There's a dog in my yard!!

[stitch'sgirl]

I might take a different approach and try to get to know the dog, and teach my dogs how to get to know the dog, so they understand it’s a dog (which I’m sure they do, dogs are smarter than we give them credit for), and understand it’s a smaller dog who they should realize belongs in the area (albeit in his own yard next door). That said, even under the best training circumstances, a dog cannot be relied upon 100% that it won’t hurt another do that’s running or scared, as others have said, once prey drive kicks in, especially with two dogs when the “gang effect” takes place (even with good dogs) where they do things together they wouldn’t necessarily do individually, sort of like a bar room brawl, one starts it and the other jumps in, maybe not starting out to hurt, maim or kill, but things get out of hand as adrenaline and other stress hormones kick in, etc.

I’ve been on both sides - having large dogs, and two at once, as well as a small dog. Dogs of all sizes can get along but it depends on a lot of things, and how they are trained and socialized, as well as what type of limit setting they are given. Go to any dog park and you will see owners allowing their dogs to do whatever they want and them not trying to help curb or direct their misbehavior. I was at one once where a lady came in with two dogs who immediately started ganging up on another young dog who was terrified, and it was escalating to where the young dog was getting hurt and bitten. All the time the owner was standing chatting with someone else and laughing at the behavior. I had to literally chase the two dogs off the younger dog (whose owner also had no clue that her dog was getting mauled). Unfortunately this isn’t uncommon. Lots of owners out there who really don’t understand dog behavior and dog etiquette (which is better learned in a dog training class). That said, it sounds like the neighbors are these types of owners. Really small dogs aren’t supposed to be with children who can’t treat them carefully and respectfully. Bones are broken and worse, all the time in these situations.

Thank you for caring about the little dog. I think it wouldn’t be a bad idea to talk about your concerns to the neighbor and possibly Animal Control, for your own protection, and also for the good of the little dog. Maybe they’ll place it with another family who can better care for it (ie keep it safe and treat it right). Good luck.

Thank you, lots to think about!! Fortunately, my other golden was bred and raised as a guide dog with about four months of on-site professional training. I really am not concerned about her in the least bit. In fact she's pretty good about ratting out the spunky puppy when she is up to no good.

I've also come to the realization that I need to take my dogs elsewhere to run the zoomies out besides the back yard. Louie sees my dogs having fun -- he thinks he is big enough to join in. Then the next minute he is getting bulldozed. We are actually so stressed about this we are considering moving.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

My advice. Fix your fence. And send a certified letter to the neighbor explaining that you have repaired your fence and further encumbrances by their animal will result in you delivering the animal to animal control. In your letter, document the dates that you have spoken with them and what verbal agreements you have made together to solve the problem. Then acknowledge that because the verbal agreements have failed, you must take the step of putting your demands in writing.

I don't think I would do that personally. People can be vindictive and I could see that letter with an open threat of "do this or I will call animal control" opens the OP up to potential harm to her and/or her dog. It's not uncommon for retaliatory actions and while it could still happen if the OP calls animal control on her own instigating it by a written threat is a very "tread carefully" IMO. I agree about keeping a tally of the interactions and how those interactions unfolded and dates from here on out that the little dog made its way into their yard and what mitigation efforts they have made but those would be solely to help provide protection in the event a civil case was brought against the OP IMO.

Recently a woman posted on Nextdoor just alerting neighbors to her indoor/outdoor cat (and yes that is controversial to have that) just saying hey this is my cat, he loves the outside as much as the inside, don't worry about feeding him we do that, if he's causing trouble here's our number call us we'll take care of him, etc. 2 days later her cat was dead, poisoned according to the vet. It was such a strong correlation that the cat had lived for over a year indoor/outdoor and within 2 days of posting in writing the cat had been poisoned to death. And that is not the first time people have done sick things like that. So I would probably stay away from poking the bear in this way. The way the OP describes the neighbor they are more neglectful than anything but the way they casually toss their own dog around tells me they may not have much in the way of compassion towards pets.

I am not trying to alarm the OP at all just giving my viewpoint on that part.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Aww, I’m sorry that happened to your dog! We have had it happen, too. If you know any super friendly dogs it might help to maybe let them see eachother and play together for a while to help get that sense of normalcy back. Be careful not to coddle her when she displays fearful behavior. Just keep acting like everything is fine and there is nothing to be fearful of. She will take her cues from you.


What often happens in that situation, as the whole mailman thing is classic with dogs, is that (thinking like a dog here) the dog “wins” - the mailman came, the dog scared the mailman away, and the mailman left! In the dogs mind, there was cause and effect! And they get to “practice” this behavior every day! The term we use (that we learned from our trainer) is, “that’s enough”. It means stop. I don’t like using “OK” in that situation because OK to a dog is sort of a soothing thing, if you think about how often we use it, and could inadvertently also reinforce the behavior. Try using that’s enough, but also keeping the dog on a leash when the mail person comes and saying the words but also physically making him stop by bringing him over to you on the leash and pick him up facing you and say it loudly again. The shock of it will stop him. Then you praise him very much verbally when he stops. “Good boy.“ We also learned that curbing the behavior before it starts is also really helpful to situations. So if your dog understands sit and stay, then you use those before the mail person comes, and praise when he stays quiet, etc.

One of my favorite training books is Good Owners, Great Dogs, by Brian Kilcommons, sold on Amazon. Well worth a read!

Funny enough-my mom and aunt when she watches her use enough. I might start using it more. Thank you for that!

We definitely have been letting her interact more with dogs. She is doing excellent at the groomers again (she went a couple of weeks ago and we always ask). She’s still a little skittish, but if it’s a dog she knew from before the incident she is doing good.

And I am always down for a good read no matter what it’s about-so I thank you for that suggestions as well!

Hopefully soon she will be back to normal….I just hate that the pandemic caused so many issues. She was only 7 months when it happened and was about to get spayed, and that was cancelled so she went into heat. When she did get spayed, she was about to go into heat again and it caused some mild issues. She also got severe separation anxiety once we all started going back to work and some semblance of normal. Thankfully,we had experience in that department with our other dog, so while she still has and will always have some separation anxiety issues, we knew what to do. It’s chaotic, but hopefully soon she will be back to where we were before the world went to hell.

Thank you again! I do appreciate it!

 

[stitch'sgirl]

I don't think I would do that personally. People can be vindictive and I could see that letter with an open threat of "do this or I will call animal control" opens the OP up to potential harm to her and/or her dog. It's not uncommon for retaliatory actions and while it could still happen if the OP calls animal control on her own instigating it by a written threat is a very "tread carefully" IMO. I agree about keeping a tally of the interactions and how those interactions unfolded and dates from here on out that the little dog made its way into their yard and what mitigation efforts they have made but those would be solely to help provide protection in the event a civil case was brought against the OP IMO.

Recently a woman posted on Nextdoor just alerting neighbors to her indoor/outdoor cat (and yes that is controversial to have that) just saying hey this is my cat, he loves the outside as much as the inside, don't worry about feeding him we do that, if he's causing trouble here's our number call us we'll take care of him, etc. 2 days later her cat was dead, poisoned according to the vet. It was such a strong correlation that the cat had lived for over a year indoor/outdoor and within 2 days of posting in writing the cat had been poisoned to death. And that is not the first time people have done sick things like that. So I would probably stay away from poking the bear in this way. The way the OP describes the neighbor they are more neglectful than anything but the way they casually toss their own dog around tells me they may not have much in the way of compassion towards pets.

I am not trying to alarm the OP at all just giving my viewpoint on that part.

Definitely something to think about!! Yikes - hadn't thought of that.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Thank you, lots to think about!! Fortunately, my other golden was bred and raised as a guide dog with about four months of on-site professional training. I really am not concerned about her in the least bit. In fact she's pretty good about ratting out the spunky puppy when she is up to no good.

I've also come to the realization that I need to take my dogs elsewhere to run the zoomies out besides the back yard. Louie sees my dogs having fun -- he thinks he is big enough to join in. Then the next minute he is getting bulldozed. We are actually so stressed about this we are considering moving.

Oh no! I’d think there are lots of things you can try before resorting to that! When you say Louie is like a German Shepherd, do you mean he just has a big dog attitude? Or is he aggressive toward your dogs? I feel bad you are so upset about this! I agree with you and your husband checking every nook and cranny of your fence to reinforce his not getting in. I feel bad for Louis, too, but it’s not fair to you to have to deal with this if you don’t want to, or are afraid your dog might hurt him.

Could you get some landscaping timbers to put along the bottom of the fence? They might be costly but it’s cheaper than moving! Our dog is about 22lbs and we have to constantly check our fence, especially after windy days. We put boards in some areas too, just in case. We have an extra gate on our front porch that we keep closed in case ours gets out the front door by accident. We have a sign by our inside front door so people know to watch that he doesn’t run out. It takes constant vigilence to make sure he stays safe. Anything less than that, he’d also be all over the neighborhood chasing squirrels!