Crapaud62

Tonight, for the third time in 10 days, my neighbours danderous dogs have wandered onto my property and attacked my own dogs.

The previous incident also invoved my 13 year old son who went to defend his puppy and was knocked over by the lab cross collie. I informed the neighbour that if it happened again I would either report it to the police or alternatively take an axe to the beast and return their dogs in several pieces. This merely provoked a tide of foul mouthed abuse.

Their dogs are two male brothers from the same litter. They are aware that they are dangerous and always have them muzzled when they take them out for a walk. However, every time they have got loose they have not been muzzled.

Tonight they badly attacked my collie pup and left him with a bleeding paw and puncture wounds. I phoned the local police but they were no help and only suggested that I keep a diary of all the attacks.

I don't want to wait until one of my dogs is killed by these dangerous beasts.

If they were worrying livestock I would be entitled to shoot them but not if they "only" attack dogs and children?

Please can anyone advise exactly what I can do?

2000TLondon

Although this may sound a bit bravado, my dog often got into fights / was attacked by other dogs, once an extremely vicious Great Dane, and I would never hestitate to deal with the other dog.

I would be too concerned for my own dog to worry about the neighbours or the police reaction. I hate cruelty to animals, but if the dogs are out of control, they need to learn your property is out of bounds. It's self defence at the end of the day.

(Sorry, I'm at work and have spent most of my night shift in the pub, so excuse rant!)

It's totally unfair that the dogs behave like this because it is obviously all down to the owners. I'd deal with the dog without being excessive and if the neighbour had the cheek to moan about it...... Which may not be particularly practical, but......

Unless they are trained police dogs or something!

If you don't fancy the physical side, the RSPCA or local dog warden is your way forward. The police will only contact them anyway if they are requirted to attend.

fast bloke

Tell your neighbour that you have procured some Euthatal from some nutter on Scoobynet and that the next time his dogs enter your property you will use it.... on HIM

In reality there is not a lot you can do. You could get some sedatives from your vet(to take you dog on holidays) and leave it out for the invaders - You would have to keep your own dog out of the way though

Leslie

Surely the police are responsible for dealing with dogs behaving in such a dangerous way. I am surprised they fobbed you off like that.

Les

R 14NS R

do you want to borrow my and my neighbours 2 english bull terriers for a couple of weeks?

andypugh2000

How did the dogs enter your property in the first place?? surely this would be the first thing to deal with i.e secure your own property so they cant get in and yours cant get out, thats what I have done and also built a penned in kennel area to confine the dogs when I go out with a locked gate to keep them out of trouble.

AP

zxr750Nick

Suggest a sponge soaked in gravy thrown into next doors gargen. That will plug the hound up and they will not be a problem for much longer. It works. I used to work for a vet and saw the result...........

andypugh2000

Not sure if thats the kind of result he was after

Redkop

I thought this would be a priority too, primarily for the safety of your child from these dogs. We had to take measures and put reinforcement fencing up when our neighbour had a Bull Mastiff and we had a GSD. One hell of a fight would have ensued otherwise.

Tiggs

" I informed the neighbour that if it happened again I would either report it to the police or alternatively take an axe to the beast and return their dogs in several pieces."

its a serious issue so maybe a slightly more mature conversation would have got things off on the right foot?

Mrs WRX

I have got an English Bull Terrier as well but she wouldnt be any good for sorting your neighbours dogs out as she is as soft as anything and runs away from aggressive dogs. My advise would be to go to Environmental Health and tell them that the dogs tried to attack your child, they are more likely to do something when children are involved, the same for the police aswell.

RB5 Paul

Maybe if there was a blue pole mounted camara that went off as the dog's ran to fast into your garden then the police would take notice,but as they are only maiming and attacking your dogs they ain't really proper criminals yet.

Could explain your suprise Les

Crapaud62

Many thanks fo rall your replies. I appreciate that so many have taken time to reply.

Re "a more mature reply etc". Point taken , however, we had just lost our oldest dog the week before as he had been run over outside our property and I was still upset about that so seeing the puppy (son of dead dog) being savaged made me flip. Also response from neighbour was couldn't care attitude inflamed me as well. I have since had chat to her husband who is far more reasonable chap and has agreed that he will try to keep the dogs on his property and is spending money on putting up new fences etc.

My property is old farm building with 12 acres of land. The two neighbouring properties are the old stone barns that have been converted into houses. It would be impossible to totally secure the property without spending several thousands on fences. But why should I have to take action to prevent the dangerous dogs coming onto my land.

Fact 1 The dogs are dangerous. The neighbour suggested that they only come and attack because the puppy has not yet been neutered but hat is nonsense as our bitch was also attacked separately.

On Saturday we had to take the puppy to the vets to be checked out as he was still not right. He was very pale and nervous (the puppy not the vet!). He had two injections for the cuts to his paw and had bruising. We got a vets bill of £46. Do I have a good case for presenting this to the neighbour? Or will it depend on his "goodwill" if he pays this. I tend to think it may make him more aware of the seriousness of the issue if he sees the vets bill and report. The husband is fairly reasonable whereas the wife is extremely unpleasant. They have no kids so she treats dogs as her children and believes that they can do no wrong.

Vet also agreed that if my friend had not intervened when he did then the larger dogs could have killed my puppy.

I appreciate that disputes with neighbours are sensitive grounds but the safety of my dogs must take priority over neighbourly relations.

Thanks again for comments.

bzz

Have you tried asking the Citizens Advice Bureau? They may offer to contact the police on your behalf, or at least give you legal advice you can use to 'prod' the police into action. I'm surprised at their lack of response, a violent dog problem is normally dealt with more firmly.....
http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

Brendan Hughes

I would definitely give the neighbours the vet bill. "Hi - your dog caused this damage, here is the bill." And I'd take a baseball bat to the neighbours' dogs next time they come over, and tell the neighbour they're next.

Am having similar probs at present here. Most buy dogs as an alarm system, and don't give a **** if they attack another while going for a walk.

Remember it's a territory thing for the dogs - they're taking over your pup's territory. Don't let it continue.

imlach

and

As dog lovers (presumably), can you not see a flaw here? You both admit the issue is with the owner, so why harm the dog, who is the innocent party. A dog is only doing what comes naturally. If it hasn't been trained properly, it's hardly the fault of the dog.

Take your anger out on the owner, and NOT the dog.

I can compare this to cycling on cycle paths where people walk their dogs. If the dog is off the lead and the path ahead is blocked, I'll head for the owner. Of the two, the owner is the one with a brain which knows the consequences of NOT moving out of the way when I ping my bell to get past (all done in a non-aggressive manner, AND at low speed with plenty warning).

It's amazing how many dog owners get pee-ed off with you for heading straight for them instead of their dog. Maybe now they'll know how the dog feels

Simple really.

codie247

i have an English Bull Terrier also, what gets me is that our dogs will be labelled as dangerous dogs at the drop of a hat. yet it's these type of dogs which get away with allsorts because they aren't a type of Bull breed. all dogs can be dangerous. rant over.
could the dog warden not help in any way?

Lee

jods

This is EXACTLY what I was going to suggest. Make sure its not a REAL sponge though, as they are quite expensive. Any cheap type from your local Halfords will be perfectly adequate for the job !!

Suggest you save the gravy / drippings from next Sunday's roast dinner and keep it handy.

Let's face it - It may only be a matter of time before your son becomes the target. Are you prepared to take the risk ? I know what my priority would be. !!!!

r32

Before you cause a problem you might seriously regret, like damaging the neighbours or their dogs go see a solicitor and find out what your rights actually are ...... even the CAB woulb be better than jumping the wrong way..........

Redkop

How some people can advocate cruelty to the dogs is beyond me... It's the owners of the dogs that are at fault!

Leslie

I agree with Redkop.

Les

Mrs WRX

Sometimes it is just the dog themselves. I had a German Shepherd years ago and she was a lovely puppy when I got her, but it was obvious from the start that she hated other dogs. I dont know why as she was never attacked by another dog and she certainly wasnt treated badly she was a well loved family pet. It got so bad that she had to be muzzled whenever she went out and she even used to go beserk at the pet hamster. She was a fantastic dog with people, just not other animals. She was very clever aswell and once used the wheelie bin to stand on to jump the 6 foot fence to get out and attack another dog.

After a couple of years and a few nasty fights where she had got out and got hold of other dogs I gave her away to a charity that specialises in rehoming German Shepherds. It wasnt a decision made lightly and it brokes my heart. She was rehomed into a military household but i dont know if she is still vicious to other dogs.

A friend of mine was a professional dog trainer and he tried everything with her to stop her being so aggressive. In the end he said that she would never change.

It is not always the owners that make vicious dogs it is sometimes just the dogs themselves.

jasey

Unfortunately if you shoot the dogs owner you'll get done for murder - If you shoot the dog you'll be defending your family from a dangerous dog.

If the Police don't want to help I'm not sure there's much choice in this case - we don't want to be reading about a 13 year old being ripped to shreds as he tried to defend his puppy .

Brendan Hughes

Redkop et al - generally I agree with you. But the dog seeing his owner getting hit won't learn not to attack my dog in future. The dog getting my size 9 in his jaw certainly will. It's basic dog training

jasey

www.b-hughes-dog-training.org/subscribe.html

OllyK

Just in case you weren't joking...

Kicking, while possibly leading to you being charged with animal cruelty will actually make the animal far more likely to attack you without warning next time it encounters you. It has learnt that you will hurt it, so best for it to attack first.

Brendan Hughes

Olly, ta for the tip, but the charge of animal cruelty doesn't seem to exist here. People buy dogs as they appear to be cheaper (??!) or more effective than electronic alarm systems, so the poor buggers are just shut out in the garden all day and all night. Many people's idea of taking their dog for a walk seems to be to kick it out of the front gate, then wait an hour and open the gate again. As for the parallel thread about barking dogs, I won't even start to contribute, as I'd never stop.

As for mentality, the dog will only attack me next time if he thinks he can win. He certainly won't attack me if he thinks he'll lose.

Anyway, you can await my next thread with interest, "Anyone know what to do while lying in bed with 80 stitches"

juan

It's obvious - You simply throw the gravy soaked sponge at the owner and watch them eat it instead

Redkop

It is the owner's responsibilty to keep their dogs under control, so ultimately - you can't blame the dogs. Sorry, I don't advocate cruelty to animals in any form. I have been in both situations, another dog constantly attacking a Red Setter bitch I had and being the owner of a GSD like Mrs WRX had who absolutely detested other dogs and was always muzzled when taken for a walk, yet he adored humans and kids.

I took the necessary steps to avoid both situations, by doing a secure large penned off area which stopped other dogs getting in and my dog getting out. It's an extra expense but it might only be a short term thing for Crapaud69 to have to do until his pup is older. Might also save his pup from getting run over like the pup's dad was too.

OllyK

I appreciate the fustration, but if the dog is outside and has shelter and water then it is not considered cruelty. You kicking it would however be a different story I have no doubt.

Oh they aren't cheaper - both will set you back about £400, and the dog's maintenance is much higher. As for effectiveness, our mutt wouldn't be much use!

The barking does pee me off as well I have to admit.

That's assuming it didn't win the first encounter! Mind you dogs will often try and re-assert their dominance, even if they lost the last time, they don't just roll over and give up.

Maybe you can take up howling and join in with the dogs