Barking Problem With A Difference

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

I'm suggesting documenting when your dog/s bark for your own protection from these neighbours.

If they're barking when you're not there, you need to record it somehow, either with a tape recorder or video recorder.

If the dogs are outside, they will bark if/when they see/smell a cat - that's just what dogs do (as we know). Perhaps you could take your dogs to daycare or elsewhere when you go out, at least temporarily? It's not your fault but these people may decide to harm your dogs after all. Clearly they are the only ones with a problem here and those types of people are impossible or at least difficult to negotiate with - so eliminating the problem as they see it is the only plausible solution at least for now.

I wish you the best of luck - get the cat trapped and hopefully your problem will resolve itself.

[gsdog2]

Thanks everyone for your advice/support. Your replies have given me a more positive attitude and I now feel I have a number of options as to how I can handle this problem. We have now set the trap and I've spotted the "stray" walking around it 3 times, but so far that's all. I will also keep note on any barking, and also sightings of their cat. The council have supplied the trap at no cost but we have to return it within the week and depending on availability we can loan it again on a week to week basis. I lock the dogs in the house yard when no-one's home for my peace of mind (neighbours have no access to them). My son has a dog-proof yard (fully fenced) where my dogs can visit, but I'm not keen for them to go there as the previous owners had a constant battle with flea's there and my dogs are flea-free. If all this fails I'll be back for more advice/suggestions.

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

Some hints on using cat traps that I picked up while working at the shelter:

1. BAIT - must be something really smelly such as cheap sardines (home brand works esp well apparently).

2. Site the trap - somewhere that's a bit hidden for the cat's privacy - no cat wants to walk into an "open" area.

3. Cover the trap - a cat is much more inclined to go for the bait if the trap is covered - use an old sheet or towel to disguise the trap and make the inside 'cosy'.

4. Set the trap - for a night-time catch. Cats are much more inclined to go for the bait after dark.

Change the bait every day/night...put the trap somewhere a bit private, egs include between a building and fence, in a hollow or natural depression, among bushes/shrubs in your garden, near a woodpile (if you have one), inside an open shed (only works for domestic cats or wild cats that have kittens around/due).

HTH.

[Alpha]

Dont stress too much about it. If no one else is complaining and the ranger has taken statements from the other neighbours that they dont even realise your dogs are an issue then the council cant do much about it. Jeezus you even restrict your dogs access on preperty YOU PAY FOR. Dogs are allowed the odd bark, it wouldnt be fair to silence a group of dogs 24/7. Birds chirp, cats meow, dogs bark.

Tell the neighbour to stick it up his a$$ frankly and from now on there will be cat traps set to take care of the problems causing noise issues for your dogs. If they love the cat they'll take care of it, if not at least the poor bugger will be better off.

And debarking ... you are right too risky. If its the occasional bark then I would never put an animal through such an operation, and there are other options like no-bark ecollars to try. It is VERY risky IMO as you are destroying such a sensitive area.

Exactly, having been the whole hog on bogus dog complaints and proving to the council it was just nastiness I could not agree more with Nekhbet. Be aware though, that the anominity offered by councils is loved by some people and your neighbours may approach the other neighbours with a pre written complaint to sign which they might happily comply to do ( as in our case). Contact your local Justice Department for the Dispute Resolution Centre for a mediation, they contact the other party/s and arrange a venue and everything, advise council you are doing this and let council know the outcome. Once faced with having to face up to the matter and discuss it REASONABLY many back down and council will see that as them being non geninue in the matter. We REQEUSTED council to investigate the matter by monitoring our premises even though they did not have conclusive complaints ( incomplete diaries and not for the same periods) they did and we also invited all FOUR to mediation only TWO complied. They cited we were unappraochable because we did not attend the street Christmas party ...tell something like that to Council and they see the complaints for what they really are. Meanwhile, council had monitored our premises and surrounds and found no case to answer. Barking occassionally and intermittently is permissable the law states " constant and consistent" and the definition of this has NEVER been tested in full in the Courts so it is very subjective.

On the matter of cats, I think some councils( ours does) have a letter you have to put in neighbours letterboxes stating you are setting up a cat trap ( sort of defeats the purpose really does'nt it )

Debarking, in Vic anyway , requires a Court order and vet assessment ..BIG step, BIG ASK

[gsdog2]

We caught the "stray" yesterday afternoon and took it into the council, although it's probably home by now as it had a tag on it saying it was mico-chipped. I'm glad no harm has come to it, but I am worried as to what our neighbour's reaction will be to their cat being trapped. I feel we have proved to the council that we do have a problem with our neighbours cat, as this wasn't a stray as they were suggesting. But I can't help thinking this isn't finished yet, as in the end our neighbours aim was to get rid of our GSD's .

PS Just rang the council inspector to let him know about the "stray". He said he's had another complaint from our neighbours yesterday about the dogs barking, although I suggested to him that would have been when the trap went off - he agreed ;) . He has suggested we set the trap again next week and continue to do so until our neighbours learn to keep their cat in their own yard.

PPS to Rusky (next post) I spoke to our neighbours when we first moved here and asked them to let me know any time there was a problem. Nothing was said for TWO years. They now have a cat and everything has started from there. I wasn't even aware there was a problem until they spoke to my son, and on the same day they were off to the council - not much time to offer a cup of coffee hey!!! I am locking my dogs in the house yard, locking them inside at night and all I ask is that our neighbours keep their cat within their TWO acres. I said from the outset I didn't want to trap the cat, but it seems this was the only way to prove the cat was there's. By the way the cat was not hurt, and as soon as I saw it I immediately took it into the council.

Edited November 2, 2006 by gsdog2

[Rusky]

I think this is so terribly sad as you are describing the total breakdown of community and neighbours. I imagine the family have a great deal more to cope with than you do if their daughter has Aspergers syndrome and maybe this family just needed some neighbourly friendship. You are the resposible ones here, so far as I can see the dogs aren't a problem except that the daughter is terrified of them. This also could be worked on, not with you but with the help of the mental health team.

I hate that you trapped the cat because now the whole situation will degenrate, there was some hope before you trapped the cat. I would be steaming if you trapped one of my animals without speaking properly to me about it.

I don't understand people anymore, you can ask advice on here from people you in all probability will never meet, don't know you either and yet you are unable to invite your distressed neighbour over for a cuppa and discuss the shocking situation you both find yourselves in.

You and your neighbour are equally to blame and the cat and dogs are simply pawns in a neighbourhood battle.

[swain]

I think this is so terribly sad as you are describing the total breakdown of community and neighbours. I imagine the family have a great deal more to cope with than you do if their daughter has Aspergers syndrome and maybe this family just needed some neighbourly friendship. You are the resposible ones here, so far as I can see the dogs aren't a problem except that the daughter is terrified of them. This also could be worked on, not with you but with the help of the mental health team.

I hate that you trapped the cat because now the whole situation will degenrate, there was some hope before you trapped the cat. I would be steaming if you trapped one of my animals without speaking properly to me about it.

I don't understand people anymore, you can ask advice on here from people you in all probability will never meet, don't know you either and yet you are unable to invite your distressed neighbour over for a cuppa and discuss the shocking situation you both find yourselves in.

You and your neighbour are equally to blame and the cat and dogs are simply pawns in a neighbourhood battle.

That's a bit harsh....by the sounds of it Sheltie has been trying to communicate with them in the past. You can't deal reasonably with unreasonable people. They just don't get it. Hope it all settles down though Gsdogs2!

Edited November 3, 2006 by swain

[Tilly]

I think this is so terribly sad as you are describing the total breakdown of community and neighbours. I imagine the family have a great deal more to cope with than you do if their daughter has Aspergers syndrome and maybe this family just needed some neighbourly friendship. You are the resposible ones here, so far as I can see the dogs aren't a problem except that the daughter is terrified of them. This also could be worked on, not with you but with the help of the mental health team.

I hate that you trapped the cat because now the whole situation will degenrate, there was some hope before you trapped the cat. I would be steaming if you trapped one of my animals without speaking properly to me about it.

I don't understand people anymore, you can ask advice on here from people you in all probability will never meet, don't know you either and yet you are unable to invite your distressed neighbour over for a cuppa and discuss the shocking situation you both find yourselves in.

You and your neighbour are equally to blame and the cat and dogs are simply pawns in a neighbourhood battle.

I think this is a bit harsh....

Gsdogs2 was left with no option but to trap and prove the cat was on their property. The neighbours are being unrealistic and are demanding that their dog be removed. They are not willing to discuss or sort out the issue.

If any cat was entering my property and causing a problem - I would do the same.

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

I'm so pleased that you trapped the offending cat. I continue to wonder how dog owners are made to face more and more restrictions, yet cat owners feel their animals can do whatever they please?

Keep trapping the bloody cat. It's too bad if they can't control their cat and that leads to your dogs barking - who is really to blame here? Certainly not the dog owner, who IMO has done much more than required to stop her dogs from barking at the cat. They're simply "defending" their territory.

Rusky, I'm sorry you feel that the OP hasn't tried hard enough. Personally I think they've gone way above and beyond what could be reasonably expected here. It's not their dogs creating the problem but the wandering cat. Yet the people with the cat can't or won't see how they are contributing to the problem by not confining their cat and just blaming the dogs when they bark (which is a completely natural and normal response by the dogs when a cat enters their territory).

I hope the neighbours learn to keep control of their cat, but I doubt it.

As I said, keep trapping their bloody cat until they learn to keep it confined. You'll be doing the whole neighbourhood a favour. :D

[gsdog2]

Thanks guys for your support. I came on here because I know there are a lot of like-minded people who may have had similar experiences and therefore could offer suggestions as to how to handle a situation that is totally new to me. As it is, apart from the support, there have been some great suggestions, all of which I have taken note of and some I have already used.

And to Rusky, last time I tried to discuss this with the neighbour he told me he wanted my male GSD gone (it's actually the female who hates their cat). I'm sorry I can't sit and have a cuppa with someone who won't be happy until my GSD in gone :D . Last year they wanted me to stop feeding the birds because the noise upset their daughter, and that was the last time I fed them. Their daughter yells and screams at me and I walk away, because I understand she has no control. My neighbour is not someone you can reason with and I understand the pressure he must be under, but if it was my daughter and I could see that if I shifted the cat the dogs would stop barking, that's what I would do.

[SwaY]

I hate that you trapped the cat because now the whole situation will degenrate, there was some hope before you trapped the cat. I would be steaming if you trapped one of my animals without speaking properly to me about it.

Trapping the cat proved a point! and a bloody good one at that! :D

It wasn't a stay as the neighbour suggested, it was infact there OWN cat!!

Cats are ment to stay in there own yard, if this cat was in it's yard the dogs wouldn't bark at it.

Simple really

And yes i have 2 cats

[tramissa]

Rusky, did you even bother to read the whole thread, including all the information the OP gave?

I don't think so.

[Rusky]

And to Rusky, last time I tried to discuss this with the neighbour he told me he wanted my male GSD gone (it's actually the female who hates their cat). I'm sorry I can't sit and have a cuppa with someone who won't be happy until my GSD in gone . Last year they wanted me to stop feeding the birds because the noise upset their daughter, and that was the last time I fed them. Their daughter yells and screams at me and I walk away, because I understand she has no control. My neighbour is not someone you can reason with and I understand the pressure he must be under, but if it was my daughter and I could see that if I shifted the cat the dogs would stop barking, that's what I would do.

and has trapping the cat done anything except make them madder and more distressed.

Would removing the cat maybe upset the daughter more?

I expect that when the dogs bark and she gets upset that the situation inside their house is desperate. Seriously I would contact your mental health team and have a chat, see if they can't intervene on your behalf to work out a mutually acceptable solution. Maybe also contact your GP to see if he can't give you some information about autism and aspergers.

Rusky, did you even bother to read the whole thread, including all the information the OP gave?

I don't think so.

I am thinking that I am the only person on this thread who did.

[SwaY]

and has trapping the cat done anything except make them madder and more distressed.

Would removing the cat maybe upset the daughter more?

I expect that when the dogs bark and she gets upset that the situation inside their house is desperate. Seriously I would contact your mental health team and have a chat, see if they can't intervene on your behalf to work out a mutually acceptable solution. Maybe also contact your GP to see if he can't give you some information about autism and aspergers.

Rusky, did you even bother to read the whole thread, including all the information the OP gave?

I don't think so.

I am thinking that I am the only person on this thread who did.

If the cat wasn't out of it's bounds/grounds/yard which is illegal it wouldn't make them madder or more distressed.

Simple fact contain your cat on your property and then if the dogs continue to bark then you have another problem.

The neighbour is blaming it on a stray. The stay was there own cat, now the neighbours need to contain it.

What does a sick daughter have to do with the cat being on someone elses land?

What should gsdog2 find out more about autism and aspergers, when it has nothing to do with a cat being on her land?

Im sorry there daughter is sick, but that is no excuse to let a cat roam around on to SOMEONE elses property and upset other animals.

If the cat was the key elliment in keeping there duaghter happy etc, they shoudl want to look after it and make sure it's safe.

:D

[SkyesongTollrz]

>>and has trapping the cat done anything except make them madder and more distressed.

Would removing the cat maybe upset the daughter more?

I expect that when the dogs bark and she gets upset that the situation inside their house is desperate. Seriously I would contact your mental health team and have a chat, see if they can't intervene on your behalf to work out a mutually acceptable solution. Maybe also contact your GP to see if he can't give you some information about autism and aspergers.<<

Why is the daughters illness the OP's problem? It's the neighbours daughter, not her's. The OP has done quite a bit already to keep these people happy, so it's about time they met her halfway. Or because they have a daughter with an illness they're suddenly no longer expected to adhere to common courtesy? Or is the OP not allowed to have dogs because the neighbours daughter is scared dogs?

If they kept THEIR cat in THEIR yard then the dogs wouldn't bark. Simple.

[mita]

There's a classic one-liner in relation to solving a problem. ' Who owns the problem?'

In this case, the dog's barking is caused by the neighbour's cat being allowed to stray.

Every other problem becomes secondary to that...gsdog2's visits from council & stress about fate of their own dogs & being put in position of having to trap cat, neighbour's asperges-affected daughter maybe being affected by loss of cat etc etc.

The basic problem is the failure of neighbour's to make the cat an inside one only...& allowing it to stray. And contrary to the the council regulations quoted, concerning containment of cats.

Those neighbours own the problem....possibly exacerbated by the nature of the daughter's disability (which can go along with related or consequential problems in the parents re social-relational matters).

Which means that gsdog's left with options of removing the cat, staying in positive communication with council & other neighbours, & keeping distance from the neighbours with the problem. (Any high fencing possibilites, planting tall lillypillies along boundary but well back from fenceline???).

I understand Rusky's point of making overtures to the neighbours & thereby trying to understand their problems. In most circumstances, I'd be thinking of that. But not in this one...gsdog's not their social worker. There's also little support possible from mental health services...first, because of privacy issues, & second, disorders like asperges don't tend to come under mental health services (it's not a mental illness.) Only suggestion I can make is to check if the council has a community worker who looks into social problems in the area.

[gsdog2]

There's a classic one-liner in relation to solving a problem. ' Who owns the problem?'

In this case, the dog's barking is caused by the neighbour's cat being allowed to stray.

(Any high fencing possibilites, planting tall lillypillies along boundary but well back from fenceline???).

Yes, that's the hedge where the cat hides. You can drive a car between the neighbours fence and the rock wall which the hedge (lillypillies) is growing on. It's about 10-12 feet high, but that doesn't help when the cat is actually in it .

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

I think we've explained enough to Rusky...if they're too one-eyed at the situation, perhaps we just ignore future negative comments from them?

The OP has enough to deal with without having to re-defend their actions...if said neighbour's cat wasn't roaming on other people's property and causing their dogs to bark in defence of their territory, there would be NO PROBLEM here. But some cat owners just think their animals can do whatever, whenever...while dog owners face even more (ridiculous and unwarranted) restrictions.

It's time cat owners were faced with the same or tougher restrictions on their animals as dog owners are made to comply with...and time existing laws were properly enforced.

If these neighbours are watching this thread, the message is simple: contain your cat!

[mita]

There's a classic one-liner in relation to solving a problem. ' Who owns the problem?'

In this case, the dog's barking is caused by the neighbour's cat being allowed to stray.

(Any high fencing possibilites, planting tall lillypillies along boundary but well back from fenceline???).

Yes, that's the hedge where the cat hides. You can drive a car between the neighbours fence and the rock wall which the hedge (lillypillies) is growing on. It's about 10-12 feet high, but that doesn't help when the cat is actually in it .

I was thinking of the tall lillypillies more in terms of a noise-barrier...& a privacy barrier...which would give you some 'distance' from the neighbours & their problems. So you have that already. Good.

Only way to totally deal with the straying cat, is by trapping (which you've done).

Some deterrent ideas:

If there's a car-wide space between their fence & your rock-wall... cats don't like walking on prickly stuff. Is it possible to lay some chicken wire along there?

Also you seem to have noted the spots where the cat lurks in. Sprinkle one of the garden products to deter cats (& dogs) there (doesn't harm animals). Like Skedaddle (available in garden shops). I've used the Skedaddle granules to keep our small dogs away from a fenceline where construction was happening next door. Info on this website:

http://www.multicrop.com.au/animal.htm

Edited November 4, 2006 by mita

[Rusky]

I am sad that you guys can't see the negativity of your advice.

If OP is unable to talk to her neighbours and the neighbours are unable to talk to them then intervention is required to see both sides of the story.

mental health team would assist, a community social worker is an excellent idea too.

I can simply see a massive degeneration tit for tat situation arising which I find fearful. I have see it all before and it can result in criminal activity if the situation which is very stressful is not handled with kid gloves.

There's a classic one-liner in relation to solving a problem. ' Who owns the problem?'

exactly

I think they both own the problem

I was appealing to the OPs good nature to find a better solution by communication.

I am very sad about the cat trapping, I know it won't have helped anything at all.