Who is more at fault?

Not obeying a leash law is a simple citation. Killing a domestic animal is a much larger offense. She was wrong, and should have done something about it, but it was not his place to kill the dog.

He was, by far, more in the wrong.

It think the law will vary depending on where you live. In some areas, if you see loose or "stray" dogs on your property you are allowed to shoot them. As far as assigning blame, your neighbors should not have poisoned the dog. But the dog was off leash and not in a fenced yard. Did the dog have to go into the neighbor's yard to eat the chicken? Can you PROVE that the neighbors were the ones who did it? Proof beyond a reasonable doubt might be hard...

But in the hypothetical, it is their fault that the dog is dead, but your half sister's mom shares some of that by not leashing the dog, especially since she knew the neighbors were having problems (even though it was not her dog pooping...)

the neighbor is punishable by law because although your step mom was in the wrong, it is ilegal to take the law into your own hands by killing the dog. It is also ilegal to kill domestic animals. They would have been charged in court.

They would've been given a stricter penalty than her. She should've reported them. Killing an animal is a way more serious offense than a leash law.

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This is how I trained my dogs, hope it helps:

Throw the toy, give the command "fetch" or whatever you use and have the dog bring the toy back. Don't let her know you have the treat. (If she knows, just hold it behind your back.)

Grab the toy still in her mouth and say "thank you". She should release, if not hold the treat in front of her nose. When she lets go, quickly praise her and give her the treat. Pet her alot too. Do this over and over. Then after a week or two, give her a treat one time, but not the next, giving her praise both times. If she does not bring you the toy, ignore her. When she does bring it to you, do as above.

When she plays tug of war, do the same, tell her "thank you" and put a treat under her nose and when she lets go, praise her and give treat. Give the toy back, sometimes they don't want to bring you the toy because they think you wont give it back (hence the "throwing it" part of fetch).

If she runs away with it, let her go. To her it's a game, "watch me make them chase me" is what she's thinking. If you don't show interest in it when she runs, she'll stop, but this will take time too.

Enrolling in training classes can help too. Just be consistant.

I play tug of war with my two Great Danes and there is never a problem. When I want them to let go I say "thank you" and they drop it immediately. Sometimes they win, sometimes I win when I say thank you. Its all about training and dominance. They know I am Alpha in the house, there is no question about it and I am consistant with training.

I think the law depends on the state. Some states have almost no animal protection laws.

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