momto10blessings Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Our neighbors have 3 gold labs that have got out of their yard 3x this week. We have free range chickens, but luckily the dogs were out early in the morning each time, before the chickens were out of the coop. We live in the country and far from all our neighbors. We dont see our neighbors often, we cant even see their house from ours. The first time I chased the dogs away and went on with my business. The second time I chased the dogs away and went to their house. They did not answer so I left a note on their door telling them their 3 dogs were at my house twice and we have free range chickens, so I would appreciate it if they try to figure out how they are getting out. I left my phone number but never heard from them. A couple days later the dogs were back. I chased them out of the yard and went back to the neighbors house. Knocked on the door, no one answered. They were obviously home. So my question to you is, if they come again should I call the shelter? I feel bad to do it, but it has to stop before they start killing my chickens or mess with my kids. They did not seem mean or anything, but you never know. Around here you keep your animals on your property, you know? My chickens and cats never leave our land. Mistakes do happen, but 3 times in one week there is a problem that needs to be fixed. And the fact that they wont communicate with me is irritating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 (edited) In some areas I think you would call animal control. I had an issue last year where my neighbor's dogs were getting out. He had 5-6 dogs there. In the beginning I tried being nice. I kept one dog here all day and had my DH run him home once they were home in the evening, because they had a hole in the fence and I was concerned the dog was going to get hit on a busy road nearby. Their house backs up to our house. THey were kind of indifferent to our gesture and said, "oh yeah, I guess we are missing a dog, aren't we?" and kind of chuckled. That should have been my first clue. Over the next few months their dogs got out multiple times. One in particular would charge at us, growling, with hair standing up. Over time, we also figured out the guy behind us seemed like he wouldn't be easy to deal with, so I was about maxed out on being nice about it. I'm a dog person, I have a dog with issues of his own, but, I have three young kids and I am not okay with being repeatedly charged by a dog while I'm out in my own yard. When I called the township, I was told in my area, animal control doesn't handle it. It is a police matter. I was not ready to go so far as to file a police report and deal with that end of things. Just when I had enough, at some point they fixed the fence and things have been better. I would have absolutely NO guilt doing whatever is necessary under the circumstances you describe. I have a dog, and love dogs. I would appreciate being given a chance to remedy the situation, and be made aware of what was happening in case I didn't know. I wouldn't view the other person as obligated to do that, but would appreciate it, iykwim. But, you've given them ample notice about what's happening and why it is a concern. At this point, call animal control or the police or whatever party handles stray issues in your area. I don't have chickens, but I grew up with them and we lost many to strays. eta: in a different house we had two neighbor dogs who repeatedly charged all deliveries to my house, to the point that my mail carrier wouldn't deliver packages to me any longer because of my neighbors' dogs. They thought it was great that their dogs roamed the area and went "to play with their friends up the hill." :001_huh: They charged our guests getting out of cars. When we asked them about it, they were like, oh, well, we think dogs should be allowed to run :001_huh: THey also warned us that if our cats were out in *OUR* yard, they might chase and kill them. My cats mostly lounged on our deck for a bit, or walked in the grass for a few mins while I was out weeding or something. THey weren't outdoor cats. I didn't appreciate a cautionary tale that I needed to watch my own cats on my own property. It wasn't said apologetically at all, it was more like a "oh, heads up, our dogs chase and kill cats sometimes so watch out." When another neighbor two doors down got sick of this neighbors' dogs roaming in their yard and ticking off their dog, the offending party asked us to use our electric dog fence. Not to keep their dog on their property, but because they wanted to use OUR fence to keep their dogs from crossing over to the property two doors down. THey wanted to buy a transponder to sponge off our our dog fence so it would discourage the dogs from heading to the neighbors next to US. It was...bizarre :glare: They were otherwise decent people, but they felt it was just totally normal to let the dogs roam the neighborhood. Edited August 13, 2012 by Momof3littles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto10blessings Posted August 13, 2012 Author Share Posted August 13, 2012 In some areas I think you would call animal control. I had an issue last year where my neighbor's dogs were getting out. He had 5-6 dogs there. In the beginning I tried being nice. I kept one dog here all day and had my DH run him home once they were home in the evening, because they had a hole in the fence and I was concerned the dog was going to get hit on a busy road nearby. Their house backs up to our house. THey were kind of indifferent to our gesture and said, "oh yeah, I guess we are missing a dog, aren't we?" and kind of chuckled. That should have been my first clue. Over the next few months their dogs got out multiple times. One in particular would charge at us, growling, with hair standing up. Over time, we also figured out the guy behind us seemed like he wouldn't be easy to deal with, so I was about maxed out on being nice about it. I'm a dog person, I have a dog with issues of his own, but, I have three young kids and I am not okay with being repeatedly charged by a dog while I'm out in my own yard. When I called the township, I was told in my area, animal control doesn't handle it. It is a police matter. I was not ready to go so far as to file a police report and deal with that end of things. Just when I had enough, at some point they fixed the fence and things have been better. I would have absolutely NO guilt doing whatever is necessary under the circumstances you describe. I have a dog, and love dogs. I would appreciate being given a chance to remedy the situation, and be made aware of what was happening in case I didn't know. I wouldn't view the other person as obligated to do that, but would appreciate it, iykwim. But, you've given them ample notice about what's happening and why it is a concern. At this point, call animal control or the police or whatever party handles stray issues in your area. I don't have chickens, but I grew up with them and we lost many to strays. Ok, thanks for your advice. I just dont know if I was being too harsh and should just put up with it since they had not done any damage yet... I think I will leave one more note on their door or car or maybe mailbox to make sure they got the message last time. I'll also mention we have kids (although I'm sure they can hear them) We can call animal control here. They came out once when there was a stray dog I had never seen before and it WOULD NOT LEAVE our house for a whole day and night plus would run after me and the kids barking and nipping at our heels. He had to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Ok, thanks for your advice. I just dont know if I was being too harsh and should just put up with it since they had not done any damage yet... I think I will leave one more note on their door or car or maybe mailbox to make sure they got the message last time. I'll also mention we have kids (although I'm sure they can hear them) We can call animal control here. They came out once when there was a stray dog I had never seen before and it WOULD NOT LEAVE our house for a whole day and night plus would run after me and the kids barking and nipping at our heels. He had to go! I think that's very nice of you but if they haven't responded so far, do whatever you need to do to protect your chickens, IMO! It would be awful if the next time was too late for your chickens :( It stinks when you feel like you can't enjoy your own property within reason. I always said to DH that it became a very big problem when their "right" to let their dogs do whatever impeded upon my right as a homeowner to enjoy being outside with my kids and dog on my own property. And in the other house, my right to have packages delivered, company arrive, etc. without being harassed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Hmmmm.... If it's a case like this where you have tried to contact the neighbors and they are ignoring you, I'd either make one more attempt with a note spelling out that next time they're on your property you are calling animal control or I'd just call animal control. Our neighbor's dog gets out from time to time, but they always answer when I bring him home and are always a mixture of apologetic that he escaped again and thankful that I brought him home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Where we live, I'd call the police and let them take the dogs to the shelter. They'll contact the owners, and once they have to pay the rather large fee to get three dogs out of the shelter, they'll most likely make more of an effort to keep them on their own property. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 I would print a copy of the laws their dogs are violating. Tape it to their door if they won't answer with a note that you will follow these laws. Worked for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Tie the dogs up at your house until they come looking for them. That will pretty much force them to talk to you ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Tie the dogs up at your house until they come looking for them. That will pretty much force them to talk to you ;) :lol::lol::lol::lol: That's thinking outside the box!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuirkyKapers Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Tie the dogs up at your house until they come looking for them. That will pretty much force them to talk to you ;) That is an interesting idea! What if they don't come for their dogs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Here you can shoot them in the country... if they are after chickens... :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyontheFarm Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 That is an interesting idea! What if they don't come for their dogs? After 30 days sell them, of course you'd have to feed them during that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unscripted Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 I have gone around and around with 1 neighbor- who owned multiple dogs that all got loose many many times. I did the same thing- asking that they control their dogs- and fix their fence (I was all "bless your heart" in the beginning and progressed to 'crazy-*****-ass-neighbor'). Nice or mean- it didn't work. I think some people really have no decency about caring for their own property or respecting others. *whew, that felt good* That being said- I would need to give them a couple of chances (as you did) for my own conscious about the dog himself. After that, I would call Animal Control. As a matter of fact, I would detain the animals (so they can't hurt my property or themselves) till animal control arrived. In my county- that is legal- as long as they are on *your* property- you may detain the animal. It's a neglect issue, a safety issue, and a property issue... You did the right thing, now you have to take the next step, unfortunately. I know how you feel... The other two dogs I dealt with (the 3rd was very aggressive- charged my DH, etc) seemed sweet- and I hated to call Animal Control. But after a few months of them being out daily (which means I couldn't take my own kids out to play- which is big part of our school day here)... I finally had enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto10blessings Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 Here you can shoot them in the country... if they are after chickens... :( that was my husband's idea... Not sure if it is legal here or not. I'm not too keen on the idea. Now if they were messing with the kids that would be another story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto10blessings Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 I would print a copy of the laws their dogs are violating. Tape it to their door if they won't answer with a note that you will follow these laws. Worked for us. hmmm. good idea. I wonder where you would find the laws? Think they'd be online? Would they be by county or state? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 I would probably put one more note on their door saying that next time you call animal control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto10blessings Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 Tie the dogs up at your house until they come looking for them. That will pretty much force them to talk to you ;) very true! I could leave a note on their door telling them where the dogs are. Not sure if I would want to tackle tieing up 3 strange dogs. They dont seem aggressive, but you never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 hmmm. good idea. I wonder where you would find the laws? Think they'd be online? Would they be by county or state? Around here animal laws are by county. And a city or town within a county may have different laws (often more strict than the county laws). You should be able to find them online. You should definitely check out the applicable laws before you taken any action other than calling animal control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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