Agitated neighbor

[alarmguy]

I think you did right, say nothing, walk away. I wouldnt call it a direct threat, he was upset and maybe felt justified, I think many people might. I dont think he was wasnt threatening anything more than legal action and it if was legal you would be forced to address it.

Meaning not taking it upon himself to harm the dogs but if there is something in the ordinances you might have to take action.
My first question would be if you wanted to try to appease him and if it was reasonable. Maybe installing a six foot stockade or vinyl fence would help. He would no longer have a view of your yard and it certainly would keep some animals out.

Im not taking sides but looking at the big picture and that would be dealing with this vs stress of this situation for years to come.

 

[Donald]

Delaware § 3048F. Dogs running at large.

(a) (1) Unless exempted under this section, a dog may not run at large outside at any time. A dog must be secured by means of a leash that is capable of physically restraining the movement of the dog. A dog is not at large if it is within the real property limits of its owner, or on private property with permission, or within a vehicle being driven or parked.

My dog was in my back yard a few feet from me.

 

[Donald]

I think you did right, say nothing, walk away. I wouldnt call it a direct threat, he was upset and maybe felt justified, I think many people might. I dont think he was wasnt threatening anything more than legal action and it if was legal you would be forced to address it. Meaning not taking it upon himself to harm the dogs but if there is something in the ordinances you might have to take action.
My first question would be if you wanted to try to appease him and if it was reasonable. Maybe install a six foot stockade or vinyl fence would help.

I would get some leftover Mexican border wall fencing and install it between your property and neighbors.

 

[NA4U]

I once put up a DC voltage fence around parts of my yard. Basically a couple of wires that give the animals that get close to it a little 9 volt pop.
These small ones are not made for horses or cows these are small low output just enough to train animals to stay away.
So if chickens and cats get near and touch it they'll get a little shock.
They will learn quickly to stay away from the fence parameter and that goes for your dogs as well trying to get under.

Mine worked so well at training my dog, if I would just get near the wire he would come over and bark at me and nudge me to stay back. They're smart.

 

[goblin]

Preemptive strike. File a report or something.

"Me neighbor's chikins doth impede on me property. Me very concerned, as me possess dogs I doth trained to deal with vermin. Please advise on the salvation of dem cute chikins".

One thing we learned during my military service, probably the main one: "The more paper used - the cleaner the behind". Acronym for Automatc Start / Stop is to be used when reading this.

 

[Hall]

But he made the threats.

You can't just threaten people and he needs to know better.

I'm not defending the neighbor whatsoever but I think some of you are jumping to conclusions. When I read "have my dogs put down" my only thought to that was he'd have them reported (it was also mentioned that he "would call the city") and the authorities would be the ones to put them down (given the circumstances though - no, not happening).

 

[40Deluxe]

If your dogs are contained in your yard and not leaving your property he needs to go away and mind his own business.

 

[crashz]

Hmm. Strays and chickens. The neighbor is on a moral low ground here. It might be worth a peak at your local town regulations (probably on the town site) to see if there are a maximum number of chickens allowed on residential property and any control of those chickens needed (ie no rosters, must be kept in a chicken tractor, etc.).

And while I don't condone the killing of cats, strays are not yours or his to control. Maybe there are some improvements you can make to keep the cats out of harms way as well. No to mention, you probably don't want your dogs to be messing around with strays. They could get sick from that.

 

[Rand]

My dog was in my back yard a few feet from me.

I dont think you are 100% describing the situation based on your previous threads.

More crazy HOA stories. Neighbor spread HollyTone down on some planting beds. Apparently it smells like coco. I walked my dog in my back yard and she took two steps onto the neighbors property to sniff. Normally she would stay on my property. I called her but at 14 think she is going deaf. She was off my property for less than 30 seconds. Neighbor contacts the HOA board saying my dog was off leash on his property.

A few days later neighbor spread hundreds of mothballs around his back yard. A strong smell of mothballs just walking in my backyard. Toxic to humans. Mothballs are EPA registered and it's illegal to use them in an inconsistent manner from how they are labeled. Outdoor use is not allowed. I complained to him and he removed them. Said they were to deter my dog. They can contaminate the soil, ground water and hurt natural wildlife. I contacted the state Department of Agriculture about improper use of a pesticide by my neighbor.

 

[Donald]

I dont think you are 100% describing the situation based on your previous threads.

Regardless I don't think my dog take a few steps onto my neighbors property to snif something is a big deal.

 

[GON]

@clinebarger , the first sentence you posted in this thread demonstrated your disposition is beneficial in this situation. @alarmguy thread I think brings up critical points.

My .02... what is your mission with this situation? Is your mission to keep your dog's status quo? Or is you mission to keep good relations with your neighbors, which you reported you have had for a very long time. Do you run your business out of your residence? That plays a indirect part of your response also.

On more than one occasion, I have posted about a lawyer that recently passed away that never lost a case. He name was Gerry Spence. One of the chapters of his best selling books was "sometimes one has to lose to win". It took me ten years to grasp the concept of losing to win in the long run.

Would losing be taking some physical security measures, to reduce the likeliness of unwanted animals entering your property? What message might that send the agitated neighbor?

Finally, everyone is entitled to have a bad day. Might your neighbor have had a bad day?

My gut tells me you will find a win-win solution to this.

 

[AZjeff]

Regardless I don't think my dog take a few steps onto my neighbors property to snif something is a big deal.

You don't get to pick what a neighbor thinks is a big deal and remembering you knew before the neighbor was crazy.

A neighbor 2 houses over just got a new rescue cat recently that they let out. One day I found it in our back yard that's surrounded by a 6 foot wall. We have dogs that don't seem to like cats, I told the neighbor about it and she hasn't kept the cat inside. I guess we're going to find out what happens.

 

[clinebarger]

@clinebarger , the first sentence you posted in this thread demonstrated your disposition is beneficial in this situation. @alarmguy thread I think brings up critical points.

My .02... what is your mission with this situation? Is your mission to keep your dog's status quo? Or is you mission to keep good relations with your neighbors, which you reported you have had for a very long time. Do you run your business out of your residence? That plays a indirect part of your response also.

On more than one occasion, I have posted about a lawyer that recently passed away that never lost a case. He name was Gerry Spence. One of the chapters of his best selling books was "sometimes one has to lose to win". It took me ten years to grasp the concept of losing to win in the long run.

Would losing be taking some physical security measures, to reduce the likeliness of unwanted animals entering your property? What message might that send the agitated neighbor?

Finally, everyone is entitled to have a bad day. Might your neighbor have had a bad day?

My gut tells me you will find a win-win solution to this.

I wouldn't know where to start with training my dogs not to kill vermin especially when I'm not around, Every dog has it's thing & this is their thing.
They sleep in kennels & are outside during the day....I'm not locking them up.
My shop is on the other side of the property.

I think he was just having a bad day.....Was doing yard work & the smell of rotting Raccoon sent him over the edge, Nothing has came of it yet & dropping the Pitbull word will usually trigger at least a animal control visit or even Fort Worth PD.

 

[ATex7239]

If his animals are getting out and onto other people’s property any harm (to his animals, other animals or people) that comes from it is on him. That’s how most animal laws in Texas are written. Unless you let his animals out yourself or you knowingly provoked his animals to come onto your property it isn’t on you.

You aren’t a chicken provoker are you?

The only way he can do anything about it is to file a formal complaint with affidavit and seek the dogs be declared dangerous animals. He will have to bring his evidence to animal control, they will have to bring it to the district attorney, and the district attorney will have take it before the district court. All in this chain will have to agree with him/the evidence before the animals will be declared dangerous. And you will be allowed your day in court to defend yourself/animals. This process is lengthy and will not be as easy as just making a few phone calls to animal control.

How do I know this? Well, I had get a neighbor’s dogs declared dangerous for getting loose repeatedly from their property and coming on to MY property and attacking me, my family, and others repeatedly. It wasn’t an easy peasy thing let me tell you.

This guy has a long way to go to prove his case against your dogs. Your dogs will be fine. But do get some cameras. People get weird about their pets.

 

[KrisZ]

He may try poisoning the dogs. That would be my main concern.

 

[goblin]

Yup, I'd keep an eye for whatever food scraps pop around the fence.

Also, about the declaring them dangerous animals - the law is the law, but in some circles there's a stigma the second the notion "pitbul" pops up. They are born guilty.

I'd cover my bases any way possible - preemptive complaints (or whatever is enough to warn authorities in advance), any trainings/certificates for the dogs (if that exists at all, does it, a "good" doggie certificate ) and so on.

 

[SonofaBoomer]

Aren't chickens and cats normally what dogs eat? What's a chicken or feral cat even worth these days? Just say sorry and throw the guy $10 or a 6 pack if your dog has a snack. Everyone's happy except the chicken or cat.

 

[andrew_j]

Unfortunately this statement “ Said if they stayed out of the dogs territory they wouldn't get killed....” escalated an emotional chat for neighbor.

Better ways to say that.

That all being said try and cool it all. Good luck

 

[nomas]

Some of you are really over complicating this . If your neighbor's animals come onto to YOUR fenced property , and YOUR Dogs are compliant with the local leash laws , your neighbor has no leg to stand on . I don't care if he's having a bad day . Not my problem .

 

[The_Eric]

Some of you are really over complicating this . If your neighbor's animals come onto to YOUR fenced property , and YOUR Dogs are compliant with the local leash laws , your neighbor has no leg to stand on . I don't care if he's having a bad day . Not my problem .

You're not entirely wrong but I think you're not acknowledging the power of a squeaky wheel, especially when it comes to things that are considered "dangerous" Depending on the locale, all it may take is a call to the relevant authorities and things can get very complicated and expensive very quickly.