# neighbor situation



## JessicaW (Apr 20, 2011)

I don't even know where to begin. I have posted on here about my dogs getting my neighbors chickens and how to fix it. My solution was to pretty much just keep my dogs inside, in our tiny fence, or on leash at all times. It was working pretty good. 

This evening, I look outside to see my backyard neighbor walking to my house. I go meet him outside, my child and his friend are playing out there. He asks me if I knew what happened today. I tell him no, and he acts like I am an idiot for not knowing. He then tells me my dogs killed his dog. He didn't see it but some neighbors (he doesn't know who) supposedly saw my dogs playing tug of war with his. He found his dog on my property and took him to the vet where it died. I told him I was sorry for his loss, didn't admit fault to any of it. He said he called the sheriff who wants to investigate and he wants to sue us for the cost of the vet bill, his car getting cleaned and losses. He said he's a nice guy who doesn't want to take our house or cars. 

So basically, he wants to pay for an accident that nobody saw, but he found his dog on our property. He said a few things that didn't really add up to me and one thing that stuck out was that he said he wished the neighbors down the road didn't have dobermans. It instantly clicked that this guy has a thing against "scary" dog breeds. 

My dogs have both been around numerous small dogs and NEVER had a problem with them. His dog roams (and he even admitted it), it came to my house last week, hung out on my porch for an hour, came in my house, ate my food, drank my water and left. My dogs didn't have a problem with it that day. He didn't even want to talk to me, he wanted to talk to my husband who wasn't here. He insisted that my husband be here when the sheriff get here. He obviously thinks I am an idiot and I need my husband to speak for me. 

I am livid because he says one of the stipulations when he sues us will be that we put our dogs down. He has no proof that they did anything and he wants them to suffer because of it. I don't even know what to think or do right now.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

What a peach. So nice that he doesn't want your house or cars. Super nice of him there.

So he has witnesses that he doesn't know who saw something that might not have happened. And his dog was on your property, or so he says.

Where were your dogs today? I might call the sheriff myself in regards to being threatened.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

So does he have proof he found his dog on your property? He doesn't know who saw something? He allows his dog to roam? 

Oh, please. I would call the police myself and say I am being harassed.


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## misslesleedavis1 (Dec 5, 2013)

So...
This sounds like you simply telling the sheriff were ypur dogs were all day.


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

You didn't happen to take any pictures when the neighbors dog visited last? Witness to him coming over to visit? Stupid that he comes over to blame you with nothing to back it up, but I'd want to demonstrate to the police (if they do come) that his dog is regularly at large and anything could have killed it, coyotes, Hawks, other at large dogs etc... Sorry you're having to deal with this.


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

Agree with above. And admit to nothing. 

Fence your yard!!! 

Very sorry this is happening to you. I have had GSD's for nearly 30 years. Our jobs keep us mobile so we have lived in many locations and had lots of neighbors. The only time I have had issues with my dogs with the neighbors has been while living in Oklahoma. This is our third tour in this 'lovely' state and all 3 times we have real peaches for neighbors. In 1993 we had a neighbor point a gun at me and threaten to shoot my dogs after his dog left his property and chased mine. All of this happened on my property. In 1996 we had a neighbor threaten to steal my dogs and fight them. They stayed in the house from then on. Now we have the devil's spawn for neighbors. They are terrified of the shepherds, despite my dogs doing nothing to deserve it, and find any excuse to threaten us. We have a double reinforced privacy fence and padlocked gates now so we can let our dogs out safely in their yard. Unfreaking believable. Has to be a southern thing or something. 

Stand your ground - he has to prove your dogs did the damage.


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## JessicaW (Apr 20, 2011)

I actually do have pictures of his dog at my house last weekend. I thought it was a cute dog and took a pic and sent it to my friends and was like "random puppy at my house, made itself at home in my kitchen" 

But anyway I called my husband and made him come home early from work because I am freaking out so bad and when my husband drove up this guy was parked in the middle of the road with his off road lights shining into our yard. I had no idea because I have all the blinds closed. He drove off, pulled into another neighbors drive, sat there while my husband was in his truck, the guy never moved so my husband came inside the house. The guy I guess pulls into our driveway, pulls out, then goes and sits in his own driveway. He is being a major creep, I told him when I talked to him that my husband was working late but when he got home I would have him call him. I guess his response to that is to creep around my property.

He mentioned to me that we need to have a neighborhood meeting to control the dog situation. We have no restrictions in our neighborhood, so a lot of people let their dogs roam free. Our neighborhood "dog situation" was fine until he moved in a few months ago.


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## JessicaW (Apr 20, 2011)

He said he found the dog in the same place another neighbor found a dead turkey. I didn't know he had turkeys, but apparently he did. Well he said the neighbor threw it in his burn pile, and the neighbor accusing me said he was about to go check out the turkey.

I kid you not while we were talking the neighbor threw gas on that burn pile and lit it up, so no more turkey. I guess that's good for me.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

And what proof does he have that his dog didn't get hit by a car? 

Or killed by the turkey? LOL


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## Hineni7 (Nov 8, 2014)

I'm sorry you are going through this! He definitely has to have proof it was your dogs. But it would be helpful if you knew your dogs were with you the whole day. Also, be careful, I wouldn't trust this man at all, including poisoning your dogs. Some people are vindictive, and mean

I hope this works at well for you 

God bless, 
Misty


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Were your dogs out roaming again today or are you 100% sure your dogs could not have done this? 

I don't blame him for being pissed off. Your dogs have killed his animals in the past, right? Now his dog is dead and neighbors said they witnessed your dogs tearing up his little dog. I wouldn't be happy about it either.

Something killed his dog. A death by an attack would look very different from being hit by a car. Especially if the neighbors dog was being used as a tug toy. I would want to speak to their vet and see what they think caused the dog's death.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

JessicaW said:


> this guy was parked in the middle of the road with his off road lights shining into our yard. I had no idea because I have all the blinds closed. He drove off, pulled into another neighbors drive, sat there while my husband was in his truck, the guy never moved so my husband came inside the house. The guy I guess pulls into our driveway, pulls out, then goes and sits in his own driveway.


Please call the police. That is not stable behavior


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Lucy Dog said:


> Were your dogs out roaming again today or are you 100% sure your dogs could not have done this?
> 
> I don't blame him for being pissed off. Your dogs have killed his animals in the past, right? Now his dog is dead and neighbors said they witnessed your dogs tearing up his little dog. I wouldn't be happy about it either.
> 
> Something killed his dog. A death by an attack would look very different from being hit by a car. Especially if the neighbors dog was being used as a tug toy. I would want to speak to their vet and see what they think caused the dog's death.


If this happened to me, I would blame no one but myself.

You move into a neighborhood where you know the big dogs roam and you let your little one out unsupervised?
No sympathy from me, sorry.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I have no sympathy for anyone who allows their dog to roam. Roaming dogs worry and sometimes kill domestic animals, they bother pedestrians, they trash people's yards, they run in front of cars and get smooshed, they sometimes frighten or even hurt children and elderly people. 

If we let our dogs roam, they can be shot, killed by bigger predators, picked up, or run over. They can also get us sued.

Beyond the legalities, this is what I would do: If I knew where my dogs were and knew that they did not kill this guy's dog, then I would fight it tooth and nail. If I knew that my dogs did do this thing, then I would pay for the man's loss, the vet bills, etc. And I would apologize, mostly because the dogs had been on the guy's property in the past, and caused damage to his animals. If I wasn't sure whether or not my dogs might have done this thing, I would pay, mostly because I would not want to leave the fate of my dogs in the hands of any judge, but also because I had vowed to keep the dogs on leash or in my sight, and if I am not sure whether they did it, that could not have been the case. 

Generally, someone can kill a dog going after livestock. This guy did not. And you still have your dogs. So your dogs took a trip to his place and killed livestock and your dogs are still alive. His dog trips over to your place and is dead. I can see why the guy is angry. And I can also see a judge not necessarily believing that your dogs did not do this thing, if you admit they went to his place and killed chickens. When we _know _we have potentially dangerous dogs, and we still do not contain them properly, I can understand a judge ordering the dogs euthanized. 

No sympathy for people who allow their dogs to roam, but I do have sympathy for the dogs, whether they are ripped apart by other dogs, or smooshed in the road.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Sunflowers said:


> If this happened to me, I would blame no one but myself.
> 
> You move into a neighborhood where you know the big dogs roam and you let your little one out unsupervised?
> No sympathy from me, sorry.


You don't want to be in this type of situation? Control your dogs. Don't allow them to roam. Be a responsible pet owner. This applies to both parties involved. 

Neither side has any sympathy from me. The OP knows her dogs have gone on their neighbors property before (if i'm reading that correctly) and has killed his animals, yet she continues to allow this to happen. So now she's surprised that her dogs played tug of war with his small dog like he's making it up? Possibly, but it also sounds very likely that it could have very well happened too. 

And is it really that hard to not let your animals roam? Who cares what the unspoken "neighborhood agreement" is? She put herself and her dogs in this situation. If the guy wants to sue, he'll sue. She needs to accept some responsibility here IF this guys story is what really happened.


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## Hineni7 (Nov 8, 2014)

I was under the impression that they were playing tug of war, but playing not attacking.... More information from OP I'd definitely needed; clarification


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## JessicaW (Apr 20, 2011)

He claims that they were playing tug of war with the dog as the rope. But he also told me in the same breath that when he got out there, my dogs had backed away and weren't close. 

He told me it happened in the afternoon when he woke up. My dogs were in the house with me from about 11:25-4pm. They were in the fenced yard from 10-11:25. I was at the grocery store during that time. I have no doubt that they can open the gate and get out.I haven't seen them do it, but they are smart enough that I wouldn't be surprised. 

He told my husband that I was there when it happened. That is a complete lie and my husband called him out on it and he said "well there were a few women helping me,maybe it wasn't her." He told me the people helping him were three men that he didn't know. Everyone minds their business in my neighborhood and I seriously doubt anyone came to help like he claims. 

My dogs have NEVER had a problem with small dogs. They have both lived with them, plenty of our neighbors have them and my dogs have never messed with them. My neighbors across from us have terrible small dogs that will come in our yard and bark and growl at us and my dogs just chase them off. No biting or killing involved. I find it hard to believe that if somehow my dogs were loose, that this dog wasn't already injured and was already dragged in our yard, or they dragged it here. They have never shown aggression to a dog or cat before.


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## Ellimaybel (Mar 16, 2014)

I personally have never heard of domestic dogs using another dog as a rope. But anyway, IF your dogs did open the gate and get out, wouldn't the gate still have been open when you came home? Or did they also learn to put themselves back into the yard and close the gate after themselves? Either way, (not placing blame but genuinely wondering) why would you leave your dogs in the yard while you went to the store? So many things could happen, they should be inside the house while you aren't home.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Did you call the police? You really need to do this. This guy has way to many inconsistencies in his story. If he really believes it is your dogs, will he do something to harm your dogs?


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

I'm curious on an update. I'm sorry you are going through this. When you got home after they were in the yard, were they still there? Did you see anything strange? Blood, fur, were your dogs acting funny? I would assume if they were playing tug with his dog, there would be blood and fur in places that shouldn't be. Also, because I am a little foggy on your setup, could that little dog get in the yard with your dogs or would they have had to come out into the front yard to do this alleged attack?

I don't believe him. At all, but I don't blame him for being upset and targeting you. boarder line stalking you, not ok, but finding someone to blame is natural and if he truly believes you did it, anything he sees/hears/finds he will find a way to point it at you guys. I personally would talk to the neighbors. If he won't tell you which neighbors witnessed this, I would go door to door and ask them. I would also file my own police report on him for harassment, but that's just me.


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## JessicaW (Apr 20, 2011)

They have a dog door that allows them back inside from our fenced yard. We keep them locked inside all night so when I saw I let them out it means I opened the dog door so they could come and go. Yes the gate was closed when I got home. Another weird thing is a couple weeks ago we came home and the latch on our gate was all bent up so it doesn't close all the way now. My husband and I both wondered how it could have happened and now my husband thinks this guy did it so he could set us up.

We talked to the police just asking questions about the situation and they basically said they were going to investigate his claims. I asked if he had any proof and the sheriff said no, I told him I have photographs of the dog on my property. He asked if the chickens were on my property when we found them and yes they were. So I am pretty confident that this guy has nothing on my dogs, but still frustrated and worried for my poor dogs safety.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Supervise your dogs at all times going forward--for their safety.


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## ugavet2012 (Apr 15, 2010)

Lucy Dog said:


> You don't want to be in this type of situation? Control your dogs. Don't allow them to roam. Be a responsible pet owner. This applies to both parties involved.
> 
> Neither side has any sympathy from me. The OP knows her dogs have gone on their neighbors property before (if i'm reading that correctly) and has killed his animals, yet she continues to allow this to happen. So now she's surprised that her dogs played tug of war with his small dog like he's making it up? Possibly, but it also sounds very likely that it could have very well happened too.
> 
> And is it really that hard to not let your animals roam? Who cares what the unspoken "neighborhood agreement" is? She put herself and her dogs in this situation. If the guy wants to sue, he'll sue. She needs to accept some responsibility here IF this guys story is what really happened.


:thumbup: :thumbup:

This is a common situation here and while I have sympathy for my patients, I have to dig really deep to find any for the owners. Their own fault, plain and simple.


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## Hineni7 (Nov 8, 2014)

Just wondering if any news.?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Maybe you need to think about installing security cameras.


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## JessicaW (Apr 20, 2011)

Update. My husband went to talk to a neighbor to see if they witnessed it. She did. She said she heard yelping and saw my female dog carrying the dog in her mouth. There was no tugging or fighting between the dogs. She went out there, the female dropped the puppy, the male tried to pick it up but she stopped him from it. Her husband put my dogs back inside (we don't know how they got out, we just have to assume they let themselves out.) 

It all happened on my property, so even though that does not justify my dogs killing another dog, it helps knowing that they didn't just go pick it up out of its yard and kill it, it was in my yard. 

My neighbor said she had never seen my dogs act like that, she said it was like they were completely different dogs. She said she has never had any trust issues with them before but now she does. 

She also said there was no reason for the puppy's owner to take the puppy to the vet because it was basically dead. Also he took it to the emergency vet instead of the regular vet and I'm sure paid double what the regular vet would have charged. 

We have made the decision to get rid of our dogs. Sammy is 5 years old and has been with us since he was 8 months old. My husband wants to euthanize him. I have made it clear that I don't think it's fair to Sammy because he was defending his property. But I see my husbands side so I think putting him down will be best. Since Ruby isn't two yet, I'm going to call around and see if I can donate her to a police department. 

I hate that I'm losing two family members because this clown couldn't be bothered to leash his dog. I also hate that he thinks he can sue us because of his negligence. I have gotten a bad vibe from these people since they moved in. There is something off about them and this man seems like a busy body that wants to be in everyone's business. He's in a neighborhood where EVERYONE keeps to themselves so I feel like he will have a hard time doing the things he wants to do. I also feel like he is just trying to bully us because we are the youngest family in the neighborhood, and we have the biggest house. (He even told me several times that he would love to have my house). 

I know my dogs are in the wrong here but he is overreacting. We had a neighbor run over our dog last year and we didn't threaten to sue them, call the cops or barge into their yard to confront them. We told them it was our fault for putting our dog in a position to be run over, buried her, and moved on. My neighbors across the road have at least two dogs per year get run over. They say "it happens" hose off the street and that's it. This guy doesent have a job and is just looking for someone to make his house payment. 

I will update after the sheriff investigates.


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

Why exactly do you feel it is necessary to euthanize?


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## Hineni7 (Nov 8, 2014)

Personal opinion here.... But euthanizing a dog for killing another small dog (which could have been an accidental incident ;dogs don't always know their own strength) is wrong wrong... Just my opinion


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

The dogs were left to do as they pleased. Both your dog's listened to and followed direction of a total stranger ie. Neighbour without aggression. Dogs left to wander will get themselves in trouble but what you have described here is total lack of management that led to a tragedy but not an incident that would lead to euthanasia. That's assuming there isn't something missing from this picture.

I do agree that rehoming to responsible homes is in order.


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## Twyla (Sep 18, 2011)

If, for whatever reason, you aren't able to upgrade the containment for the dogs, I don't understand the choice of pts instead of a rescue. Yes it will be difficult with their history, but with forewarning of prey drive and no access to small animals; it would be doable.


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## wyominggrandma (Jan 2, 2011)

I doubt a police department will take the female, especially if she killed another dog. I am surprised that you are getting rid of your dogs, euthanizing the 5 year old for doing nothing except trying to pick up a dead puppy that the female killed? Why is he being killed? 
If the neighbors puppy came to YOUR property and was killed on YOUR property, then the puppy's owner doesn't have a leg to stand on. His puppy was off leash, off his property and your dogs were in your yard.
Have your dogs done this before or something to make this seem like the only way to make things safe? This doesn't make sense.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

I don't even know where to start... Probably not even going to bother since it's probably just going to offend you, but I hope this whole situation is at least a reality check for you. 

All I'm going to say is rehoming these dogs probably would be best for everyone.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Wait...What???? Are you serious? Why are you killing your dogs? For all you know, the neighbor dog could have been hurt before entering your property. Did you even ask for the vet report?


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## Twyla (Sep 18, 2011)

Something is missing from this.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Again it's hearsay by your neighbors. You said the dogs were in the house with you the whole afternoon. When did this happen? I'm not understanding why euthansia is even on the table. There is still absolutely no proof as to what happened. If your dogs indeed did do this, are these people accepting any responsibility for letting their dog roam around?


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## Hineni7 (Nov 8, 2014)

I agree... Just because the dog was holding the animal doesn't mean it killed it. And no matter what, killing the dog isn't right, imo


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

llombardo said:


> Again it's hearsay by your neighbors. You said the dogs were in the house with you the whole afternoon. When did this happen? I'm not understanding why euthansia is even on the table. There is still absolutely no proof as to what happened. If your dogs indeed did do this, are these people accepting any responsibility for letting their dog roam around?


Agreed about the euthanasia... rehoming with a capable home would be the best option. You shouldn't have to euthanize because the owner lacks common sense.

But there's no proof? What do you want? Actual video of the dogs killing the puppy? The neighbor saw with their own eyes the dying puppy in the dogs mouth. Are both neighbors out to get the OP?


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## joneser (Jun 9, 2014)

JessicaW said:


> I hate that I'm losing two family members *because this clown couldn't be bothered to leash his dog*. ......We had a neighbor run over our dog last year and we didn't threaten to sue them, call the cops or barge into their yard to confront them. *We told them it was our fault for putting our dog in a position to be run over*, buried her, and moved on.


Come on...they're not velociraptors from Jurassic Park. If you want your dogs to live long, happy lives you do everything you need to confine them. You read the papers about aggressive packs of dogs taking down people/pets, BSL...and here you are actively putting out there that yes, your dogs wander. Now you're losing 3 dogs in total because of that sucky fence. 
What a bummer for all of them.


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## Nikitta (Nov 10, 2011)

I don't understand any of this. You tell about this awful neighbor then all the sudden you want to kill your dogs? Sounds like your living in the right crazy neighborhood.


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## JessicaW (Apr 20, 2011)

My husband thinks it's best because the male dog was the one going after the neighbors loose chickens. My husband is worried that now that he has the taste of animal blood, he will constantly go after it. After hearing today, the witness' account of what happened, and how my dogs were not acting like themselves, he is worried for our child. If I had my way I would keep both of them, but I know this guy is a psycho and I'm sure he will try to poison them. Rehoming would be ideal but I would feel terrible if either dog did this again and caused someone else to get in legal trouble. I will ask the investigator what he thinks the best decision is. If I could turn him over to a GS rescue, I would and will if my husband agrees to it.

The reason we are thinking about donating the female is because she is still young, and hopefully with the right training, could channel her puppy attacking aggression into catching criminals. I plan on calling the sheriffs department tomorrow and asking if that is possible. 

If I had my way I would keep both of my dogs and flip off my neighbor every time I see him. But I can tell he will make our lives absolutely miserable if we keep our dogs. If our house does not sell I plan on installing an iron fence along the sides of my property and a brick wall next to my neighbors house. That way his animals won't mistake my yard for theirs, and my drive way light won't bother him any more (he said he wants to shoot it out).


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Lucy Dog said:


> Agreed about the euthanasia... rehoming with a capable home would be the best option. You shouldn't have to euthanize because the owner lacks common sense.
> 
> But there's no proof? What do you want? Actual video of the dogs killing the puppy? The neighbor saw with their own eyes the dying puppy in the dogs mouth. Are both neighbors out to get the OP?


Who knows? The OP said the dogs were with her all afternoon.


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## JessicaW (Apr 20, 2011)

llombardo said:


> Again it's hearsay by your neighbors. You said the dogs were in the house with you the whole afternoon. When did this happen? I'm not understanding why euthansia is even on the table. There is still absolutely no proof as to what happened. If your dogs indeed did do this, are these people accepting any responsibility for letting their dog roam around?


I left for about an hour and 15 minutes that morning. I went to the grocery store. It happened then.


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

This is not a neighbor issue, a dog issue, a fence issue, this is failure on your part to keep control of your dogs. Keep them in your house unless you let them out, supervised, to use the bathroom. Period. It's not even that hard of a management issue. 

Animal aggression and human aggression are very different things. One dies not equal the other. 

Take control of the situation, take control of your dogs, take responsibility for what they do and where they are.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

llombardo said:


> Who knows? The OP said the dogs were with her all afternoon.


For some reason, I doubt the validity of that statement. She doesn't have a clue where her dogs were that day when this happened. If she did, this thread wouldn't exist.


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## Tattersail (Feb 5, 2014)

Wait... you're euthanizeing your dog over a dog/dog incident? Why? Re-home him, make it clear what has SUPPOSEDLY happened (as no one can ever be sure exactly what happened) when you do so, but animal killing is not a death sentence.... Especially considering your neighbour was able to call your dogs off the pup, grab them and take them back to your house without any issues at all.

I'd be going to the emergency vet and asking what injuries he found, and if the injuries found were conclusive with a dog attack. What if the pup had been hit and they found him on their property acting strange and grabbed him then? Odd behaviour can cause dogs to go after each other. We don't know the whole story, at least make an effort before euthanizing a dog that had an incident with another loose dog on his property.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

JessicaW said:


> I left for about an hour and 15 minutes that morning. I went to the grocery store. It happened then.


Where were the dogs when you left? Where were they when you returned?


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## Hineni7 (Nov 8, 2014)

Training training training training training.... I'm sorry but this most likely could have been avoided with training and care.. Yes, accidents do occur. Still you knew the fence was not good... It's prey drive but that doesn't mean they are killers of all that moves! No aggression has been shown to people, and chasing chickens, if not properly socialized is normal for all dogs.... I'm sorry, I still cannot say killing your dog is morale or right...


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## JessicaW (Apr 20, 2011)

Jax08 said:


> Wait...What???? Are you serious? Why are you killing your dogs? For all you know, the neighbor dog could have been hurt before entering your property. Did you even ask for the vet report?


I am calling my lawyer tomorrow and I will have him get all the info from the vet, witness accounts, etc. so if this guy follows through with his lawsuit threats, I will be prepared. I explained in my previous post but will summarize,

I am going to get the investigators opinion on what to do with the dogs, and my lawyers opinion. If I had my way, I would keep both of them. If I couldn't keep them, I would rehome them somewhere that could handle the chicken killing. But my husband does not trust that they won't stop killing. My husband is hurt that his dog, his friend and companion could do this. He doesn't want any future owners to be responsible for something that we could have prevented. 

We aren't going to put him to sleep tomorrow or anything and hopefully my husband will change his mind before it happens.

We are not perfect people, nor are we perfect dog owners. This guys negligence has put us in a stressful, costly situation. It's a situation I don't ever want to go through again. I didn't sleep last night because of it. I prayed about it in church this morning and there is no solution that is good for us, the dogs, or my idiot neighbor.


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## wyominggrandma (Jan 2, 2011)

How about a fence so they can't roam nor can anyone get to them?


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## JessicaW (Apr 20, 2011)

Lucy Dog said:


> For some reason, I doubt the validity of that statement. She doesn't have a clue where her dogs were that day when this happened. If she did, this thread wouldn't exist.


Hey that's cool that you can't read. I have stated multiple times that they were with me that morning inside with no access to the fenced yard. Then I left to go to the store and gave them access to the fenced yard with gates closed. When I came back, they were inside my house, gates still closed. The dogs came inside with me and were in with me all afternoon. Neighbor across the road said they put my dogs back inside my gate and closed i after the incident happen. I can only assume that the dogs opened the gate themselves, a neighborhood kid did it, or whoever tampered with the gate latch a couple weeks ago did it.

So actually I do have a clue where my dogs were, they never left my property.


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## Tattersail (Feb 5, 2014)

JessicaW said:


> I am calling my lawyer tomorrow and I will have him get all the info from the vet, witness accounts, etc. so if this guy follows through with his lawsuit threats, I will be prepared. I explained in my previous post but will summarize,
> 
> I am going to get the investigators opinion on what to do with the dogs, and my lawyers opinion. If I had my way, I would keep both of them. If I couldn't keep them, I would rehome them somewhere that could handle the chicken killing. But my husband does not trust that they won't stop killing. My husband is hurt that his dog, his friend and companion could do this. He doesn't want any future owners to be responsible for something that we could have prevented.
> 
> ...


Was your neighbour negligent? Yes... But more importantly YOUR negligence is what put you in this position... you had an inkling about your dogs prey drive when they killed the chicken on top of that fact that we cannot control what our neighbours do and thus the onus falls on us to be our dogs protector and ensure their safety as well as the safety of others in regards to OUR dogs. If you knew your fence was not secure, they should not have been allowed out without supervision, lesson learned- Now the dog shouldn't have to pay for your mistake with his life when, imo, this doesn't warrant a death sentence.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

JessicaW said:


> Hey that's cool that you can't read. I have stated multiple times that they were with me that morning inside with no access to the fenced yard. Then I left to go to the store and gave them access to the fenced yard with gates closed. When I came back, they were inside my house, gates still closed. The dogs came inside with me and were in with me all afternoon. Neighbor across the road said they put my dogs back inside my gate and closed i after the incident happen. I can only assume that the dogs opened the gate themselves, a neighborhood kid did it, or whoever tampered with the gate latch a couple weeks ago did it.
> 
> So actually I do have a clue where my dogs were, they never left my property.


So the dogs got out and the neighbor that witnessed it put your dogs back in the yard. Makes sense. The dogs still got out and you don't know where they were during that time.

Do you think this other neighbor has any reason to lie?

If you do decide to keep these dogs, don't give them access to outside unless you're there to supervise. Keep them inside with the doors locked when you're not home. Problem solved. No more chicken killing. No more of your dogs getting run over. No more your dogs killing other dogs. Simple containment.


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## wyominggrandma (Jan 2, 2011)

I didn't realize you had a fenced yard. I thought with the chicken killing that they roamed free. Maybe padlock the gates next time.
Just because your male dog killed chickens and it seems this puppy was killed by your female does not make them blood thirsty. People say this about feeding raw food also. " once they taste blood, they will keep killing". They will not attack your child or a person. Will the male kill a chicken again? If he gets a chance probably so. Does that make him dangerous to your family or you or your husband or anyone else? Not because he killed chickens.
I had a Bernese MT Dog that could not be around goats. He had killed one before and yep, would try to kill one again. Had two dogs kill a rooster that got in my yard. Killed, plucked and was having raw dinner. These dogs would no more hurt a human because they killed a goat or chicken. Would I have ever considered euthanizing them or giving them to new homes? No, no way. 
Again, if the dogs were on your property and the puppy came on your property and was killed you will no be liable. Sure your neighbor who witnessed this had not seen your dogs act this way. Dogs get driven to grab something away from each other, a toy or a dead animal is the same to them, one has it, the other wants it. I had a friend who's one old dog died and before she got to the body, the other dogs were playing tug with it. Were the dogs vicious? No, just being animals.
Don't euthanize your male because of something that the female did. Don't lose your dogs because a puppy(how big a puppy by the way) came into your yard and was killed. Its almost like this is not the first time they have killed another dog maybe?
It just doesn't make sense that you would be willing to lose or kill your dogs because the neighbor is threatening to sue when he has no legal recourse if it happened just like you said. Your yard, not roaming and a killed puppy.


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## GSDolch (May 15, 2006)

It sounds like one big giant mess and I really hope everything gets straightened out.

It's easy, to not relay everything that happened online. Especially when we are in an emotional state as it is. While I agree with everyone that owners should always make sure their dogs are contained, that may or may NOT be the case here.

Your dogs where there when you left, they were there when you got back. Now, what happened between then? Some people can believe the neighbors if they want some wont. I personally know how neighbors can be sometimes. They can be liars, and they can decide to "join up" sometimes. Thankfully in my case my neighbors were to drugged up and stupid and I gave them no room to be able to do or say anything. So I wont say I'm going to take the neighbors side and leave it at that. We don't have a first hand account of what they neighbors said. 

Now, this isn't to say that it's not possible that your dogs didn't get out of their fence, that to is a very possible issue.

All I'm saying is that this seems like a complicated issue. ETA: The biggest issue I have is that the dogs where there whens he left and there whens he got back. Personally, it does NOT make sense to me that they would get out and then get put back after the incident like nothing happened. I know I wouldn't be doing that, I'd be calling AC or the police. Of course, maybe I feel that way because I have neighbors that I know not to trust.


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## Hineni7 (Nov 8, 2014)

Basically, we won't know much more until tomorrow... I am very curious to know how the little dog was killed... I agree with a previous poster in that a dog behaving differently because a friend is dead, including carrying it around in its mouth (watch nature programs, often a mother will do this at a loss of a child) does not necessarily mean they killed it. If the dog had been hit by a car and was acting strangely or dying, this might depress the other dogs (sick dog/dying dog smell) and cause them to act strangely... But if they did kill it, unfortunately, training can channel the prey drive to a constructive outlet. Rehoming may be a necessity due to a vindictive neighbor as you don't want the dogs killed by poisoning because he is angry... Even if the dogs are cleared of killing the little dog (which I do hope) I would be concerned about this neighbor... 

Please keep us posted


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## MamaofLEO (Aug 8, 2014)

JessicaW said:


> So actually I do have a clue where my dogs were, they never left my property.


I have read through your postings and can only conclude (by giving my $.02) that you *did not * know where your dogs *went*
while you were out at the grocery store. That is beside the point---you do convey your love for both of your dogs and I really do think that (if your chronology of events is correct) besides a crumby lock (that may or may not have been tampered with--moot point now) that they need to be better secured away from neighbor...I think that if a neighbor was able to contain your pup/s then perhaps the "attack" was provoked by a kick or something (totally projecting here)...I would check your dogs for any injuries.

A quick Google offered me a plethora of GSD rescues throughout TX...please consider contacting them with your circumstances and see if they can give you local insights. 

I feel for your situation and the creepy-aspect of your neighbor, and in the interim of deciding your pups future, I would also keep your child/ren our of this dude's way---he sounds fairly unstable. I would report any interaction (including how he spoke to you in front of your child and your child's friend during the confrontation) that your creepy neighbor has had and/or any threats/inappropriate comments he has made to your sheriff/police department and _definitely_ inquire with vet about both dogs health and the circumstances around the small dog's death. 

I agree with fellow posters that if you are not able to keep either dog, please consider re-homing them, even with full disclosure of this incident. 

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&es_th=1&ie=UTF-8#safe=off&q=german%20shepherd%20rescue%20of%20texas


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I don't even see how this dude can sue you for anything. If it all happened on your property, it ends there. I would not leave the fate of my dogs up to anyone and I wouldn't pay a single vet bill.


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## Nikitta (Nov 10, 2011)

This whole thread is giving me a headache. The retarded neighbors and you reaction to them---/holding my head between my hands


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Pay the darn bill and keep your **** dogs contained. There is no reason to kill them or pawn them off on other people! This so ticks me off. The dogs have too much freedom. They let themselves out and in. They are in the yard when you are gone. And because you are an irresponsible pet owner they are going to lose their lives. Someone hit YOUR dog in the road, and you are thinking that you are awesome because you did not sue or threaten to sue! The dog is YOUR responsibility. Keeping them out of the road is YOUR responsibility. Keeping them away from the neighbor's domestic animals is YOUR responsibility. 

Yes, they may have been protecting their property on the small dog. Or maybe not. Killing them for YOUR failure is despicable.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

selzer said:


> Pay the darn bill and keep your **** dogs contained. There is no reason to kill them or pawn them off on other people! This so ticks me off. The dogs have too much freedom. They let themselves out and in. They are in the yard when you are gone. And because you are an irresponsible pet owner they are going to lose their lives. Someone hit YOUR dog in the road, and you are thinking that you are awesome because you did not sue or threaten to sue! The dog is YOUR responsibility. Keeping them out of the road is YOUR responsibility. Keeping them away from the neighbor's domestic animals is YOUR responsibility.
> 
> Yes, they may have been protecting their property on the small dog. Or maybe not. Killing them for YOUR failure is despicable.


Thank you. I thought I was the crazy one here for a second. This thread and about 90% of the responses are almost as ridiculous as the situation.


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## Colie CVT (Nov 10, 2013)

Okay, someone else mentioned this, and I am going to bring it up again. 

As far as it sounds, the eye witness said that they saw your dog carrying the other one, but that she dropped it when told to do so and they could get them both in okay. My question is, how do you know that they didn't find the dog already dead? My golden is a huge wiz at finding things that have died, and generally speaking it becomes a real fun game for him to keep it away from the others and/or to eat it rather quickly. If your dogs didn't have fresh blood on them, I wonder if they killed it or found it personally. Just because the one killed chickens doesn't mean that they automatically will kill anything small.

I agree on everything else, but I would want to know what the vet found out before making any rash decisions. And certainly never allow them outside without supervision or them being leashed and on your property.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I agree with Colie above. 

Will also say, it's an old wives tale that a dog that kills another animal is going to turn on people/kids because it has a taste of 'blood'. 

Just because the whole neighborhood lets their animals roam free, doesn't mean it's ok to do so. 

It's always the dog that pays in the end usually with it's life for the irresponsibility of owners.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

I agree with pay the bill and make sure the dogs are secure. You can photo their dogs on your property and keep for future problems. But you are still ethically, if not legally, responsible for what your dogs do even if they are on your property.

I figure if you own any large dog you have to be more responsible. You can train determined chicken killers (google Lou Castle, crittering) but you can also install a double fence or a dog pen when you are not outside with them. I never leave the house with my dog out in the yard, even though I have a 6 foot fence and I can lock the latches with a clip. 

When he is in the yard and I am in the house he is inside a smaller fenced in section within the main fence. Works well for me. I have had a dog aggressive dog in the past and know that gates have a way of sometimes being undone. Maybe once every few years but that is enough if you have a dog prone to misbehaving.. 

I have a known issue.......my neighbor lets out her dog who runs out of its yard to the back of my big fence to fence fight with my dog. I don't want that to escalate and that is part of why he is never left out in the big fence alone. The other part is, he is intact, more layers of security for me. All GSDs "look alike" and get the blame if something happens. [I know there is a big one about 1/2 mile from here who has roamed through my neighborhood, but my neighbors all know Beau and that he is not ever out and about]

I think there may be shared accountability in this case but you don't know where the pup was when it was attacked and your dogs already have a history of killing chickens. Do you have other options than euthanizing the male? I doubt police would want the female. Killing chickens and other dogs has no correlation to fighting a human.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

You need to fence in your yard. That will keep his dogs out and your dogs in. 

This is a huge headache and I only see more problems ahead between you two if you do not fence in your yard.


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## Pawsed (May 24, 2014)

So sorry you are in this position, but I see nothing here that is the dog's fault. There is no reason to euthanize the dog. As others have pointed out, the taste of blood does NOT lead to killing. If that were the case, every dog fed raw would be a man-eater.

Years back, we had a dog that killed chickens, and only chickens. This dog got along great with our cats and small dogs. He slept with them daily. He did fine with the other animals on the farm. He just had a thing for killing chickens. We tried everything we could think to stop it, and finally hung one of his new kills on the electric wire pasture fence. Of course he immediately grabbed it and from then on he had a different opinion of chickens. That was the last one he killed.

The point is that killing small animals does not lead to killing other things.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

JessicaW said:


> We have made the decision to get rid of our dogs. Sammy is 5 years old and has been with us since he was 8 months old. My husband wants to euthanize him. I have made it clear that I don't think it's fair to Sammy because he was defending his property. But I see my husbands side so I think putting him down will be best. Since Ruby isn't two yet, I'm going to call around and see if I can donate her to a police department.
> 
> I hate that I'm losing two family members because this clown couldn't be bothered to leash his dog. I also hate that he thinks he can sue us because of his negligence. I have gotten a bad vibe from these people since they moved in. There is something off about them and this man seems like a busy body that wants to be in everyone's business. He's in a neighborhood where EVERYONE keeps to themselves so I feel like he will have a hard time doing the things he wants to do. I also feel like he is just trying to bully us because we are the youngest family in the neighborhood, and we have the biggest house. (He even told me several times that he would love to have my house).


I am blown away by how badly you failed your dogs. Do not put that dog to sleep! Both of those dogs should be rehomed to responsible homes that will take care of the dogs and safely contain them.

You are 100% in the wrong mindset. This isn't just your neighbor's fault, it is YOUR fault as well. Neither one of you should own a dog until your yards are fenced in.


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

I think her yard is fenced but not very secure. Every GSD I have had is a gate opener. Put a padlock on the gate. If it is only 4 foot replace it with 6 feet.

I agree with the others. This is a tragedy that your dogs should not pay for. The neighbor was irrepsonsible but so were you for not checking and fixing the gate latch immediately. 

Unfortunately whether the GSD was responsible or not the GSD is yeld responsible because of what it is. 

My current neighbors have accused us of having vicious dogs becasue we put upa 6 foot privacy fence and padlocked our gate when we moved in. We did that because the 3 foot chain link was certianly not capable of containing 3 GSD's. We cannot see our gate from the house and we did not want it inadvertently opened or left unsecured.

Secure your dogs so that cannot get out. Close the doggie door and keep them inside when you are not home. 

Your husband needs to grow up.


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## WateryTart (Sep 25, 2013)

I'm sorry for your dogs that this is happening. I hope the situation can be resolved in a way that allows them to live out their lives safely.


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## Lark (Jan 27, 2014)

JessicaW said:


> I am calling my lawyer tomorrow and I will have him get all the info from the vet, witness accounts, etc. so if this guy follows through with his lawsuit threats, I will be prepared. I explained in my previous post but will summarize,
> 
> I am going to get the investigators opinion on what to do with the dogs, and my lawyers opinion. If I had my way, I would keep both of them. If I couldn't keep them, I would rehome them somewhere that could handle the chicken killing. But my husband does not trust that they won't stop killing. *My husband is hurt that his dog, his friend and companion could do this. *He doesn't want any future owners to be responsible for something that we could have prevented.
> 
> ...


The bolded line really bothered me. They are dogs, not human, and they do not think like humans. I love my dogs, and they would kill a chicken in a hearbeat if it got in my yard or they got loose. But they are fenced in and that won't happen. It seems odd to me to be "hurt" over behavior that is pretty typical for a dog, and then to take it even further and have the dog euthanized.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

FWIW - I live out in the country. If an outside dog comes on my property and my dogs are out running unsupervised, they will kill it. They will fight as a pack and they will kill it. Of that, I have no doubt. Therefore, I make every attempt to keep other dogs off my property. I ensure with a doubt, that my dogs are secure and not running lose when I'm not supervising them. 

They do NOT run amuck.


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## jafo220 (Mar 16, 2013)

What a messed up situation. So I don't understand how your husband could all of a sudden have this dire feeling towards your male shepherd not after he killed the chickens but after killing this guys dog, but now uses the chicken killing as an excuse to get rid of him and not the dog. I don't understand that one. 

I'd put up a couple of cameras or fake ones and let him know the property is being videoed. This guy seems a little weird. 

I hope you have learned a lesson from all of this. Unfortunately your dogs are going to bare the brunt of it all. 

At least have the dogs evaluated by a trainer before you decide to put any of them down. Make sure you talk to a professional in the field and don't rely on the opinions of the local authorities. They will always take the safest easiest way out. Wouldn't be fair to your dogs. 

This type of thing is why I control who has access to my dog at all times. At home or in public. I rarely let anyone near him. All it takes is a false claim and your dog is gone. If this happened, I feel I failed my dog. So I don't let it happen.

But please get them evaluated by a professional. They deserve that much.


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## JessicaW (Apr 20, 2011)

I boarded the dogs today. I was going to for the holiday anyway, but I went ahead and did it instead of waiting until the holiday. 

Our home is for sale right now. There is a tiny portion of our yard fenced. We have several acres so when I say a tiny portion, its about the size of an average city home yard. If our home does not sell, we plan on putting an aluminum fence along the sides of the yard and a brick wall across the back. That way there will be no chance of his dogs mistaking my property for theirs.

Whenever we found out they were killing the chickens, we immediately spoke to the neighbor. We made an arrangement that he let his chickens out in the evening and I kept my dogs locked in the house with me. No access to the yard/no temptation. It worked because they didn't kill anymore. 

I tried to call the investigator today but he didn't answer, left a message with my lawyer to call me back. I did speak to our vet before I boarded the dogs and they said just going by the laws, that we aren't responsible for what happens when our neighbors dogs are "at large." He did however understand why we are so conflicted about what to do with our dogs. He understood both my point of view of wanting to keep them and my husbands of being worried about it happening again. 

It is a very difficult situation that I wouldn't wish on anybody.


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

Jessica,
Best of luck with this. Hope your dogs make it home alive, the husband calms down, the ditzy neighbor goes away and your fence gets stronger.


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## Gwenhwyfair (Jul 27, 2010)

I think some of the folks here are being a bit hard on you RE: dogs running loose. You had them in a fenced area that had been secure previously so it's not like you "knew" they would get out.

I don't agree with PTSing your dogs though. Wrong on a lot of levels.

I grew up out in the country and farmers would often shoot dogs that came onto their property and if one of their farm dogs nailed an intruding dog, the owners should have kept their dogs up.

I really dislike this trend that we can own private property, pay taxes as such, yet be held to the standards of public access. I know some here don't agree with this but I see it as an erosion of our rights as private property owners.

I'm all for being careful, monitoring your dogs, keeping them safe and contained and such but I draw the line at people or their pets trespassing on my property and holding me liable.

I hope you get your house sold quickly, because IMO if you give into the neighbor this time you probably will never be able to have a dog without being harassed again.




JessicaW said:


> I boarded the dogs today. I was going to for the holiday anyway, but I went ahead and did it instead of waiting until the holiday.
> 
> Our home is for sale right now. There is a tiny portion of our yard fenced. We have several acres so when I say a tiny portion, its about the size of an average city home yard. If our home does not sell, we plan on putting an aluminum fence along the sides of the yard and a brick wall across the back. That way there will be no chance of his dogs mistaking my property for theirs.
> 
> ...


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

I can't seem to keep the facts straight as I read through this thread, it makes my head spin. 

Why have your dogs EVER been loose running free and unsupervised in any neighborhood. I don't care if everyone else does it, look where that has you now. You have GSD's for gawd sake.....prey drive is usually present. I know for a fact if I let my boy loose and unsupervised within a group of frenzied chickens, he's going to have a blast and the chickens won't. You were responsible to pay for every one of the birds that were killed, injured etc. UNLESS of course those chickens were running around in your yard which it sounds like they do at times. 

Same goes for dogs running loose in your neighborhood. Nobody knows for certain what happened to your neighbors small dog but in the end you have a witness that the dog was found on your property. Sorry but for me that's the neighbors issue, not yours. I wouldn't pay for anything but what your dogs have done off your property. 

Your husband has a lot to learn about dog behavior. These dogs are easily re-homed to more responsible owners if you and your husband can't get your act together and become responsible dog owners.

Now tell your neighbor to keep his damned chickens on his own property at night so you CAN let your own dogs out to use their own yard....supervised and under control.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Generally, if a dog kills a dog that is trespassing on the dog who did the killing's property, I would say, "tough luck" to the owner of the dead dog. They allowed the dog to roam, and their dog is now dead, oh well. 

However, this is the same neighbor whose chickens were killed by these dogs, presumably on the chicken-owner's property. What this suggests to me is that: 1, the dogs' owners knew their dogs were willing and able to kill the neighbor's livestock/pets (some chickens are pets); and 2, the dogs' owners knew their containment was not suitable for their dogs. 

Having had a dog hit by a car, and still leaving dogs in a yard (while she is not home) that she knows the dogs can get out of, gives the impression that the owner really doesn't care that much about her dogs. 

And then the suggestion of euthanizing and dumping the dogs as a solution to the whole situation -- I don't think we are too hard on this person, I think the reverse is true. I don't think she should pay because her dogs are at fault. I think she should pay because she is at fault, and because the other guy has already lost chickens to her dogs. If you own dogs, then you have to be responsible for them. If you fail to properly manage them, then you have to accept responsibility for them and cover the damages. 

People who act like this cause problems for all who own formidable dog breeds. Many insurance companies refuse to sell us insurance because of the breed we own. There is a reputation that our dogs and we can be affected by. When one of our own, when people who own our breed, act irresponsible with our breed we should all be incensed by it and say so. 

No, our own property is not a right of way. However, if the dogs were unsupervised (the lady was not home), out of the fenced portion of their yard, there is no way to say that they killed the dog on their own property and were not just bringing home their prize. Yes, their dog may not have killed the dog at all. But if we don't know what our German Shepherds are doing, then we are guilty. Not the dogs. We are.


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

JessicaW said:


> Whenever we found out they were killing the chickens, we immediately spoke to the neighbor. We made an arrangement that he let his chickens out in the evening and I kept my dogs locked in the house with me. No access to the yard/no temptation. It worked because they didn't kill anymore.


I'm maybe assuming the wrong thing. Majority of your yard is not fenced and your neighbour's yard is not fenced. Where do these chickens hang out when they are loose in the evenings?


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## Gwenhwyfair (Jul 27, 2010)

I said in my post PTSing the dog(s) is wrong on a lot of levels. So no argument there.

Witness saw the incident occurring on OP's property, unless I misread?






selzer said:


> Generally, if a dog kills a dog that is trespassing on the dog who did the killing's property, I would say, "tough luck" to the owner of the dead dog. They allowed the dog to roam, and their dog is now dead, oh well.
> 
> However, this is the same neighbor whose chickens were killed by these dogs, presumably on the chicken-owner's property. What this suggests to me is that: 1, the dogs' owners knew their dogs were willing and able to kill the neighbor's livestock/pets (some chickens are pets); and 2, the dogs' owners knew their containment was not suitable for their dogs.
> 
> ...


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## Syaoransbear (Sep 25, 2008)

The chickens and the dog were on your property. There is no need to rehome and certainly not to euthanize.

The other owner is at fault, although it is also your fault for knowing that the latch on your gate was not enough to keep your dogs contained.


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

I do wish you the best. 

About 18 months ago, the day of the Moore OK tornado in fact, one of my dogs got out of the yard. Kayos was 11 then. She chased the f---tard neighbor's dog out of our garage. I had the dogs in the yard with me but the garage door was up and the man door blew open in the wind. She saw the dog in our garage and chased it. The dogs had free access all the way to the street. In 30 seconds she chased the dog out, rolled it and nose bumped it. The neighbor kicked the living daily lights out of her. She was screaming as I was pulling her away and he continued to kick her. He threatened to kill my dogs. I called him every filthy dirty name I could think of. I was very afraid he had dislocated her prosthetic hips. He did not but she was so sore she was not able to get up for several days. My vet bills ran into about $400. The neighbor's - 0 for the 'vicious attack'. I called the police and had it noted that he had threatened to kill my dogs. F----- ing love Oklahoma.

HIs dogs are constantly loose and on my property. BUT MY MISTAKE was not securing the door fully. Now we have security cameras, double reinforced fence and have had the police over repeatedly for barking dogs (theirs). I hate living next to them. They are imbecile red necks who take very poor care of their dogs. We live in town in a nice upscale nieghborhood - but this is bum F Oklahoma.

I feel your pain and I understand. Your dogs should not be held liable. You do need to insure they are secured and the neighbor's dogs cannot trespass. Your husband is way over reacting. These are dogs and they do what dogs do. 

Hoping the best for you guys.


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## GSDolch (May 15, 2006)

Saphire said:


> I'm maybe assuming the wrong thing. Majority of your yard is not fenced and your neighbour's yard is not fenced. Where do these chickens hang out when they are loose in the evenings?


I don't know about her area of course, or her neighbors chickens, but here is it not uncommon to see chickens run loose to go where ever they want to.

I am in the city part of town so I don't see it much anymore, but when we lived with my MIL in the country I had to keep an eye out for my neighbors chickens. They were only put up at night, they were loose during the day and went where ever they wanted. 

"It's just what chickens do"

It's actually uncommon to find people who have some sort of containment for them.


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## Pawsed (May 24, 2014)

Remember that chickens can and do fly. They can easily get over a fence and go anywhere they please. If their pen doesn't have a wire top, they can easily get out.


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

GSDolch said:


> I don't know about her area of course, or her neighbors chickens, but here is it not uncommon to see chickens run loose to go where ever they want to.
> 
> I am in the city part of town so I don't see it much anymore, but when we lived with my MIL in the country I had to keep an eye out for my neighbors chickens. They were only put up at night, they were loose during the day and went where ever they wanted.
> 
> ...


In my eyes they would be fair game for my dogs if on my property. I would thank the neighbour for supplementing his diet.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Saphire said:


> In my eyes they would be fair game for my dogs if on my property. I would thank the neighbor for supplementing his diet.



Yup.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

We have chickens everywhere around me. My neighbor had one that took off, I haven't seen it yet. I know I had a bigger injured bird flopping around in the yard and Midnite found it. He could have killed it but instead he barked and let me know it was there. Then the thing half flew across the yard with Midnite right on top of it. Once he landed Midnite alerted me again. I'm thankful he didn't kill it, which he could have done 3 times. Now I haven't thought about chickens getting into my yard but I guess that is possible.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

My neighbor has chickens. They rarely come into my yard. I've only seen the roosters come over. My neighbor knows and accepts the risks. I won't knowingly allow my dogs to kill his chickens.


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## Gwenhwyfair (Jul 27, 2010)

We had chickens, free range chickens are very mobile and as noted can fly.

A client has a problem with neighborhood chickens digging up her garden.

The OP, when informed of the chickens being killed made arrangements to keep her dogs up and that was more then fair IMO.

Training would have been good too, but she did take steps to protect the chickens.


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## Gwenhwyfair (Jul 27, 2010)

:spittingcoffee:





Saphire said:


> In my eyes they would be fair game for my dogs if on my property. I would thank the neighbour for supplementing his diet.


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## JessicaW (Apr 20, 2011)

Back from vacation. Picked my dogs up from the kennel. Came home late Sunday, picked my dogs up from the kennel yesterday, have kept them inside with me and supervised their short time out in the fence. My husband has decided after a week without them that he cannot and will not get rid of them or let this guy bully us.

The neighbors chickens have a coop, but he claimed he only let them out in the evenings. The chicken incidents have happened in the morning. He does have a small fenced yard, but I guess chooses not to use it, and he also has a underground fence and when I questioned him about that he said he didn't trust it. LOL clearly he can't contain his tiny dog so I don't get why he doesn't trust the fence. He also stated he doesn't trust my neighbors inground fence which has contained their two dobermans quite well for the 2 years I have lived here.

Today his idiot son drove by my house really slow and I just happened to be by a window and caught him making his fingers into a gun and pointing at my house. I lost it and called the police and filed harassment reports. 

We have had 6 different people come look at our house in the last two weeks and I pray that one of them buys it so we can get the heck away from this psycho.


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## Lark (Jan 27, 2014)

What a mess for you and your husband. I really hope your house sells soon and I'm happy you are keeping the dogs.


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