Author Topic: Town Dogs Packin' and Huntin' (Read 3214 times)

Ray Ford · « **on:** September 11, 2006, 09:18:30 AM »

I was a little uncertain as to where I should post this. It was either on the "Strange Things..." or "Hunting Dogs..." locale.

In the 1950's, I was friends with the assistant manager at the Okmulgee (Oklahoma) Game Management Area. I was a teenager and lived in town. He was a middle-aged man and live on the "Refuge"--as we commonly called it. Both of us 'coon hunted, and we had frequent conversations.

During that time, he told me that there was a pack of town dogs coming to the GMA and chasing deer. They were, he said, led by a Doberman but included both large and small dogs of various breeds--and some mongrels. But all were well-kept dogs and some had collars and tags. The west edge of Okmulgee was two miles from the east edge of the GMA. The dogs were obviously getting together under the Dobe's leadership and traversing that two miles. That involved crossing Deep Fork River--which wasn't too hard to do in that dry period. (The river was reduced to water-filled holes with dry ground between them. Dust was a major problem for the coonhounds. We had to "doctor" their eyes after a hunt.)

Lee, my friend, was quite upset. He said that the dogs would run a doe until she reached a certain level of fatique. She would then just go down on the ground in total passivity. The dogs would proceed to cut her to pieces. Lee was watching for an opportunity to shoot the Dobe--at least. I don't recall if he managed to do that or not.

The thing about it is, probably no one of the dogs owners would have believed that their pooches were forming a pack with a Dobe as the alpha male, going two miles across a river, and hunting deer! But they did. Speak of a call of the wild! All dogs are descendants of the wolf....

gwindrider1 · « **Reply #1 on:** September 13, 2006, 08:10:53 AM »

Ray,

Your story reminded me of two encouters with "house pet" dogs that I experienced about 5 years back.

On a property that I own in southern Colorado, I was tent camping, and just enjoying my land. On a rocky ridge at the back of the property, I encoutered a pack of dogs, most of which were wearing collars, and tags. They circled me menacingly; coming ever closer, ears laid down, and teeth barred. I was armed with a .44, but hesitant to kill someone's pet. I managed to bean what appeared to be the leader of the pack with a large stick. That was enough to break up that party, but the same group confronted me again about a month later.

When house pets pack up, they are wild, and potentially dangerous.

Later, I had the satisfaction of finding the left front paw of that pack leader. I had watched him trailing a mountain lion previously. Apparently, he found that lion; or vice versa!

Echo4Lima · « **Reply #2 on:** September 15, 2006, 02:22:17 PM »

When I was with the Camp Guard @ Camp Hansen in Okinawa (3d Marine Div FMF) we drove the van around the base and blasted the packed dogs with shotguns to get rid of them. Some of those packs would get to 12-15 and go after the Marines! I still dont know why...i doubt Marines taste good LOL. They were dengerous.

toysoldier · « **Reply #3 on:** December 30, 2006, 11:49:04 AM »

An article about problems with feral animals included a story about a pack of domestic dogs that was running deer in the snow. When game agents caught up with it, it was being led by a cocker spaniel that was let out at night. I nearly had to shoot a neighbor's two Labradors. They had threatened others in the neighborhood, too. He gave them to someone with a good fence. All varieties can be dangerous, but statistics clearly show that pit bulls, rottweilers, and chows are the most deadly. I work in surgery, and have worked on dogbite victims, some who didn't make it. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot any dog that threatens me.

SDS-GEN · « **Reply #4 on:** December 30, 2006, 12:26:59 PM »

A couple of years ago a girl was killed by someones pet dogs. She was walking a country road at night and was attacked by three or four (I forget now) pit bulls. Any time I see a "feral dog" (no collar/tag) on my place it gets lead poisoning (something in the water maybe?). If it has a collar it gets to walk away once, I don't need my kid to get bitten by someone's "pet" because they aren't responsible enough to keep it on their property.

FourBee · « **Reply #5 on:** April 30, 2007, 07:48:50 PM »

Your stories reminded me of an incident several years ago while dove hunting near Spiro Oklahoma. I was walking the edge of a soybean field on a dirt road about sundown, when I heard what I thought was a coyote howl across the field in a wooded area. Then more howls came from far ahead of me. I continued walking, and another howl ahead of me was much louder. I knew they were coming up the dirt road pretty fast, so I just laid down in the middle of the road and waited. To my surprise it was two dogs. I sat up as they approached and called to them. They liked to have done a back flip with a yelp and tore back up the road. All of a sudden, out of the soybean rows just ahead of me, more dogs coming from the other side of the field joined them as they ran off. Gave me a wierd feeling.

Chuck White · « **Reply #6 on:** August 08, 2007, 05:20:30 AM »

The worst part of dogs packing like this is that "they have no fear of humans"!

I was never confronted by dogs in the woods, but I have done away with quite a few that come out of a deer drive or just happen to bump into me at the wrong time.

The last one I shot was several years ago. I noticed 7 deer running across the meadow behind my house in mid Feb (I think), well, the deer got about half way across the meadow and I was ready, I thought there were coyotes coming after them.
Well, to my surprise there were 5 dogs after the deer. Believe it or not, the lead one was a small cocker spaniel, followed by a Beagle then 2 mixed breeds, then a German shepherd. Well I had my .223 on the back deck and soon as I could get onto the leader, I let fire and it dropped right there. The rest of them picked up speed and I couldn't get onto them very well, but kept shooting just in case I might hit one. When they were out of sight for about 10 minutes, the beagle came back and was checking on the cocker spaniel. Well that was his last mistake.

Mikey · « **Reply #7 on:** August 09, 2007, 02:15:12 AM »

In NYS we have as many problems with feral dogs or domesticated dogs chasing game as do many other locations. Earlier this summer two wandering dogs killed one of my sister's pet barn-cats. They were dogs that had simply been let out during the day by careless owners. They did little else but run animals and kill them when they could catch them.

I saw the pair about two weeks later crusing my orchard looking for something to chase. They started with a small doe who had alerted to them and the biggest dog had taken off after her on a dead run and was closing in when I opened up with my old Tok - the shot must have, ummmm, deterred him as he broke off the chase and took off. Haven't seen either since. Mikey.

jamesrus · « **Reply #8 on:** October 01, 2007, 07:29:24 PM »

Someone made a movie about this. "The Pack" was about pet dogs that were left behind on a resort island. THey ate all the small game and started hunting humans. Prolly not real but a good scary movie anyway.

Jamesrus

mikedb · « **Reply #9 on:** October 04, 2007, 04:05:29 AM »

Just two weeks ago in the Livingston County (SE MI) a family's dogs got off their farm and killed two adults. A man in his 90s and a woman in her 50s. The folks who owned the dogs I believe were breeders w/o a permit. This reinforces my practice of packin for walks in the woods around my house.

Ray Ford · « **Reply #10 on:** October 04, 2007, 06:16:44 AM »

Quote from: mikedb on October 04, 2007, 04:05:29 AM

Just two weeks ago in the Livingston County (SE MI) a family's dogs got off their farm and killed two adults. A man in his 90s and a woman in her 50s. The folks who owned the dogs I believe were breeders w/o a permit. This reinforces my practice of packin for walks in the woods around my house.

What kind of dogs were they?

jsoukup · « **Reply #11 on:** October 04, 2007, 05:46:45 PM »

When I was in high school my dad brought home a mixed chow puppy. He quickly grew into an 80 pound horse. He was friendly and loved to play, but he kept jumping the fence around our 3 acre homestead. I noticed that when he was out, he was always out in this field with high grass messing around with something. One day I finally walked out there to see what was going on. I found like 6 dead cat carcasses. He was out hunting and killing house cats and bringing their bodies out in the field to chew on.

NONYA · « **Reply #12 on:** October 04, 2007, 07:04:42 PM »

I had a American bull dog and a german Shepard mutt attack my antelope decoy while i was in my blind,i later caught them chasing elk and then horses,they both went to doggy hell at the end of a 7 mag.

Gun Runner · « **Reply #13 on:** October 04, 2007, 08:27:58 PM »

When I was stationed at a remote transmitter site in Hawaii the cheif master at arms called me one sat morning and wanted me to come in and bring a rifle. Seems the night before a little girl in housing had been attacked by a pack of dogs. She was chewed up pretty good but was gonna make it. I showed up with a 22 mag with a 4x scope. By the end of the day there were 15 less dogs on the base. We were in a remote part of the island and people used to dump boonie dogs on the base. One female dependent complained about me shooting the dogs and the CO took her up to the hospital to show her what the little girl looked like. Never heard another word from her.

Gun Runner

FourBee · « **Reply #14 on:** October 05, 2007, 04:44:59 AM »

Hey; NONYA

I witnessed a similar situation a couple of years back. My neighbors had gone for the week-end, and I heard a bunch of dogs barking in his pasture. Taking my .270 to investigate, I found about 6 or 7 dogs had several cows and calves surrounded and were attacking sporadically. The leader and a couple of others became buzzard bait.

NONYA · « **Reply #15 on:** October 06, 2007, 11:16:50 AM »

ANY dog i catch chasing game or livestock is goin down,I wouldnt allow my dog to do it and i wont stand by and let it happen on our property.

Oldtimer · « **Reply #16 on:** October 12, 2007, 04:31:39 AM »

My wife, younger daughter, and I went mountain biking one summer in West Virginia at a ski resort. I talked to the manager at the bike shop about bears in the back country. He said they were out there, but dogs that had been abandoned by seasonal workers were a much bigger problem. If the bears knew someone was coming, they would get out of the way. The dogs, on the other hand, would come after you, since they associated people with food.

clodbuster · « **Reply #17 on:** October 14, 2007, 04:18:25 PM »

As a kid I helped reduce dog predation on our sheep flock and the neighbor's pigs. Just like the rest of the examples some had collars and all kinds of breeds participated. Pack dogs would only kill a few of the animals they attacked preferring to rip out a sheep's back end and move on to the next victim. A twelve gauge and 4 buck was our dog medicine.

Travis Morgan · « **Reply #18 on:** June 29, 2009, 02:57:18 AM »

Quote from: Chuck White on August 08, 2007, 05:20:30 AM

The worst part of dogs packing like this is that "they have no fear of humans"!

I was never confronted by dogs in the woods, but I have done away with quite a few that come out of a deer drive or just happen to bump into me at the wrong time.

The last one I shot was several years ago. I noticed 7 deer running across the meadow behind my house in mid Feb (I think), well, the deer got about half way across the meadow and I was ready, I thought there were coyotes coming after them.
Well, to my surprise there were 5 dogs after the deer. Believe it or not, the lead one was a small cocker spaniel, followed by a Beagle then 2 mixed breeds, then a German shepherd. Well I had my .223 on the back deck and soon as I could get onto the leader, I let fire and it dropped right there. The rest of them picked up speed and I couldn't get onto them very well, but kept shooting just in case I might hit one. When they were out of sight for about 10 minutes, the beagle came back and was checking on the cocker spaniel. Well that was his last mistake.

I can just see your trophy shot, posing with a Cocker Spaniel and a beagle! LOL! I know it had to be done, and I'd do it too, it's just that mental image......

Travis Morgan · « **Reply #19 on:** June 29, 2009, 03:00:38 AM »

Quote from: jsoukup on October 04, 2007, 05:46:45 PM

When I was in high school my dad brought home a mixed chow puppy. He quickly grew into an 80 pound horse. He was friendly and loved to play, but he kept jumping the fence around our 3 acre homestead. I noticed that when he was out, he was always out in this field with high grass messing around with something. One day I finally walked out there to see what was going on. I found like 6 dead cat carcasses. He was out hunting and killing house cats and bringing their bodies out in the field to chew on.

GOOD DOG! I betcha your quail and dove populations soared!

Travis Morgan · « **Reply #20 on:** June 29, 2009, 03:06:06 AM »

Quote from: Gun Runner on October 04, 2007, 08:27:58 PM

When I was stationed at a remote transmitter site in Hawaii the cheif master at arms called me one sat morning and wanted me to come in and bring a rifle. Seems the night before a little girl in housing had been attacked by a pack of dogs. She was chewed up pretty good but was gonna make it. I showed up with a 22 mag with a 4x scope. By the end of the day there were 15 less dogs on the base. We were in a remote part of the island and people used to dump boonie dogs on the base. One female dependent complained about me shooting the dogs and the CO took her up to the hospital to show her what the little girl looked like. Never heard another word from her.

Gun Runner

I spoke with a cop once that was called out to dispatch a biting dog that was chasing kids. Since it was in a neighborhood, he wisely chose a shotgun with birdshot for the job, to reduce the danger of ricochets. The idiot woman that called him ran out to stop him. Apparently, killing him with the shotgun was too cruel; she wanted him to use his pistol.
Now, ballistics, knockdown power and common firearms knowledge aside, "Dead is dead", right?