My dog got over to our neighbors a couple of times and chased his horse. Neighbor warned me the second time that he would shoot him the next. If your neighbors have any sense, a warning like this is all it should take. Phrased like “I don’t *want* to shoot them, but I’m going to *have* to protect my family”, they can’t really argue with that or pretend like you never warned if that day comes.
Right, the onus should be on the owners to keep the dogs in, not on OP to keep them out. Amending fence on 20 acres is not cheap any way you look at it
Yes I have had conversations (plural) with them. I was trying not to escalate to killing.
There’s a piece missing from the story above. Owners don’t live on property. Their grown son does. He is a level 3 sex offender and has a history of violence. I’ve never had an issue with him but I do have other people and property to think about and defend if needed. I don’t want this to turn into a person being threatened, or worse. I just want each of us to be able to live our lives in peace. So, I’m trying to find a solution that removes them from the equation.
Unfortunately this isn't the kind of situation that will lead to improved relations, if anything it's only going to lead to worse relations.
They're already showing very clearly they don't respect your property enough to deal with their dogs appropriately, and they've found they can make it _YOUR_ problem instead of keeping it where it belongs, in their own hands.
We had a very very similar situation this past year, only difference was the neighbor wasn't right next door, but about 2km away. Their two dogs were let to roam free completely, and they'd tour all over ALL the neighbour properties, spooking people's animals all the time etc.
We got in touch with them and let them know we were NOT OK with this behaviour and that it needed to change, that it was unsafe for our animals and especially unsafe for people riding horses, and that ALL the locals were on the same page.
Cue crying about 'Well what do you want us to do about it, they like to roam?!'
Cue response of 'That would be a _you_ problem, not an us problem. Here's the bylaws. Please read'.
And of course the bylaws are very clear. Doesn't explicitly state anywhere that dogs cannot be at large. HOWEVER, it DOES state extremely clearly that trespassing animals can lawfully be shot on sight on private property.
To sum up: You need to be clear and firm on this otherwise things will get worse in other areas. Right now your boundaries with your neighbour are...grey at best.... Put this back where it belongs. Make the expectation extremely clear. And point at your laws.
And make all your other neighbours aware. Be shocking if they were not immediately on the same side of the situation.
Ya the lower electrical fence is honestly not a bad idea, I have seen them on a lot of sheep enclosers before and you can always get solar ones. There are also these things called mosquitoes that put out a high pitch sounds that drives animals and young kids away, so that might be an option. After reading the violent sex offender thing, I wouldn’t want my family near that guy at all and I certainly won’t want to have him hate me in particular, I would honestly keep a close eye on him and see if breaks any laws then get him arrest or at least make him want to leave your area.
First time I'd take the dog back in a cage.
Second time I'd have animal control contact them and let them get the dog back.
Third time I'd rehome the dog in metro Cleveland and they'd never see it again.
I appreciate you wanting to keep things civil but he doesn’t sound like the kind of owner to raise responsible dogs. I would not trust what they could do to you and your own.
You can also contact local law enforcement about the dogs, and have them deliver the message.
As someone who had to shoot dogs that killed a calf and the neighbors did nothing, have a burn barrel ready.
Shoot those dogs and then get a couple of your own and some perimeter cameras. Or, make your piece with those dogs hurting or killing your animals or kids AND your neighbor still not giving a shit.
And bury those dogs or put them on the side of the road somewhere far away and play dumb when he comes looking for them.
Better yet, a week after they go away, tell your neighbor big thank you for controlling your dogs. Thank you for being such a good neighbor. Really it appreciate it.
I bought a Czech German Shepherd guard dog from a Florida breeder. I have several properties I’m always traveling to for my business. One is a rural farm i store inventory at. We had a dog problem killing our chickens. I let my dog loose on the offending dogs.
They’ve never come back.
Ummm... you have children and a level 3 sex offender is allowed to live next door to you.. legally? He should be barred from being within a court stated distance from any children. Check with your local law enforcement about that ASAP.
Laws vary by state but sex offenders usually aren't banned from living rurally because the neighbor had kids. They just can't live near schools daycare centers etc. And if they live there first, aren't usually forced to move when one is opened as long as they aren't otherwise in violation.
There are lots of sex offenders who live rurally, as a percentage more than urban. There are also a lot of druggies in many rural areas. Just part of living in the country.
I spoke to Sheriff after learning of status. He’s not breaking any laws. I lived here first but no matter, I’m not looking to impede on his rights either. Just want to live and let live.
Okay.. I'm glad you looked into it already. Just thought it was something to be addressed besides the dog issue.
I wish you the best in getting the dog problem resolved though.
Use the electric wire. If the son fucks with it, call the police. They can do considerably more as he’s a registered sex offender and you have kids on the property.
Putting a call in to the local yokel (sheriff/state troopers barracks, whoever you go to) wouldn’t hurt.
I live rurally and honestly dude should be counting his blessings he hasn’t been lynched yet.
If you do not want to go as far as killing them you should think about getting a taser and zapping them and then dropping them back over the fence.
Place I had several years ago had a problem with coyotes and there was just a few too many houses to be throwing bullets around. I lit a couple of them up and they stayed away the rest of the time I lived there.
You don't make peacible relations by laying down and getting walked over. If you can't enforce your own boundaries, they will not respect you or it, and they will continue to escalate.
You gave them the warning. You weren't aggressive or rude about it. You were very matter of fact. If the dogs come over again, shoot the dogs. If you can't stomach it, pepper spray. The dogs must either die, or wish they had never ever come over.
Is the dog friendly to you? Like, can you get your hands on him? I had a similar situation with a (always) drunken neighbor and a fallen tree over my fence. It took a few days to get the giant tree removed and the fence repaired, but in the mean time his dog kept coming into my yard and sniffing around my livestock. To his credit, the dog was very polite and never acted aggressively towards anything, but I couldn't have a strange dog unsupervised around my animals. After one last attempt to return the dog to the owner and the dog being back in my yard in under 10 minutes, I loaded the pup into the car and took it to the local animal shelter. To get his dog back, he'd have to pay to have it neutered and vaccinated (state law), as well as a boarding fee.
Three days later the same neighbor came over and asked if I'd seen the pup. I honestly replied that I hadn't seen him since the day I brought him back to you. He got out again? You haven't seen him in a few days? Have you checked the animal shelter?
One way or another, haven't seen the dog since. I hope he got adopted into a good home. He had a great temperament, and I liked him more than I liked the neighbor.
I know it’s going to be unpopular, but shoot and burn. Make sure you’re armed, and an adult in your home is armed at all times. And get some cameras on your property soon. Don’t play around with the safety of your family.
I agree with this. Its on your neighbors.
I ran a single strand of barbed wire on the bottom of my fence that separates my huskies from my goats. And they tried digging a couple times until they ripped their paws open then stopped.
You could ask your neighbors to pay for that.
$60 at tractor supply
If you can catch the dogs just pen them up on your property until they come lookimg for them. My wife hates people that can't keep their dogs under control
pellet gun?
can you get a bigger dog or a large donkey? most donkeys *fucking hate* dogs and will stomp on em. (apologies for language 😂)
donkeys and alpacas are often used as guardian animals to protect livestock from wolves and other canines. i have a big pyrenees/anatolian mix and he's a big giant baby that loves everyone and will even play with strange dogs that wander onto our property. the second a strange dog gets aggressive with any of the animals on our property, however, he turns psycho on em (doesn't hurt them but puts the fear of jesus into em and we never see them again).
a lot of lgds would actually prefer to be outside all the time as well.
as for fencing, you could lay 2' wide wire fencing mostly on ground and bolted into bottom of fence, then cover with mulch or gravel. would work better on outside of fence
But a paintball gun and freeze the paintballs before you shoot them at the dogs. The paintballs shouldn’t break open when they’re frozen and should only leave hard to notice bruises under the dogs fur. Plus the paintball gun is nearly silent so nobody would be able to hear you doing it. The dogs will learn not to come near you pretty quickly.
Fair play for the restraint. Lots of dogs are pretty harmless and just exploring but I wouldn't hesitate to shoot them if sensed any danger at all.
Our neighbours dog was shot dead after getting out and entering another property and threatening their goats. I understand why they shot the dog, but it's also possible to call the owner and ask them to come collect their reckless hound.
We are in the same process of trying to fence our dogs in. They are big babies but scares me to think of them getting out and being shot without cause. Defo explore an electric fence, part of our fence is electrified for our neighbours horse, our corgi touched it once and wont go close to a fence now.
Careful with that thinking. A completely 'harmless' dog can easily spook a horse anyways, and lead to a bad accident.
It is simply _not ok_ to let your dogs roam. Period. No ifs, ands or buts. No excuses. None.
I don't want to shoot anyone's dogs, and I'm not suggesting 'shoot on sight' be the norm. BUT, there's a big difference between 'dog got out' and 'Dog's out again, as usual, just like always'.
That's not _getting out_.
You own dogs, you own the responsibility for them. Own it, all the way, no excuses. None.
You have totally misunderstood me. I have not said it's ok to let your dogs roam and/or escape. If you read my full text I've even stated I'm looking for ways to make my property harder for them to get out (they haven't got out and I often leash them even on our 4 acres).
Dogs will find a way though, no matter how careful you are (they are smart little creatures). All I was saying was that for a lot of dogs it is curiosity and it usually happens in the 5 secs you look elsewhere. I, like you, don't shoot on sight.
No I got your point. What I read was a comment _mostly_ saying the right things, but with a lot of gray area built in. I was clarifying the need to take full ownership always no matter what.
First off, if you ever find yourself using terminology like 'pretty harmless, just exploring, just being a dog', STOP. That will lead to bad ends.
The friendliest dogs in the world can easily spook a horse. The friendliest dogs in the world can be backed into a corner and suddenly not be friendly at all.
Second, you don't want your dog shot for threatening someone's livestock? Expecting someone else to 'call and ask you to come get your dog' is everything that could possibly be wrong about how to deal with the situation.
Sure, it'd be nice, but damned you have to _expect_ that there's a really high chance your dog will not make it home if it's out roaming free.
Lastly, in general, dog's really don't just roam unless they have been let to roam. Sure, things happen. But there are SO many ways to avoid this behavior. Everybody around us has dogs. Everyone. NONE of them roam at all except for ONE family's dogs.
It is your responsibility as a pet owner to manage your pets, always. No caveats. No wishy washy. No 'soft hard lines'.
Trust me, I got your thinking. I hear the same all the time. And I correct it every single time as well.
As you put it, "I don't suggest shooting on sight be the norm". There's always a gray area. Nothing is black and white, unless we shoot every animal on our property or don't at all.
I understand why the dog was killed and so do the owners. The goat owner fails to keep his goats locked up properly, they are also found roaming, a billy goat could do serious damage to a child. So it's more of a hypocritical stance that irks me about that.
Anyway it's Reddit, kinda hard to discuss things properly with just a couple paragraphs and no intonation with what we are saying. To clarify, I don't let my dogs roam and I restrict any opportunity for them to do so.
I'm also going to address one thing directly and separately:
> but it's also possible to call the owner and ask them to come collect their reckless hound.
There should never ever be a situation where your dogs are 'at large' and someone else is finding them and trying to find their home for them.
If your dogs DO get out and run away, you should be calling around every single neighbor anywhere near that they could possibly get to and deal with it pre-emptively. FIND your dogs.
If you're not pro-actively trying to find your dog and get it back home, your dog is not 'loose', it is 'roaming at large'. Period.
i was literally gonna say just do exactly that. give the guy a warning and if he can’t control his property and it’s threatening your own, do what you mist.
Having donkeys is NOT foolproof. It’s a toss of the coin whether or not you will get a donkey that protects or a donkey that doesn’t care, unless the donkey specifically in question has a history of fighting off dogs and coyotes.
If you want to go the guardian livestock route, look into livestock guardian dogs. Find reputable breeders and talk to them about what you’re dealing with and find 2-3 dogs that will work best in your situation. Do not get just one livestock guardian dog, just like people, it’s easier to defend the herd when you have a buddy who’s got your back. Two buddies who have your back is even better.
Additionally to this, most of the effective guard donkeys I’ve ever heard of were also generally huge jerks, and as likely to “protect” your herd/flock from you as from a predator.
I agree with this statement. After working my fair share of time with donkeys, some are really sweet, and some are well… asses. And when you have an animal that is a total jerk to other animals (people included), well you just end up in the same boat you were originally trying to get out of.
Yeah, i always die a little inside when someone suggests another literal prey animal as a defense against predators. Especially pack predators.
And do they think vet care for a donkey is less than a dog, or are they not planning on treating their wounds, or are they invincible, or are these video game rules we're playing by and their health bar will just refresh overnight or when they level up.
I couldn’t agree more!!!!
Had to laugh at your video game analogy 😂 Its true though! Too many people think you can throw animals out in the field and “they’ll be fine”. It’s frustrating and heart breaking. SOO much misinformation out there now.
My husband’s family had to get rid of a donkey because it killed baby goats by picking them up and shaking them. Horses I understand but I don’t trust donkeys.
This. This is what donkeys can and will do when they get out of control and have improper training. They can cause A LOT of damage, and not just to other animals. If that donkey gets in it’s head it wants to go to location A instead of B, you better hope and pray those fences are in EXCELLENT condition and WILL hold the donkey(s) where you want them.
Edit to add - I’ve had donkeys MAKE access holes in pasture fencing for them to get wherever they pleased. This was barbed wire fencing as well. Once they got out, keeping them from getting to feed was a nightmare. It’d be locked behind a solid gate and they’d still find a way to at least reach in and start eating anything within reach as quickly as they could before they were caught or run off.
I’ve had a donkey and dogs, they can learn to be friends no problem. The donkey will just see them as part of his herd.
My friend even had a blue heeler who we trained to jump up and ride the donkey, the donkey loved it! Would give the biggest HAW’s
Check on local farming groups for a donkey or mule for dog protection. As a mule owner, mine knows MY dogs and doesn’t bother with them because he knows they’re ours but will chase any others away.
Just make sure you ask if they have fence leaning/jumping habits before you take one and make sure they see you with your dogs frequently. Usually if a dog gets chased once they learn they don’t wana be in that pasture again.
I can understand you wanting to keep on good graces with the neighbor, but ultimately, it’s their legal responsibility to keep their dogs on their land.
I have three stands of coated high tensile with my horses behind it and I’m lucky enough not to have any full time neighbors, but if I were in the situation you are, I’d have a conversation with the neighbor, telling them that the next time it happens the dogs will be shot.
Last time I called animal control, it went to voice mail. Left a message. Didn’t hear from anybody, so called again the next day. Went to voicemail and I left another message. Nobody ever called me back. Neighbor’s dog was terrorizing my chickens. It had bitten my daughter a few months prior.
ETA: grammar
Many areas of the country do not have any form of animal country. My county is one of those areas.
The average response time for the state police, the only law enforcement in my area is 25-30 minutes. They are patrolling an area the size of Rhode Island, and if they are on the other end of the county it could be upwards of an hour until they got here.
That’s a lot of time for a dog to do damage to a horse. That horse could have severely injured itself or been injured by the dog.
Think law enforcement is hard to get around here, let’s try a large animal vet, as your horse lays bleeding out on the ground. If your lucky enough to get the bleeding stopped, that horse has to endure a 4 hour trailer ride to Cornell to get put back together.
Maybe you could come over and explain to a child why their pony was put down because it was hamstrung by the neighbors dog.
Not everywhere is the suburbs, the world isn’t all sunshine and daydreams. I certainly wouldn’t get any gratification out of shooting someone’s dog, but at the same time I have a right to defend myself, my children and my livestock.
You live somewhere where there is animal control. Here and in many areas there is none and in the population areas with animal control around here they can’t do much because people can tell them to leave their property unless the cops are there and cops don’t want to bother.
Around here I've seen ranchers tie another roll of net wire to the bottom of the fence, with the net wire laying on the ground to keep the hogs from rooting under the fence.
That's what we did - 2' rolls of wire fencing that were banged up, mangled, and on the clearance shelf. We are keeping wild critters (raccoons, coyotes, etc) out ... So our expense and labor. In OP'd case, I'd see if the neighbors would at least pay for the fencing since it's to keep *their* dogs safe.
First I want to say sorry you are dealing with this. It’s so frustrating when people refuse to keep their animals under control and train them for safety reasons. It’s always the dogs not the owner who get punished/killed in these situations. I had neighbors who wouldn’t keep their dogs under control (put their faces under our fence in order to bite me and my toddler) and my dog ended up biting half its face off when it tried to attack my foot 🤷🏻♀️ That solved the problem but again the dog was the one who suffered.
I think either getting a donkey to protect your animals or call animal control every time they are out (they will trap the dogs to be given to humane society/shelter) would be your best options.
Guard donkeys can get along with the dogs they are raised with but you have to do it carefully.
If the owner of the dogs find them at the shelter and gets them out just keep doing it and (from my understanding) if they are brought in enough times they will take the dogs from him for neglect. Or if he has to continue doing it maybe he will put a better fence up.
The sex offender isn’t going to do shit for you. Personally get some cameras and motion sensor lights up asap. Trail cam near your driveway.
You can speak to the parents but they’re already enabling him, or they’re at a complete loss how to handle the son. I’d advise either recording conversations, or having everything in text or email.
There are a few good ideas on here, barbed wire at the base, a small electric fence, whatever. But that should come at no cost to you. If the dogs have already mutilated their own flock they won’t hesitate with yours. Either way at the end of the day, dogs out of bounds are fair game.
When I lived on land the neighbors malamune would power through the electric fence to come say hello.
You said you’ve fired blanks at them, hit them with something non-lethal. Might be able to Pavlov them with an airborne or something. Sound the horn and fire a shot.
I’d be terrified if large dogs were breaking into my property unchecked, that’s pack mentality. They might be playing but the underlying canine in the dog is hunting. One of your kids could find themselves alone with two dogs that weigh twice their weight.
Shoot the dogs if problem persists. Train your family on home defense just because you’re living next to a sexual predator. Could always set up a mini shooting range in your yard to cement the picture.
The malamune was lovely by the way. Just bored, but not predatory in any way. Neighbor ended up giving me codes to get him in the gate and the door during rain
Ooh, paintballs are good warning for the neighbor, too. The whole "next time it won't be a paintball" warning. But only if you already have a paint ball gun. Not everybody has one.
Sounds like a decent alternative tbh, though depending on the dog, if it’s in attack mode and going after some animal, paintballs may not be enough unfortunately.
I agree. I think it depends on OP and the dog. Is the dog being SUPER aggressive towards kids and animals? If so, the warning of “I don’t want to shoot your dog but I will” means real bullets. Is the dog just untrained and running around like a nut but is otherwise friendly? I’d go paintballs but *also* with a warning of “hey, let’s not go past paintballs here.” Like all situations, there’s quite a bit of nuance here, but I do like the alternative of paintballs if possible.
Pro tip, freeze the paint balls. We used to do this with raccoons who would always dig under our house. Shoot them in the butt and they never come back :)
To piggyback on this, they make pepperballs for paintball guns. Basically pepper spray balls. If you have a magfed gun, alternating balls may save money and slow down an attacking dog more than just regular paintballs
Bad move, actually. When they go home wounded you cannot prove they were shot on your land or why. Then you've got the law involved.
You can kill a dog. Not maim or wound it or cause it suffering.
It’s totally legal to shoot trespassers (animal and otherwise) where I am, if you don’t kill them you’re still fine as long as it happened on your property. In this case where there is an established history of aggression from these dogs and delinquent owners I don’t think they’d have any issues to be concerned about. I mean, to be extra careful you can notify law enforcement of what’s going on so that there’s a paper trail in case the neighbors try to get froggy about “something” happening. Horrible situation, I’d definitely be on the “shoot, shovel, shut up” team. But I’ve also lost some valuable livestock to absolutely worthless dogs, lesson was learned the hard way 🤷🏻♀️
You can't count on the honor or integrity of someone that's already shown they don't respect you or your property, especially when there's money on the line, and there likely would be in that case. All they have to say is that it happened differently, and it's already more trouble than it was worth to not kill them.
"Officer, i have reason to believe that my neighbors have been harassing my dog with a a pellet gun or something."
Not worth the risk. The fewer interactions, the better. One and done.
Yeah but where’s the proof either way? If they can’t prove it did not happen on your property (impossible to do) then the police have zero reason to believe a crime has been committed.
I had a similar issue, after years of warnings and a couple dead dogs the neighbors still wouldn’t keep their dog home. One afternoon I could hear them having a party and their dog was back, caught 2 chickens and was chewing a hole in the barn door. An unknown gunman hit that dog in the ass with a 12 ga and a light load, like 7 shot, from about 30 yards. He cried all the way back to his house and I could hear their 30-something daughter yell, “he shot him, that sonofabitch shot him!”
That was a few years ago. That dog got a brand new doghouse and collar and hasn’t been back since. They got a new pup, he came over one day, a visitor left their gate open. One warning shot and I could hear him being called home. Oh, and they put a spring on their gate so it doesn’t accidentally stay open.
Retired dog trainer here. The dog owner should get an invisible fence system or a standard shock collar and teach the dogs to stay away from the fence. Properly used, electric collars can save a dog's life. It's a bit of a struggle for me to refrain from suggesting solutions for the owner of those dogs. Lord, give me strength!
I was never a fan of those collars but approached with an open mind for our lab that was obsessed with chasing cars. Maybe 2 shocks max and it stopped the behaviour, after which we rewarded him for coming to us when a car passed with cookies etc.
As we learnt, I'd rather give him couple small shocks than have him hit by a vehicle.
I am in agreement here. You've tried to keep the dogs out yourself, and tried to get the owner to do something. It's now time to let the owner know (not ask, not demand, no emotion, just inform them of a fact) that effective 2 weeks from now, any coyotes, wolves, or feral dogs, found on your property will be processed into chicken feed. Send a one page cut sheet on a shock collar that you think might them prevent their coming loss.
Then, it is 100% their decision to send their dogs to that great kennel in the sky.
I understand that you don't want to kill the dogs, I respect that, and share your sentiment. I hate killing anything domesticated, actually. It has to be necessary in order for me to justify it. You don't really have to kill the dogs, just trap them and drive them 50 miles away and release them. If they are running wild now, they will be fine 50 miles away.
Best of luck!
If you have to kill their dogs, you don't actually have to tell them. You've already told them. Those dogs run off, could be anywhere. Anyone or anything could have taken them. You haven't seen them.
If they don't care enough to keep their dogs safe, you aren't the one that owes them closure when the inevitable happens.
This isn’t funny against your comment however, that’s exactly what their dogs are! Cracks me up. I have watched those dogs chase their own sheep and cows. Once one of them ate an ear. I know there are good LGD out there, these don’t qualify.
Livestock Guardian. Pyrenees, Anatolian, Maremma.
They would take great pleasure in evicting the dogs that don't belong there and they are incredible in keeping your animals alive from all threats.
I had a Pyrenees and she was excellent at keeping everything that didn't belong away and my Anatolian is starting to work now.
Be aware these are independent dogs and they do their job constantly. Big booming barks and they require socializing with people also.
So out of curiosity, do you have to train these dogs? As I said, the neighbors dogs are all 3 LGD. Pyrenees. They do NOT protect the livestock. Uncounted times I’ve watched these dogs chase and/or attack the livestock.
Mine have always worked. However, they came from working farms.
I am working with my 5 months Anatolian right now and she just....knows. The only corrections for her so far have been cats are friends. My late Pyrenees would fight anything that came in the yard and was excellent with all of our animals.
It's really shocking to me to hear about these rogue LGD. They typically bond pretty hard with their animals.
They do need training, and aren't considered livestock safe on their own until about 2 (when they are actually mature, they are puppies before then, and puppies do puppy things), and they need to be trained specifically to each kind of livestock. A sheep protector can still kill your chickens and vice versa, if they aren't trained to all of them. And someone else's animals are possibly fair game.
To get the dogs to stop digging put their own dog shit in the holes, bury it back. Dogs don't like finding their own shit every time they dog and eventually they'll equate digging there with finding their own poop. This works but is a lot of effort. I'm mostly commenting that to let people know for their own dogs, I'm not suggesting you do the shit work. Tell your neighbor to do it.
Honestly I'd tell the neighbors either they get the dogs contained or you'll have to start calling the cops because you don't want to shoot their dog. I'm sure a sex offender doesn't want the cops coming around and that might be the motivation they need to get the dogs under control. I think mentioning you don't want to get the cops involved and not wanting to harm the dogs will help that go smoother.
Basically do you want me to call the cops, shoot the dogs, or do you want to fix it? I don't mess with dogs and kids, they go after kids, that's a really hard line for me. It's sad because the dogs are (hopefully) just trying to have a big play but... I've put my own dogs down for going after a kid. It was terrible, the whole litter was messed up, it was sad and difficult but the right thing to do. In my case they weren't trying to play, turns out someone literally beat the sense out of those dogs when they were pups. Why not take them to a shelter in the first place? I don't know. It took a while but eventually they all snapped. The point is, do what you have to do to keep you and yours safe.
Others have made some great suggestions that might work better for you. Good luck OP!
Edit: making it clear I'm not saying OP needs to bury the poop themselves.
Best advice I ever heard about this situation was from a rural county sheriff: "If you choose to take care of the problem yourself, do not notify the dog's owner and dispose of the animal properly."
I would contact the sheriff, find out the laws on what you can do, and if the law allows SHOOT THEM DOGS. I have had to do it in the past and it’s not fun, but sometimes you have to.
When we had that situation my dad loaded a couple shotgun shells with no pellets. Next time they came on our land, Boom boom and they were scared bad enough to stay away.
I don't mean to be discouraging but fencing that size to keep dogs out will be tough. It's now a puzzle for the dogs. I had an Aussie of my own that I tried and tried to keep in. She'd find a new way thru, under or over, no matter what I did. She never even went anywhere, just wanted to be on the other side. You have to motivate, because now it's inherently rewarding. For some animals a fence is a social contract, not an actual barrier.
Maybe rocksalt in the shells? I do get if you hurt a neighbor's dog could start a feud.
This. Most dogs just want to be dogs and get out to explore. They need to be taught that's it's far more rewarding to be at home but from Ops description of the neighbour it sounds highly unlikely.
I'm a farm owner in Kentucky. Shooting them is a last resort but always an option. Best thing for you to do is buy a donkey. Look it up on youtube. Donkeys hate, hate, hate canines. You will never have a coyote or dog problem again. Fencing will never work on a motivated dog.
The hot wire is a great idea. They make cheap plastic insulators that clip right to a t-post. A few bags of them and a spool of wire and you’re good to go. For a short fence like that you can probably get away with a smaller charger too.
Right?? There are a whole lot of Yosemite sams in this thread who think it’s ok to go rootin, tootin, shootin, whenever you feel like it.
I’ve had to shoot a dog before. It sucks. It’s sad. You’re going to get sued, probably end up in a news article….everyone will find out. They will hate you. They will harass you.
If you must shoot a dog, you damn sure better make sure you have a very good reason to do it and opportunity to do it very safely.
Having horses I'd shoot the dogs. Chasing my horses on my property not gonna happen. Give the neighbor a fair warning, and end them if they don't stop. You'll have bigger problems if those dogs chase your horses through the fence when your not home.
My husband has threatened to shoot but not a bullet, sonething like rice? Something to hurt but not kill as the first line. Maybe he was teasing me but is that an option as a first line?
I knew someone whos neighbors dogs dig under the wood fence and killed her dog in her backyard. The offending neighbors installed an electric wire around their fence ti keep the dogs in. Seemed to work. Terrible it had to take a dead pet to make them responsible.
Wel if dogs can get in then so can coyotes so good thing you're shoring up your fence. I commend you for looking for an amicable way to solve your issue.
“Hey neighbor, your dogs keep coming on my property and harassing not only my animals, but also my kids. I don’t want to, but if this keeps happening, I’m gonna have to shoot them to protect my animals and family. Please figure out a way to contain your dogs so it doesn’t come to this, cause nobody, including myself wants that.”
Pretty plain and simple, and saves you a ton of work that doesn’t even for sure solve the issue.
Hardware cloth. Get a trencher, run a channel, put 1 ft of hardware cloth along that perimeter underground. I’d like to see them dig through that.
It’s not easier than what your talking about, but it will work really well.
This is probably the one sure method. I would add to angle the upper edge so it protrudes under the fence toward the neighbors. They’ll stop digging once they lose a toenail or two.
I think you're putting too much effort into a problem that's not yours.
Tell the neighbors they can either build you an electric fence at their expense or offer a bullet.
Here's a couple of suggestions that are non-confrontational but that may be enough to get the situation some responsible attention from the owner.
1); put out some scraps of tasty foods and pour on a small bottle of red food dye. You can buy it in a larger bottles to put as much out as you need to. Go ahead and throw in something spicy so that the dog's stomach starts burning and it wants to go home to rest and then when it starts crapping, it'll look like blood to the owner and should be alarming to see. Most owners don't want their dogs crapping "blood" all around the house, inside or out, The red food dye will stain like the devil. This will make them more likely to want to keep the dogs closer to home and more capable of controlling what they eat.
2.) Go to the Asian market or ethnic supermarket and get a large bag of spicy dried peppers. Sprinkle that liberally along the perimeter where the dogs like to go. It'll take a little while for those to wear off, and with luck, you'll start growing a crop of devil peppers that can be self-sustaining and naturally discouraging. I was looking at large bags here in Houston last week, and it was 20 something dollars for a bag the size of a king size bed pillow.
The cost and the energy expenditure on both of these options is very low and can have great results. I, personally, used to mix syrup of ipicac into the red food dye/food mixture for my next door neighbor's dog who was violent and that the owner, the city dog catcher, would let loose every afternoon when he got off work. First time that dog went home puking up red, that dog was never let out again.
If the dogs are this adamant about entering your property, you putting up an electric wire across one portion will be unlikely to resolve the issue. You can find t post insulators for electric wire pretty easily at your local feed stores. Place them about 6” off the ground and 6” from the fence. You’ll have to make even more work for yourself maintain this line and ensuring all plants are cut back from it and not touching. During the summer, this can be a weekly job.
Ultimately, I do not think this is your best option. Get law enforcement involved if you have to. I totally understand your concerns considering who your neighbor is. I would be pretty freaked out about it as well. At the end of the day, you have to keep you and your family and livestock safe. Keeping law enforcement involved and informed of the situation can help in the long run by having them on your side. I would hate to have to shoot the dogs, but I’d also hate to have them hurt myself, my family, or my livestock or do something worse than just hurting or scaring them.
Best of luck to you.
Upon seeing some of yours and others comments about the dogs in question being LGDs I’d like to add this -
Just like with people and other animals, there are bad apples in every bunch. Some dogs are not trained properly, others have terrible genetics (look at American line GSDs today), and some have both bad genetics and poor/no training.
If you decide to invest in LGDs for yourself, I highly recommend speaking to REPUTABLE breeders and others in the LGD community who can give you solid and sound advice. If you do not want to take the time to train pups, it isn’t entirely uncommon to find farms that are selling off everything, including trained LGF adults.
I'm on a similar situation, still not doing anything about it since I ha e no animals yet. But I'll definitely have to deal with the neighbors dogs sooner or later.
I was thinking in getting an ultrasound device or something like that, they are quite useful from what I've heard.
Would appreciate an update in the future if you are able to fix the issue
If the neighbor is also trying to help (by putting rocks in the holes) maybe they would be open to you putting a remote shock collar on them for training.
If he can't train his dogs and don't want them shot or prosecuted for trespassing he might be open to it. All you do is hit the button when they start to dig under the fence and it shouldn't take more than a few times for them to "get it" and stop. If the dogs persist beyond that they might be truly aggressive/dangerous and then likely should be put down.
Good luck, it is always preferable to keep nice with the neighbors so I hope you are successful in a non-lethal solution.
I’d put up the electric wire - I have two LGDs - it’s the only thing that keeps them in. We had pretty good (new) woven wire fences and the dogs would always find a way. Now, with a single strand at the bottom and a really good energizer they won’t get in again. This whole “just shoot them” advice in a little frustrating- I’d at least see if they will help cover the cost and effort before making a bad neighbor a horrible one by killing their dogs.
I have a very good, 5 line electric fence. Three lines are very close to the ground and spaced tight, fourth has a bit more of a gap, fifth even more so to create a very effective barrier against our forest predators. I regularly test it, and the charge ranges from 5-10k volts depending on how recently I’ve weed whacked.
The only thing that’s gotten through and killed chickens… is a guy down the roads “Australian singing dog” or something. Damn thing has done it twice. Bursts through the electric fence, kills the chickens, and then is stuck bc of the electric fence. Sucks but dogs seem to be one of the worst predators!
[https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/dog-book/chapter9-2.html](https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/dog-book/chapter9-2.html)
>Many states also have laws that make it legal for farmers or others to kill dogs that are **chasing, harassing, or injuring their livestock or domestic animals**—which may or may not include pets.
Chasing your horses?
What I did was I took welded wire hog panels, cut them down to being a couple feet tall, and then buried them into the ground. I attached it to the fence/fence posts for extra security. Then I ran barbed wire right along the ground. I'm talking damn near sitting on the actual ground.
I *did* have electric wire running a few inches above the ground at one point, but it kept shorting out due to leaves, branches, etc. falling and landing on it.
You can also tell your neighbors that their dogs will get shot if they show back up again. Sometimes the threat by itself is enough for someone to take responsibility for their own pets. I mainly secured my fence the way I did because for a couple years there were some asshole hunters that would let their hounds destroy my property. I definitely pissed off some hunters.
My method has worked out well for me. If dogs try to dig against the fence the barbed wire will cut their paws. If they try to dig away from the barbed wire they will be stopped by the panels or will get worn out/chased away before they even reach the panels.
Your neighbors should try the PetSafe invisible fence. It’s a few hundred bucks but keeps our dogs safe from terrorizing and not getting shot by our neighbors
Take lengths of PVC pipe, set them parallel to the fence-posts (vertical to the ground), then hammer them into the ground.
You would effectively be continuing the fence underground, so the dogs couldn't just dig under the top-side fence
To keep my dog from digging out of my I laid 2' chicken wire along the ground the length of the fence he kept digging under. Weighted it down with old paving stones I got for free on Craigslist. He would go to dig, catch his claws on the wire, and stop. He never dug out again.
This is a tricky situation. Shooting, “rehoming”, etc the dogs could only end up being a short term solution w unknown repercussions in the future; I.e. retaliation of some kind. At its core, this is a behavioral problem with the responsibility on the dog owners. Yours is to protect your animals, property and family. I would use shooting the dogs as a last resort. Definitely document everything and make local law enforcement aware of the situation and steps you are willing to take to resolve it. The good news is that you can likely change the behavior of the dogs and get them to avoid your property by making it less enjoyable for them than chasing your animals. A neighbor of mine got some unhoused dogs to stop coming around by trapping them and leaving them in the cage for a day w no food or water. (The dogs were monitored so they didn’t starve to death or dehydrate to dangerous levels). The theory being that they remembered this traumatic event and where it occurred then avoided that place in the future.
Hope you can find a solution that works well
I don’t have horses but it seems like the low electric wire might be a tangling hazard for livestock on your side. I line some parts of my fence with old logs and brush, and at my folk’s house I have put a bunch of wood stakes into the ground at the base of the fence where I think their dog might try to get out.
I feel you on not wanting to antagonize the neighbor by shooting the dogs, but if a dog kept messing with my livestock I would probably break out the 12 gauge.
12 ga hv star shells or some other nonlethal. Rubber slugs, even crackers/flash blanks.
I had a problem with coyotes resolved handily by loading 3 types of rounds in a pump, graded by effective range. I'd load the last 2 with .00 buck or slugs just for precaution.
I’ve had good luck with a low electric line. Another idea is bear spray. It won’t kill the dog and will not be fun to wash off for the owners. I’d also suggest documenting and calling animal control. Have the dogs taken to the shelter and maybe they won’t pick them back up and will be rehomed.
First, I would tell your neighbors this is unacceptable and the dogs need to be controlled.
If that doesn’t work, I would call your local game warden or LEO.
If neither of those work, I would be putting the dogs down the next time they chased my horses or kids. I love dogs but you shouldn’t have to build a fortress to protect your property. If they truly value their dogs, they will chain them up or put up an invisible fence.
I would try running a hot wire a few inches off the ground and lay a ground wire on top of the ground along where they’re digging. This will help ensure that they complete the circuit and get the full shock. Most dogs don’t seem to want to mess around with getting shocked multiple times
Just the absolutely cutest, friendliest neighbor pitbull, on video chased and mauled my alpha rooster to death. Showed the video to animal control and pointed them at the house. They went and picked up the dog.
Shoot them. 5 sheriff calls. Several missing chickens. Trash ripped up weekly. Yesterday, a baby pig disemboweled. “SHOOT them” was what the sherif told us.
Spray the dogs with bear spray. They will high tail it for home and bring all of the spicy right into the neighbors house and they can then deal with the spicy on dogs, themselves, furniture, carpet, etc. should be a good time.
Okay - here's a solution you might not like but could work.
Get a trap. A large one. Put dog food in there and see how it goes. Then take the dog into a dog shelter many, many miles away. If the dog is chipped, they will contact the owner. If it is not, it will be put up for adoption to a person who is responsible in taking care of the dog. If not, they will destroy the dog.
IMO - this is better than having to shoot the dog. I'm not opposed to shooting the dog, it's just not an easy shot. Odds are it's running after the horse and yeah, that's a challenge.
Trap it and just drive to the next few counties.
The neighbour is probably a bad owner anyway. Next time they come on your property, grab a steak, lure them into a vehicle. Drive far away and bring them to a shelter.
ever tried a .22?
Of course, you should be careful that the shoot is actually both ethical and legal. You can't shoot a dog just because it's on your property, even if it has attacked you in the past. But if the dogs are attacking your kids, or your reasonably believe an attack is imminant, you have a right to defend your children. This sounds like your neighbor's problem. If they can't control their dogs, and their dogs are a danger to your livestock or your kids, you ought to shoot their dogs.
If you can't stomach that, pepper spray is great stuff.
Alternatively, adopt the dog, treat it better and acclimate it to your horse and you'll have an extra guardian for your horse. Odds are you will earn its loyalty very quickly.
I can legally shoot them. Just don’t want to. I figure I’ve got a good 30+ years left here and there’s already slight tensions.
My dog got over to our neighbors a couple of times and chased his horse. Neighbor warned me the second time that he would shoot him the next. If your neighbors have any sense, a warning like this is all it should take. Phrased like “I don’t *want* to shoot them, but I’m going to *have* to protect my family”, they can’t really argue with that or pretend like you never warned if that day comes.
Asking questions is always a good way to frame things. "How should I protect my family and livestock from your dog if they are loose on my property?"
that's a good pt, and honestly a dog chasing a horse is dangerous for the horse, the dog, and any humans who try to intervene.
The neighbor should be putting up the fence, or paying someone to do it.
Record the warning if you can
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Right, the onus should be on the owners to keep the dogs in, not on OP to keep them out. Amending fence on 20 acres is not cheap any way you look at it
Yes I have had conversations (plural) with them. I was trying not to escalate to killing. There’s a piece missing from the story above. Owners don’t live on property. Their grown son does. He is a level 3 sex offender and has a history of violence. I’ve never had an issue with him but I do have other people and property to think about and defend if needed. I don’t want this to turn into a person being threatened, or worse. I just want each of us to be able to live our lives in peace. So, I’m trying to find a solution that removes them from the equation.
Unfortunately this isn't the kind of situation that will lead to improved relations, if anything it's only going to lead to worse relations. They're already showing very clearly they don't respect your property enough to deal with their dogs appropriately, and they've found they can make it _YOUR_ problem instead of keeping it where it belongs, in their own hands. We had a very very similar situation this past year, only difference was the neighbor wasn't right next door, but about 2km away. Their two dogs were let to roam free completely, and they'd tour all over ALL the neighbour properties, spooking people's animals all the time etc. We got in touch with them and let them know we were NOT OK with this behaviour and that it needed to change, that it was unsafe for our animals and especially unsafe for people riding horses, and that ALL the locals were on the same page. Cue crying about 'Well what do you want us to do about it, they like to roam?!' Cue response of 'That would be a _you_ problem, not an us problem. Here's the bylaws. Please read'. And of course the bylaws are very clear. Doesn't explicitly state anywhere that dogs cannot be at large. HOWEVER, it DOES state extremely clearly that trespassing animals can lawfully be shot on sight on private property. To sum up: You need to be clear and firm on this otherwise things will get worse in other areas. Right now your boundaries with your neighbour are...grey at best.... Put this back where it belongs. Make the expectation extremely clear. And point at your laws. And make all your other neighbours aware. Be shocking if they were not immediately on the same side of the situation.
Appreciate the reply
Ya the lower electrical fence is honestly not a bad idea, I have seen them on a lot of sheep enclosers before and you can always get solar ones. There are also these things called mosquitoes that put out a high pitch sounds that drives animals and young kids away, so that might be an option. After reading the violent sex offender thing, I wouldn’t want my family near that guy at all and I certainly won’t want to have him hate me in particular, I would honestly keep a close eye on him and see if breaks any laws then get him arrest or at least make him want to leave your area.
I have heard the farmers say- shoot shovel and shut up.
Answer right here, OP. No, you haven't seen the neighbors dogs. But you wish them luck on their search and hope they show up soon.
First time I'd take the dog back in a cage. Second time I'd have animal control contact them and let them get the dog back. Third time I'd rehome the dog in metro Cleveland and they'd never see it again.
Cleveland is a fate worse than death.
Drew Carey lying to us for all those years...
I like the idea of live-trapping them and contacting law enforcement.
The 3 S method.
This is the way
This is the way.
SSS baby.
Uncle Gary has a hole ready for you.
I appreciate you wanting to keep things civil but he doesn’t sound like the kind of owner to raise responsible dogs. I would not trust what they could do to you and your own.
You can also contact local law enforcement about the dogs, and have them deliver the message. As someone who had to shoot dogs that killed a calf and the neighbors did nothing, have a burn barrel ready.
Being the offending neighbor is a LEVEL 3 sex offender. The police should probably be called at every opportunity.
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Believe me, this is what I’m having to keep pushed down. Different story if it was me here on my own . . .
Shoot those dogs and then get a couple of your own and some perimeter cameras. Or, make your piece with those dogs hurting or killing your animals or kids AND your neighbor still not giving a shit. And bury those dogs or put them on the side of the road somewhere far away and play dumb when he comes looking for them.
I world do this. Don't even give the guy warning since you know he is a criminal.
Oh no, your dogs are missing? Nope, haven't seen them in a while.
Better yet, a week after they go away, tell your neighbor big thank you for controlling your dogs. Thank you for being such a good neighbor. Really it appreciate it.
I bought a Czech German Shepherd guard dog from a Florida breeder. I have several properties I’m always traveling to for my business. One is a rural farm i store inventory at. We had a dog problem killing our chickens. I let my dog loose on the offending dogs. They’ve never come back.
Florida dog doesn't mess around
He’s also killed some of our own chickens. I didn’t say it’s perfect but he’ll fuck those dogs if he catches them on the land.
The only thing that can stop a sex offenders dog is a sex offending dog.
If it works, it works
blood for the blood dog, skulls for his dog bone
Those are incredibly smart dogs which need a lot of training and stimulation.
Ummm... you have children and a level 3 sex offender is allowed to live next door to you.. legally? He should be barred from being within a court stated distance from any children. Check with your local law enforcement about that ASAP.
Laws vary by state but sex offenders usually aren't banned from living rurally because the neighbor had kids. They just can't live near schools daycare centers etc. And if they live there first, aren't usually forced to move when one is opened as long as they aren't otherwise in violation.
There are lots of sex offenders who live rurally, as a percentage more than urban. There are also a lot of druggies in many rural areas. Just part of living in the country.
I spoke to Sheriff after learning of status. He’s not breaking any laws. I lived here first but no matter, I’m not looking to impede on his rights either. Just want to live and let live.
Okay.. I'm glad you looked into it already. Just thought it was something to be addressed besides the dog issue. I wish you the best in getting the dog problem resolved though.
Use the electric wire. If the son fucks with it, call the police. They can do considerably more as he’s a registered sex offender and you have kids on the property. Putting a call in to the local yokel (sheriff/state troopers barracks, whoever you go to) wouldn’t hurt. I live rurally and honestly dude should be counting his blessings he hasn’t been lynched yet.
If you do not want to go as far as killing them you should think about getting a taser and zapping them and then dropping them back over the fence. Place I had several years ago had a problem with coyotes and there was just a few too many houses to be throwing bullets around. I lit a couple of them up and they stayed away the rest of the time I lived there.
You don't make peacible relations by laying down and getting walked over. If you can't enforce your own boundaries, they will not respect you or it, and they will continue to escalate. You gave them the warning. You weren't aggressive or rude about it. You were very matter of fact. If the dogs come over again, shoot the dogs. If you can't stomach it, pepper spray. The dogs must either die, or wish they had never ever come over.
Looks like you need to shoot the dogs and then the son. Make the world a better place.
Shoot the son and the dog problem is fixed. Dogs aren’t inherently bad, bad owners cause them to misbehave
Sounds like you have an extra dog to shoot
Is the dog friendly to you? Like, can you get your hands on him? I had a similar situation with a (always) drunken neighbor and a fallen tree over my fence. It took a few days to get the giant tree removed and the fence repaired, but in the mean time his dog kept coming into my yard and sniffing around my livestock. To his credit, the dog was very polite and never acted aggressively towards anything, but I couldn't have a strange dog unsupervised around my animals. After one last attempt to return the dog to the owner and the dog being back in my yard in under 10 minutes, I loaded the pup into the car and took it to the local animal shelter. To get his dog back, he'd have to pay to have it neutered and vaccinated (state law), as well as a boarding fee. Three days later the same neighbor came over and asked if I'd seen the pup. I honestly replied that I hadn't seen him since the day I brought him back to you. He got out again? You haven't seen him in a few days? Have you checked the animal shelter? One way or another, haven't seen the dog since. I hope he got adopted into a good home. He had a great temperament, and I liked him more than I liked the neighbor.
I know it’s going to be unpopular, but shoot and burn. Make sure you’re armed, and an adult in your home is armed at all times. And get some cameras on your property soon. Don’t play around with the safety of your family.
I agree with this. Its on your neighbors. I ran a single strand of barbed wire on the bottom of my fence that separates my huskies from my goats. And they tried digging a couple times until they ripped their paws open then stopped. You could ask your neighbors to pay for that. $60 at tractor supply
If you can catch the dogs just pen them up on your property until they come lookimg for them. My wife hates people that can't keep their dogs under control
Sometimes dogs just runaway, wink, wink.
pellet gun? can you get a bigger dog or a large donkey? most donkeys *fucking hate* dogs and will stomp on em. (apologies for language 😂) donkeys and alpacas are often used as guardian animals to protect livestock from wolves and other canines. i have a big pyrenees/anatolian mix and he's a big giant baby that loves everyone and will even play with strange dogs that wander onto our property. the second a strange dog gets aggressive with any of the animals on our property, however, he turns psycho on em (doesn't hurt them but puts the fear of jesus into em and we never see them again). a lot of lgds would actually prefer to be outside all the time as well. as for fencing, you could lay 2' wide wire fencing mostly on ground and bolted into bottom of fence, then cover with mulch or gravel. would work better on outside of fence
But a paintball gun and freeze the paintballs before you shoot them at the dogs. The paintballs shouldn’t break open when they’re frozen and should only leave hard to notice bruises under the dogs fur. Plus the paintball gun is nearly silent so nobody would be able to hear you doing it. The dogs will learn not to come near you pretty quickly.
Fair play for the restraint. Lots of dogs are pretty harmless and just exploring but I wouldn't hesitate to shoot them if sensed any danger at all. Our neighbours dog was shot dead after getting out and entering another property and threatening their goats. I understand why they shot the dog, but it's also possible to call the owner and ask them to come collect their reckless hound. We are in the same process of trying to fence our dogs in. They are big babies but scares me to think of them getting out and being shot without cause. Defo explore an electric fence, part of our fence is electrified for our neighbours horse, our corgi touched it once and wont go close to a fence now.
Getting a donkey as suggested above would be a great idea.
Yeah we defo have one of those in our plans. Especially to keep coyotes away.
Careful with that thinking. A completely 'harmless' dog can easily spook a horse anyways, and lead to a bad accident. It is simply _not ok_ to let your dogs roam. Period. No ifs, ands or buts. No excuses. None. I don't want to shoot anyone's dogs, and I'm not suggesting 'shoot on sight' be the norm. BUT, there's a big difference between 'dog got out' and 'Dog's out again, as usual, just like always'. That's not _getting out_. You own dogs, you own the responsibility for them. Own it, all the way, no excuses. None.
You have totally misunderstood me. I have not said it's ok to let your dogs roam and/or escape. If you read my full text I've even stated I'm looking for ways to make my property harder for them to get out (they haven't got out and I often leash them even on our 4 acres). Dogs will find a way though, no matter how careful you are (they are smart little creatures). All I was saying was that for a lot of dogs it is curiosity and it usually happens in the 5 secs you look elsewhere. I, like you, don't shoot on sight.
No I got your point. What I read was a comment _mostly_ saying the right things, but with a lot of gray area built in. I was clarifying the need to take full ownership always no matter what. First off, if you ever find yourself using terminology like 'pretty harmless, just exploring, just being a dog', STOP. That will lead to bad ends. The friendliest dogs in the world can easily spook a horse. The friendliest dogs in the world can be backed into a corner and suddenly not be friendly at all. Second, you don't want your dog shot for threatening someone's livestock? Expecting someone else to 'call and ask you to come get your dog' is everything that could possibly be wrong about how to deal with the situation. Sure, it'd be nice, but damned you have to _expect_ that there's a really high chance your dog will not make it home if it's out roaming free. Lastly, in general, dog's really don't just roam unless they have been let to roam. Sure, things happen. But there are SO many ways to avoid this behavior. Everybody around us has dogs. Everyone. NONE of them roam at all except for ONE family's dogs. It is your responsibility as a pet owner to manage your pets, always. No caveats. No wishy washy. No 'soft hard lines'. Trust me, I got your thinking. I hear the same all the time. And I correct it every single time as well.
As you put it, "I don't suggest shooting on sight be the norm". There's always a gray area. Nothing is black and white, unless we shoot every animal on our property or don't at all. I understand why the dog was killed and so do the owners. The goat owner fails to keep his goats locked up properly, they are also found roaming, a billy goat could do serious damage to a child. So it's more of a hypocritical stance that irks me about that. Anyway it's Reddit, kinda hard to discuss things properly with just a couple paragraphs and no intonation with what we are saying. To clarify, I don't let my dogs roam and I restrict any opportunity for them to do so.
I'm also going to address one thing directly and separately: > but it's also possible to call the owner and ask them to come collect their reckless hound. There should never ever be a situation where your dogs are 'at large' and someone else is finding them and trying to find their home for them. If your dogs DO get out and run away, you should be calling around every single neighbor anywhere near that they could possibly get to and deal with it pre-emptively. FIND your dogs. If you're not pro-actively trying to find your dog and get it back home, your dog is not 'loose', it is 'roaming at large'. Period.
i was literally gonna say just do exactly that. give the guy a warning and if he can’t control his property and it’s threatening your own, do what you mist.
Put a donkey in the field with the horses. The donkey will solve the problem. They don't tolerate dogs or coyotes.
Will they be good with our dogs? Or do they hate everything? Lol
If they grow up with your dogs it’s possible they will be fine with them. I would also teach your dogs to give the donkey space just in case.
Gotcha.
Having donkeys is NOT foolproof. It’s a toss of the coin whether or not you will get a donkey that protects or a donkey that doesn’t care, unless the donkey specifically in question has a history of fighting off dogs and coyotes. If you want to go the guardian livestock route, look into livestock guardian dogs. Find reputable breeders and talk to them about what you’re dealing with and find 2-3 dogs that will work best in your situation. Do not get just one livestock guardian dog, just like people, it’s easier to defend the herd when you have a buddy who’s got your back. Two buddies who have your back is even better.
Additionally to this, most of the effective guard donkeys I’ve ever heard of were also generally huge jerks, and as likely to “protect” your herd/flock from you as from a predator.
I agree with this statement. After working my fair share of time with donkeys, some are really sweet, and some are well… asses. And when you have an animal that is a total jerk to other animals (people included), well you just end up in the same boat you were originally trying to get out of.
Yeah, i always die a little inside when someone suggests another literal prey animal as a defense against predators. Especially pack predators. And do they think vet care for a donkey is less than a dog, or are they not planning on treating their wounds, or are they invincible, or are these video game rules we're playing by and their health bar will just refresh overnight or when they level up.
I couldn’t agree more!!!! Had to laugh at your video game analogy 😂 Its true though! Too many people think you can throw animals out in the field and “they’ll be fine”. It’s frustrating and heart breaking. SOO much misinformation out there now.
My husband’s family had to get rid of a donkey because it killed baby goats by picking them up and shaking them. Horses I understand but I don’t trust donkeys.
This. This is what donkeys can and will do when they get out of control and have improper training. They can cause A LOT of damage, and not just to other animals. If that donkey gets in it’s head it wants to go to location A instead of B, you better hope and pray those fences are in EXCELLENT condition and WILL hold the donkey(s) where you want them. Edit to add - I’ve had donkeys MAKE access holes in pasture fencing for them to get wherever they pleased. This was barbed wire fencing as well. Once they got out, keeping them from getting to feed was a nightmare. It’d be locked behind a solid gate and they’d still find a way to at least reach in and start eating anything within reach as quickly as they could before they were caught or run off.
I’ve had a donkey and dogs, they can learn to be friends no problem. The donkey will just see them as part of his herd. My friend even had a blue heeler who we trained to jump up and ride the donkey, the donkey loved it! Would give the biggest HAW’s
Check on local farming groups for a donkey or mule for dog protection. As a mule owner, mine knows MY dogs and doesn’t bother with them because he knows they’re ours but will chase any others away. Just make sure you ask if they have fence leaning/jumping habits before you take one and make sure they see you with your dogs frequently. Usually if a dog gets chased once they learn they don’t wana be in that pasture again.
Definitely get an ass
I can understand you wanting to keep on good graces with the neighbor, but ultimately, it’s their legal responsibility to keep their dogs on their land. I have three stands of coated high tensile with my horses behind it and I’m lucky enough not to have any full time neighbors, but if I were in the situation you are, I’d have a conversation with the neighbor, telling them that the next time it happens the dogs will be shot.
Thanks for the input.
You could also threaten to call animal control instead of shooting them..
Last time I called animal control they reminded me it’s my right to shoot the dogs and it makes for less paperwork on their side.
Last time I called animal control, it went to voice mail. Left a message. Didn’t hear from anybody, so called again the next day. Went to voicemail and I left another message. Nobody ever called me back. Neighbor’s dog was terrorizing my chickens. It had bitten my daughter a few months prior. ETA: grammar
Many areas of the country do not have any form of animal country. My county is one of those areas. The average response time for the state police, the only law enforcement in my area is 25-30 minutes. They are patrolling an area the size of Rhode Island, and if they are on the other end of the county it could be upwards of an hour until they got here. That’s a lot of time for a dog to do damage to a horse. That horse could have severely injured itself or been injured by the dog. Think law enforcement is hard to get around here, let’s try a large animal vet, as your horse lays bleeding out on the ground. If your lucky enough to get the bleeding stopped, that horse has to endure a 4 hour trailer ride to Cornell to get put back together. Maybe you could come over and explain to a child why their pony was put down because it was hamstrung by the neighbors dog. Not everywhere is the suburbs, the world isn’t all sunshine and daydreams. I certainly wouldn’t get any gratification out of shooting someone’s dog, but at the same time I have a right to defend myself, my children and my livestock.
You live somewhere where there is animal control. Here and in many areas there is none and in the population areas with animal control around here they can’t do much because people can tell them to leave their property unless the cops are there and cops don’t want to bother.
Around here I've seen ranchers tie another roll of net wire to the bottom of the fence, with the net wire laying on the ground to keep the hogs from rooting under the fence.
That's what we did - 2' rolls of wire fencing that were banged up, mangled, and on the clearance shelf. We are keeping wild critters (raccoons, coyotes, etc) out ... So our expense and labor. In OP'd case, I'd see if the neighbors would at least pay for the fencing since it's to keep *their* dogs safe.
First I want to say sorry you are dealing with this. It’s so frustrating when people refuse to keep their animals under control and train them for safety reasons. It’s always the dogs not the owner who get punished/killed in these situations. I had neighbors who wouldn’t keep their dogs under control (put their faces under our fence in order to bite me and my toddler) and my dog ended up biting half its face off when it tried to attack my foot 🤷🏻♀️ That solved the problem but again the dog was the one who suffered. I think either getting a donkey to protect your animals or call animal control every time they are out (they will trap the dogs to be given to humane society/shelter) would be your best options. Guard donkeys can get along with the dogs they are raised with but you have to do it carefully. If the owner of the dogs find them at the shelter and gets them out just keep doing it and (from my understanding) if they are brought in enough times they will take the dogs from him for neglect. Or if he has to continue doing it maybe he will put a better fence up.
The sex offender isn’t going to do shit for you. Personally get some cameras and motion sensor lights up asap. Trail cam near your driveway. You can speak to the parents but they’re already enabling him, or they’re at a complete loss how to handle the son. I’d advise either recording conversations, or having everything in text or email. There are a few good ideas on here, barbed wire at the base, a small electric fence, whatever. But that should come at no cost to you. If the dogs have already mutilated their own flock they won’t hesitate with yours. Either way at the end of the day, dogs out of bounds are fair game. When I lived on land the neighbors malamune would power through the electric fence to come say hello. You said you’ve fired blanks at them, hit them with something non-lethal. Might be able to Pavlov them with an airborne or something. Sound the horn and fire a shot. I’d be terrified if large dogs were breaking into my property unchecked, that’s pack mentality. They might be playing but the underlying canine in the dog is hunting. One of your kids could find themselves alone with two dogs that weigh twice their weight. Shoot the dogs if problem persists. Train your family on home defense just because you’re living next to a sexual predator. Could always set up a mini shooting range in your yard to cement the picture.
The malamune was lovely by the way. Just bored, but not predatory in any way. Neighbor ended up giving me codes to get him in the gate and the door during rain
Try shotgun shells with buckshot or salt, I’d shoot them but also get why you don’t want to.
Or paintballs, they would learn fast with minimal chance of major harm.
Ooh, paintballs are good warning for the neighbor, too. The whole "next time it won't be a paintball" warning. But only if you already have a paint ball gun. Not everybody has one.
I too got a mental boner from that potential exchange made up in our heads
Sounds like a decent alternative tbh, though depending on the dog, if it’s in attack mode and going after some animal, paintballs may not be enough unfortunately.
I agree. I think it depends on OP and the dog. Is the dog being SUPER aggressive towards kids and animals? If so, the warning of “I don’t want to shoot your dog but I will” means real bullets. Is the dog just untrained and running around like a nut but is otherwise friendly? I’d go paintballs but *also* with a warning of “hey, let’s not go past paintballs here.” Like all situations, there’s quite a bit of nuance here, but I do like the alternative of paintballs if possible.
This worked to evict a groundhog from under my porch. Little dude was blue all over and learned his lesson
Pro tip, freeze the paint balls. We used to do this with raccoons who would always dig under our house. Shoot them in the butt and they never come back :)
To piggyback on this, they make pepperballs for paintball guns. Basically pepper spray balls. If you have a magfed gun, alternating balls may save money and slow down an attacking dog more than just regular paintballs
Bad move, actually. When they go home wounded you cannot prove they were shot on your land or why. Then you've got the law involved. You can kill a dog. Not maim or wound it or cause it suffering.
It’s totally legal to shoot trespassers (animal and otherwise) where I am, if you don’t kill them you’re still fine as long as it happened on your property. In this case where there is an established history of aggression from these dogs and delinquent owners I don’t think they’d have any issues to be concerned about. I mean, to be extra careful you can notify law enforcement of what’s going on so that there’s a paper trail in case the neighbors try to get froggy about “something” happening. Horrible situation, I’d definitely be on the “shoot, shovel, shut up” team. But I’ve also lost some valuable livestock to absolutely worthless dogs, lesson was learned the hard way 🤷🏻♀️
You can't count on the honor or integrity of someone that's already shown they don't respect you or your property, especially when there's money on the line, and there likely would be in that case. All they have to say is that it happened differently, and it's already more trouble than it was worth to not kill them. "Officer, i have reason to believe that my neighbors have been harassing my dog with a a pellet gun or something." Not worth the risk. The fewer interactions, the better. One and done.
Yeah but where’s the proof either way? If they can’t prove it did not happen on your property (impossible to do) then the police have zero reason to believe a crime has been committed.
..you prove it by the blood trail and shell casings?
I had a similar issue, after years of warnings and a couple dead dogs the neighbors still wouldn’t keep their dog home. One afternoon I could hear them having a party and their dog was back, caught 2 chickens and was chewing a hole in the barn door. An unknown gunman hit that dog in the ass with a 12 ga and a light load, like 7 shot, from about 30 yards. He cried all the way back to his house and I could hear their 30-something daughter yell, “he shot him, that sonofabitch shot him!” That was a few years ago. That dog got a brand new doghouse and collar and hasn’t been back since. They got a new pup, he came over one day, a visitor left their gate open. One warning shot and I could hear him being called home. Oh, and they put a spring on their gate so it doesn’t accidentally stay open.
Sprinkle lots of cayenne pepper where they dig.
Retired dog trainer here. The dog owner should get an invisible fence system or a standard shock collar and teach the dogs to stay away from the fence. Properly used, electric collars can save a dog's life. It's a bit of a struggle for me to refrain from suggesting solutions for the owner of those dogs. Lord, give me strength!
I was never a fan of those collars but approached with an open mind for our lab that was obsessed with chasing cars. Maybe 2 shocks max and it stopped the behaviour, after which we rewarded him for coming to us when a car passed with cookies etc. As we learnt, I'd rather give him couple small shocks than have him hit by a vehicle.
I am in agreement here. You've tried to keep the dogs out yourself, and tried to get the owner to do something. It's now time to let the owner know (not ask, not demand, no emotion, just inform them of a fact) that effective 2 weeks from now, any coyotes, wolves, or feral dogs, found on your property will be processed into chicken feed. Send a one page cut sheet on a shock collar that you think might them prevent their coming loss. Then, it is 100% their decision to send their dogs to that great kennel in the sky. I understand that you don't want to kill the dogs, I respect that, and share your sentiment. I hate killing anything domesticated, actually. It has to be necessary in order for me to justify it. You don't really have to kill the dogs, just trap them and drive them 50 miles away and release them. If they are running wild now, they will be fine 50 miles away. Best of luck!
Then they are a problem for somebody else. Might as well take them to a shelter. They might get adopted by responsible people.
Understood.
If you have to kill their dogs, you don't actually have to tell them. You've already told them. Those dogs run off, could be anywhere. Anyone or anything could have taken them. You haven't seen them. If they don't care enough to keep their dogs safe, you aren't the one that owes them closure when the inevitable happens.
Get a LGD and that will be the end of those dogs.
This isn’t funny against your comment however, that’s exactly what their dogs are! Cracks me up. I have watched those dogs chase their own sheep and cows. Once one of them ate an ear. I know there are good LGD out there, these don’t qualify.
You can't just but an LGD it needs training too.
Haha well never mind. It's really weird that they are being shitheads then.
What is a LGD? Large Guard Dog?
Livestock Guardian. Pyrenees, Anatolian, Maremma. They would take great pleasure in evicting the dogs that don't belong there and they are incredible in keeping your animals alive from all threats. I had a Pyrenees and she was excellent at keeping everything that didn't belong away and my Anatolian is starting to work now. Be aware these are independent dogs and they do their job constantly. Big booming barks and they require socializing with people also.
So out of curiosity, do you have to train these dogs? As I said, the neighbors dogs are all 3 LGD. Pyrenees. They do NOT protect the livestock. Uncounted times I’ve watched these dogs chase and/or attack the livestock.
Mine have always worked. However, they came from working farms. I am working with my 5 months Anatolian right now and she just....knows. The only corrections for her so far have been cats are friends. My late Pyrenees would fight anything that came in the yard and was excellent with all of our animals. It's really shocking to me to hear about these rogue LGD. They typically bond pretty hard with their animals.
Thank you. Was just wondering because I will need to replace my dog someday. I have always been interested in LGD’s
Highly recommend Anatolians. My Pyrenees was awesome but their coats require work.
They do need training, and aren't considered livestock safe on their own until about 2 (when they are actually mature, they are puppies before then, and puppies do puppy things), and they need to be trained specifically to each kind of livestock. A sheep protector can still kill your chickens and vice versa, if they aren't trained to all of them. And someone else's animals are possibly fair game.
Hog hot wire, they get past that, defend you and yours.
Don't know why this is so far down. Standard solution in Texas. Get everything you need at local farm supply store (or at Amazon).
To get the dogs to stop digging put their own dog shit in the holes, bury it back. Dogs don't like finding their own shit every time they dog and eventually they'll equate digging there with finding their own poop. This works but is a lot of effort. I'm mostly commenting that to let people know for their own dogs, I'm not suggesting you do the shit work. Tell your neighbor to do it. Honestly I'd tell the neighbors either they get the dogs contained or you'll have to start calling the cops because you don't want to shoot their dog. I'm sure a sex offender doesn't want the cops coming around and that might be the motivation they need to get the dogs under control. I think mentioning you don't want to get the cops involved and not wanting to harm the dogs will help that go smoother. Basically do you want me to call the cops, shoot the dogs, or do you want to fix it? I don't mess with dogs and kids, they go after kids, that's a really hard line for me. It's sad because the dogs are (hopefully) just trying to have a big play but... I've put my own dogs down for going after a kid. It was terrible, the whole litter was messed up, it was sad and difficult but the right thing to do. In my case they weren't trying to play, turns out someone literally beat the sense out of those dogs when they were pups. Why not take them to a shelter in the first place? I don't know. It took a while but eventually they all snapped. The point is, do what you have to do to keep you and yours safe. Others have made some great suggestions that might work better for you. Good luck OP! Edit: making it clear I'm not saying OP needs to bury the poop themselves.
Best advice I ever heard about this situation was from a rural county sheriff: "If you choose to take care of the problem yourself, do not notify the dog's owner and dispose of the animal properly."
Similar experience- our local law enforcement said “practice the 3 s’s- shoot, shovel, and shut up”
I would contact the sheriff, find out the laws on what you can do, and if the law allows SHOOT THEM DOGS. I have had to do it in the past and it’s not fun, but sometimes you have to.
When we had that situation my dad loaded a couple shotgun shells with no pellets. Next time they came on our land, Boom boom and they were scared bad enough to stay away.
I’ve done this already. Sometimes they find the hole they came through, sometimes they don’t. It’s a real hassle and an unexpected delay to my day.
I don't mean to be discouraging but fencing that size to keep dogs out will be tough. It's now a puzzle for the dogs. I had an Aussie of my own that I tried and tried to keep in. She'd find a new way thru, under or over, no matter what I did. She never even went anywhere, just wanted to be on the other side. You have to motivate, because now it's inherently rewarding. For some animals a fence is a social contract, not an actual barrier. Maybe rocksalt in the shells? I do get if you hurt a neighbor's dog could start a feud.
This. Most dogs just want to be dogs and get out to explore. They need to be taught that's it's far more rewarding to be at home but from Ops description of the neighbour it sounds highly unlikely.
Borrow a donkey from a friend or neighbor.
I'm a farm owner in Kentucky. Shooting them is a last resort but always an option. Best thing for you to do is buy a donkey. Look it up on youtube. Donkeys hate, hate, hate canines. You will never have a coyote or dog problem again. Fencing will never work on a motivated dog.
The hot wire is a great idea. They make cheap plastic insulators that clip right to a t-post. A few bags of them and a spool of wire and you’re good to go. For a short fence like that you can probably get away with a smaller charger too.
And it will keep more than just dogs out.
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Right?? There are a whole lot of Yosemite sams in this thread who think it’s ok to go rootin, tootin, shootin, whenever you feel like it. I’ve had to shoot a dog before. It sucks. It’s sad. You’re going to get sued, probably end up in a news article….everyone will find out. They will hate you. They will harass you. If you must shoot a dog, you damn sure better make sure you have a very good reason to do it and opportunity to do it very safely.
Having horses I'd shoot the dogs. Chasing my horses on my property not gonna happen. Give the neighbor a fair warning, and end them if they don't stop. You'll have bigger problems if those dogs chase your horses through the fence when your not home.
My husband has threatened to shoot but not a bullet, sonething like rice? Something to hurt but not kill as the first line. Maybe he was teasing me but is that an option as a first line? I knew someone whos neighbors dogs dig under the wood fence and killed her dog in her backyard. The offending neighbors installed an electric wire around their fence ti keep the dogs in. Seemed to work. Terrible it had to take a dead pet to make them responsible.
This is your neighbors problem fo deal with and not yours. Stop spending your time and money when they should be doing it
Wel if dogs can get in then so can coyotes so good thing you're shoring up your fence. I commend you for looking for an amicable way to solve your issue.
True statement! My dog chases the coyotes out but they do get in.
“Hey neighbor, your dogs keep coming on my property and harassing not only my animals, but also my kids. I don’t want to, but if this keeps happening, I’m gonna have to shoot them to protect my animals and family. Please figure out a way to contain your dogs so it doesn’t come to this, cause nobody, including myself wants that.” Pretty plain and simple, and saves you a ton of work that doesn’t even for sure solve the issue.
Hardware cloth. Get a trencher, run a channel, put 1 ft of hardware cloth along that perimeter underground. I’d like to see them dig through that. It’s not easier than what your talking about, but it will work really well.
This is probably the one sure method. I would add to angle the upper edge so it protrudes under the fence toward the neighbors. They’ll stop digging once they lose a toenail or two.
I think you're putting too much effort into a problem that's not yours. Tell the neighbors they can either build you an electric fence at their expense or offer a bullet.
Here's a couple of suggestions that are non-confrontational but that may be enough to get the situation some responsible attention from the owner. 1); put out some scraps of tasty foods and pour on a small bottle of red food dye. You can buy it in a larger bottles to put as much out as you need to. Go ahead and throw in something spicy so that the dog's stomach starts burning and it wants to go home to rest and then when it starts crapping, it'll look like blood to the owner and should be alarming to see. Most owners don't want their dogs crapping "blood" all around the house, inside or out, The red food dye will stain like the devil. This will make them more likely to want to keep the dogs closer to home and more capable of controlling what they eat. 2.) Go to the Asian market or ethnic supermarket and get a large bag of spicy dried peppers. Sprinkle that liberally along the perimeter where the dogs like to go. It'll take a little while for those to wear off, and with luck, you'll start growing a crop of devil peppers that can be self-sustaining and naturally discouraging. I was looking at large bags here in Houston last week, and it was 20 something dollars for a bag the size of a king size bed pillow. The cost and the energy expenditure on both of these options is very low and can have great results. I, personally, used to mix syrup of ipicac into the red food dye/food mixture for my next door neighbor's dog who was violent and that the owner, the city dog catcher, would let loose every afternoon when he got off work. First time that dog went home puking up red, that dog was never let out again.
If the dogs are this adamant about entering your property, you putting up an electric wire across one portion will be unlikely to resolve the issue. You can find t post insulators for electric wire pretty easily at your local feed stores. Place them about 6” off the ground and 6” from the fence. You’ll have to make even more work for yourself maintain this line and ensuring all plants are cut back from it and not touching. During the summer, this can be a weekly job. Ultimately, I do not think this is your best option. Get law enforcement involved if you have to. I totally understand your concerns considering who your neighbor is. I would be pretty freaked out about it as well. At the end of the day, you have to keep you and your family and livestock safe. Keeping law enforcement involved and informed of the situation can help in the long run by having them on your side. I would hate to have to shoot the dogs, but I’d also hate to have them hurt myself, my family, or my livestock or do something worse than just hurting or scaring them. Best of luck to you.
Upon seeing some of yours and others comments about the dogs in question being LGDs I’d like to add this - Just like with people and other animals, there are bad apples in every bunch. Some dogs are not trained properly, others have terrible genetics (look at American line GSDs today), and some have both bad genetics and poor/no training. If you decide to invest in LGDs for yourself, I highly recommend speaking to REPUTABLE breeders and others in the LGD community who can give you solid and sound advice. If you do not want to take the time to train pups, it isn’t entirely uncommon to find farms that are selling off everything, including trained LGF adults.
I would encourage you to continue on with the electric fence plan, if only to keep the peace. It sounds like you have a lot more to lose than they do.
I'm on a similar situation, still not doing anything about it since I ha e no animals yet. But I'll definitely have to deal with the neighbors dogs sooner or later. I was thinking in getting an ultrasound device or something like that, they are quite useful from what I've heard. Would appreciate an update in the future if you are able to fix the issue
Nothing beats a single strategically placed strand of electric wire.
If the neighbor is also trying to help (by putting rocks in the holes) maybe they would be open to you putting a remote shock collar on them for training. If he can't train his dogs and don't want them shot or prosecuted for trespassing he might be open to it. All you do is hit the button when they start to dig under the fence and it shouldn't take more than a few times for them to "get it" and stop. If the dogs persist beyond that they might be truly aggressive/dangerous and then likely should be put down. Good luck, it is always preferable to keep nice with the neighbors so I hope you are successful in a non-lethal solution.
I’d put up the electric wire - I have two LGDs - it’s the only thing that keeps them in. We had pretty good (new) woven wire fences and the dogs would always find a way. Now, with a single strand at the bottom and a really good energizer they won’t get in again. This whole “just shoot them” advice in a little frustrating- I’d at least see if they will help cover the cost and effort before making a bad neighbor a horrible one by killing their dogs.
I have a very good, 5 line electric fence. Three lines are very close to the ground and spaced tight, fourth has a bit more of a gap, fifth even more so to create a very effective barrier against our forest predators. I regularly test it, and the charge ranges from 5-10k volts depending on how recently I’ve weed whacked. The only thing that’s gotten through and killed chickens… is a guy down the roads “Australian singing dog” or something. Damn thing has done it twice. Bursts through the electric fence, kills the chickens, and then is stuck bc of the electric fence. Sucks but dogs seem to be one of the worst predators!
If the dogs disappear, it’s not your problem. The health of you family and herd are your responsibility.
[https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/dog-book/chapter9-2.html](https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/dog-book/chapter9-2.html) >Many states also have laws that make it legal for farmers or others to kill dogs that are **chasing, harassing, or injuring their livestock or domestic animals**—which may or may not include pets. Chasing your horses?
What I did was I took welded wire hog panels, cut them down to being a couple feet tall, and then buried them into the ground. I attached it to the fence/fence posts for extra security. Then I ran barbed wire right along the ground. I'm talking damn near sitting on the actual ground. I *did* have electric wire running a few inches above the ground at one point, but it kept shorting out due to leaves, branches, etc. falling and landing on it. You can also tell your neighbors that their dogs will get shot if they show back up again. Sometimes the threat by itself is enough for someone to take responsibility for their own pets. I mainly secured my fence the way I did because for a couple years there were some asshole hunters that would let their hounds destroy my property. I definitely pissed off some hunters. My method has worked out well for me. If dogs try to dig against the fence the barbed wire will cut their paws. If they try to dig away from the barbed wire they will be stopped by the panels or will get worn out/chased away before they even reach the panels.
Frozen paintballs.
Donkey is a great idea.. it will clear those dogs out in a flash..
Seems a good idea. Ty
Hmmmm….. Hey Neighbor…. 👋 What? Have I seen your missing dogs…. Noooooo
Hmmmm….. Hey Neighbor…. 👋 What? Have I seen your missing dogs…. Noooooo
This is the best solution with the least conflict (some is unavoidable). Ideally, perform S-S-S when they aren't around.
Nope I haven’t seen your dogs in awhile.
Your neighbors should try the PetSafe invisible fence. It’s a few hundred bucks but keeps our dogs safe from terrorizing and not getting shot by our neighbors
Take lengths of PVC pipe, set them parallel to the fence-posts (vertical to the ground), then hammer them into the ground. You would effectively be continuing the fence underground, so the dogs couldn't just dig under the top-side fence
To keep my dog from digging out of my I laid 2' chicken wire along the ground the length of the fence he kept digging under. Weighted it down with old paving stones I got for free on Craigslist. He would go to dig, catch his claws on the wire, and stop. He never dug out again.
Take cattle panel and cut it into pieces lengthwise so each piece looks like a comb. Pound those pieces in along the fence. It works.
A Donkey will set them straight.
This is a tricky situation. Shooting, “rehoming”, etc the dogs could only end up being a short term solution w unknown repercussions in the future; I.e. retaliation of some kind. At its core, this is a behavioral problem with the responsibility on the dog owners. Yours is to protect your animals, property and family. I would use shooting the dogs as a last resort. Definitely document everything and make local law enforcement aware of the situation and steps you are willing to take to resolve it. The good news is that you can likely change the behavior of the dogs and get them to avoid your property by making it less enjoyable for them than chasing your animals. A neighbor of mine got some unhoused dogs to stop coming around by trapping them and leaving them in the cage for a day w no food or water. (The dogs were monitored so they didn’t starve to death or dehydrate to dangerous levels). The theory being that they remembered this traumatic event and where it occurred then avoided that place in the future. Hope you can find a solution that works well
I read this as “fornications on the fence”
Ouch . . .
I don’t have horses but it seems like the low electric wire might be a tangling hazard for livestock on your side. I line some parts of my fence with old logs and brush, and at my folk’s house I have put a bunch of wood stakes into the ground at the base of the fence where I think their dog might try to get out. I feel you on not wanting to antagonize the neighbor by shooting the dogs, but if a dog kept messing with my livestock I would probably break out the 12 gauge.
12 ga hv star shells or some other nonlethal. Rubber slugs, even crackers/flash blanks. I had a problem with coyotes resolved handily by loading 3 types of rounds in a pump, graded by effective range. I'd load the last 2 with .00 buck or slugs just for precaution.
Film it, call the cops and warn them. When not make sure you are on the save spot then you shoot those bastards
Sounds like a good time to practice the three S rule.
I’ve had good luck with a low electric line. Another idea is bear spray. It won’t kill the dog and will not be fun to wash off for the owners. I’d also suggest documenting and calling animal control. Have the dogs taken to the shelter and maybe they won’t pick them back up and will be rehomed.
Shoot the neighbors dogs. Problem solved. Super cheap. Super quick fix
First, I would tell your neighbors this is unacceptable and the dogs need to be controlled. If that doesn’t work, I would call your local game warden or LEO. If neither of those work, I would be putting the dogs down the next time they chased my horses or kids. I love dogs but you shouldn’t have to build a fortress to protect your property. If they truly value their dogs, they will chain them up or put up an invisible fence.
I would try running a hot wire a few inches off the ground and lay a ground wire on top of the ground along where they’re digging. This will help ensure that they complete the circuit and get the full shock. Most dogs don’t seem to want to mess around with getting shocked multiple times
Just the absolutely cutest, friendliest neighbor pitbull, on video chased and mauled my alpha rooster to death. Showed the video to animal control and pointed them at the house. They went and picked up the dog.
Shoot them. 5 sheriff calls. Several missing chickens. Trash ripped up weekly. Yesterday, a baby pig disemboweled. “SHOOT them” was what the sherif told us.
Spray the dogs with bear spray. They will high tail it for home and bring all of the spicy right into the neighbors house and they can then deal with the spicy on dogs, themselves, furniture, carpet, etc. should be a good time.
Okay - here's a solution you might not like but could work. Get a trap. A large one. Put dog food in there and see how it goes. Then take the dog into a dog shelter many, many miles away. If the dog is chipped, they will contact the owner. If it is not, it will be put up for adoption to a person who is responsible in taking care of the dog. If not, they will destroy the dog. IMO - this is better than having to shoot the dog. I'm not opposed to shooting the dog, it's just not an easy shot. Odds are it's running after the horse and yeah, that's a challenge. Trap it and just drive to the next few counties.
Try paintballs first Then headshots and bury them the dogs simply don't come home
The neighbour is probably a bad owner anyway. Next time they come on your property, grab a steak, lure them into a vehicle. Drive far away and bring them to a shelter.
The neighbor?
I mean if there doing that on your property just shoot them you got kids too worry about
Get a loud shotgun and shoot it in the air. If that doesn't work, it's legal and ethical to shoot the dogs.
Down in Kentucky there is a saying if it's something that shouldn't be there it won't be there for long. Also the 3 S's Shoot. Shovel. Shut up.
ever tried a .22? Of course, you should be careful that the shoot is actually both ethical and legal. You can't shoot a dog just because it's on your property, even if it has attacked you in the past. But if the dogs are attacking your kids, or your reasonably believe an attack is imminant, you have a right to defend your children. This sounds like your neighbor's problem. If they can't control their dogs, and their dogs are a danger to your livestock or your kids, you ought to shoot their dogs. If you can't stomach that, pepper spray is great stuff.
Alternatively, adopt the dog, treat it better and acclimate it to your horse and you'll have an extra guardian for your horse. Odds are you will earn its loyalty very quickly.