We live way out in the country for a little over a year now and love it. However, we realize that living in the sticks has some limitations. Case in point: we've seen on numerous occasions a "pack" (3-5) of what appear to be and I assume to be feral dogs. They are mainly labrador/shephard-sized.

On the occasions where they have approached us I've yelled at and walked toward them which elicits a retreat from all, some at a run, others at a trot. When we're away from the house on the property we're armed but so far I haven't had the need to resort to deadly force.

One of our pleasures is feeding the wild birds. We have literally 20+ types of birds that show up daily. We put out birdseed and hang a suet feeder. The birds, and especially the 3 types of woodpeckers, really seem to enjoy the latter.

Came home tonight to discover the suet feeder laying in the yard well away from where we hang it. It was empty and bent up on the corner like something was chewing on it.

My question is, would these wild dogs eat bird suet? I suppose they'd eat anything if hungry enough but seems suet would be way down on the list.

When I saw these dogs several times initially I called for animal control. Seems the county area where we live doesn't have that (one of those limitation mentioned). While I can't say these dogs are a severe threat, the fact that (I assume) they came up to the house and ripped down a feeder hung chest/shoulder high on a tree and destroyed a metal suet feeder raises my concern about them.

So....1) do they eat suet? And maybe more importantly....2) should I plan to shoot the dogs next time I see them on our property? (Living on land in the sticks, discharging a firearm doesn't raise an eyebrow). Lord knows I don't want to kill an animal if I don't have to, but I will without hesitation if I need to.


Thoughts? Suggestions? Please don't suggest trapping them as there aren't county resources to get traps, pick them up, etc.

Thanks

Any other animals in the area that it could be? Bear maybe?

quote:

My question is, would these wild dogs eat bird suet? I suppose they'd eat anything if hungry enough but seems suet would be way down on the list.

It's animal fat. Even a well-fed domestic dog would eat it. A wild/feral literally not knowing where its next meal is coming from and on the verge of starvation, you bet it would.

Raccoons could do that.

Is it feasible to set up a camera? You really should know what you're dealing with. An animal capable of doing that much damage could also attack you, your kids or pets, and potentially harbor rabies, although the odds are low.

quote:

Originally posted by mojojojo:


So....1) do they eat suet?

2) should I plan to shoot the dogs next time I see them on our property?

Thanks

1) Yep...dogs eat other dog's poop. Suet would be a delicacy.

2) Not sure eating suet rises to the level of a death sentence.

My dogs hit the suet feeders a few times a day and pick up the leftovers the birds scatter around. I have a racoon that will do the same thing at night. Chances are your dogs are hitting it too, check their poop for bird seed.

Maybe hang the suet feeder higher up.

Personally, I wouldn’t shoot a dog that could potentially belong to somebody unless it threatened a human or was running game animals or livestock.

If those feral dogs are always packed up, I'd be cautious. If I had any livestock, pets, or children of any age, I'd take them out. Maybe take up Coyote sniping as a way to practice up, and when the pack shows up again, you'd be able to take care of business.

I was surrounded by a pack of dogs in the woods once, it was quite hair raising. I had a 357 full size revolver, I was in heavy brush and was concerned if they would converge simultaneously. I can't remember if I fired a warning shot or not, but they never made themselves visible. You could tell by their language they were considering an attack for lack of a better term.

quote:

Originally posted by pace40:.

2) Not sure eating suet rises to the level of a death sentence.

It's not so much the eating of the suet as that they (again an assumption, but I don't think it was a raccoon and we don't have bears) have come up to the house and destroyed a feeder. It's not the feeder either but rather if they'll do that, what else might they do?


What do you suggest?

quote:

Originally posted by mojojojo:
What do you suggest?

Maybe a trail cam or 2 to see if it is indeed the dogs as egregore suggested. I'm hesitant on simply dispatching them only because in your OP, you said they took off when you moved toward them and mention no sign of aggression or challenge behavior on their part. Might be just neighbor's dogs out for a run.

Now if they show aggression or pack hunting behavior, all bets are off. In any case, a rifle, sighted in, loaded, and handy, as well as a sidearm, would be prudent.

quote:

What do you suggest?

Hang the suet feeder with a thin line/rope thrown over a branch. Make it high enough that you have to lower it to replenish it. That’ll keep the dogs out of it.

Are you sure you don’t have bears in your area? Suet feeders are a known black bear attraction in my area. We had one come through our yard to get to our neighbor’s feeder.

I’m late to the party here but here’s my $0.02.

I have a home in the mountains of NC and love to feed the wild birds there. They are quite amazing to watch as they take their turns dive bombing the feeders.

Anyway, one day I noticed that the metal shepards hook feeding pole was bent down and the food from both feeders were gone.

Like was mentioned above I put out a game camera and within a week had several hundred pictures of various wild animals. Most were squirrels and the like but we did capture deer, coyote and a 3 legged bear! In asking around with the neighbors the bear is somewhat famous locally and has been given the name Tripod! On this series of pictures she also had several cubs with her.

I ended up repositioning the feeders much higher and problems solved. I also found out that Buncombe County, NC has one of the highest bear populations in the state with the state record bear of about 600 pounds taken there a few years ago…

If the feeders are low, I can see feral dogs jumping up, latching onto the feeder and bringing it down. There would be collateral damage since it sounds like the feral dogs are a good size.

I had a large chocolate lab that would jump pretty high and latch onto branches that either broke or he hung for a short time and gave up. No, he wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.

In my area it's raccoons that attack the bird feeders. They climb and have attacked from below and above the feeders. My current approach is defense in depth. Feeders mounted high, baffles to prevent the climb, spikes to prevent the top down approach. Even with that they occasionally get a feeder. Typically by taking the whole thing down and riding it to the ground. Once on the ground they are relentless and have destroyed a couple feeders.

I haven't seen any bears in my area but they are around but there are more target rich opportunities than my yard.

Raccoons. They are very good at stuff like this.
I have had to modify our bird feeder several times.
It’s an ongoing battle.

I echo the advice above - get a camera or three and find out what you're dealing with before making detailed action plans.

We had a raccoon tearing up our suet feeders at night. Trapped it in a live trap baited with sardines, and relocated 10 miles away across a large river. No problems since then.

mojojojo,

So you have been living out in the country (rural location) for around a year now.
Out in the sticks/boondocks/country, there is something called the three S's.
You need to personally make the assessment if the three S's are needed for your situation.
Nobody but you can make that assessment.

If the "feral" dogs are doing the deed, someplace, somewhere, there will be people that have emotional attachments to one or more of those dogs.
What are the "legal requirements" for owning/keeping dogs in your location? Is it permissible to allow them to run free?
Most locations don't allow dogs to run free off of the owners property, but every location will likely have different laws/regulations.

Some people just shouldn't be allowed to keep animals. People possessing poor or nonexistent "dog owning" skills live everywhere that you look, urban, suburban, and rural.
These are the people/dog owners that will say right after their dog mauls or kills somebody/something, "It couldn't have been my dog, My dog is a great pet, not vicious of aggressive"
These same dog owners will allow their dog to run free, terrorize wild game and domestic animals, and people.

They will not take kindly to you shooting them. I totally understand that you may have to do so. If the feral dogs threaten you, your family, pets, you do what you need to do.

However, then the three S's come into play. "SHOOT" then "SHOVEL" then "SHUT UP"

Kubota tractors are much less effort for digging holes in the ground than using a pickax and shovel. Let the diesel fuel do the dirty work.

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If you can determine which animal(s) are doing the damage, try deterrence. Putting the feeder up higher out of their reach (this would also put it out of your reach), reinforcing the support so it can't be torn down easily, putting a fence around it, any or all in combination, or something else I didn't think of are possible courses of action you could take.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: egregore,