I Blame Those Dogs!

So a few nights ago i caught to dogs chasing one of my barn cats. Now the last two nights i have come into the barn only to find my plastic cat food containers gone, finding them later outside with all the food gone. Now i have to "dog proof" the barn, but how? I know nothing about dogs. Can they jump over something that is three feet high to get into the barn? Would they tip over the large barrel that i store bags of dry food in? What do i do if i catch them?

This cat food is expensive...i can't have dogs eating it. It is Instinct dry and Natural Balance dry.
Should i put some dog food a ways away from the barn to have some food for them where they can't break in?

thanx,

dog clueless person....

Are these someone's dogs, or are they strays?
And yes, depending on the size of the dog, a 3 foot jump would be no problem. If they are bigger dogs they probably will tip the barrel of food, if they are ferrel and have formed a pack, they will work togethor to do that. You are unfamiliar with dogs, so I would not reccomend trying to catch them on your own, you could get very seriously injured! If they are ferral dogs I would say to try to find a rescue group near you, they will help.
A feeding station for the dogs may not be the best idea, the resident barn cats will fight with them, a dominance thing, and cats usually loose this battle, not always, hissing and posturing can freak a dog out, but the greater size of the dogs is in their favor.
You can PM me with your location, I will search for rescue groups for you.

At our last home, the neighborhood dogs would come on my property to hunt cats. We saw them catch and kill racoons, so a cat is easy prey for them. What kept those dogs at bay was the fact that we had our own dogs who marked their territory, and I did walk my dogs around the perimeter so that they would mark their boundary.

I kept my food inside the house in a plastic bin with a sealed lid and carried the food outside to feed the cats. If your barn is too far away from your house to do this, then I would suggest a plastic bin with a locking lid, or even a cooler. If the food is in your barn and you have no other means to keep the dogs away, you have to seal it up.

Dogs jump fences all the time. A 3 foot tall barrier won't stop them.

I agree with everything that has been said so far.
The only thing I can think of is that if ou have a high shelf you might be able to store the food there in a sealed container. Dogs can climb, but not up vertical walls. If a small child can climb it so can a dog and to get free food they will.

If you recognize the dogs and they belong to someone you can call animal control. Dogs have no business being out loose. And if they are feral all the more reason to get animal control involved. Packs of roaming dogs can be a danger and I bet you aren't the only one they are bothering.

Good luck!

http://www.grangeville.us/idahocount...dog-722996.JPG

the two dogs look a lot like that.

as far as i know there are only two of them. the barn cats have a "safe place" if they go into the strawmow (most do if there are other people in the barn too). It is really hard for people that don't know how to get up into there to actually get up there.

If i were to actually feed them i would put the food about 1/3 of a mile away from the barn. NOne of the barn cats roam that far. They have no need too.

The main problem is that i am going to be gone for two weeks starting wednesday. My cousin is feeding the cats one week and my aunt the next week. I may just completly close off the calf barn since there are ways that the cats actually can get in and out of there. There are small kinda cat doors going from the calf barn into the next barn. Cats can fit through them but nothing else is able too.

I have the feeling these two dogs are strays because else why would they be so hungry (ate 3 pounds of cat food on friday sometime and same the other nights).

I typically would keep sacks of dry food at the farm too, if i were to put it in a large dog cage they wouldn't be able to get to it then right? I could put food in a plastic container on a shelf that is six foot high.

Wet food so far isn't a problem.

I do not live at the barn where the cats are, it is a mile away.

Thanks so much!

You would be supprised how far barn cats roam. Marking their territory, checking for other critters. It is not a food issue, but territory, and for mating, if they are not spayed and neutered.
I don't know what dog breed that is, but easily can kill a cat. Also small enough to fit into space you wouldn't think they could. Like a cat, if the head can fit, the rest of the body can too.
I feel bad for them, so hungry, but you must protect yourself and the barn cats. Stray dogs are not like a feral cat colony, they are dangerous. It's nothing bad against them, its survival. Animal control will no doubt put them down, I would try any other option before that.

Don't put food out for the dogs. It'll encourage them to come back, and they'll probably eat it and still go after the cat food. If you don't have a problem with just the presence of the dogs, I'd say just put the food out of their reach. Put the food in sealed containers, and store the containers in a cabinet or on a shelf or something. If the dogs are eating the food that you have already put out for the cats to eat, move the bowls somewhere high that the dogs can't jump up on. At my barn we feed the cats in the hay room and the bowls are on top of the bales of hay. Some dogs are inventive and can climb on the bales, but it's worth a try. A 3 foot barrier may deter them, but some dogs can and will jump over it.

If you don't want them there at all, the only thing I can really say is to get in touch with their owners if they have any. Explain that they are coming to your barn and that they need to keep their dogs contained. If they don't have an owner, the best I can say is to get them into some sort of rescue organization and get them off of the streets

Hmm, sorry, didn't read your last reply. It sounds like the cats have a safe place to go, so feed them there. As far as the dogs go, if they are strays you should do something about it. I'd try other options before calling Animal Control, but you may need to get them in some sort of local organization to get them out of there especially if they aren't neutered

Can you feed the cats somewhere up high?

If the dogs are strays, is there law enforcement to call to get them caught?

Originally Posted by furryfriends50

I have the feeling these two dogs are strays because else why would they be so hungry (ate 3 pounds of cat food on friday sometime and same the other nights).

Click to expand...

A lot of dogs have no concept of being "full" or "not hungry". My lab would eat until she died, and she is fed regular meals. For contrast, my terrier mix actually has a concept of "full" and will stop eating when he's full.

Can you close off where you feed the cats and install a cat door so that the cats can go in and eat, but the dogs can't?