How to Handle Neighbors Dogs

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Allegra said:
Our city does not have breed-specific dog ordinances and they don’t have a history of strictly enforcing dog-at-large ordinances either.
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But do they have an animal-control department that you can talk to? To find out for certain what they will and won’t do if this dog gets in your yard again?
 
angel12 said:
But do they have an animal-control department that you can talk to? To find out for certain what they will and won’t do if this dog gets in your yard again?
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This. Even if it’s not managed specifically by your municipality, there is somebody responsible for animal control where you live. To get in touch with them I’d call your municipal office and ask.
 
I don’t have any good advice, just to let you know that I sympathize with your situation.
We live in a small rural town where there are no fences around houses and have dealt with dog issues since we have lived here for over 20 years.
Now, I like dogs,(I’m a cat person myself) but I’ve always believed that if you are going to have a dog in town, you have to be responsible and some people just aren’t.
When my kids were little, we had a neighbor who kept the dog (a rotweiler) tied up outside. Every once in awhile the dog got loose. I had a friendly enough relationship with her that I was able to talk to her directly. she dealt with the problem and moved away soon after.
We also had some dogs that were getting loose and pooping in our yard. Again we talked to the neighbor but we were already friendly and he liked us.
This neighbor put up an electric fence and keeps the dogs inside at night so all is good now.
Currently we are dealing with rental neighbors a few houses down whose dog barks and howls all night long.
I would not approach the house(these people are scary) so I contacted the city who advised us to contact the policed dept. I did so. The police visited them twice, problem seems to be solved for now.
In your case, I like the letter idea(but I would NOT say you are going to shoot the dogs.)
If that does nothing, then I like the old Colonel’s idea.
I mean, you have already found the dog in YOUR yard!
I agree you need to protect your children.
As a matter of fact, if it were me, I think I would go straight to do what the old Colonel suggested.
a fence wouldn’t hurt, either, if you can get one put up.
 
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Are they not old enough to understand not to touch an electric fence? Sorry I didn’t see an age posted. Wasn’t sure how old they are.
 
It’s not sufficient if you put it up and they somehow manage to get over or under it, but you have no way of doing that without actually doing it.

Why escalate the situation and make it all about the other person? Just put up the fence. Yes, the dogs are their problem, but it’s my property and my job to protect it. Make them deal with the dogs and just put the fence up.

And people wonder why wars start with neighbors. It’s literally a two way street. I truly don’t see the issue here. When I put up fencing it’s actually not about my dog. It’s usually that I don’t want some other genius in my yard. It’s not their house and their bills. They’re mine.
 
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Stop spending time asking Catholic Answer Forum people about this; you’ll get all types of answers, not that we are not willing to help. Now, after reading this, call your city hall and ask questions and/or call or go to you local police department for professional advise. Have them go over to the neighbor and speak to them. At least then you will have a written report to protect yourself. A copy of this forum is not a legal doc.
 
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I’m thinking that you should contact the owner in a non-confrontational way and see how he reacts. If you write a note saying that you are concerned about the safety of your children because his dogs are getting into your yard and you’d like his assistance in keeping them away from your children you’ll learn what you need to do from his response. He might say, “Sorry I mean to keep my dogs under control, can we go in together on improving your fence” or he might tell you to get lost, or not respond at all.
There is a chance that the neighbor isn’t a bad guy he just has problem dogs. Even though I don’t think this is likely, it begins the discussion at a less than legal level. Once you bring lawyers in or “advise” him that you will kill his dogs it is really hard to have a civil relationship.
 
Pit bulls are classed as a dangerous breed here in the UK and it’s illegal to own them, that’s how unsuitable they are to live near other people (let alone kids).
 
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They had been warned and cited multiple times that their dogs were at large. Even after their dog bit their neighbor in his garage, they still didn’t seem to want to believe that their dog was aggressive. They were trying to rile up public sympathy and pressure the county not to put their dog down. It was all the mean old neighbor’s fault. He must have provoked the dog. He should be investigated. Their dog is a good judge of character. All that nonsense. It was their own fault their dog got put down. They shouldn’t have let the dog out without a fence or a leash.
 
It’s if it was sufficient to keep the dog out, it’s not sufficient because I don’t have the authority to put it completely around their yard. If the dog can jump over the fence between our yards, it can jump over the fence to the street and come around to the front of my property. I also don’t have the funds to put up such a fence right now, especially not knowing if it will work, and there’s a good chance it’s a moot point because I might not be allowed to put a wooden fence up anyway.
 
I wish had some more advice. I can imagine it’s very scary, I’ll never understand why people want those dogs.
 
That I don’t know. I’m hoping to hear back soon regarding what they recommend. Even if they don’t have a specific department, this can’t be their first rodeo.
 
In our area, Animal Control deals primarily with wild animals and not pets. They don’t even deal with feral cats. (I found out the hard way.) I guess if we get attacked by a grizzly, they’ve got our back.
 
Common sense here, folks.
  1. Talk with the neighbor
  2. Check with your HOA/city/zoning regarding fences
  3. Install a 6 ft privacy fence inside your property line (if allowed)
  4. Document everything
  5. Do not leave children outside unattended until it is safe.
  6. Stay legal - follow all laws and ordinances.
I had a similar problem. My children and day care, neighbors lab would jump on my fence and bark/growl at the kids. I talked with neighbors and they didn’t care. I had to install a privacy fence inside my existing chain link. They asked me to remove the chain link but I left it to establish my property.
 
I guess all I can say to that is “Porque no los dos?”

Seems weird to make a distinction to me.
 
Ok, I missed this information before. I was taught by my dad that if a dog bites someone it must be put down immediately, for everyone’s safety if not to prevent litigation. I don’t think that a fence is a good investment - a lawyer is. I don’t know if you can get a restraining order against a dog, but if one of these dogs has already bitten (and no action was taken) then you have a problem that no fence will solve.
 
I don’t know. All I know is that it makes it REALLY hard to get rid of feral cats!
 
Wait. I think you misunderstood. I don’t think the neighbor’s dog has bitten anyone. At least I don’t know they have. The dog that bit someone lived in my neighborhood, but wasn’t the same dog.
 
Do you know any lawyers you can consult with? As you said, a privacy fence might solve the issue of the dogs getting into your back yard, but they can just go out the front and then come around to your house the other way – which doesn’t eliminate the possibility of harm to your kids. If you know any lawyers, I’d consult one asap to determine what you can do with regard to fencing, animal control, chains for the dogs, etc. in your town. The police department might give you some ideas too, but consulting with a lawyer could give you more options to reduce or eliminate the threat the dogs pose.

Good luck. We have neighbors who have a big dog (not a pit), and it barks a lot at other neighbors it sees, including my kids. They try very hard to be good neighbors, and they don’t let it out when they know our kids are in the yard, and often they go into the yard with it. The dog terrifies me, absolutely terrifies me, even though they try very hard to be good neighbors and good dog owners – I can’t imagine how much more worried I’d be in your situation.
 
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