I need help (dog nuisance and long post sorry)

I need suggestions, opinions, or just an ear.

Ok here is the story, I live in a house that was constructed to a duplex. I had neighbors for the past two years. They have had dogs and such, always on a chain(something I'm not to fond of btw).

They have gone through a couple of dogs while living there, but they always had one dog that my daughter played with. We shared a yard that was separated by a fence, but we always went in and out of our yards. They to check their mail, and me to wait at the bus stop. That dog, Shelly, got loose from her chain frequently, and eventually got hit by a car

Fast forward...

They moved, to the house behind us, only a fence seperates our yards again. Before Shelly passed she had a litter of puppies. They kept one of them Poochy, plus has a pretty big dog(mixed breed) Princess, plus a puppy(not sure of breed or name), and an inside dog that she lets in an out at times.

All three sometimes four dogs get out and are in my yard constantly. This wouldn't be such a problem if they didn't tear my trash, or take stuff out of my yard(kids toys, etc) and chew them up, or when I let my chihuahua Maggie out to potty they are too rough with her. She can hold her own and I think she likes having the dogs around, but she always ends up cowarding back on the porch wanting back in, and I don't think a dog should have to feel that way bout their own "territory".

They are not mean to the kids which is a good thing, because I would just call animal control no problem. Now, my neighbors do nothing to prevent them from getting out. They leave their gate open at all times. Princess their big dog though can jump fences so there isn't much they can do about that, but they could prevent the rest of the herd from getting out.

I've tried asking them to keep their dogs more controlled, because not only are they a nuisance to me, but the way drivers are in my neighborhood I am really worried they are gonna get run over. I have talked to hubby about calling animal control, but I know what will happen to them and I don't know if I want to be responsible for them being "destroyed". Argh! I hate dealing with things like this.

I don't know if anyone can help, but thanks for letting me vent!

If you've talked to the neighbours and they refuse to change the dogs' living conditions, I say call animal control. They might be able to convince the neighbours better than you that more control and better conditions are a requirement for these dogs. Am I correctly understanding that they are leaving 3 of them outdoors all the time?
I understand your worry about them being PTS, but I think you know that it's only a matter of time before they are hit by a car or something worse. Crazy people have been known to do cruel things to dogs left unattended outside. Hopefully, if they are removed, they would have a chance at adoption instead of an outside life that basically amounts to a deathwatch.

I think you're really great to care about these dogs. Fingers crossed that the situation comes to a good end.

You might want to consider putting up your own fence- if they ask why you are putting up a fence, just explain to them that there are dogs chewing up your kid's toys and some are disappearing, and that you need a safe place for your dog to go out, and since they don't always shut their gate, you are just putting up your own, so they won't have to worry about it

Good fences make good neighbors, and all that . If you rent, maybe you could ask your landlord about it. Or maybe talk to your neighbors about putting up a self closing, latching gate (split the cost, or if you can, that you'll do it for them)?.

Good luck .

I agree with the others putting up a fence is a good idea. Also I would let them know that alowing an animal to run at large is a chargeable offence an if they continue allowing the dogs to run about the neiborhood they will be caught by the pound and the owner could get a quite large fine. It is a danger to the animal and to the general public. The animal could get hit by a car, stolen or hurt. A small child could get bitten for trying to rescue one of thir toys from the dogs. It's a bad situation all around

I faced something similar last year, except the neighbors in question were a bit farther from our house (100 yards or so, and on the other side of the street).

I called animal control and the help I got was spotty at best. There are 350,000 people in my city and only 5 animal control vans. I got good results when I sent an email to the head of animal control, though. Animal control paid a visit and the owners were fined. I felt bad for the dogs, but it was a major nuisance.

But they paid the fines and kept the dogs...still running loose ...every day.

Fast forward, more calls, other neighbors complaining...more fines. We're talking thousands of dollars...and these morons still let their dogs run loose.

The day that I walked into MY (fenced) backyard and found one of the dogs with a kitten in it's mouth, I drew the line. I went to "neighborhood" court and made enemies with my neighbor, but it just had to stop. The owner was fined again, given probation time (!), but still kept the dogs. Aaaarrrrgh. There's much more to the story, but it has a happy ending where the neighbors forgive me and the dogs are contained.

The kitten survived. That's my Pumpkin.

I like a story with a happy ending .

Originally Posted by beandip

The day that I walked into MY (fenced) backyard and found one of the dogs with a kitten in it's mouth, I drew the line.
The kitten survived. That's my Pumpkin.

Click to expand...

Just wanted to say "YAY Pumpkin!!!!" to that...

And then re: the other posts..

What was their verbal response to you asking them to keep the animals more under control? Obviously it didn't stop them from letting the dogs out, but.. did they just blow you off or did they say they'd attempt to make an effort?

It's sort of hard to say in this situation. I think that you can take one of several tactics.. if you want to remain on friendly terms with them, approach them about this again. Mention to them not only do you not want to see their dogs hurt, but the dogs are also costing you quite a bit of money, and you don't feel that it's your responsibility to keep replacing the things they're destroying, and/or having to spend your free time picking up the damage they've done, or keeping your dog safe. I'd probably show them a list of how much it's cost you, money and energy in the toys their dogs destroy, picking up the trash when their dogs tear it out, and time spent protecting your pup. It may not be making an impact on them because they don't have tangible evidence in front of them. You don't necessarily have to ask them for the money. You might just say..I just wanted to show you how much they're costing me, I'm not asking you to pay for it. I'm extremely unhappy about this situation, even though I like the dogs, and while I'd prefer to be on good terms, if something isn't done about this soon, I'm going to be forced to take other measures. I really don't want to do that. I'm even willing to help you if I can. Realistically, what kind of solution can we come up with?

Probably the best solution is simply putting up the fence but that may not be an option due to costs or manpower.

I'm not entirely sure that animal control will do much.. but you might call the police and ask them about what filing a report with them would do. You would have damages to the toys, etc. if it ever went to court. Make sure you keep a running list just in case it does.

Sorry I don't have any better ideas.

Well, thanks everyone for the suggestions. Ok, I would love to put a fence up, but I rent not own, and I am not putting the money into something that I am not buying. The landlord...slumlord...isn't going to put a fence up, he's really good about rent or problems that arise with the house, but I know what answer I would get about getting a fence put up.

When I have brought up keeping their gate closed, they just kinda laugh and say that it isn't going to do anything, that they have tried that and the dogs still get out. I would believe this, since when I was younger my dad was always having to find a solution to keeping our own dogs in. I was a teenager and didn't understand, but now that I am an adult I understand why some neighbors were perturbed byu our dogs .

Animal control will do something, I know if I called they would come that day and take them, and notify them. And with our animal control/pound you have 72 hours to retrieve them before they are "destroyed" and I would REALLY HATE to have to go that route. But eventually something is going to have to happen, I just hate to see the dogs get punished for their irresponsible owners. Ug, I am just to nice lol.

It's really too bad that there are so many irresponsible dog owners out there. In the end it's always the dog's that pay the price. These guys are either going to get hit and killed by a car, or die in a animal shelter. I guess it's just one of those situations that you have to determine which of the necessary evils are worse.

Perhaps the solution lie in helping them to dog proof their yard. It is possible.. if the fence isn't particularly sturdy into the ground, you can get concrete and dig a little ditch around to prevent them from digging under it. Fairly cheap, not too much work, works fairly well.

If it's the gate, then perhaps as it was suggested by someone earlier..getting a double sided latch. If they bought the house, then it will benefit them to have a good gate installed. If they're running into problems with the fencing itself, there might be some solution to it.. but it would depend on what the issue is.

I wouldn't want to put the dogs down either or be in any way responsible. That's a really difficult thing. There has to be some way to fix the problem without too much expense and without resorting to calling in animal control.

Let me see what I can find.