Dog Raiding Bird Feeder

[Owly055]

A local neighbor dog is allowed to run loose a great deal of the time, and I've been having problems with raiding the bird feeder outside my window. I usually hear him when he makes his raid. The bird feeder is rigid mounted as it's primarily for magpies and crows, and they stand there and eat out of it. It consists of a dish screwed to a piece of plywood. The dog can stand on my front porch and get his paws on the plywood and get at the food I put out for the birds.... just barely, or jump up.

I'm debating ways to electrify it..... I don't currently own an electric fence charger, so I'm thinking about just using 120 and a switch. Neutral to a metal plate where the dog typically stands, and power to a metal dish, just using a switch that I flip on when the dog makes his raid. I suspect it would get his attention and I wouldn't have to use it more than once or twice. The metal plate will be an old highway sign with the plastic side down, and the aluminum side up. I'm afraid to use my capacitor discharge system as I really don't want a dog carcass to get rid of........... Needless to say we don't have a lease law here, not that I've ever seen many dog owners really respect one anyway.


H.W.

 

[Newsman]

Get a BB gun and shoot it? Or maybe some .22 caliber "snake rounds" would work. More annoyance than anything for the dog... It's like birdshot in a 12 Gauge shotgun shell scaled down to .22.

 

[Psylocide]

Poor Topsy...

 

[passedpawn]

In other news: boy electrocuted by birdfeeder.

Why don't you just raise it up a foot. Seems easier to me.

 

[Psylocide]

In other news: boy electrocuted by birdfeeder.

Why don't you just raise it up a foot. Seems easier to me.

But then the penguins won't be able to reach it.

 

[Owly055]

In other news: boy electrocuted by birdfeeder.

Why don't you just raise it up a foot. Seems easier to me.

I kind of want it where it is, and this will "fly" if he wants to. I've seen him jump fences many times. A quick lesson is what I'm looking for. I had in mind to have the unit plug into the wall and have a switch on my desk so I can switch it on for a few seconds when he shows up so as not to endanger anybody.


H.W.

 

[BGBC]

Google returns a lot more relevant results for 'bird proof dog feeder' than 'dog proof bird feeder'

 

[PlexVector]

mix pepper spray into the bird food. Supposedly birds are not affected by it.

 

[kh54s10]

Rig it up and test it on yourself before you electrocute the dog!

 

[brrman]

No need to electrocute the poor dog! LOL. he is just being a dog - I would electrocute the neighbor.

Try this in the feeder until he gets the message: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014GMGZUG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Homercidal]

A few bacon-wrapped jalapenos might be a decent idea. Make sure to keep the jalapenos raw...

He might even get back inside his own house before he gets sick.

 

[Rhumbline]

I don't know about where you live but around here you can catch a dog running loose and call animal control. They will contact the owner who pays a fine to get the dog back. The amount of the fine goes up for every time the dog is caught.

Or you can take the route you describe and get arrested for harming the dog and a host of other charges, fined, jail time, community service, neighbors thinking you're a d!ck...

All because of $2 in bird feed?

 

[norsk]

I'd rather make friends with the dog and train it not to raid your feeder. Easy peasy...

 

[Rockn_M]

I don't know about where you live but around here you can catch a dog running loose and call animal control. They will contact the owner who pays a fine to get the dog back. The amount of the fine goes up for every time the dog is caught.

Or you can take the route you describe and get arrested for harming the dog and a host of other charges, fined, jail time, community service, neighbors thinking you're a d!ck...

All because of $2 in bird feed?

Ya, why can't you call animal control?

 

[Arrheinous]

Putting 120V through a dog's head, vital organs, and spine to defend a pile of birdseed in a dish strapped to a plywood board sounds like you have your priorities straight.

 

[B29]

Good luck--I have two dogs and they love my wife's bird feeders. Actually, the bird feeders are hung on posts and the dogs don't mess with them--just graze on the debris on the ground. Be comforted by the fact that when the dog gets home it will fart like crazy. Around here if you shock it you would probably be locked up for animal cruelty. Try some sort of audible alarm. If you observe the feeding from your desk rig up a horn with a switch. When he gets ready to fed scare him with the horn. A few times and he probably will look for some place else to dine.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

Please note that should you go through with this, I would not suggest posting pictures. A woman on facebook was recently arrested for posting a picture of her dog with his muzzle duct taped shut. I was sad that I was not one of the people who reported it to the authorities.

 

[vanishingpint]

Isis seems to think beheading is effective ,maybe....well, no probably not.

 

[BierMuncher]

$14.95 dog repellent.

Less chance of going to jail for animal abuse or accidentally scorching your scrotum hairs. Not that there isn't a time and place for the latter.

 

[passedpawn]

Animal cruelty charges are harsh, and it's not just because we all (most) love our dogs. That crime is a strong indicator of underlying psychological issues that are likely to result in violent behavior to humans. I'm not referring to the OP, just making chit chat. Ghandi said “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

Alright, be good for the next 30m everyone, I'm off to the dog park now (srsly). Working on my moral progress

 

[Billy-Klubb]

and I thought the tattoo thread was bad.

 

[jhoneycutt]

Bb gun or rat shot for 22 would work plenty to scare it away. You may have to do it a couple times tho as some dogs are stubborn and don't learn a lesson very easy.

 

[iijakii]

Wonder if birds would still eat seed sprayed with some of that bittering spray dogs hate.

 

[jhoneycutt]

Get a BB gun and shoot it? Or maybe some .22 caliber "snake rounds" would work. More annoyance than anything for the dog... It's like birdshot in a 12 Gauge shotgun shell scaled down to .22.

I've always even and hea Rd d that called rat shot. They make it for several pistol rounds too

 

[imasickboy]

mix pepper spray into the bird food. Supposedly birds are not affected by it.

This is almost correct. Mix cayenne pepper with the bird's food. Birds don't have the receptors to "feel" capsaicin. Mammals, on the other hand, "feel the burn". Hot peepers are good for squirrel-proofing feeders, and will work for dogs, and sissy humans, as well.

 

[Zuljin]

Blowgun with dumb dumb darts. They're totally blunt pieces of plastic or rubber. No penetration. You get to play with a blowgun.

Airsoft gun. They shoot plastic balls. You getting to shoot the dog. With a gun.

 

[smurfjuice]

and I thought the tattoo thread was bad.

We have one ??

 

[smurfjuice]

Now if the town has a leash law, ( which has been a battle with a neighbor of mine) ... maybe we need to in force it .... hence no bird feeder attacks. just sayin'

 

[GHBWNY]

Sounds like the tail is wagging the dog. If it were me, I wouldn't do a thing to further accommodate your neighbors' lack of consideration and responsibility. They have made your feeder a problem you should have never had. The dog is only the instrument through which they choose to display their negligence. Talk to them. If they don't respond courteously and things don't change, then call Animal Control. Get it on record that the dog has been a nuisance.

 

[madscientist451]

If you want to be friendly with your neighbor and you like the dog, move the bird feeder so the dog can't reach it. If the neighbor is a jackass and you like the dog, I'd still move the bird feeder. If you can't stand the neighbor or the dog, the next time it comes in your yard, put a leash on him, put him in your garage and call animal control and insist that your neighbor get a ticket for letting his dog run loose. I still think it would be easier to move the bird feeder.
Life's too short to worry over trivial matters, relax and have a few homebrews.

 

[Owly055]

Just to put things in to context, I live in a "town" with 9 people and 7 dogs, 4 households. The nearest "real" town is 20 miles away (about 2K people), and the entire county has about 3500 residents. The nearest thing resembling a "city" is 100 miles away (pop about 60K).

"Animal Control" is something we understand as being done with a rifle or shotgun. The dog owner is a friend of many years.... I've known him nearly all his life, but he is not someone who you can approach about something like this without a conflict resulting.

The dog involved is totally obnoxious.....the ONLY dog in the neighborhood I dislike, and one of the few I've disliked intensely from the moment I first made his acquaintance. (With the exception of pit bulls which fortunately nobody around here sees any value in).

I'm not interested in making an enemy of either the dog or it's owner, however I don't feel I should have to accommodate the dog's habit of foraging around my house by putting everything out of it's reach. Two other dogs are frequently ranging freely, but cause no problems for anybody.

My objective is to teach the dog a lesson, preferably a painful one. The owner will not train or control the dog, so It's up to me. I'm looking for a way to do this without too much effort on my part. Electricity is a very effective tool, and simple to use. I did figure out where I can get my hands on a very powerful electric fencer today........... One that actually belongs to me but has been in the hands of a friend for a number of years. I've been shocked by 120 quite a few times over the years, and I can say that this fencer is far more painful.

There have been quite a few good suggestions here, many however in the context of urban life, which obviously do not apply to my situation.

I do not intend to move my bird feeder as it is in exactly the location I want, right outside to the window where I work. Crows and Magpies are the "birds of interest", not sparrows and such. Raising or moving it negates the purpose of having it there.

The suggestion of hot pepper "dog treats" intrigues me more than most, and I'm tempted to make up some deep fried habenero stuffed "dog treats", having read up on dogs and hot peppers, and having determined that dogs are NOT harmed by hot peppers. The owner may wonder why the dog is dragging it's ass through the grass, and it might take a few applications for the dog to figure out the cause (it is a stupid dog).

I'll try a few things, and if I'm not successful, there are more permanent solutions.


H.W.

 

[Homercidal]

If you can wire up a shock device, you can wire up a switch and alarm. When the dog steps on the switch to get at the food, the very loud alarm goes off and scares the crap out of him. Make sure you record it.

Or you could set up a dogapult. Kind of like a catapult, but for dogs.

 

[PlexVector]

Give your neighbor a bird feeder for Christmas.

 

[GHBWNY]

Just to put things in to context, I live in a "town" with 9 people and 7 dogs, 4 households. The nearest "real" town is 20 miles away (about 2K people), and the entire county has about 3500 residents. The nearest thing resembling a "city" is 100 miles away (pop about 60K).

"Animal Control" is something we understand as being done with a rifle or shotgun. The dog owner is a friend of many years.... I've known him nearly all his life, but he is not someone who you can approach about something like this without a conflict resulting.

The dog involved is totally obnoxious.....the ONLY dog in the neighborhood I dislike, and one of the few I've disliked intensely from the moment I first made his acquaintance. (With the exception of pit bulls which fortunately nobody around here sees any value in).

I'm not interested in making an enemy of either the dog or it's owner, however I don't feel I should have to accommodate the dog's habit of foraging around my house by putting everything out of it's reach. Two other dogs are frequently ranging freely, but cause no problems for anybody.

My objective is to teach the dog a lesson, preferably a painful one. The owner will not train or control the dog, so It's up to me. I'm looking for a way to do this without too much effort on my part. Electricity is a very effective tool, and simple to use. I did figure out where I can get my hands on a very powerful electric fencer today........... One that actually belongs to me but has been in the hands of a friend for a number of years. I've been shocked by 120 quite a few times over the years, and I can say that this fencer is far more painful.

There have been quite a few good suggestions here, many however in the context of urban life, which obviously do not apply to my situation.

I do not intend to move my bird feeder as it is in exactly the location I want, right outside to the window where I work. Crows and Magpies are the "birds of interest", not sparrows and such. Raising or moving it negates the purpose of having it there.

The suggestion of hot pepper "dog treats" intrigues me more than most, and I'm tempted to make up some deep fried habenero stuffed "dog treats", having read up on dogs and hot peppers, and having determined that dogs are NOT harmed by hot peppers. The owner may wonder why the dog is dragging it's ass through the grass, and it might take a few applications for the dog to figure out the cause (it is a stupid dog).

I'll try a few things, and if I'm not successful, there are more permanent solutions.


H.W.

I see. So the dog is technically yours to do with what you want. The electric fence seems to be your best option at this point. The "treats", although temporarily effective, aren't a viable long-term solution. Believe, me, anything a dog can ingest, regardless of the short-term discomfort it causes, will bring them back again and again. Unless it is simply entertainment or revenge you seek, I wouldn't waste your time making up "dog treats". Or doing anything that makes loud noise. Or ultimately having to deal with a dead dog carcass. Although that is a fairly permanent solution.

Once it is set up, electric is no-maintenance, quiet, effective and painful --- pretty much what dumb animals understand best. Not that I am a dumb animal, but it took catching my back on an electric fence around an orchard to realize that trying to steal apples wasn't worth it. Actually, I tried it twice unsuccessfully, so maybe I wasn't as smart as I thought... :smack:

I am presuming that rather than hanging high enough for the dog not to reach, your feeder is mounted on a pole within reach from the ground for the dog to help himself? If the pole is metal, can you electrify it? Or if it's wood, could you wrap the pole with metal duct work and electrify that? Maybe just encircling the feeder with a length of electric wire is the answer. Cows eventually learn to stay away from an electric fence, and they are pretty dumb.

Anyway, good luck. Sorry about your not-so-good neighbor.

 

[GHBWNY]

Give your neighbor a bird feeder for Christmas.

With a gift box of habanero dog treats. For him, not the dog.

 

[Rhumbline]

Hey, I'm thinking if you're putting out a plate of bacon wrapped jalapenos you're likely to look out your window and see me picking through you bird feeder, with a beer in my hand!

I'll run that dog off for you.

 

[Owly055]

Hey, I'm thinking if you're putting out a plate of bacon wrapped jalapenos you're likely to look out your window and see me picking through you bird feeder, with a beer in my hand!

I'll run that dog off for you.

Habaneros are a bit stronger than jalapenos....... Have you ever eaten them?

 

[PlexVector]

...I've been shocked by 120 quite a few times over the years, and I can say that this fencer is far more painful...

I'll second that...I grew up on a tobacco farm and learned early on to never pee on a weedy fence line.

 

[Rhumbline]

Habaneros are a bit stronger than jalapenos....... Have you ever eaten them?

I use them in cooking all the time but I'll admit I don't eat them by themselves.

Maybe you could whip up a nice cheddar filling?

 

[passedpawn]

I use them in cooking all the time but I'll admit I don't eat them by themselves.

Maybe you could whip up a nice cheddar filling?

I've eaten them straight, homegrown ones anyway (I'm growing them right now). I think they are much more citrusy than chilis or jalapenos. Seeds are killers.

Eating them raw isn't too bad, but the results gave me an idea for the next time I need to prep for a colonoscopy.