dogs killed baby deer

I have not been on the forum in a while since my beloved Sadie passed. We have since adopted 2 dogs, hoping they could be friends since we have kids who require a lot of our time as well. Last night a baby deer got into our yard and our dogs, acting on instinct and a prey drive, attacked it. I wasn't at home at the time but my husband heard the deer crying out. He chased the dogs away but the deer was injured and a police officer ultimately put the deer down.

I believe the dogs were just being dogs with a prey drive. They are both 40 pounders who are harmless around the kids and don't even chase the chipmunks in the yard. I suppose that is only because the chipmunks are too quick and the baby deer was too naive, and too trapped.

My problem is my guilt. Our yard is surrounded by deer fencing and a hidden fence that together work to keep large animals out and the dogs in. This system works fine, except that I forgot to close the gate that morning. It was closed just 2 hours later, again by me, and I didn't realize I was trapping 2 deer inside. Yes, to make the situation worse, there were 2 baby deer in the yard and I know these deer from the neighborhood - they were already orphans. One is now left totally alone. And that is my fault. Since I didn't think the baby deer would be alone I searched the yard and found the second orphan and chased him til he found the gate. Unfortunately that was the least I could do for him.

I'm mad at myself and the dogs, though I know they were simply being dogs. I wish I could do something for the remaining deer but he/she prefers to be no where near me and of course now I would have no way to identify the deer unless I see a young deer all alone. The baby deer that was killed was still so small - were these orphans surviving well enough on their own? Why were they always alone when there are lots of deer around here, wouldn't another family take them in? I couldn't sleep last night thinking of this lonely deer alone out in the cold. I know I'm being anthropomorphic but that does not stop my thoughts.

Sorry to vent but I figured other animal lovers could understand. What the dogs did is so disturbing to me that I wonder if I truly am a dog lover and if I can get over this.

Oh my how sad! I'm sorry I can't find any words to help you, "it is Nature" seems much too cold.

My dogs have killed numerous small animals in my fence.:( I believe a deer would shake me up more.:( They were just being dogs, imo. Hopefully time will erase the pictures in your mind. As far as it being your fault, no one is perfect, we all forget something and sometimes something bad happens as a result.

That's sad to hear, but it's a fact of nature I suppose. If they were orphans, they may have been weak and seeking refuge in what they thought was a safe place, and may not have been able to survive outside in the woods in safety. Just a thought......

We get deer in our yard occasionally, but not nearly as frequently as in previous years. As little as Sparky is (12 lbs), he will take off after them, but of course he never gets close, so it's probably instinct for most dogs to pursue them.

Don't blame yourself - you had no way of knowing the deer were in there. I wouldn't blame the dogs either in spite of how upsetting it must have been.

Oh, I am so sorry that this happened.:( You must remember that the
incident was not intentional on your part. Two baby deer wandering alone
would never have made it on their own even if they were outside your fence.

I would feel awful too, if my dogs had attacked another animal anywhere.

I always wait when opening the back door to give any squrrels plenty of
notice that the dogs are coming.

Please be kind to yourself (and the pups too). (((Hugs)))

oh My, I'm sorry for you and the young deer. Things like that just happen My Annie dog catches young rabbits and they scream and that makes me cringe. She is not hungry; she is just being a dog I guess. I always try to make her drop the rabbit but she plays with it a few minutes and then kills it. It upsets me but there is really nothing I can do.... nor could you have done anything.
I understand your feeling upset and I'm sorry. Try not to blame yourself.

Thank you everyone. Your comments do make me feel better. I think I was in shock yesterday and now I am starting to accept what happened. I'm not happy about it but I accept that it happened.

Since my dogs are normally begging to get on the couch rather than wanting to go outside to see what they can hunt I'm sure my image of them as killers will fade. We took a walk today, saw several deer along the way, and they did not have any abnormal reaction. If they actually saw the deer they wanted to chase but were easily held back and distracted. The truth is they would be pathetic in the wild fending for themselves and an adult deer would probably hurt them. So, what I will certainly be doing for the future is never ever leave that gate open.

I did see the sibling baby deer and he/she seems to be living the same routine, munching on the same lawns, just alone. RIP baby deer.