Neighbor dogs

[curdogs]

I believe the first step to being a good neighbor is keeping your mutts on your own property and not letting them continually harass other's pets and livestock, tear up garbage, stand in front of their house and bark all night, crap in their yard etc. Most people who allow animals to do this in the first place are not good neighbors by anyones standards and deserve to have the law brought against them or their dogs shot. I honestly could care less about being a good neighbor to a person like that.

I am not saying talking to them is a bad idea, just some people are non-confrontational and prefer not to get involved with the person, especially if they know the guy to be a problem. It is the duty of law enforcement to do this in that situation. Most cases the officers will simply explain the laws and the consequences and give a warning or 2, if the issue continues then there will be consequences which are well deserved.

I believe the first step in being a good neighbor is to give that neighbor a chance to keep their dogs up and also be a good neighbor.
After this person knows that her dogs are being a problem then she will show what kind of a person she is.
We always hear about the about the bad neighbors and dogs but no one post about the ones that turn out good

 

[blucoondawg]

I believe the first step in being a good neighbor is to give that neighbor a chance to keep their dogs up and also be a good neighbor.
After this person knows that her dogs are being a problem then she will show what kind of a person she is.
We always hear about the about the bad neighbors and dogs but no one post about the ones that turn out good

I believe that is true, but I think it is also because good neighbors don't generally have problems with dogs as they are inclined to make sure they stay put. Granted there is an occasional accident where the dog gets loose and goes for a run, that is far different from an everyday problem. I believe someone who intentionally lets the dogs roam is in general an inconsiderate person or has very little common sense. If it is a common sense issue then informing them of the problem will work, if the person is just a simple jerk, it will do no good and you have to take further steps.

 

[nova022]

I'm really sorry to hear your story. People need to restrain their animals. That's just plain rude, and probably against the law; even my county has a county wide leash law and it is pretty lame otherwise insofar as having any animal laws. Since you mention your family is renting this property, maybe the landlord would speak to the neighbor?

With no wish to offend, I must say that is it inappropriate for your parents to expect you to deal with this on your own. It would be fine to say let's build a good sturdy chicken tractor and you have to help, but this is a problem that requires adult leadership, in my opinion. They should first speak nicely to the neighbor about what's going on and make it clear that the dogs can't be on your place or there will be consequences, i.e. they'll be taken to the pound, or whatever.

We had a neighbor who let their dog loose all the time and it tried to kill out chickens one day. Luckily our rooster did his job and we intervened in time to save him; my husband fired a shot in the air and the dog ran off. Before this incident, I had actually driven their dog home a few times, and told them he was at our place and I didn't want him to get hit by a car or anything. So, they knew it was a repeating issue. My husband went down there and politely told them that if something like that happened again, he very well might shoot their dog. They were nice, apologized, offered to buy a new rooster if ours died, but they didn't keep the dog locked up. Finally, someone did shoot their dog and it wasn't us, but I'm sure they think it was, so now they keep him tied up.

This is an adult problem and it's something your parents really need to take charge of, dealing with the neighbor, talking with the authorities, etc. I understand they want you to be responsible, but this isn't something a minor should be handling.

x2

 

[jdywntr]

Sorry for the problems you are having. I would talk to them first, even though you are young what they are doing is wrong. They may not realize that the dogs are causing a problem. Just be polite about it and explain what the dogs are doing and that you don't want things to escalate and have your animals killed. Depending on how they respond, your problem may be solved. I would still check to see if there are animal control officers there. You can call to find out your rights and what they will and won't do. Some places will come out and catch loose dogs, some places you have to have the dog contained and some won't come out. If after talking to your neighbor the dogs are still loose, I'd report it. To animal control and the police. Don't call 911, it isn't an emergency but find the non-emergency number and explain the situation and that you want to report it.

I had a neighbor's dogs come into our pasture 4 months ago and kill a few of my chickens. The neighbor was talked to and everything was fine until about 1.5 weeks ago when 1 of the dogs came back and killed 2 of my chickens. Because obviously talking to them didn't have a long term affect, I called the sheriff's office and reported it. A deputy came out and took a report and was then going to make contact with the dog's owner. I figured an official warning would help.
The neighbor came by a few days later and apologized. He insisted on compensating us and told me that the deputy actually shot one of the dogs when they went to talk to them because of the dog's behavior. He is getting rid of the other one. I was sorry the dog got shot but I told him that if I had gotten there in time I would have shot them myself if they were still on our property.

 

[CASDOG1]

I sometimes wish people who are living in livestock country for the first time had to take a test. 8-/ So many seem to believe "the country" is just one big dog park & no one has to worry about leashes or fences. And then their dogs come home full of birdshot or BBs, or covered in pepper spray, or mangled up from a livestock guardian dog, they get all upset that someone was "so mean" to their pet. They refuse to believe that their pet would ever hurt a fly even if you have video footage of their dog chasing, biting, & killing your animals.

Bottom line: If you love your pet dog, keep it at home. The law allows my working dogs to kill your pet if it enters my property, & that is not a nice way for your pet to die. Neither is being shot, hit by a car, bitten by a snake, trampled by a horse, gored by a bull, eaten by a pack of coyotes, bitten by a rabid raccoon, or mauled by a feral pig. My pet dogs stay on my property at all times unless they are leashed.

 

[cafarmgirl]

I really agree whole heartedly with those who have said that your parents really should be dealing with this situation. You will indeed learn from this but at your age they should be taking care of it.

But if they aren't going to help then I guess it's on you to do what you can. I applaud you for doing your best to try to figure this out and what steps to take. Talk to the neighbor, she may just be ignorant of what her dogs are getting themselves into when she turns them loose. A lot of people are foolish and think their wonderful dogs won't hurt a flea. I wouldn't have great hopes that she will change how she does things but at least inform her. If that fails, tie the dogs up next time they show up, since they are very friendly, and either have animal control pick them up or take them to the pound yourselves, if your parents are willing do that. You have to do something to get this woman's attention and paying bail to get her dogs out sometimes helps.

 

[curdogs]

So how did this turne out? tell us.

 

[MsChickenMomma]

Well I haven't seen the dogs in about a week. I saw them the day after I made this thread. They were out running around for about 20 minutes and our neighbor came down the street with her car, picked them up and went home. I haven't seen them since. My mom said that if they turn up again, she will go to our neighbors house and talk to her and see what she says.

Maybe one of our other neighbors complained and she stopped letting them out, and that's why I haven't seen them. We'll see!

 

[speckledhen]

Same story, different players, right? We see it daily on BYC. Irresponsible dog owners feel their animal gets a pass just because it's a dog and your animal is a chicken, a perceived food animal. My own saga with n'hood dogs is here.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/385404/trapped-a-neighbors-dog-on-my-deck-got-an-earful

There are roaming dogs all over in my county, some dumped, some that folks have put a collar on (without tags or shots) and feel that designates ownership and the sum total of their responsibility. Those, we don't hesitate to shoot to kill if they breech the fenced perimeter. Right now, we are in the middle of insurance crap after a house fire, living in an RV in our driveway, and have zero patience for any dog related garbage. Dog gets in, dog disappears.

And I resent having to be put in that position because I love dogs. Had them for 30 years as an adult married person, after having them in my family as a child (even then, fenced, because they were AKC Dobermans), and we never lost track of a dog because we made efforts to fence every property we owned; it isn't hard or terribly expensive if you do it certain ways. We never had much money, trust me. If you cannot fence them in, do not have a dog until you can do so-even a portable kennel is something. A dog in the back on a chain is not an alternative, in my mind. Why bother having one at all? I cannot imagine just letting my dog out, not knowing where it goes, what it's doing, what it might get into, or what might happen to it. I loved my dogs.


It's hard when you are not the one in charge, I realize. Very frustrating to try to get folks to do what they should do when you don't have the authority to make them listen. I wish you the best of luck!

 

[LJack]

I agree with you. I just started reading this thread because of my neighbor dogs. My neighbor got these puppies a year ago, now that they're older, they are letting them run loose. I've never said anything till Friday I found the boxer staring into my chicken run/coop. So I walked them home, told the owner, and just got a very weak "sorry". 2 days later the same thing. So my husband walks over, the only one that was home was their teenage daughter who had turned them loose. My husband told her if it doesn't stop, we may shoot them. The next night her father comes over screaming and shouting threats to "wreak havoc on our family". It really took us by surprise because these people have always been nice in the past, hospital administrators. But we felt threaten and called the police, who then went to talk to them. So far haven't seen or heard from them, but do not trust them. We're planning to installing security cameras in case something happens when we're not home.
The police by the way stated we have the right to shoot them if they are a danger on our property. Also agreed it should be the dogs owner's responsibility to put up a fence.