WWYD Fence, neighbors, neighbor dog issue.

[lynn]

We have a fence that the neighbors used to fence their yard.  They have 2 big barking dogs.    The fence is getting old and pieces will be down in a couplemore storms.  We can't fix this because the dogs are ALWAYS outside, neighbors never home.  We want to take the fence down and be done with it but neighbors are never home to discuss this situation to etiher fix it, bring their dogs in the house so we can fix it.  I am now scared to let my dd play outside if the dogs discover this "opening" I think they'll finish opening it.   They way they constantly bark I don't know what they will do attack or play.

 

WWYD?  we dont' have home owners and we live in the county where there are not many bi-laws(?) for animals.

 

 

 

ETA:  We have been maintaining the fence regularly.  The dogs seem to be outside all the time now.  

[KungFuPanda]

Drop off a friendly letter telling them that you will be repairing your fence on X day and they need to remove their dogs from the area that day.

We have a fence that the neighbors used to fence their yard.  

 

Whose property is the fence on?

[Tap]

I would write a letter asking them to contact you about a time when you can arrange for the dogs to be secured while you fix the fence and put it on their door.  If you haven't heard from them in a couple of weeks, send a certified letter.  If that doesn't get a response see if you county has a neighbor dispute board that may help you. 

 

Good luck! Neighbor issues are way more annoying than they should be.

[lynn]

Whose property is the fence on?

It's on our property, they use it for the back side of their yard and fenced in the sides and front themselves.  It was like that when we moved here 8 years ago.

[Kerileanne99]

Do you actually WANT the fence? Or is it just to keep their dogs out? If that is the case I would probably leave them a nicely-worded letter to the effect of our fence is in a state of disrepair and we are planning on removing it. We are letting you know so that you can make arrangements for your animals:)

 

If you do want your own fence, pretty much same thing. A letter (keeping a copy of course!) giving them a certain amount of time to make plans. The other issue I would have is whether you are having to make repairs to the fence as a result of their dogs. If that is the case, it seems reasonable to state this and offer to split the cost. This is what we did with our neighbor when limbs from a tree on their property kept falling and damaging the fence.

[Lara in Colo]

So--is this correct? 

 

Your fence

You don't want/need a fence

They use it to keep their dogs in

 

 

You need to decide if you really need a fence bad enough to build another one (and can afford it)  will your children stay in the yard without a fence?

 

If the answer is to take the fence down and not build another one-- let the neighbors know and workout a timeframe for them to make another fence or get some other way to contain their dogs. 

 

BTW-- do not leave ANYTHING on your property-- take out fence posts so they cannot use them again-- this will make the fence no longer "yours" for any future issues.

[NorthwestMom]

We had a fence issue blow up with a crazy neighbor, so I feel your pain on this.  Honestly, in my opinion the best thing you can do for your peace of mind (due to the dogs) is control the fence. You are planning to replace it, right? Because if you just remove it altogether, and hope they will put up their own fence, you might be disappointed.  Perhaps they would decide to just tie their dogs out, so then the dogs would jump and snarl and pull at the lead every time your children were in the yard, making it unusable. Perhaps they would just let the dogs run. Make sure whatever you do results in a fence that is strong and reliable.

 

Have you knocked on their door and spoken to them? Perhaps they will understand if you tell them you are going to work on the fence this weekend and their dogs will have to be elsewhere for that time period only. If they are not home, leave a note.  If the dogs are not gone on that day, call the police non-emergency number and ask them what they advise.

[CupOCoffee]

Yep, leave them a note with the date and time that you have arranged to have the fence replaced. If they don't remove said dogs, ask the police for help.  You might even want to ask the police in advance: explain it all, and ask what they can do if the neighbors do not remove the dogs for the work to be done.  I would also let the neighbor know that if the dogs are there when the fence work is scheduled to be done, you will be asking for the police/animal control office to help you out.

 

~coffee~

[Tammyla]

If you really want to remove the fence, I would send (keep a copy) a certified or registered letter informing them of when you will need them to keep their animals indoors so that you can work on your fence.  I'm not sure I would involve with the decision of whether to fix or get rid of it. Just Let them know you the day you will be working on the fence, and then fix or get rid of the whole thing. My concern would be that they will not control their pets once the fence is down.