Issue with Neighbor's Dog - Mostly Venting

[LeafZoo]

Agreed with the "extending the electric fence" idea. Another one I've read on here is to get a paintball gun. Shoot the dog with a yellow paintball. Then go talk to the neighbor and tell him that the next time his dog comes onto your property, it won't be a paintball. He won't have any excuse if he sees his dog with paint on its side.

I don't agree with leg traps, so you'll have to decide your own opinion on that one.

You can buy large humane traps to trap dogs. Bait it with dry or canned cat food, then take him to animal control. Some animal controls have traps that homeowners can borrow, or will even set them for you if you ask. (Then they remove it when it's caught the dog.) That would be what I'd do, and then when your neighbor came asking about his dog, you could honestly say that you didn't know where it was.

As for what to have your kids do, see if there are any youtube videos on that subject by Cesar Millan, aka The Dog Whisperer. The biggest things are to not run, not turn your back to the dog, not to talk to it, and not make eye contact. So the kids would have to slowly back away to then get inside. You need to practice this with them, depending upon their ages, because most kids would just turn and run - which then could provoke an attack with the wrong dog.

As a kid, I yelled at a little chihuahua thing that was in our yard and pointed in the direction I wanted it to go. It jumped up and bit my pinkie finger! Wish Cesar had been around then.

Good luck!

 

[dainerra]

sorry, all neighbors have been warned that any dogs on our property will be shot on sight. They have already been warned by the cops.

Heck, one day my chicks got out and onto the neighbor's property and 1 was killed by their dog. The neighbor's shot their dog. So I know that any dog roaming at large is most likely owned by someone who doesn't give a darn *cough cough trailer park across the highway* They have all been warned by the deputies, but it hasn't made a difference. My neighbor down the street has killed about 6 dogs so far this year.

 

[Chickencoop1996]

Quote:
X2

 

[crossgirl]

Quote:
! 2nd or 3rd the electric fence. Never mind the chickens, you have to keep your children safe and they have to be able to go outside.
Cesar's advice is excellent in the mean time especially the practicing part.

 

[screager312]

Tell the idiot neighbor you have snare traps set on your property for the coyotes.

 

[Niss]

I shot at my nieghbor's dog yesterday.

The hard part is that I know they feel badly and try to keep him in. The old man was standing at my coop when I got home "gaurding the chickens" because he didn't want us to kill his dog...makes it difficult, but the dog had aparently already killed my fav. duck, a little pekin, and taken a small bite out of another. I almost wish the guy was as clueless/selfish/butt headed as your neighbor so I could kill the dog and feel okay with it. I also don't want a big fued going.

 

[dainerra]

Niss, that does make it harder. Then again, if they REALLY wanted to keep the dog home, they would be able to. Some dogs are harder to contain th an others, but 99.999999% of them can be contained.

Too often, the owner makes an effort for a couple of days and then goes back to old habits and then the dog is back to killing birds.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Since this neighbor is trying, but is not being effective, it's time to work together with him to keep his dog contained on his property and your animals on yours. Since you do not mention any specifics, I can only make guesses as to what might help. Consider putting up good dog-proof fencing between the properties, and splitting the costs. Consider splitting the cost to build more secure pen for your birds or for his dog or even both. Consider professional training and a shock collar for the dog

 

[calista]

The part of your post that concerned me the most was this statement: "She is chained up 95% of the time -- it is the random 5% that scares me . . . and the clueless neighbors."

That "random 5%" SHOULD scare you because this situation, in my opinion, is an accident waiting to happen. The dog's -- AND the owner's -- behaviors will not change, so it is just a matter of time. (The owner also either does not or chooses not to understand that a dog running around fenced chickens while growling and barking trying to get in, traumatizes the birds and can cause them injury while they try to escape the threat by piling up against the opposite fence line.)

I certainly sympathize with your predicament and, if it were me, would have no hesitation in taking care of the situation permanently. If that is not an option for you or your husband, I agree that fencing your property and keeping after animal control with documentation and video evidence is your best solution to this problem for your family and your flock.

 

[larkflying]

Thanks for so many helpful suggestions . . . I agree with everyone that the status quo isn't going to last long. I am sure that there will be some kind of fencing between the neighbors and our house, although I am sure it will just encourage them to let the dog out more (they have a fence now, after all . . .), and it annoys me to have to do it -- but as someone says, it is much better to be safe. I think we can manage to fence two sections of the property line, and mostly take care of the SHORT TERM problem.

Then we'll work on the long term with the neighbors and whatever kind of force that ends up being necessary. We don't have enough fence, or the right situation for an LGD, although I love Great Pyrenees, a true, stay out with the animals LGD isn't a good fit for our spot. Sometime I hope to get one as a companion, but that won't be happening soon.

We'll develop our paper trail with the police / animal control, and will use surveillance . . . and maybe we'll try the warning paintball shot as well. Nice lead in to the final solution . . . couldn't trap because of our wild barn cats that do such a good job with the rat/mouse population, but I will look around for a large animal live trap . . . .

I feel better - thanks for agreeing that the situation was as out of line as I thought it was. I too do not want a feud with neighbors, but iif they are determined to remain clueless then, well, that's what happens.

Oh, and they brought over a litter of puppies to show to my children yesterday - saying they were looking for homes. If I'd been there, I would have said something rude -- as it was i thought, "Like we would want one of THEIR dogs . . ."

Clueless . . .

So how high do you fence for coyotes and neighbor dogs? If I have to do a fence this summer, than I'm going to want one the right size . . . I guess I will research on past posts and see what people have used. I'm sure there will be lots of helpful information.