Rant Alert!

[Inevitablue]

Of course the pitty is not going to forget about Hugo, but why allow him to stay on it's radar? At least prevent your dog from interacting with it. Im not saying it will jump the fence and be friends with Hugo, but why give it an excuse to jump the fence.

[persephone]

I wouldn't bother with the 'report because they are hitting it' , rather report because the poor pup was born a pit, and is never going to have a chance at a good and settled life with these owners. There are much worse things than a green dream.....and the owners may cop some flak.

poor pup, and poor you having such a worrying behaviour by the neighbours so close

[Dju]

Thanks for the sympathy, Pers.. I really quite need it, there are so many ways I'm being pulled on this issue, logically, emotionally, physically.. Of course I feel sorry for the dog (I'd be heartless not to feel that!) but Hugo is my precious and I don't want him to cop the flak because their dog got taken away from them. Can you actually report a dog for being a suspected pitbull? How does that process work? Obviously they don't have papers that say "pitbull" (or any other breed for that matter), so couldn't they just say he was an American Staffy or something like that? I've never understood how that process works.

As for the solution--don't worry about it guys, we're gonna try the bamboo fencing and the skunk paste and see how that works. Hugo doesn't bark anymore (the little angel!) so that covers the noise and maybe the skunk stuff will cover his smell too?

[Inevitablue]

Why don't you make a report to council about barking dogs? If your dog and their dog are both barking at each other through the fence (which you are 50% responsible for) then you don't look like the 'dobber', their most likely unregistered 'pit type' dog goes on their radar and they might be forced to get some training. You stop your dog from barking and hopefully problem solved.

I dont mean to sound harsh but if your dog is down at the fence barking at the dog too then you cant entirely blame the dog for lunging and being aggressive through the fence. Yep, completely sympathise that its a worry about the potential damage the dog could do, but you have to do everything you can from your side of the fence.

[Dju]

Yeah, I guess if I reported his dog for barking, that might work. I may ask them to pretend that mine was reported for barking too, because Hugo is so well-trained not to go off his rocker anymore that he'd be very offended if I reported him for barking, haha. :laugh: But yeah, he fires off a few warning barks and then as soon as I step outside to see what's happening, he runs back quickly to me as though to say "Hey, mum, I wasn't barking, that wasn't me, that was the other dog, see him, see him there, look at him!". Hopefully the bamboo fence will stop the barks. Not before I report the dog or the owners for something though, just need to figure out how to do it without incriminating myself

[Guest Willow]

Maybe the skunk paste would work if you put it on the fence your fruit pinching neighbour hops over??? :laugh:

[Inevitablue]

I had a neighbour once whose dog never stopped barking. They would go away for the weekend and it would bark non stop. I knew they would take no advice from me so I rang council and reported it. Council put the wrong letters in the envelopes and they got my letter saying 'Thankyou Ms ...... for your information regarding the barking dog at 123 Smith St'

I was sooooo furious!!

I let the hedge grow very tall along that fence line after that.

If you report the dog, then tell the neighbour's that Hugo also got reported too. Go and speak with them to see if the ranger had visited them also.

[Dju]

Willow that made me burst out laughing in the middle of the library. I wonder, I wonder.. :laugh:

That is really stupid, Inevitablue! How could they make such a mistake?? Yeah I'm thinking the barking thing would probably be the best solution.. It's exhausting thinking about all this stuff, why can't everyone just be a responsible owner so other people don't have to literally and metaphorically pick up after another dog's (or owner's) poop? :|

[*kirty*]

Hop onto ebay and look for temporary fence panels. They are usually about 2m x 2m, made of mesh, easy to stick up and cost about $60 each. You could make a second back fence, just bring it in a few metres from the existing back fence.

[Dju]

Okay so we're getting some bamboo panels to cover the fence but as for reporting them in any which form--mum says no, no, no, absolutely not. She doesn't want to be in conflict with the neighbors and apparently she says that the pitty is inside the house for the majority of the time and "nothing is going to happen to Hugo". She also thinks that because their next door neighbors have a JRT, if something ever does happen, it'll happen to the neighbor's dog first and then the neighbors will report them, not us. So the bottom line, "Why are you always making a drama where there is none; nothing will happen to Hugo". It's so frustrating living in this house argghh!!

[Nic.B]

We have going through problems with our neighbours, so I can certainly relate to the frustration Dju.

I would report the hitting, the poor little pup, I couldn’t sleep knowing that was going on. It may be a simple as the RSPCA offering them some guidance with training and correcting him appropriately when needed. I think you have to actually witness them hitting the puppy.

I wouldn’t speak with the owners.

Either way, I would be doing everything I could my end to address this now, not wait until it escalates. If this continues and when this boy hits maturity it could very well end up being a nightmare . I really feel for the little Jack and the owners too.

Make sure Hugo is inside the house if you or your Mum are out. Even if it is just for five minutes, or take him with you if you can. If you are worried about baiting, do a yard check before he goes outside (make sure your lawns are short). I would stay and supervise him outside, do some training, exercise, throw the ball etc. If he even thinks about going near that fence recall him and reward.

I would probably be inclined to extend the fence and hot wire the top section. You will have to check with your council though, and if allowable, you will need to advise people the fence is live with special plastic signs.

At the end of the day, people may not value their dogs as we do. My neighbours are happy to have their dogs running lose all day long (they are lucky they are friendly natured dogs) We had no other choice than to go through council.

In our case, I agree with the advice we were given from the police, council and DOLers do not give them an inch. Report everything and hit them where it hurts, in the pocket.

We have spent a small fortune since hotwiring the entire boundary fence, planting 50 meters of screening plants, and putting up screening blinds on our deck for privacy, aggisting the horses out etc. Even though it is really unfair, it all had to be done for safety. I have always supervised the dogs while outside, though now I am fastidious.

When our new front fence goes up we will have to make sure its included in insurance, if not, pay for it to be because there is a good chance the flips will do something again going by what we have experienced already.

Good Luck, I really do hope you reach a positive result.

[Greytmate]

We've put up some two meter construction fencing against the area of fence that we share, but all surrounding neighbors have 4-foot fencing including us, it's only a matter of time before the dog figures out that he can jump the fence to the neighbors and then over again to us if he really wants to come over.

I know from experience that BCC will act if a written complaint is put in. They have the power to issue a Fencing order, which requires the dog owner to construct a fence to a good standard (like pool fencing) within 21 days. 1.2 metre chain link fences are not considered to be high enough to contain a large dog. The dog doesn't have to have already escaped, if somebody warns the council that the dog seems very likely to escape, council have to act to avoid liability.

Your neighbour won't know who reported it, as the order will apply to the whole property and not just the section that adjoins your property.

I wouldn't be waiting to see what happens. If you think you can get out there two seconds after a dog fight or attack has started, you will be four seconds too late to protect your dog.