Help me figure out what to do about the neighbors dogs!

[Poohlove]

Those aluminum bars are easily knocked out. A pit could be through an aluminum fence in seconds if it wants to.

I will have to take your word on that, I've never had an aluminum fence.

 

[tzolkin]

I'm so sorry you guys had to go through with that I just cannot even imagine how hard it must have been. I think most people would understand your decision given the circumstances. You obviously tried very hard and I absolutely admire you for that.

I do appreciate your kind words. It's always infuriating to me when people online make blanket statements about it NEVER being acceptable to surrender a dog under ANY circumstances and follow that up with harsh judgments and assumptions.

In my experience, most true dog lovers recognize that sometimes it is best for a specific dog to not be in a specific family. We have adopted two dogs since (and have been approved by more than a dozen rescue organizations) and we have always been very upfront in disclosing the surrender of our previous dog. We have always been approved without any hesitation and regarded with sympathy rather than judgment.

 

[wilkeliza]

I do appreciate your kind words. It's always infuriating to me when people online make blanket statements about it NEVER being acceptable to surrender a dog under ANY circumstances and follow that up with harsh judgments and assumptions.

In my experience, most true dog lovers recognize that sometimes it is best for a specific dog to not be in a specific family. We have adopted two dogs since (and have been approved by more than a dozen rescue organizations) and we have always been very upfront in disclosing the surrender of our previous dog. We have always been approved without any hesitation and regarded with sympathy rather than judgment.

I agree. Sometimes if you have done everything to try and make the placement work surrender (and yes is some extreme situations putting down) are the best options for all involved. In these cases it is always best if they can go to a rescue or no kill shelter that has the ability to continue training but in some situations that just isn't possible and like in your situation the safety of the human children in the home has to come first.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I do appreciate your kind words. It's always infuriating to me when people online make blanket statements about it NEVER being acceptable to surrender a dog under ANY circumstances and follow that up with harsh judgments and assumptions.

In my experience, most true dog lovers recognize that sometimes it is best for a specific dog to not be in a specific family. We have adopted two dogs since (and have been approved by more than a dozen rescue organizations) and we have always been very upfront in disclosing the surrender of our previous dog. We have always been approved without any hesitation and regarded with sympathy rather than judgment.

I totally agree. Now I am not in favor of just surrendering an animal but that's in cases where the owner does it for what I think most people would say are not good reasons. I wouldn't judge someone who said "I really tried but it wasn't working out" and I can tell in your situation you were doing it not only for your family's safety but also understanding what was best for the dog. The other rescue organizations obviously understand why you had to do what you had to do. Good lord you spent a year working very closely with the dog that is dedication and a willingness that you don't always see.

 

[DisneyOma]

OP, the neighbors have been given enough chances, IMO. That dog should be on a runner or chained when out in the yard. We bought a huge anchor/chain for my daughter's dog (a tiny corgi, LOL - didn't know the anchor was going to be so big!)so that it could stay out in our yard when they come to visit. That's what your neighbors should get.

 

[dotfurio]

Yeah, the issue for us isn't the damage to the fence, it's the potential for their dog getting through and harming my kid or dog who might be in the backyard. It can bark at us thorugh the fence all it wants. However, the way it was snarling/growling and barking at us through the back door/window (sunroom, so essentially all windows) when it was in our backyard made us not feel safe at all. There's no way I'd go out there. If I wasn't clear, I wouldn't harm the dog in its own yard, and of couse if it gets out and tries to attack the first step should be try to get inside, but if that's not possible I wouldn't hesitate to inflict any and all kind of injury on it I could to protect myself and my family. I think anyone would.

 

[Dentam]

I'm confused why you didn't just ask them not to leave the dog in the yard anymore? You shouldn't have to pay for a new fence because of their aggressive dog, that's crazy.

 

[tzolkin]

I'm confused why you didn't just ask them not to leave the dog in the yard anymore? You shouldn't have to pay for a new fence because of their aggressive dog, that's crazy.

I was also wondering why they don't just stop leaving the dog outside unattended. My dogs have never been outside without a leash, so it should certainly be feasible to only allow the dogs outside while closely supervising them.

 

[dotfurio]

Another update -

They are doing a great job securing their side of the fence, both with wire and making it more stable. DH was outside talking to them today and met the dog that broke into our yard. It was well mannered and licked his hand when he offered it. So now I really think the problem it has is just with our dog. I still won't trust it with my kids, but I think it's a good sign it didn't act aggressive or try to bite my husband. Of course, that was with its owners right there. It might be different if he encountered it without them.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Another update -

They are doing a great job securing their side of the fence, both with wire and making it more stable. DH was outside talking to them today and met the dog that broke into our yard. It was well mannered and licked his hand when he offered it. So now I really think the problem it has is just with our dog. I still won't trust it with my kids, but I think it's a good sign it didn't act aggressive or try to bite my husband. Of course, that was with its owners right there. It might be different if he encountered it without them.

Good to hear some things at least are progressing well

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Then you would be terrified of my cat

If your cat is as big & strong as a Pit Bull, pins people against the wall, while clawing & biting them, I definitely would be. If DH hadn't been there to get it off of me, it could have been much worse. FTR, I like dogs. This is the first one that has ever attacked me, whether she thought it was playing with me or not, & I go into multiple homes daily six days a week. If I had been someone who doesn't like dogs, I could have caused the owner serious problems.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

If your cat is as big & strong as a Pit Bull, pins people against the wall, while clawing & biting them, I definitely would be. If DH hadn't been there to get it off of me, it could have been much worse. FTR, I like dogs. This is the first one that has ever attacked me, whether she thought it was playing with me or not, & I go into multiple homes daily six days a week. If I had been someone who doesn't like dogs, I could have caused the owner serious problems.

It's typically why an owner would warn people such as "so and so likes to jump on you or whatnot". I warn people about my cat because he has all his claws and a bit of his behavior. He's the "as long as you leave me alone I won't bother you" type cat with other people but alas you know how some people get always wanting to pet, etc. But when people first started pet sitting him while we were away he did nip at their ankles. Now people just leave him alone and he leaves them alone. I do also have scars from my cat ,though that usually when he was held but got scared by some noise and thus his claws came out.

When I worked at the insurance company the claims rep always went through training regarding pets. There were only a few times that I could personally recall that they advised they were unable to review the damage on a house due to a dog they perceived too aggressive in the backyard. The 3rd party company who went out to take pictures for property inspections for new business were also trained same as the claims agents. It was requested if a company representative was going inside the house that owners take appropriate actions so I would think if you had dog that was known to jump on people, etc that you would put them in an area away from the company rep during the time they were there.

I did grow up around Old English Sheepdogs and while they are a decent size they are gentle too. However, when I was about 12 or so one of the dogs (who was abot 70 or so lbs) about 1 1/2 years before he passed away (he was going downhill for 2 years before he passed away at home suddenly one morning) who lost a lot of feeling in his mouth so he was unaware of what his jaw was doing. Well one time I was petting him and he didn't mean to but he bit my hand. The main puncture was at the base of my middle fingernail on my left hand. It caused the entire nail to fall off a few days later (totally gross by the way) but as the body is amazing the nail grew back but now I have a permanent line on my left middle finger that goes from base to tip. I personally don't describe it as being attacked but I suppose someone else could describe it as that.

ETA: FWIW I get where you are coming from though.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I appreciate that you understand where I'm coming from, but I think you're underestimating the situation I'm describing. Maybe, I'm not doing a good job of explaining it. A nip from a cat isn't even similar to what I experienced. It's like comparing apples & lemons. The only similarity is that they're both animals. Even if the dog was playing, I had teeth marks on my leg deep enough for dental impressions & deep scratch marks. Does it really matter if it was an attack or playing, when my DH had to pull it off of me? Either situation doesn't change the amount of damage the dog did. The point is some animals have a potential of doing more harm than others. Pit Bulls are banned in the county we border. I'm not saying people shouldn't have pit bulls, if it isn't against the law. As someone who was devastated by the loss of my four legged baby girl, I fully understand the love we can have for our pets. My life has never been the same. The fact is pits are stronger & can be more aggressive than most dogs. Owners should be aware that they have the potential to create harm, whether they see them as a big baby or not.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I appreciate that you understand where I'm coming from, but I think you're underestimating the situation I'm describing. Maybe, I'm not doing a good job of explaining it. A nip from a cat isn't even similar to what I experienced. It's like comparing apples & avocados. The only similarity is that they're both animals. Even if the dog was playing, I had teeth marks on my leg deep enough for dental impressions & deep scratch marks. Does it really matter if it was an attack or playing, when my DH had to pull it off of me? Either situation doesn't change the amount of damage the dog made. The point is some animals have a potential of doing more harm than others. Pit Bulls are banned on the county we border. I'm not saying people shouldn't have pit bulls, if it isn't against the law. As someone who was devastated by the loss of my four legged baby girl, I fully understand the love we can have for our pets. My life has never been the same. The fact is pits are stronger than most dogs. Owners should be aware that they have the potential to create harm, whether they see them as a big baby or not.

I think we just disagree on certain points and that's ok. I hope you don't think I was making light of the experience you had though because I absolutely wasn't. I also live,as I mentioned earlier, where certain cities in my metro have bans or stricter rules.

I myself choose not to participate in my mind regarding breed vs breed that is just me personally nothing against anyone else just my opinion. FWIW the insurance company I worked for did not have rule on breed specific in any states they were in (at that time it was something like 39 or so states in the U.S.) other than CA (no surprise there) and I want to say PA (it was either that or NJ or NY, or MD) and in those two states it was Pit bulls, Rottweiler, Wolf Hybrids and I'm blanking on the 4th one here. All other states it was just called a dog bite exclusion but really it was for all animals. Basically if you had an animal that bit or caused physical harm then all animals in your household for the length your policy was in force were excluded from coverage no ifs ands or buts and regardless of whether that specific animal was no longer in the household either due to death or some other reason because their policy was based on the stance it was more the environment and the owner rather than specific breed. They ended up bending a bit on the policy (though not in CA and PA where they were still breed specific) after having that policy in place for years and years and allowed the exclusion to be removed if the animal who caused the damage had passed away or was removed from the household if the owner signed off stating this but that quite honestly was a $$$$$ move than a change of heart on their stance. It helps to gain and retain business if you aren't as strict.