Neighbors Dog is Digging Into My Yard!

[Manhen]

When I was younger a next door neighbor (duplex) had a dog staked out in a treeless yard all day, and it barked all night. They ignored it horribly. I let it go. The dog and I were happy three days.

 

[Wellbie]

Hi everyone! I am having an issue with my neighbors dog & I was hoping for some ideas/ feedback/ information if anyone has dealt with this issue before.

My neighbors dog will not stop digging at the fence line and into my yard. He is a German Shepherd/ Husky who can fit it entire head and front limbs under the chain link fence. He is left outside all day, without supervision or toys (I have tossed him over quite a few balls and sticks because I feel sorry for the guy) and he has decided that trying to catch my chickens is how he entertains himself.

I have tried talking to my neighbors about it and they deflect responsibly, have no solutions, and are just generally hostile about the situation. So no help there!

What are steps I can take to protect my chickens? We are currently waiting on a contractor to build a privacy fence, but I don’t know that this will deter him in the long term. So- any ideas of how to protect them in the meantime? We have filled the holes in our side, buried rocks/ blocked the fence he had bent, put up particle board as a visual barrier in strategic spots already. I maintain it daily as he finds a way to move the rocks (they’re so big!! How does he do that?). I am looking for something more permanent on my end, that isn’t going to cost us an arm & a leg, and that I don’t need to maintain daily.

Any ideas are so very appreciated. I just want my chickens to be safe, thank you ❤

Water gun with pepper spray

 

[MROO]

It's not the GSD side of the dog you need to worry about - it's the Husky. They're just as smart, but have a strong prey-drive. And I have to agree with the electricity option. In this case, e Electric fence is your friend.
Who owns the fence? If it's yours, put up insulators and run a line of electric fencing along the inside. If it belongs to the neighbors, run a "hog fence" along your side. It's a low fence designed to keep pigs from rooting along a fence line.

Make sure the line's high enough not to get caught in your mower, but low enough that the dog will hit it when he pushes his head and/or shoulders under it. And don't worry about your birds, unless they're really little chicks, a basic dog fence isn't going to hurt them - and chicks will learn from Mama to stay away from it. Chickens are smarter than most people think. They'll learn faster than the dog will, mainly because they won't have prey-motivation interfering with zap avoidance!

If you want to add a long-term element to your plan, tie little strips of white tee-shirt or plastic to your fence every few feet. It's an old horse-trick that "flags" the fence as hot. Eventually, you won't have to leave the fence on all the time. Everyone - even the neighbors - will assume that it's hot.

The dog is just following his instincts, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't do something to stop him. Hopefully, you can use his "smarts" to train him and avoid an ugly situation for everyone. Good Luck!

 

[Marie2020]

Hope you can resolve this situation. My heart feels for that dog, he'll be an intelligent creature that's left trapped. In saying that your chickens need protection big time. It sickens me those kind of people own any kind of animal.

 

[MrsPeterTHooper]

We had this problem with our neighbor's dog--he even chewed through the wooden privacy fence! We just put our chickens in the coop (predator-proof) for the afternoon and called animal control when the dog got through and was trying to figure out how to get at the chickens. After our neighbor had to pay to get his dog back, he took more interest in keeping his dog away from our fence. Natural consequences!

 

[MrsPeterTHooper]

Many people claim this really works. I have never had luck with hot pepper deterring dogs, but be aware that chickens LOVE hot pepper which will only serve to attract them to the fence, enticing the dog even more! Personally, I would first call Animal Control, explain what is happening and that you have spoken to the neighbors numerous times. Ask if they could please force the owners of the dog to install appropriate fencing on their side of the property to protect your animals/yard. You may be surprised at how understanding and helpful they will be. They will also know the rules/restrictions in your area concerning electric fencing and may be able to offer suitable suggestions.

That wasn't my experience with animal control. Even with the dog on my property harassing my chickens they didn't want to take in "a member of their family". I asked them to anyway, because the neighbor's "family member was trying to kill my family members"
I hope animal control is more understanding elsewhere but they weren't too helpful here.

 

[jlchick]

Ummm. Is there a male in your household? If so, give them lots and lots of beverage of choice, then instruct them that they can't use the bathroom, instead they have to "mark" all around the fence perimeter. Worked for us, as the neighbors dog didn't like the new unknown male scent.

That’s hilarious!!!

 

[NatJ]

I wonder--does it matter what gender of person does the marking? I'm asking about the reaction of the predators, not the reaction of neighboring people

 

[3KillerBs]

I am done being nice. Some people only respond to the authorities. - I use to be afraid to report them- til I realized I should be more afraid of what they will do if they do not respect me and my boundaries.

I was making just this point to someone at work yesterday. Why should we worry about offending people who are perfectly content to offend, harass, and take advantage of us?

 

[aart]

I wonder--does it matter what gender of person does the marking? I'm asking about the reaction of the predators, not the reaction of neighboring people

I've wondered that also.....is it the contents or just the ease of application.