dogs and walking woman help (shepherd, lab, shepherds, bite)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
[SIZE=2]Okay so we have three wonderful dogs who are very well behaved for dogs. We let them out in the front yard and we have trained them to not go in the street or past our yard, although they do go on the sidewalk, but noooot on the street, and the side walk is still our property. This is all fine and dandy, but this woman who walks down our neighborhood hates dogs. She wares funny headphones and looks kind of scary, and obviously our dogs think so too, they won't stop barking at her. They don't bite or anything just bark and they don't go out of our yard. She already called the police and we were given a warning. The letter said that the dogs were chasing her and leaving their property, and they were not, so it’s really her word against ours. I would love to work something out with her and I have tried to talk to her but she will not talk to me, I tried to be extremely kind to her, so that she would talk to me, but unfortunately she did not. I just want to see if we can work something out, or if she could walk in the street so the dogs won't scare her. But she really refused to talk to me, what should I do to prepare myself legally solve this problem, should I respond to the police warning, just how can this be solved so that maybe both her and us will be happy, or to bring to the attention of the authority that our dogs are just being dogs and are not leaving their yard. And is there any way to keep, putting the dogs on leach, out of the out of the solution?
[/SIZE]
What are your leash laws like in your town ? Does your town have laws about dogs being in a fenced in yard ? It seems to me, that if the police took her seriously there must be some law regarding dogs being in a fenced yard if they are not in the house. If there is I think there is nothing you can really do.
can you say you have an invisible fence? ...even if you don't? ...kinda a lie though.
Cody barks at people on his sidewalk and he's on a long line. No one complains and people usually say you have a good watch dog there. ....but he is on a leash.
Maybe you could ask her if she will meet your dogs so its a fun walk for her and easier on the dogs? ...people are so strange about dogs.
The sidewalk is not considered private property. If the dog is on the sidewalk it is on public property. I don't know anywhere that the sidewalk is NOT considered public property. So if your dogs were on the sidewalk they were not on your property.
Where I live if a dog steps onto the sidewalk and I feel threatened I am legally allowed to mace the dog, club the dog with a bat, or even shoot the dog (provided I have a carry permit) and the owner of the dog will be charged, not me. I am generally disinclined to take actions like these, but I would be in my legal right if I felt threatened.
Your options include tying the dogs, putting up a fence, or keeping them inside when you are not out there with them.
I let my dogs outside on our yard as well, they don't go anywhere, and they don't bark at anyone, unless someone is approaching my house. I have 2 german shepherds, and i'd be damned, if i've heard them bark at any innocent people walking buy. They're butts would be in the house at no time.
So, i must say, the walking lady has every right to be pissed off and angry. It doesn't matter if one likes dogs or dislike them. You need to have control of your dogs.
You taking a big risk here by letting your dogs bark at people passing by. You either take them inside, or you can argue till you blue and have a chance of your dogs being taken away/killed/injured/put to sleep/declaired dangerous/you name it.
So, what would be your choice?? I, personally, can't take this kind of risk.
I would think it would be easy to just get a feel for the lady's schedule of exercise and just make sure the dog aren't out in the front yard when she might pass. Dogs are funny when it comes to odd people. They smell fear or people who don't like dogs. You don't know the history of this woman either. She might have had a tramatic situation, though i don't think she should have cooked up a story like that about being chased. That's a bit more parnoid than should be.
Nonetheless, you can't change people for the most part. you can go to the extremes and record you trying to talk to the lady and proof she is not cooperative. But, I an no legal expert. This has the same "ring" as one of the threads talking about dog poopers on private lawns.
I believe Shepmom is right. Owners need to have control over their dogs and the situations they put them in. Just like putting a puppy in a living room unattended, you can't blame the puppy for chewing on the furniture. It's a puppy! you have to control the environment the dog is in in order to get the behavior you want out of the dog. With people, you don't have that luxury of control.
better check on property I know city here owns to water line shut off and thatlike 10 feet in from curb. Not want to say on your property then she goes said they bit her and even though may be a lie if off property she could win.
I'm sorry, but as a dog owner and lover, I don't blame the neighbor. If I was walking down the street and random dogs that were not leashed were barking at me on the sidewalk, I would have a major problem, and I do LOVE dogs. The problem is that I wouldn't know your dogs and if they would attack me, chase me, etc. You could assure me all you wanted, but I still wouldn't listen. Now, if they were just lying in the yard, not barking, I woudln't care, but barking dogs? Sorry, I see her point.
Can you either do some sort of fence or keep your dogs in the back? Also, I know again, in most cities, the sidewalk is city property, not yours. What are your leash laws?
I would think it would be easy to just get a feel for the lady's schedule of exercise and just make sure the dog aren't out in the front yard when she might pass. Dogs are funny when it comes to odd people. They smell fear or people who don't like dogs. You don't know the history of this woman either. She might have had a tramatic situation, though i don't think she should have cooked up a story like that about being chased. That's a bit more parnoid than should be.
Nonetheless, you can't change people for the most part. you can go to the extremes and record you trying to talk to the lady and proof she is not cooperative. But, I an no legal expert. This has the same "ring" as one of the threads talking about dog poopers on private lawns.
I believe Shepmom is right. Owners need to have control over their dogs and the situations they put them in. Just like putting a puppy in a living room unattended, you can't blame the puppy for chewing on the furniture. It's a puppy! you have to control the environment the dog is in in order to get the behavior you want out of the dog. With people, you don't have that luxury of control.
I'm kinda in agreement w/ deegers!
I walk Cody at a different time because he can be a bigot towards certain dogs. A lady who has a husky and lab walks hers at 8am. I walk Cody at 9am to avoid barks.
If I could control the barks that come out of my sweet dogs mouth I WOULD! I can't(currently). If Cody doesn't stop barking after I say "enough" HE GOES INSIDE right away(so his front yard outings are short!!!). I'm finally getting a handle on it in the house and we actually did a barkless walk today so maybe it's rubbing off but if someone or something goes on our property Cody does have a fit. But I must say he's special ...he barks at bikes, loud trucks, the lawn mower and weeders, a child running, skateboards, other dogs and many more. ...he's a work in progress. Luckily he has won over most peoples hearts and the children of the hood knock on the door asking to walk him and play w/ him.
I still say you should make friends w/ the lady. Give her a "sorry we bark at you" gift or something and have her meet your dogs.
I have gone out of my way to make friends w/ people we walk by daily and they all now say "cooooddddyy" as we aproach ...wonder if they know my name???
Last edited by kelly3120; 04-21-2008 at 07:17 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I can't(currently). If Cody doesn't stop barking after I say "enough" HE GOES INSIDE right away(so his front yard outings are short!!!). I'm finally getting a handle on it in the house and we actually did a barkless walk today so maybe it's rubbing off but if someone or something goes on our property Cody does have a fit. But I must say he's special ...he barks at bikes, loud trucks, the lawn mower and weeders, a child running, skateboards, other dogs and many more. ...he's a work in progress. Luckily he has won over most peoples hearts and the children of the hood knock on the door asking to walk him and play w/ him.
