Guineas vs. neighbors...what would you do?

[cyanne]

Okay, so if AC won't come to you, there a few options that come to mind. First, you could catch the dogs and take them to the pound yourself. Usually the pounds charge a pretty hefty bail fee depending on how long they had to 'board' the dog before it was picked up. If the first time does not work, take them to a pound further away.

Another option would be to tell the neighbors that you have been having a problem with raccons or foxes or whatever killing your livestock so you are putting out traps and poison bait for them. Just tell them you are giving them a heads-up so they don't let their dogs loose to get into one of the traps or be poisoned by mistake. You don't have to actually put out traps or poison, just put the thought in their heads that it would be a bad idea for their dogs to wander onto your land.

Then there is always the tried and true SSS combined with a little mental trickery. Pass the word around that you've seen coyotes on the prowl in your area and that they have been known to snatch domestic pets for dinner.

Where I live I have never seen a coyote, but the minute I moved in I had several neighbors stop by to give me the "coyote talk" about how they knew someone who knew someone in the neighborhood who had had their dog snatched right in front of them. NOBODY lets their smaller dogs roam around here and I haven't really seen many larger ones out and about either. If you make a couple go missing, then they will assume that the coyotes got them and maybe they will start penning their pets up to keep them safe. Oh, and the best part is nobody blames you.

 

[IggiMom]

Ooooooo Cayanne, I think you are SO CLEVER!

 

[abluechipstock]

i'd get a peacock too and a pair of geese, and lots of roosters!

 

[NoelTate]

First, I definitely would NOT get rid of my birds, and I would tell the neighbor I was not getting rid of them. I'd probably put up a fence to keep any unwanted animals off my property, not just his. Being a really big animal lover, I also would not kill or haul off an animal unless it was actually in my pen killing one of my pets. What I would do is set up a trap, catch it, and put it in a pen until the owner came looking for it. I'd explain I had to catch and pen it so it would not harm my animals on my property. That should be enough of an inconvenience and embarassment for most dog owners to take steps to keep their dogs at home. If I had to do it a second time, I'd tell him the third time I trap a dog it goes to the pound. Quite frankly, the peace of mind a fence would bring is well worth the money, regardless of whether you SHOULD have to put one up or not....it'd still be worth it for the fact that it'd make your life more peaceful.

 

[NoelTate]

Something else that would be really cool...I wonder if you could get some sort of spray to spray the dogs with when they get in your yard that would make them stink really, really badly. If you could get something like skunk spray or cougar pee or something so they have to deal with that when the dogs come home...I bet they'd keep them home then!

 

[Judy]

Quote:
Paint guns with pink paintballs are pretty good for this.

 

[fowltemptress]

Okay, I've been thinking about your dog problem all morning and I feel pretty confident I've hit on a solution.

First, you'll need to get access to the big dogs at least once a day for a week. You'll need to do it secretly, so as no suspicion will be cast on you. When the big dogs are with you, you will be feeding them this:

I didn't have any hotdogs or else I would have used them, but any weenie shaped meat is fine. You can even color the toothpicks if you want, but I recommend using only colors that actually appear in dog breeds or the big dogs may not be able to identify them as weenie "dogs."

After a week of being fed tasty weenie "dogs" by you, the big dogs should at that point be totally incapable of differentiating between weenie "dogs" and dachshunds. Once they stumble across the roaming dachshunds, they will gobble them up happily, never realizing the difference. The owner of the dachshunds will, of course, be infuriated at the owner of the big dogs, and demand that he promptly get rid of them or he will have them destroyed for being "vicious dachshund eating monsters."

End of scenario: No more roaming dogs and two neighbors that are too mad at each other to even notice the giant guinea flock you will be rewarding yourself with after all that hard work.

 

[RHewitt]

Quote:
Well said nz short and to the point. I like the way you put that.

 

[RHewitt]

No I know how you got your screen name temptress. Very interesting idea!

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
My first good laugh of the day!!!! Thank you!!!

I say keep your loud, obnoxious, ugly guinea birds.....just because this is America and you are free to do so! I would also quietly relocate the dogs and, if asked, just shrug and say that you heard things seem to happen to animals and people who don't mind their own business in these parts. And then smirk. And walk away.