# how do they shoot dogs for animal control purposes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 22, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-shoot-dogs-for-animal-control-purposes/590012 "2011-07-22T18:56:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-shoot-dogs-for-animal-control-purposes/590012/61 "2011-07-25T14:26:08Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > I did try using hot wires to protect the birds but apparently if one of the pack was dumb enough to hit the wire it would short out the whole thing. a practiced dog will know that jumping through the electric fence doesn’t produce a shock due to no contact with the ground and/or thick fur. wires need to be at 6" separation for up to jumping height to maybe keep dogs out which is a large expense. a close mesh nonelectrical grounded metal fence 12" inside an electrical fence would also maybe prevent penetration. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-shoot-dogs-for-animal-control-purposes/590012/62 "2011-07-25T15:40:48Z")
When I was about 6 I saw the prettiest white german shepherd wandering around the back edge of our farm. I called it and it came to me and I tried to slip one of my braces on it to lead it back to the house; my intent to keep it as a pet if the owner couldn’t be found. As I was trying to lead it the darn thing bit me and took off. Since my dad and relatives couldn’t find it fast enough I ended up going through the rabies shot series. My opinion now is shoot them. Not the neighbors dog and not one I recognize – but if it is a stray or feral, even one that seems “tame”, I have no issues with it being shot. > [@code\_grey](#): > > is a dog very likely to die from any random bullet wound within the next several days? Do they use quality rifle scopes and aim for the head? Do they lure them nearby and use shotguns? Or how do they do it? Handgun or small caliber rifle. My usual sidearm being a .38, any hit to the front half is probably going to be fatal fairly fast. If there are more than normal amounts of ferals running around we will sometimes have a dog hunt alternating between shotguners and riflemen. > [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > I add emphasis. > > An uncollared dog might belong to somebody. But in a rural area,\*\* Omar\*\* might form the impression that they are probably not. And even if they are, he might not care if he has no straightforward way of locating the owner. It gets even worse than that. Dopers are above average people; general issue people are idiots. We got plate numbers and tracked down owners who drove past more than three shelters to dump their unwanted former pet on our farm. Said Fido had sometimes been abused or at least mistreated to the point where even the counties animal control officer would look at us and say “You’re on your own Sparky”. We made the kill and he made the prosecution - sometimes based on the collar still around the dogs neck. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-shoot-dogs-for-animal-control-purposes/590012/63 "2011-07-25T18:13:01Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > a practiced dog will know that jumping through the electric fence doesn’t produce a shock due to no contact with the ground and/or thick fur. > > wires need to be at 6" separation for up to jumping height to maybe keep dogs out which is a large expense. a close mesh nonelectrical grounded metal fence 12" inside an electrical fence would also maybe prevent penetration. What we had was close to the second - it was 4 or so feet of stock wire fence with the hot wire on top, so may 6 or so feet tall altogether? (It’s been a long time since then). Anyway, I’d come home to the hot wire detached from the fence in one place so it looked like at least one dog would try jumping the fence, hit the wire which would turn it off and then the rest of the dogs would jump over, eventually, probably. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-shoot-dogs-for-animal-control-purposes/590012/64 "2011-07-27T00:02:31Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > Anyway, I’d come home to the hot wire detached from the fence in one place so it looked like at least one dog would try jumping the fence, hit the wire which would turn it off and then the rest of the dogs would jump over, eventually, probably. I’m the first to claim that dogs are idiots on the level of grammar school boys, but one of my evil Shih Tzu/Westie crosses, while plenty dumb, found a way out of the back yard. Not surprising, as they’ve been bred to find their way through places no matter how stupid they are. She sat there staring at my foot as I blocked the hole, and if I moved my foot she tried to make a break for it. Putting my foot back meant she went back to sitting on a stump and watching my foot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-shoot-dogs-for-animal-control-purposes/590012.md?page=3)