# What to do about these neighbors and their dogs



## Harbisgirl (Mar 29, 2013)

Hello,

I have a potential situation and wanted to ask your opinion on how we should handle it. We have some new neighbors that are renting a property behind us. They have 4 or 5 dogs and a bunch of outdoor cats. We do have field fencing around our whole property. Their dogs and cats continually come into our yard. Im a huge animal lover and Im not terribly worried about the Jack Russell terrier and cats getting into our property but it is a little irritating because they come over late at night and upset my 2 little dogs and gets them barking, which sets off all the dogs in the whole neighborhood. To be fair, Ive caught one of my dog in their yard too the little guy is an escape artist. My other little pup doesnt like leaving our yard so thats good. Anyway, both my dog and their little Jack Russell and cats are all small enough to squeeze through the upper holes in the field fencing, so they can go back and forth. To rectify this, my husband and I have been working on putting up 3 strands of closely spaced electric fencing wire around most of the property and once we finish it , it should keep my dog in and their Jack Russell and cats out. However I am concerned about their other dogs. They are big dogs and not all of them are friendly. While I was out putting up the hot wire, the neighbor was outside so I said Hi and introduced myself. I met the resident and his adult son  unfortunately I forget their names now. This is where it got a little uncomfortable. These arent your average Joe kind of guys  they are, or at least enjoyed acting like, hillbilly rednecks with an attitude and too much testosterone. The kind that looks like they might want to pick a fight. Part of our property is cross fenced -  we did not put hot wire up in that section since we dont go back there often and we dont want our dogs out there since the old field fencing is kind of lousy and there is barbed wire back there from the previous owner and for whatever reason a lot of skunks travel through there. I think the resident thinks that this cross sectioned area is not our property because he is totally disrespectful of the fence and area. As I was putting up the hot wire, his large St. Bernard trotted up to us  in my cross fenced area of the property. My little dog is an escape artist so Im the last person to point finger at a dog not in their yard  but its St. Bernard for Petes sake.  I wanted to be friendly about it so I laughed and tried to just joke with him about it and kinda hinted that hes been over here more than once. Rather than just say sorry, hell try keep his dog home next time and let it go, he told me that I better keep my dogs on my side because his other dog would kill them. Um, ok. This other dog is a ginormous Great Dane. I am not afraid of big dogs in the least but when someone says they have a vicious Great Dane its a bit worrisome. Then he told his adult son to go retrieve the St. Bernard. The son walked over and smooshed my field fencing down by SITTING ON IT (ARGH!), so the dog to climb over easier. The guy just kind of smirked and said the dog was old and needed help (he manages to get over by himself every day though). Like I said, these are hillbilly types and I didnt want to start a pissing match so I let it go- but it got my Irish temper flaring a bit. I spotted several other dogs in their yard that luckily didnt seem to care about what was going on at the fence so I think the only problem dogs are the St. Bernard and the Great Dane. Admittedly, the St. Bernard seems to be friendly and just wants to explore and play with my little 15 lb dog. But he is damaging my field fencing and thats not cool. And while he seems to be friendly with my dog, I dont know how he is with people and dont really want to find out so I dont want him roaming around my property. And Im also worried that hell damage the fence to a point where the Great Dane will be able to escape and join him. The resident admitted that it was a vicious dog and had almost killed a neighbors dog who got onto their property. I understand that  - his dog was doing his job  but the guy seemed to be a quite amused about it. I also found that they have been throwing garbage over the fence onto my property (like Im not going to notice!?). The back of their property butts up to ours. This where they pile up their horse manure too  so now instead of the lovely scent of pine in the air, we get to smell horse manure. The St. Bernard is now showing up daily. The garbage. The vicious dog. The horse manure. Its getting to be all a bit much. I dont want to say anything because I have a feeling they are the type to retaliate. My husband and I work fulltime and are not home to keep an eye on things  they are home all day and I would not feel safe leaving my home and animals. I thought about writing a note to the owner but it would be pretty obvious who sent it  hardly anonymous - since the guy knows his St. Bernard is escaping to my property..  I have no idea what to do. Im getting more worried because besides the existing issues (vicious dog/dogs, cats, garbage, horse manure) we are going to be getting some goats and pigs. Ill intend on putting up 6 horse fencing around the livestock areas -  Im very afraid that these big dogs would get into our property and hurt or kill them. While Im fully aware of my rights to protect my animals  and prepared to do so (SSS!) - Im not present every minute of the day. And I would really just rather not have it come down to that.  Its not the dogs fault, its the owners. Sorry for the rambleI would be most grateful for any suggestions.


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## Southern by choice (Mar 29, 2013)

Just be up front and let them be aware of the boundaries... do not cower or try to play or be politically correct. Keep it plain and simple.

Simply- We are gonna be neighbors, so we need to make sure that your dogs do not continue to cross the boundary...the trash and manure- needs to stay on your side. Are we good???


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## WhiteMountainsRanch (Mar 29, 2013)

Southern by choice said:
			
		

> Just be up front and let them be aware of the boundaries... do not cower or try to play or be politically correct. Keep it plain and simple.
> 
> Simply- We are gonna be neighbors, so we need to make sure that your dogs do not continue to cross the boundary...the trash and manure- needs to stay on your side. Are we good???


*
LOL this is what I was thinking. There are ways to get your point across without being confrontational. 

Only once you have set your boundaries and they fully realize you won't put up with their BS can you take things further IF NEEDED.

Meaning ONCE you have ALL your animals 100% fully contained and not trespassing can you then call the Animal Control IF NEEDED.

I definitely would NOT get any more animals until all these issues are resolved or you could wind up with a lot of dead ones. *


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## Canadiannee (Mar 30, 2013)

I'm with Southern by choice... Making clear boundaries is the key. This is my property, that is your property, you stay on yours and I stay on mine... simple and direct.

I went through a similar issue last spring... not with neighbours, but with tenants who rented the house on our leased horse property... The day they moved in, they sent their 6 year old son and a very expensive bulldog puppy down to our paddocks to play with our horses... I almost had a coronary when I saw this small child and puppy running in amongst our horses, so I grabbed the boy and puppy and marched them right up to the house... The father had a "he-man" attitude, he felt that because he rented the house, the luxury of playing with my horses was his right. I knew right then that if I didn't set boundaries immediately, I'd be failing that child and dog because it was obvious the father didn't "get" that these were animals that could hurt his child and possibly maim his puppy... I'm not saying our horses are miserable creatures, but they are 1200lbs of animal who run and buck and play and act like... well.... horses!

Once I realized that no matter what I said, he still couldn't grasp the notion that he wasn't allowed to wander down to the barns and play with our horses on his whim... I pointed to the fenceline that separates the house property from the barn property (you can't miss it, it's a 5' black heavily posted fence that surrounds the whole horse area) and told him that everything past that fence line was mine, and everything in front of the fenceline was his, and therefore I would not be using his area of the property and expected that he would be respectful and not be using mine.

I think we all have hopes of having good relations when new neighbours move in, however, it doesn't always work out that way... sadly, there are some people who will take an inch without asking permission and for some reason we let them... maybe out of fear or even just neighbourly hospitality, but soon that inch becomes a foot, and that foot becomes a mile... resentment and hostility brews and then you have an explosion.


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## Harbisgirl (Apr 1, 2013)

It looks so simple in writing  I have no problem being assertive - as anyone who knows me can attest to. However, they seem like they are looking for a fight and with me being gone all day long, it would not be pretty. Well, that will have to be their choice, I guess. I'll just nicely tell them to keep off my fences, keep their dogs on their property, and stop throwing trash on my property. Thats your side, this is my side. Super simple. If they decide to play nasty, well then so-be-it. Guess I know that, just hoping for a different answer that wouldn't leave it to chance  Thanks all


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## CrazyCatNChickenLady (Apr 1, 2013)

Make sure there are visible "No Trespassing" signs around and confront them. Get a game cam and put it up but don't tell them about it or put it in a place they can see. If they start something and come on your property when you're not home get them for trespassing.. Also make sure your little dog doesn't escape anymore because odds are they'll let kujo eat him without batting an eye. My last advice is keep a gun close by. I'm surrounded by these hillbilly type guys that think they can do whatever and let their dogs run wherever just because they live on some property out of the city.. I protect myself and my animals first then I worry about who I might have pissed off in the process..


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