Neighbors little rat terriers... grrrrrr

[HennysMom]

well.... add me to the list - my first rant in this section!

I'm trying to think of how to handle this as nice as possible - her two rat terriers are pains in the butt - they have chickens and their dogs terrorize thier chickens, but that doesnt mean they can come over and terrorize MINE. They poop in my yard - they pee'd all over my hydrangea bush and flowers.. and yesterday my son nearly killed one with his go-kart as it came at him. If he'd of hit it I'd of been a mess for sure *sighs* I'm an animal lover through and through, no matter who's animal it is. I cannot employ the SSS method by any means (unless its attacking a human or another animal deliberately and out for blood) but I certainly will not stand for someone elses dogs in my yard either. I cleaned up after my own dog when he was alive - I clean up after my chickens for pete's sake! Ugh...

How to approach this subject yet again - as we've already done this twice before? She's such a nice lady and she's remorseful when she finds out they are over here (they are her daughters dogs..) but that doesnt excuse the fact that she lets them run loose. There is a leash law in Virginia

. Short of just calling animal patrol (which again I dont really want to do...but if I have to, I will

) they are someone's pet and I respect that (they have kids) but at the same time - I do not respect the fact that they allow them to run freely and terrorize my birds who are in their pen - nor my yard which is free of feces. They dont respect me or other neighbors by letting them run freely - living in the country or not - my yard is mine and I choose not to have dog poop (or dogs for that matter) in it.

Thanks for letting me vent...

I'm so annoyed....

 

[annanicole18]

the nicest thing to do for both the dogs and the owners since you have already talked to them twice is to call animal control. then the dogs could be "impounded" with a fee to get them out. the owner either pays the fee and should be more considerate of letting them run loose so she doesn't have to pay the fee again or she doesn't pay the fee and the dogs get to go to a new home where hopefully they would be taught some manners and would no longer disturb your family.

the dog running out in front of your sons gocart is dangerous since he would prolly swerve to avoid hitting the dogs and might roll or run into something

 

[cassie]

You might send your neighbor some information about an invisible fence. Really, the only way you are going to solve your problem is to fence your yard. Years ago, my mother solved the stray dog problem with a .22. No, she didn't kill them. She bought bullets made from rock salt. They would sting like the dickens but wouldn't injure the dog. I don't know if the rock salt bullets are even still available, but they sure worked for my mother. She was a good shot.

 

[CMV]

The best part about calling Animal Control is their response, "I just happened to be driving by when I saw..." They always make it sound like they were just driving by on routine patrol. Your neighbor will be unaware that you were the one that called. I have neighbors with 2 dogs that bark incessantly. We spoke to them several times to no avail. We left a note on their door also to no avail. As a matter of fact Mr. Neighbor came over and threatened my husband if we didn't stop complaining about their dogs. So, after exhausting the neighborly options, we just called Animal Control each time the dogs barked for more than 30 minutes. The neighbors were fined each time AC had to come out, and eventually wound up in court over the dogs. They still have these unfortunate mutts, but at least they keep them quiet.
Good luck.

 

[citrusdreams]

I have a neighbor that has big dogs that she lets run loose all the time. They have attacked my chickens and guineas too many times to count and I'm not exaggerating.

I have asked, I have begged, I have demanded, over the year without success. When I finally started shooting at them, she started keeping them up until she got a bug up her butt and let them out again. They come here almost immediately. So the frequency is not daily as before, but unpredictable and fast and when she feels like it. I'm not sure if she's just vindictive or stupid.

It sounds to me like you really just need to vent, and really don't want to hurt her feelings, rather than get advice to resolve this. Unfortunately, I've been there and it probably won't work.

I could suggest, as annanicole did, to call animal control, but you'll probably not, out of fear of hurting her feelings. It can get just as ugly when someone calls in the authorities.

What you can't do is shoot them with pellet guns or paint guns because if you anger the kind lady, she might take you to court for animal cruelty.

SSS is the ony thing that will work when you have perpetually uncoopertive dog owners who refuse to keep their dogs in. You can't make her do what she doesn't want to do. And you can't force her to be responsible. Eventually, they'll kill one of your chickens.

One more thing: even though your chickens are in their pen, you run the risk of them dying from heat exhaustion in this weather, if they are being terrorized by the dogs. Dogs rushing the fence is very scary for chickens. Watch your chickens and if that happens, you might want to take a more proactive role in resolving your problem because they'll start dropping in this weather when badly stressed.

And I agree, if these dogs keep running out in front of your son, you know it's just an accident waiting to happen. For that alone I'd call animal control.

 

[19hhbelgian]

If talking to her doesn't solve your problem, then I would suggest to just call animal control. If they love their dogs they will bail them out and hopefully get the point the first time they have to pay to get their own dogs back. If they are friendly little dogs, even if the people would decide not to get them back, I'm sure they would find good homes rather than being put down. The situation isn't safe for anybody, including the dogs. You may not SSS, but somebody else could... Good luck, hope things work out!

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
The dogs could cause him to have a serious accident on the go cart. That alone should be enough to take action.
Quote:
When they eventually get hold of a chicken they will be out for blood, and the chicken's suffering will be very real. As for the poop, tell your neighbor very politely that you would appreciate her and her daughters coming over to pick it it up. I can imagine the friendly phone call: "Hi, it's Henny's Mom. Fluffy and Bootsy came visiting again. We spend a lot of time barefoot in the yard and I just don't have the time to clean it up. I really need for you and the kids to bring some plastic sacks over and pick up the poo. I have to go now. Have a nice day."

Quote:
What's so nice about her? She's an irresponsible dog owner. She puts you son at risk. She puts your chickens at risk. She allows her dogs to fill your yard with poop instead of hers. She keeps pets that she has no intention of caring for properly. A dog getting out once and causing trouble is an accident. A repeat offender is the result of somebody that doesn't really care. Yes, they're pets. So what? You have pets too. Her pets are of no greater value than yours, and they are certainly of less value than your son. They are a nuisance. If you wanted two little terriers wreaking havoc in your yard, you would buy your own and still not need hers. Her apologies are lies. If she was really sorry, it wouldn't happen again. She has no respect for her neighbors. Don't worry about hurting her feelings. Be polite, but blunt. Tell her, "The dogs were over today. They nearly caused my son to have an accident on the go cart. I really must insist that you keep them at home. There are some really nice kennels on sale at Lowes. BTW since you and the girls didn't make it over to clean poo out of the yard, I am hiring a service to come in to clean the yard. They charge $50 per hour. I hope you understand that I will forward the bill to you. I don't have time to clean the yard myself, and the removal is very pricey. They will be here tomorrow afternoon. If you and the girls clean the poo today, I'll call the service and cancel. Let me know if you need help putting up the kennel. I might have a little time next Saturday. Maybe we'll have a picnic and make an afternoon of it." If that doesn't work, get nasty.

Edited to add: Years ago, I had a neighbor that let his friendly dog roam. It never killed a chicken or harmed other animals, but one day it ran into the road. A car swerved to miss it and there was a terrible wreck. People died because somebody that was repeatedly "sorry" about his loose dog never corrected the situation. It could happen in your neighborhood. Can you live with the possible consequences. The dog owners in this case claimed the dog wasn't theirs after the accident and still didn't take responsibility. They just didn't care. If you can correct the situation by calling AC, you might actually be saving the dogs, chickens and humans.

 

[SussexInSeattle]

If your son should kill one with his ATV, there is nothing they can do to you if you do have a leash law. Just like someone driving without a license, if they get hit by another driver, it is still their fault for being on the road with no license to even be on the road.

Call your local animal control and request to make an anonymous complaint. They don't know if the owners are wacko and should be able to accomodate your request. You could call up without giving your name or location and just ASK if an anonymous complaint is possible.

The nicest people can often cost you the most unfortunately. I had a client years ago who had a standing appointment with me to come to her home to provide a service. She was as nice and sweet as you say this lady neighbor of yours is. She was even a school teacher so being in public service, you would think that she had her stuff together.

She would set appointments, tell me that she would leave her door unlocked so that I could get in, then I would drive the 25 miles to her home to find her place locked up tight as a drum! I was a lot like you, I let her slide and slide at MY EXPENSE until one day about a year into these games of hers, I added up all the missed appoinment fees, never mind my time and gas and vehicle wear and tear. This nice woman had cost me over $750 in lost appointmets alone, never mind my time and aggravation!

I then told her that I could not come back until she paid my fee for her last missed appointment. She informed me that she could not afford to do that and so she went elsewhere.

When your lady has cost you in loss or injury to your children or pets, you may finally decide to take action but you can avoid all this simply by being diligent about calling animal control EVERY time these dogs are at large.

The only other option I can think of is to silently collect her dogs and take them to animal control as strays. You will have to be "Jane Smith" from a few blocks down the road but it may teach these people a lesson.

 

[HennysMom]

You all are 100% correct... absolutely. After much thought on it all (and putting my heart strings aside for the love of animals)... I've decided to let DH handle it all

I'm just not in the mood for confrontation these past few weeks (where normally I could care less in all honesty - its MY property after all) but my heart and soul just arent in for a battle at this point. I am not going to fence in the over 5 acres - way too expensive and it is their issue, not mine after all - ya'll are correct.

So... out goes DH to handle this and he will employ the SSS method - this I know. He did ping them in the backsides with rocks and a slingshot the other day

and ran to grab the bb gun but I stopped him from using that just in case he hit them in the face

. They are dogs even if nuisances.. and I just have a love for animals. I was upset last year when DH hit a skunk in the nose with a bb gun (not meaning to, but it richocheted) - he meant to scare it and it bounced... and the skunks nose got hit.

It was by my chicken pen... and I wanted it gone. Hasnt come back, but there was alot of blood from his nose getting hit. So the bb gun has been banned - for now. Sling shot and a rock is the best he has at the moment. Me: I just run like the madwoman at them and yell SHOO SHOO

yeah.. now THATS effective.

But.. when it comes to my kid .... all bets are off. Mama bear will come forward..best believe it.

Thanks everyone - will keep you posted on how it all transpires... even if I'm inside looking out the windows LOL!

 

[farrier!]

I can sure understand not wanting to confront her.....I would be the same way.

If it is a smaller area they cross over at an electric fence is cheap and easy to put up.