19 replies to this topic

[Tommy Coyote]

I was in my backyard with my dogs. A yorkie (about 5 pounds) just came in through the closed and locked gate. He was so small he just walked on in.

I think my dogs thought it was a rabbit and grabbed him. They were playing tug-of-war with him. I really thought he was a goner. But I got ahold of him. Oddly, he didn't have a tooth mark on him. I think they just got ahold of his long hair.

Scared me to death. I just hate that aspect of dogs - when they go into a frenzy like that - when it's just pure instinct taking over. But they are dogs and that's one aspect you need to be super aware of.

I found the dog's owner and tried to explain that they have to keep him in or he is going to get killed. And their response was that "he gets out of the gate."

My neighbors have two really noisy chihauhuas that run out and up to my fence yapping and carrying on. I think my dogs have gotten where they hate little dogs. Or maybe they just think they are obnoxious, noisy rabbits. So now my neighbors think I have vicious, killer dogs.

Well, we survived. And I am bing extra cautious. If the chihuahuas are out my dogs are in and vice versa. And now I am trying to figure out how to small dog proof my fence. How do you keep a five pound dog out?

My neighborhood has gotten so bad. Every yard has a fence and every fence has dogs on the other side. And so many people are getting those little tiny dogs - such a fad right now. People want dogs that they can dress up in little outfits and carry around in a purse. Or they have pitbulls.

Oh well. Such is life in the big city.

[SS Cressa]

Dont know how your fence is. But try putting plastic fencing on the bottom. Is there an easy spot for them to get in at? If its against the fence you can plant a bush there to discourage them.
My roommate has a chihuahua that likes to bark and could escape our fencing and planting bushes there really helped her stay inside our fence. But then again we actual cared what happen to her!

I have had to experience that but on the other end of the aspect and not with my dog going into other peoples yard. Cressa seems to trigger dogs into attacking her. She is just so intense and fast and small( under 18in)

[Root Beer]

You might be able to get some green wire mesh fencing from a home improvement store and attach it to what you have to extend coverage of spaces to the ground. We use cable ties when we need to do this.

We actually had to do this on our big gate because Maddie was flattening herself down and shimmying through a space that I am pretty sure is no more than three inches!! After we attached the mesh so it almost brushed the ground, there was no more of that.

[juliepoudrier]

^^Agreed: chicken wire, 2" x 4" welded wire, or similar--anything that's easy to tack up and flexible if you need it to shift a bit so you can, say, open a gate.

J.

[Tommy Coyote]

I'll go to Home Depot tomorrow and see if I can find something. It's the gate itself that he got through but there are two other places where the fence meets the house that have small spaces. And I swear that when I let my dogs out at 1:30 this morning I saw that same dog running down the street. Those people just don't care what happens to him. But I do.

Do you know of anything you can buy and maybe weave through a chain link fence to make it harder for the dogs to see what's on the other side? It would be so helpful if I could somehow block the view into the neighbor's yards. I can't afford a wooden fence right now.

I get sdo tired of trying to deal with the neighbor's dogs. Right now I go out and check yards on both sides to be sure no dogs are out. Then I let mine out and stay out there with them. I really don't want them killing or hurting someone else's dog. And i really don't want my dogs branded as vicious when they aren't at all. Well, except for three pound yorkies.

Later in the day I went out and there was another dog in the back yard - he had climbed the fence.

Turns out the chihuahua next door is in season and that might be what is causing all of this.

[WWBC]

I would "capture" the dogs getting into my fenced yard and call animal control or take them to animal control and turn them in. Even if they get put to sleep at animal control that would be a kinder fate than getting hit by a car or killed by a predator.........

The owners can then be charged with animals running at large, no proof of rabies, no tags.......any number of things that might get the owner's attention..

As for vindictive uncaring dog "owners". When you turn in/call Animal Control they can't give out who made the complaint......at least in these parts....an alternative used out in the country and pastures is SSS. works well too.

Edited by WWBC, 27 March 2012 - 07:00 PM.

[SecretBC]

Do you know of anything you can buy and maybe weave through a chain link fence to make it harder for the dogs to see what's on the other side? It would be so helpful if I could somehow block the view into the neighbor's yards. I can't afford a wooden fence right now.

I have a 6' wooden privacy fence, but you can still see through the gaps where the boards meet. That's all the dogs need to say, "Game on!" to fence fighting.

My neighbors to the south are just god awful. They have two dogs that live outside 24/7 in a tiny pen attached to their garage. They randomly let them out for a bit most days and I swear to god they encourage them to fence fight to burn off energy....

The way I combated this was to hang 4' tall black landscape plastic the entire length of my fence on their side. I stapled it to my wooden fence -- you could probably figure out something with zip ties on a wire fence. What this did was completely block them from making eye contact with each other, which seemed to be the biggest factor.

There was a short period of time where hearing each other would still set them off, but I was able to get my little fence fighter (Kaiser) away much easier. Unable to see into my yard anymore, their dog stopped stalking my fence line. Eventually he figured out that there were two yappy terriers behind the fence at the back of their property, so he completely moved all of his bad habits to that fence and left mine alone. I was able to remove the plastic last year and we have not had a re-occurrence.

Fence fighting is the worst -- I have no patience for it, especially since my back yard is also used for training and it was a horrible distraction.

[waffles]

Just today when I got over to my mom's house the neighbors 12week old Mastiff puppy was sitting in their driveway, outside of the gate. I can't believe it did not run away since they leave in the morning and the dog has a dog door so it can go in/out whenever. They put a trash can in front of the big opening in the gate to block her (instead of spending a few bucks to fix the opening ). Good thing I care enough to put her back in and move the trash can again (they live on a busy village street as well). Someone could have just taken her. Maybe I worry too much sometimes about my dog but some people care very little about their dogs and it can be shocking at times.

[geonni banner]

I would "capture" the dogs getting into my fenced yard and call animal control or take them to animal control and turn them in. Even if they get put to sleep at animal control that would be a kinder fate than getting hit by a car or killed by a predator.........

The owners can then be charged with animals running at large, no proof of rabies, no tags.......any number of things that might get the owner's attention..

Speaking as someone who lives in an area populated by pit bulls and Chihuahuas, I would consider carefully before taking this course of action.

It is astonishing how quickly the indolent dog-owner - the one who lets the dog run loose, (or takes no pains to contain it) never picks up after the dog or bothers to license, vet or train their animals - can suddenly turn vicious. The dog that they have been ignoring, neglecting and/or beating suddenly becomes their "precious pearl" if a neighbor does something to criticize it or worse yet, have it cost them money. Many of them are not above punitive responses toward both the complainer and/or their pets.

I have nothing against pit bulls or Chihuahuas. But I live in one of those neighborhoods. Sometimes befriending the neighbors helps. You can sometimes get it across to them that their Houdini-dog is in danger. I've had about a 50% success rate with this approach, so it's certainly worth a try.

Mostly I just don't allow the "free-range" dog access to mine. I never leave my dog in our courtyard alone, and I leash her until I'm certain the "coast is clear."

It shouldn't be your responsibility to keep others' dogs out of your yard, but it can save you a lot of headaches if you can make your yard "ankle-biter-proof." Chicken wire & cable ties are cheap. If your yard is a place where you exercise your dogs routinely, I would tighten security.

[Jim Kling]

I would report the incident of the dog getting into your yard to the police. Why? So that if the dog does get in again and ends up injured or killed, you can point to the report and make sure the police know you took reasonable precautions.

[Root Beer]

Do you know of anything you can buy and maybe weave through a chain link fence to make it harder for the dogs to see what's on the other side? It would be so helpful if I could somehow block the view into the neighbor's yards. I can't afford a wooden fence right now.

I've seen slats woven through chain link fences. They don't block the view entirely, but might help. I'm not sure where one would get them, though. Might be something to ask where you buy fencing.

Another possibility, which could get expensive, but might help in a small area, would be to get some PVC lattice and attach it to the fence. Again, it wouldn't obstruct the view entirely, but it would cut down on visibility.

Another thing you could do, which is a little more extreme, but might help temporarily (and might actually be the cheapest way to go), would be to get some posts and mesh, or chicken wire, and actually build a second fence within your fence along that side of the yard.

[border_collie_crazy]

whole site of stuff for covering or weaving through chain link. we use the basic PVC slats at work, but it doesnt help much, outlines are still visable and thats enough for the dogs. dont know about any of those others choices though

http://www.fenceslat...CFRGAhwodgjXvAQ

[juliepoudrier]

I think any barrier that isn't completely solid is going to allow reactive dogs to continue to react. If they can smell/hear another dog and see movement, then the fence fighting will likely continue.

J.

[Tuxedodog]

If it is legal in your area, how about hotwire a few inches off the ground on the inside to keep the little ones from squeezing or digging their way in? I know the chicken wire around our garden was a pain to put in and the varmits just dug under.

[Tommy Coyote]

Thanks for all of the ideas. I'll start checking them out.

My neighbors with the chihuahuas are really nice. We both try to watch for each other's dogs. But that morning we both let the dogs out at the same time and they were all fence running. He and I both had walked out to the fence to stop the nonsense. And that is when the yorkie came thru the gate - right behind me. We thought one of the chihauhuas had gotten thru and then realized it was a dog we didn't know at all. So I backed my dogs off as fast as I could and got ahold of the little guy. I just going "Where did he come from?" because two seconds earlier I had walked out the door and nothing was there.

So my neighbors saw the whole thing and know first hand how important it is for us to not let the little dogs get thru the fence. We are both being really careful. I go out and check both sides of me before I let my dogs out and then I stay right there close.

The man on the other side is bad about just letting his dogs out and letting them do whatever - he is sitting right there watching them half of the time. I just try to watch for when he is gone. Then I double check to see if his dogs are out. Both of his dogs are terrible fence fighters.

Man, dogs just love to fence fight. It gets started at one end of my block and then just goes from yard to yard to yard.

[Tommy Coyote]

I would report the incident of the dog getting into your yard to the police. Why? So that if the dog does get in again and ends up injured or killed, you can point to the report and make sure the police know you took reasonable precautions.

We did talk to Animal Control a couple of times. It was Sunday morning and they weren't in a hurry to come out. But the dog was OK and we found the owners.

My dogs are licensed and vaccinated and they are never out off lead or in the back fenced area.

Who would have thought you could have so much trouble right in your own backyard?

[geonni banner]

Who would have thought you could have so much trouble right in your own backyard?

Dorothy?

[Tommy Coyote]

Dorothy?

Oh, that's funny. And we might have severe storms tonite. It's that time of year. The sky turns green and all the mobile homes get blowed plum away.

[Smalahundur]

Hm, I grinned reading the topic title, does that make me a very bad person...?



NB, For the record, the comic relief part in our dog pack is played by my little daugter´s chihuahua mix, I have nothing against small (in our case tiny) dogs

[Frogs & Dogs]

I usually take stray dogs I find to the shelter. It's a well-run shelter where they will be treated with kindness and will not be PTS unless they're too unhealthy/aggressive to be adopted out. I figure the fine that the owners will have to pay to spring them might make them think twice about letting their dog wander again. And as a bonus, the shelter gets a much needed donation! I've always done this anonymously, so there's no chance that the owners will seek retribution for my actions.