. Now my asthma’s acting up because I was breathless and cold.
What got me is they were out dealing with the dead sheep while the attacker was still loose attacking the other dog. Priorities. I think they were afraid of being bit, but the dog never raised a lip to me. They probably will have to euthanize her. They got her as a puppy when their old Great Pyrenees was aging, but she’s been unreliable with livestock and other dogs her whole life.
Reminds me of a time when I was visiting a friend who ran a private Greyhound adoption group - the dogs were out in the yard when one got her head stuck under the bottom of the fence - the top of her collar got snagged on it and she panicked and started pulling. She started squalling, not because she was hurt but because she was scared that she couldn’t get her head free - and the other dogs immediately converged on her.
Fortunately they were all muzzled, but there was a lot of human yelling, jostling and pulling them away to get to the stuck one and free her.
I love Greyhounds, but that prey instinct is no joke (and the Greyhound Scream of Death is something I never want to hear again either - they mostly do it when frightened, and it’ll knock a year off your life the first few times you hear it).
I agree. Some people don’t grasp that in an emergency you need to stop the problem first before you deal with the consequences of the problem. Your neighbors are lucky you showed up on the scene.
Well, as a city boy in a small apartment, I don’t know nuttin’ 'bout sheep.
Especially dead sheep entangled on fences.
And I ain’t never been close to a 130-pound dog, let alone wrestle with one and lay on top of it.
But darn it…I envy you guys…
‘Cause that’s some pretty good neighborli-ness goin’ on between you country folks.
With my neighbors, I feel awkward just asking them to take in my mail for me.when I’m away.
Wow. I would have been too afraid the dog would bite me, especially one that size. He could have done you a lot of damage!
Hopefully the beagle will survive.
It wouldn’t have been my first dog bite. And I was wearing a sweatshirt and jacket, so if she tried for my arms I’d be somewhat protected. If she really went for me, I’d’ve let her go.
I’d have been wondering why they hadn’t shot it before I got there. No way I’m messing with a 130lb dog that just killed livestock and is working on another kill.
Perhaps he never much liked that damned beagle mix his wife wanted anyhow and was hoping the Anatolian would solve that problem for him. As to the Anatolian itself, he may’ve decided that one was already doomed once the man got around to it. IOW "Whether I shoot it now or shoot it tomorrow don’t much matter to me.
Meanwhile, who much cares about the two yelping dogs; I’ve got a revenue producing flock to attend to and a fence to mend and re-energize lest I lose a few.
Oh, and why is that damn fool old next door lady wrasslin’ with a mad dog? Serve’s her right if she gets bit."
There’s such a thing as stupid priorities and there’s also such a thing as cold-hearted priorities and sometimes they look the same from the outside.
To be honest, I don’t this guy likes any dogs, and I think he’s a bit afraid of dog (mine, anyway). He has livestock guardians to protect the sheep. The others are definitely his wife’s fault. That being said, the living take priority over the dead. The sheep wasn’t going to get any deader.
K2500 - I sort of wondered the same thing. The dog had obviously earned a death sentence in his eyes, why not take care of that first.
Most farmers/ranchers I’ve met would have shot it dead on sight, be it their own dog, their neighbors dog a coyote, wouldn’t have mattered so long as the livestock would be ok for the 10-20 seconds it might have took. If he didn’t I’d bet an insignificant sum that lsl guy is onto something.
What K2500 said, plus I’m surprised a rancher let a LGB puppy that was “unreliable with livestock” get to that point. Those animals aren’t pets. If it can’t do the job, it doesn’t get to stay.
Do not let your pet dog run loose in farm country, unless you know what you’re doing. God knows, I’ve seen enough rural strays though.
It is tougher than you’d think to shoot a quickly moving target like two dogs in a fight though. I’m glad if people were unharmed. Expensive lesson for the rancher.
Gray Ghost - I’m sure his wife made him keep the LGD. They had her penned in 1000 sq ft run away from the other animals. With the hotwire mesh fence. Either the sheep got tangled and pulled it down so she could get out, or she somehow got how and ran the sheep into the fence.
Man, couldn’t imagine handling that anywhere near as well! Your life could be written as a novel - sometimes drama, sometimes comedy, but always interesting.
Reminded me of a movie we watched recently - The Biggest Little Farm. If you haven’t seen it, I think you might enjoy it. The farmers are always trying to naturally address then NEWEST problem - snails, gophers, coyotes, etc. Well, IIRC at one point they get a couple of Great Pyrennes to protect the chickens from the coyotes. There follows a scene with several dead chickens, and the GPs coming up to their owners wagging their tails and acting all, “What a good boy am I!” - w/ blood all over their maws!
Life in paradise, huh?
59 yrs young? Yer a kid (says the old man on his 60th!)
That makes zero sense with the LGD users I’ve seen and lived with, both using them as pets or as working animals. The whole point of having one is that it can intermingle with the flock and be alert for danger approaching its flock. Penning one up separately from its sheep is…perplexing.
Neither my circus, nor my monkeys though. I had no idea they’d kill chickens, Dinsdale, though I guess any dog will if it figures out they’re prey. Introduce them early, and keep them supervised at first, I guess. I’ve only seen them on farms with ungulates like sheep and goats though.
Gray Ghost - Yeah, when it became obvious that she wasn’t going to make it as a LGD, they penned her up. Wife wouldn’t let the husband shoot her, but she wasn’t a house dog. So she got stuck in a corner of the field, with shelter, food and water and minimal interactions with anyone. Not fair to the dog.
ETA - The dog was fine with people. Hyper, but that’s because she had so little socialization. Even as I was pulling her off Clover, she never raised a lip at my, never a growl.
