Annoying neighbor rant- They wanna KILL my dogs!! longish story....

[suzettex5]

Quote:
Nope, not mad at their fence size. It is inadequate even for thier dog. I just think it is silly to build a fence that doesnt do any good. What I mad/upset over is their obviously bad attitude and extreemly rude remarks. For them to predict my dogs' death at the jaws of their dog, (after ours almost died once because of their dog) with such a nasty tone is not cool. The fence they are putting up doesnt even touch the ground- there would be room for anything short of a great dane to wiggle under. If you were here, you would understand the fence is just a facade, a cheap ineffective barrier erected so they can say "Gee, sorry our dog ate yours, but we HAD a fence" Remember- their dog already had a 1/4 acre yard it was fenced in, but that wasnt good enough, their dog needs the whole 2 acres so it can run along its fence line and bark at our dogs, just like it did before it came over and attacked our dog.

Please DO NOT misconstrue what I'm saying. I KNOW I need to fence my own yard and keep my dogs in. I dont hold them resposible for that, only me. I object to their meaness and vindictiveness. You just have to be here in the situation to understand I guess.

And your idea to put chicken wire up with zip ties is fantastic! I guess I wasnt thinking in that direction... I think I'll do that this weekend, and I just hope they dont mind me doing it. These are the people who, upon finding that we had put ONE bag of trash in their near empty trash can at the curb on trash day, they pulled the bag out and tossed in in our driveway! AND we had permission form the husband/neighbor to do it! His wife was the one who took it out. So ridiculous. They said it was ok (all this prior to their dog attacking ours) then she went and tossed it out! Who does that? Oh well.

 

[RunnerDucks]

Honestly, as far as the situation goes right now, you're really at fault. They have a fence. They're keeping their dogs off your property.

I don't even understand how you can be upset that their dog came into your yard if your dog is allowed to go into theirs.

I personally have no tolerance for dogs that are allowed to run loose. Our neighbors obnoxious little dog got hit by a car yesterday because they too just let it run loose.

If you can't afford a fence, take them on leashed walks, put up a kennel, heck, even a tie out is better.
Sometimes you just have to take responsibility for you and yours.

EDIT: I read through all the posts, and I wanted to add that if your neighbors are going to continue to allow their dog to escape, you should be extra careful. Your dog is your responsibility, and depends on you. Even if it's not fair, if you know your neighbor's aggressive dog is likely to come onto your property, then you need to take steps to keep your dogs safe on your own property. This means a chicken wire fence or a tie out might not be the best idea. You should probably invest in a sturdier fence. Although, personally, I just keep my dog inside when I'm not supervising him. That's the best way to ensure nothing harms him and to ensure he is behaving.

It's irresponsible and playing with fire to continue to allow the dogs to run loose. If you know their recalls are not great, and you still do it, then if something happens to them, it's going to be your fault, regardless of what exactly it is that happens to them. You were given a warning by the powes that be with the non-fatal attack. Learn from it

 

[lishah2000]

Make a run area for your dogs that isn't near the fence on the property line. Save yourself the frustration of the dogs running the fence. It could save your dogs lives. I would guess your dogs wouldn't need a large area. You can't change what the neighbors do, but you can change what you do and keep your dogs safe.

I can kinda understand how your neighbors feel. At our old house we had very secure fencing. But the neighbors had one cat that was very mean. My dogs didn't like this cat and it would often tease them through the fence. It would also come into our yard. I warned the neighbor many times, that my one dog would probably kill or hurt the cat if he caught it. Neighbor did nothing. I did NOT want my dog to hurt the cat. It would be a strike against my dog who was in his own yard behind secure fencing. Even though I said my dog will kill your cat, I really didn't want it to happen and was trying to wake the neighbor up.

Maybe they are just afraid what might happen and are trying to prevent it.

 

[lemurchaser]

Your neighbor is a jerk, it sucks, but there is nothing you can do about it. I can't imagine why anyone would be so anti-social, what weirdos!

You should have taken them to court to get the rest of the vet bill if you want to hold it against them. You likely would NOT have been able to have their dog killed because its a first offense, but you could of gotten them in a fair amount of trouble.

If the dogs haven't shown aggression to your kids then that isn't really a concern. Aggression towards other animals does NOT translate to humans, especially since it was towards such a small animal that is easily perceived as prey (doesn't make it okay, but your kids should be okay unless they are also human aggressive). Now getting between 2 fighting dogs is very dangerous, and make sure your kids know not to do that. It's better one of your dogs dies than your child loses their face.

Your dogs are being annoying to them about as much as their dogs are annoying you. Imagine if it was the other way around that their dog was coming over to bark at your dogs and you know your dog has hurt those dogs before. I'd be fuming if I were them. So, I wouldn't do anything to their dogs (because say you shoot their dog, then they may choose to retaliate when your dogs show up at their house). I would be a model in politeness and escort their dog home and to them, because after all you'd want them to do the same.

Honestly, if you've got the option to move, I'd move. This is only going to get worse and nothing sucks more than crappy neighbors. You have to find a way to keep your dogs safe. You could get some cyclone fencing and then take it with you. Just make a fence around the door, so the dogs can't sneak out and you have some fenced places to let them potty. And if your dogs are barking, make them stop. If your not being a good neighbor then you can hardly expect others to treat you well (even though I don't think it will help with these folk). But before you can start causing trouble for them (getting animal control involved, SSS, whatever) you better be sure that you're doing everything right.

 

[Wolfwoman]

Quote:
I agree

Not a bad idea. I had considered that, and I probably will try that in moderation. My problem with a tie out is, despite being in the shade and having access to food and water, my particular breed of dog is very temperature sensitive. Boston Terriers have very short coats and they have short faces, so they have alot of difficulty regulating body temperature. They tend to overheat easily and get cold very quickly. The temperature outdoors right now is just swinging wildly- 2 days ago it was hailing and storming and today its 80 degrees out with a breeze. I am really looking forward to moving now. We are looking only at fully fenced properties because, despite what many may think, I DONT like my dogs running free at all. I WANT them to be safer and I dont want them hurt.

Ok, I can understand that. Does your dog have enough sense to go in and out of the shade, and maybe a wading pool? If the answer is yes, then put a pool at one end in the shade, and let him lie in the sun on the other end and hopefully he is smart enough to regulate himself

 

[ksalvagno]

Put up a run for your dogs and make sure that their dogs can't get in. The other option would be to get T posts and fencing and put up some inexpensive fencing around your property that you can pull out and take with you if you decide not to stay. But make sure your dogs can't get out of it. It sounds like you have crabby neighbors and you better mind your p's and q's with them so they can't put the blame on you. Make sure you follow all laws and then if their dog comes onto your property, do what you feel you have to do.

 

[Beekissed]

At the end of the day, the old adage "Good fences make good neighbors" is always true. It seems there is hard feelings on both sides over dogs crossing property lines, with threats of death on both sides. In my book, this makes you both annoying neighbors!

Rental or no, a good method of keeping your animals safe and at home is always needed. I had a perimeter fence on three sides here but I added a fourth side and gates. I also invested in a wireless fencing system that is so very effective in keeping the dogs right where I want them. And I don't even have any near neighbors! This wireless system can be unplugged and taken along with you when you move to a new place...no wires in the ground and such. I love mine and it was the most wise investment I've made in regards to my dogs.

It all comes down to how much you really care about your animals. I'm not a mush pot over mine but I do want them to be home and safe. If they are not, in this country, they are surely rifle fodder. This I understand and would not hold against my neighbors in this area. Everyone has livestock and no one likes a horse, cow, or even a deer chasing dog on the loose.

Lowering yourself to the standards of someone who has been rude to you only makes you their equal. Take the high road, apologize for former differences and assure your neighbor that you will make every effort to keep your animals at home and quiet.

They make bark collars that emit citronella spray when your dog barks...these are said to be very effective and not painful like a shock collar. I let my dogs bark a few times to warn of intruders or for a scent of other animals....any excessive barking past that point is NOT allowed.

To be quite frank, if I had a neighbor who had little yappy dogs that barked all day when I was trying to sleep I would be devising ways to rid the world of their presence also...even if only in my dreams!

 

[suzettex5]

Quote:
Their dog HAS bitten someone (a human) before- thats what they told us. And I have NO doubt that they are super annoyed that our dogs have gone into their yard and barked, just as their dog has done to us many times. We just didnt do anything about it because it didnt bother us much and would run away when we yelled at it. I dont blame them for being mad at our dogs for running into their yard and barking. I'm not upset over that. Its that they really couldnt care less if our dog is killed. So, as far as I'm concerned, it is a dangerous dog, and I checked the codes for my county, and I would be within my rights to shoot it, but only if it went after my livestock (which it has done before, but it didnt catch any, and I chased him away) But as I said before, I probabaly wouldnt have the heart to shoot it, and hopefully my neighbors see that we have been trying to be nice.

Just to re-itterate from before- The bad blood began when THEY sent their 7 year old grandchild to OUR house without asking us, and the child had their lab dog with her. I was unaware of the situation because I was in the bathroom. The dog got annoyed by my chihuahua barking at it and so their dog grabbed it, shook it, tossed it aside, then chased her, caught her, bit her, shook her, tossed her, and did it again!! My son had to grab her before the dog got her again and the dog was not happy my son took his 'toy' away.

When we went to the neighbors to explain what happened, they said "So, YOUR dog was bugging our dog, so its not any fault of ours' Then they said 'You guys should file a home owners claim for the damages" This was all a week before Christmas. I had to go to them 4 times to get them to pay barely a quarter of the vet bill to save my daughters' dogs' life. But, even before that they had been standoffish. Whatever. Obviously we're not gonna be best friends. But it was all good and fine for them to let their dog run the whole neighborhood, right up until they had to pay for the damage it caused. Yes, I could have sued for the whole amount, but I'm not the type to do that, especially right around the holidays- that would suck for everyone.

Do I expect them to build a fence that my property owner helped pay for to keep MY dogs OUT? NO. Do I need to find a way to better fence my dogs? YES. Can I control every little possible event that might lead to my dogs getting out once in awhile? NO- I live in the real world with kids, (1,3, 5, 11, 13) and sometimes they forget to shut a door, they are just human after all. Could I build an escape proof fence that would not keep me and my family prisoners in our home? NO and I'm not gonna try.

My neighbors are mean and PO'ed at us. For somethings I understand, for others, I cant wrap my head around.

What I am gonna do is try out some of the GREAT suggestions I've gotten here from some helpful peeps! I'm not trying to be negative towards anyones suggestions, but due to the layout of our place, some things absolutely wont work or are just not feasible. I cant bury a wire for invisible fencing due to our driveway, cant fence in other parts without doing damage to existing fences, cant use electric due to cats, kids, chickens, and lots of water from sprinklers running all season. I do think I will try the chicken wire grafted onto the fence they put up.

Their fence is made of plastic netting material, btw, hardly strong enough to keep my 1 year old out, let alone the packs of coyotes that roam our area at night. They are why ALL my animals are locked up TIGHT every night, without fail. Its just the day time I seem to have trouble with....

 

[chels23]

Well, it sounds like your neighbors are just rude and I'm sure they are not going to change their ways any time soon. I would just like to add that if the neighbors dog is mean and has attacked your dogs before, it might not be the best idea to tie them up. What if it gets out again (since from what I read their fence is 3 sided) and goes after your dog. Your dog will only be able to go as far as the chain will let it, that leave it kind of helpless. That's the same with the invisible fence, keeps yours in but doesn't keep others out! I just hope this whole thing works out for you, it really sucks when you have crappy neighbors.

 

[krcote]

Looking back to the original post... you say you were in the bathroom but your neighbor's dog was LET INTO YOUR house! Your property. Your responsibility. Period.
I can not believe you got a cent out of those people. I am in the emergency veterinary business, we call this "Big Dog vs Little Dog", and let me tell you a measly $900 does not save a dog's life. Your little dog got chewed up, but was in no danger of dying. You knew this dog has a history of biting a HUMAN. You have children. You should have sent it out the door the second you heard your dog yapping, and then let your neighbors know you will be calling the police the next time the dog is in your yard, due to it's bite history.
Unfortunately you were looking for sympathy on this board, you will be hard-pressed to find it here.