We have neighbours who have two curly tailed black part husky type arrangements that keeping getting through our 2m wide 3m high mature beach hedge. We have chicken wire up to 1m, in the hedge, but they are still getting through.
Of course the answer is to politely ask the neighbours to sort it at their side, and there has been some discussion, but we seem to misunderstand each other on the urgency of the situation and timescales involved.
I know that breed of dog are known to be escapologists, so rather than try additional physical barriers, I'm thinking that a leccy fence might be the idea. I could run a length just proud of the chicken wire. They would then have to push under or over it to get over the chicken wire.
But, does anyone know if they are a deterrent to larger thick coated dogs - any other suggestions? Do leccy fences come in a standard spec, or can you get different shock strengths? 😈
Ta
Just google 'electric fence' and you'll get any number of them, typically in 9v & 12v battery powered form, though there are a lot of mains-powered options as well.
http://www.farmcareuk.com/shop/category/electric-fencing-energisers/Mains-Powered-240v/
how about one (or several) of these:
[i]thick coated dogs[/i]
They work on sheep...
We had a large dog (Bernese Mountain Dog) that could comfortably clear a 6ft hedge without touching it with a bit of a run up.
You may want to just put a large paddling pool of paint the other side of the hedge at their favourite crossing point - their owners will sort things out quite quickly after the first time.
You'd have to stop it touching any of the vegetation afaik, which could be tricky if the fence is within a hedge.
My suggestion would be wee all along the hedge and then sit there looking angry in the middle of the garden with a cricket bat, wearing a dog bite suit. Shouldn't take more than a few encounters.
I would be telling the owners that unless they stop this happening you will be reporting them to the council.
Its the owners responsibility to ensure the dogs are not escaping.
I don't know how much the dog warden will do.
Are the dogs doing damage? present the owners with a bill for the damage. They are liable
Perhaps time to have your Korean friends round for a barbecue?
make up a toddlers face with 'dog bite wounds' and turn up on their doorstep?
"It was a small childs face this time!"
I have the hotline price list in front of me.
http://www.hotline-fencing.co.uk/
I use one of their dual 12v/240v energisers for the sheep. That might be overkill for you.
the cheapest energiser they do is the shrike at £80ish
http://www.hotline-fencing.co.uk/catalogue/line.aspx?lne_id=ac0ce1e4-6a20-429e-b6d4-6320af484d15
and it runs of D cells so you wouldnt need to splash on a big 12v SLA.
Keep an eye on ebay though - its lot of money just to keep dogs out if buying new.
How about this sort of stuff buried in the hedge? You can buy kits of the steel spikes and the fencing and it comes in green too (just can't find a link right now).
But if it were me (as above) I woud be having more words with the neighbours - it really isn't on and it is THEIR problem to solve, not yours.
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thick coated dogs
They work on sheep...
Good point
You'd have to stop it touching any of the vegetation afaik, which could be tricky if the fence is within a hedge.
Maybe a deal breaker
I would be telling the owners that unless they stop this happening you will be reporting them to the council.
Relations are delicate, and I don't want to go for outright civil war just yet - although I'm close sticking the ****ing saxaphone where the sun don't shine!
Apart from the shit on the lawn, our 4 year old is pretty scared of them. I don't think they would bite, but I'm not keen on taking the risk.
[i]our 4 year old is pretty scared of them. I don't think they would bite...[/i]
I'd be round there making it very clear that if they didn't start making strenuous efforts to make the fence/hedge dog proof any further incursions would be met with a phone call to the police reporting a dangerous dog loose in my garden.
'delicate relations' be damned.
Fling all the shit back over the hedge. If the Dogs are scaring your 4 yr old then an offence has been committed.
Edit as waswas says.
Only had this happen once.
As with cats, if you catch em in the act turn the hose on them.
After 3 or 4 cold showers they usually get the message
Shit + scared children is reason enough IMO.
A non confrontational chat with neighbours is required first, if not you could always call the local dog warden, if the neighbours refuse to deal with it.
Writing as a dog owner the situation is unacceptable. As others have said it is their problem to solve and I would be making that very clear and pointing out the next steps I would be taking, dog warden then police as required.
Water doesn't always works, many dogs actually love it.
Who owns the boundary hedge? If you're going to put a solid fence there, you'd have to dig down as the dogs will tunnel their way out.
Loving some of the typical anti-dog over reactions too.
Shit + scared children is reason enough IMO.
Don't you believe it, most of what TJ writes on the dog threads is for effect, he's not really scared. 😛
Chicken wire won't stop a determined terrier never mind a part husky. I'd agree eleccy fence won't work and you need some heavier link fence dug in.
Basically a determine dog is a git to stop escaping.
I think you are underestimating how genuinely utterly stupid most dogs are. They will just keep trying and keep getting shocked, yowling and carrying on.
Might be quite entertaining, but perhaps not suitable entertainment for a four year old.
[i]Loving some of the typical anti-dog over reactions too.[/i]
there's not many on here who are 'anti-dog' most people are 'anti badly controlled dogs'.
I'm not 'anti-children' but I don't like the way some of them behave up the park.
As said, it's up to the owners to stop them getting into your garden and that includes paying for any fencing that may be required.
Although electric would defo work (I have it round our chickens and once a dog has been zapped once they never go back) the vegetation earthing it out would be problem it you tried to fit the netting within the hege.
As you don't want to confront the neighbours here's one possible solution:
Keep an eye on ebay and buy a used fencing energizer (either 12 or 240v) and I will lend you some electric tape (1" thick for horses/sheep... not the netting type) that I have hanging around. You can then set up one or two runs of tape at a height that the dogs can't avoid (say 12" and 24" high) just on the garden side of your hedge (so it doesn't thouch the hedge) -
Leave it running for a couple of weeks. The dogs will realise very quickly that really bad things happen if they go through the hedge and will stop going through.
Once they stop I doubt they'll go again (my spaniel won't go within 20m of the chickens - she just sits there watching!). Sell the energizer on ebay for what you paid for it and return the tape to me.
Energizers hold their value very well as people are keen to use them for chickens so I doubt it will cost you much at all.
As said above somewhere, you won't be able to use an Electric fence in the hedge. If something like a hedge is touching the fence it will be earthing and causing a shock on the hedge, which will drain the battery very quickly, I'm talking about touching on one point, not lots; in that case it probably wouldn't work at all.
Loving some of the typical anti-dog over reactions too.
🙄
I'm just waiting for
" he's only playing"
"my dog would never bite"
"its just what dogs do"
It is completely unacceptable to have dogs coming into your garden shitting and scaring your children.
I think you are underestimating how genuinely utterly stupid most dogs are. They will just keep trying and keep getting shocked, yowling and carrying on.
No they really really won't, believe me on this.
I've had my sisters two dogs to stay many times. They share three brain cells between them and still figured out within a few mins what happens if they go and see the chickens.
It is completely unacceptable to have dogs coming into your garden shitting and scaring your children.
So you talk to the owner and not the local SWAT team. 🙄 🙄
TJ - you know that was me quoting don simon?
don simon - they've spoken to the owner with no effect - what next?
Our dog stuck his nose on an electric fence once. Never again.
I'd give it a go.
[i]I'd give it a go. [/i]
but then [i]your[/i] nose would hurt?
I guessed wwaswas - I'll edit
So you talk to the owner......
I have, repeatedly - their priorities are different from mine and basically they CBA to fix the problem.
I really, really, really, don't want to get the authorities involved, but the call to the police saying there is dangerous dog running loose in our garden (especially if made by Mrs J, whilst home alone with the kids - she's less concerned about neighbourly harmony than me), may just be the incentive required for them to fix it.
don simon - they've spoken to the owner with no effect - what next?
The OP says they've spoken but have different ideas about the solution, I don't have all the info about what was said, but often compromise works. I you came to me demanding various things about my dog, I'd tell you where to shove it. If you came and had a quiet chat looking to resolve the problem rather than apportioning blame, I'd talk.
This is going to degenerate into the typical pro/anti dog thread, I'm out.
There is no compromise possible here. The OP wants the dogs kept out of his garden. Where is the possible compromise? There is only one lot of people to blame - the dog owners.
So - where is the compromise possible?
Buy a sheep and a shotgun?
[i]This is going to degenerate into the typical pro/anti dog thread, I'm out. [/i]
only if you make it.
no one is 'anti-dog' - it's the bloody owners who cause most of the problems...
Buy a sheep, and a shotgun. Shot the dogs for worrying your livestock. Job done.
So - where is the compromise possible?
In finding the solution and not the problem.
🙄only if you make it.
Step away my friend...
The OP says they've spoken but have different ideas about the solution
The OP says [i]'but we seem to misunderstand each other on the [b]urgency[/b] of the situation and [b]timescales[/b] involved' [/i]so I think the OP needs to spell out to the neighbour exactly what he wants THEM to and WHEN he expects them to do it.
But I agree with TJ here - it simply is not acceptable to allow your dog to repeatedly go into a neighbour's garden. Irrespective of how cuddly sweet and harmless it is and even if it's shits smell of elderberries - if the neighbour doesn't want YOUR dog in HIS garden then it is the dog owner's responsibility to sort it out.
I f*****g hate dags.
Agree there is no compromise, the dogs need sorting out but going round and shouting the odds doesn't always get the correct response. A bit like throwing a sandwich into a car and then getting all arsey when you get an aggressive response 😀
The OP says they've spoken but have different ideas about the solution
I've not suggested a solution other than politely ask them to stop their dog getting into my garden. I haven't demanded anything, no raised voices, a few quiet words - like I said, priorities are different.
If you came and had a quiet chat looking to resolve the problem rather than apportioning blame, I'd talk.
To be fair the blame is 100% on the dog owners no?
Maybe find some fox poo - leave it in your garden. The dogs will roll in it, and it's pretty horrific stuff...
I honestly can't imagine any (fellow) dog owner allowing their dog to get into the neighbours garden without doing something about it. Are your neighbours morons?
Apart from that I'm sure the dogs are only playing because my dog would never bite, getting into gardens is just what dogs do. etc.
Are your neighbours morons?
You may think that, I couldn't possibly comment 🙄
I'm a dog owner and one thing you always have to be aware of if you have a dog is that not everybody likes dogs and what you may think of as harmless may be very annoying or even scary behaviour to others. Sounds like your neighbours don't have a clue or give a ****.
If you have tried to reason with your neighbours and they are failing to take responsibility getting the authorities involved may be the only option available. Might be worth pointing out to your neighbours that just one bitten child will result in the offending dog being destroyed and the RSPCA getting involved.
Oh, and I wouldn't bother with an electric fence in the short term. Just string some barbed wire along the affected boundary. Cheaper and easier and a more obvious sign of intent.
Oh, and I wouldn't bother with an electric fence in the short term. Just string some barbed wire along the affected boundary. Cheaper and easier and a more obvious sign of intent.
Barbed wire in the hedge - I like that idea alot!
Hmmm. I'm not sure that will work quite as well. My dogs have got themselves hung up barbed wire before (ouch) and it's not deterred them.... electric is the way to go but BW is certainly cheaper and easier - worth a try first. There again you could just try and fix the gaps in the chicken wire as well.
But as has already been said.... it's not your job, it's the responsibility of the owners.
sharkbait - I think the problem with the leccy fence idea is going to be the hedge. The only place I could put it would be my side of the hedge and I'd be worried about the kids falling into it.
BW may just do the job, especially if I double it up.
*goes off to google razor wire 8)
To be fair geoffj, i think you need to grow a set of balls and get round there before it all goes horribly wrong,
i own 2 large dogs and no way is it acceptable that they should be allowed to roam free, if 1 or both of my dogs got out i would be extremely concerned.
Not just for the dogs safety, but the public in general, as there large and look aggressive( there not but thats how they look )
A dogs behaviour around a child can be very erratic some times, due to noises children make and the fact they tend to be lower than the dog,
This is something you should never ignore around your own dogs, let alone a neighbours.
Dog shit is minging at the best of times, and one of the responsibilities that comes with dog ownership,
I couldn't begin to tell you how embarrassed i would be to find out my dog had used your garden as a toilet,
Knowing you had a child and you were a neighbour would just make it worse.
If it happened once id expect a little leeway, ( but i would fix it straight away and that would be it )
twice id expect you to be a little pissed of with me,
third time last warning pal,
If it happens again i stab your ****in dog and throw it back over the fence.
And thats it, as TJ and co have said there is no compromise, its a dog that you dont own,and dont want on your land ,and if it comes on again youll kill the ****er.
Remember ive got dogs, but if i need telling 4 times to get my dogs out of your garden ,then im not really listning am i.
so stop being so nice about the situation and tell your neighbour he needs to understand the urgency otherwise the outcome will be sad for both party,s
As a dog owner, Merchant-Banker +1
Are the dogs tagged? If not next time they're in the garden ring the dog warden and have them taken away. An offence if not identified in a public place, and pushing into your garden is unacceptable and may well constitute a public place (IANAL).
Try the sheep netting fence as dogs have difficulty working out the height to jump when faced with one. My sisters lurcher hates the things and they don't need to be electrified.
Kill the neighbour and feed him to his dogs.
Then kill the dogs.
Alternatively you could just wait until your neighbours are in bed and the dogs locked up and spend half an hour running round their garden with your kids, digging holes in the lawn, ripping up plants, screaming at the top of your voice and crapping on the patio.
I like the feral children invasion idea myself....