I don't view all dogs the same. In my experience, feral / stray dogs can be more dangerous than coyotes. They have the same pack hunting instincts, but with a reduced fear of humans. I'm not talking about someone's pet or hunting dog that gets across the fence line, but what are essentially wild dogs.
I have had 2 bad experiences with them, once hunting in Wilcox Cnty when I was about 13, and once about 5 years ago cruising timber outside of Ragland. In both cases, there were multiple dogs, working in coordination to move toward//around me. (At 13 they seemed like wolves).
I get the frustration that your investment of countless hours and dollars into private property can be affectively "stolen" because others are too inconsiderate to keep their dogs off your property(especially if you have an ileet sanctuary), but I would have a hard time shooting a dog with a collar, or one that was clearly a pet.
I think a better answer would be to have real penalties against the dog's owner. I don't see the difference in someone shooting a deer over their property line, and allowing/sending dogs across the property line to run deer back to them. Both are a trespass, and I think more serious consequences would avoid a lot of the problems.
Last edited by 59Hunter; 10/08/15 03:51 AM.
