Dang Dogs!

[CalicoKid]

I'm looking for a little bit of help here with a dog problem of mine. My neighbors (whom I really like and get along with) have two male dogs, a Golden Retriever and a Pitbull. They're both pretty young and spirited. The retriever seems to be the alpha male and he owns every square inch of his chain-link fenced back yard. He chases everything off, if a bird lands in the yard he chases it away and pees on the spot he chased it from. Problem is, he thinks he owns a good part of MY yard too. I can't walk out my front door with out him running up to the fence balling his head off at me. He won't stop until the neighbor comes out and gets him. He barks at my wife and I when were coming and going or just trying to relax in the yard. He barks at our guests, he barks at the birds in our feeders. He even barks at me when he sees me through my kitchen window. The neighbors have tried to train him but I think they've given up.<br /><br />I've had it. I sprayed him with a hose but he thought we were playing. I yelled and threw sticks and dirt at him but, again, playing. The other day I had a thought while I was cleaning out the cat's litter box. A dog marks his turf with his indicator stream right? I thought I would mark mine as well, but I don't want to be caught out there exposing myself to the windchill and all so maybe the cat can do it for me. I took a couple of scoops of soaked cat litter and dumped it right along the spot in the fence where he barks at me the most. The next morning that dog ran up to the fence to look for me (I was hiding in the kitchen peeking out the blinds) and immediatly caught on to that nasty cat pee smell. The hair on his back stood up and he barked like he was pinned under a garage door! That night I added a little more pee smell at the back corner of my lot. Next morning I woke up to his howling and saw him trotting around the yard like a caged wolf and peeing on everything that he could. That night I spread the litter all the way along the length of the fence, turds and all. Next day there was no evidence of the cat poo at all in the snow. Just a lot of dug up dirt and stuff on both sides of the fence. He must have had his paws as far through the fence as he could get them. I think those little kitty paydays got gobbled up cause I didn't see anything left. The dog still barks. He seems a little less confident though. I'm not sure if this is going to make the barking stop but I've sure got those dogs confused. I'm thinking of letting my snotty cat walk around out there too while the dogs are outside. She's fearless.<br /><br />My questions: <br />1 is cat poop gonna make a dog sick?<br />2 since the neighbor won't stop the dog's barking, and I don't want to report it as a nuisance and have all that conflict between us, does anyone know of a trick or two that'll work on dog-level to get him to shut his yap? I could walk over there and put my foot up his bum for a few minutes but I'm sure the neighbor would mind. I want to keep it on the down low.

 

[MJC]

Re: Dang Dogs!

Calico- <br />great story telling- I especially love the line<br />"I think those little kitty paydays got gobbled up cause I didn't see anything left."<br />You are right- all the kitty turds do is confuse the heck out of them. <br /><br />The owner is the only one who can truly get control of these dogs. If he likes his dogs and wants to raise good citizens he will get to obedience training with them. It is amazing what a knowledgeable trainer can do in 5 minutes with an unruly dog. And even more amazing how well that same dog behaves the instant he sees that trainer the next week or month. Dogs will get away with whatever they can - if you nip it in the bud it is much easier. Sounds like this guy is in for alot of work if he is interested at all. <br />Please don't tell me the neighbors are raising kids too. <br />The only lawful way I see a solution is by getting the owner to recognize and act upon the problem. Good luck.

 

[Ross J]

Re: Dang Dogs!

The best way is to approach the neighbour, point out the problem and suggest he might like to fix it.<br />Nobody need get offended.<br /><br />Failing that, we used to have a wee trick that still shuts up vocal dogs when we need to enter properties or dogs rush up at us, get a childs waterpistol and fill it with lemon juice. A wee squirt in the face, yes it needs to be the face does the trick. After a few times of this the dog recognises you as someone to avoid. <br />Mild irritation is all the dog feels and quickly recognises the pattern after a few turns.<br />I believe it called, "Operant Conditioning" (Pavlov's dog).<br />Ross

 

[roscoe]

Re: Dang Dogs!

1. Cat poop won't hurt the dog. You will have to use something stronger for that.<br /><br />2. Kindly and gently tell the neighbor that the dogs are really starting to annoy you, as they are interfering with your use of your yard, your guests, etc. <br />Ask, could he please consider working on a solution.<br /><br />3. Buy your neighbor a couple of shock collars for "year end holiday giving event" (CHRISTmas).The kind that are activated when the dog barks.<br /><br />4. Hire college brats from UWMad to dog-nap them.<br /><br />I've got a neighbor with a crazed mut. Fortunatly I live in the country, unfortunatly the neighbor has no fence and doesn't beleive in "locking him up". When he crosses the road into my yard, he goes into attach mode, has had people pinned against cars and garage several times. I had a chance to get rid of this creature when there were no witnesses, but didn't. Now I carry a gun to get the mail, mow the lawn, or to walk in my front yard if the dog is out. Several times I've let him get an earful of .40 Glock at very close range. This sends him running and keeps him away for a few months. The neighbor has seen this and does nothing. And he continues to be friendly and act like there is no problem. <br /><br />One day the time will come.

 

[mellowyellow]

Re: Dang Dogs!

this problem arrises when a dog isn't properly<br />socialized as a puppy. it's a tough habit to break<br />and should be handled by a professional sooner<br />rather than later. just think if one day you go<br />out and he's dug under the fence and he's in your<br />yard now. talk to your niehbor and tell him how<br />you feel and see if he's willing to do something<br />before you are forced to involve the local authorities.<br />good luck,<br />M.Y.

 

[naughtybynature]

Re: Dang Dogs!

chain link fence you say..... how about a good old fashioned car (or boat) battery, and a handy pair of jumper cables. you take the battery and burry it in the ground at the base of one of the metal fence posts. simply attached the ground to the post. now comes the fun part. wander on over to the fence when the dog is out. make sure that the dog is good and planted against the fence (offering your hand as a snack usually works) now simply slide the positive gator clamp onto the fence. ZZZZZZAAAAAAPPPPP!<br /><br />i bet it only takes 2 or 3 sessions and that dog will be cured of said standinbackyardandbark disease.<br /><br />good luck and be safe.<br /><br />*do not try this at home for obvious reasons.

 

[Beaux]

Re: Dang Dogs!

I had the same problem a few months ago.... luckily the neighbors moved. But what I wanted to do was find a sale flyer from a petstore about the anti-barking shock collars. I was going to put it on their door. That way I would not have conflict with the neighbor and they would hopefully get the hint... Good luck

 

[pmueller]

Re: Dang Dogs!

They also make a device that emits a sound irritating to dogs when the dog barks. It's good for up to 25 feet. Plug it in and point it towards their yard. Check one out at:<br /><br /> http://satisfactionassured.netfirms.com/page3.html <br /><br />Might do the trick.

 

[ebbtide176]

Re: Dang Dogs!

i feel for you CK, and i've been thru it several times, even now with a neighbor a couple of yards over... it is a very common occurance nowadays.<br /><br />what seems obvious to most never crosses the minds of some pet owners- a lack of discipline in their pets. heck all the ones i've dealt with didn't even consider their pets should be disciplined for constant barking. jeez!<br /><br />i can tell you what has not worked for me; waiting on others to give the petowner the hint, to avoid getting yourself in a conflict. i'm no pro at dog obedience (have spoken to some, and read their books), but it seems (to me)there is only a relatively small window of time for most dogs to be trained. at least by an average petowner. its in the first 2yrs of their life.<br /><br />so you need to nip this in the bud asap. you have to flat out tell the petowner that you appreciate their friendship(add other compliments). then let them know their pet is disturbing you, and you wanted to let them know, rather than let their pet change your feelings towards them.<br />let them know their dogs are not braindead animals, and can be trained. they should be disciplined as one would an unruly child, and it should actually improve the value of the relationship with their pet. such to know when to bark, to alert the owner to trouble in the pets area...<br /><br />CK, you might even do some searches on obedience training, in order to get more data that you can use when you must confront the owner with the problem, and good reasons for training their pets.<br />i should add that my encounters were also within subdivisions with covenants against unruly pets. so far, the 'talks' have taken care of the problem for me, as far as the owners trying to do something about the problem.<br /><br />i hope no one thinks i'm overly sensitive. its just that many of my neighbors are surprised to find that i've always had dogs in my yard too, they just don't notice them, since they're better behaved

 

[mellowyellow]

Re: Dang Dogs!

right on Ebb,<br />why is everyone afraid to talk to their niehbor<br />face to face and tell them how they feel???<br />the covert activities mentioned here will not<br />be nearly as effective.<br />it's also a good idea to help them with info.<br />if you can about how to remedy the situation.<br />then your not just complaining but helping them.<br />don't wait until your so mad you end up calling<br />the cops on them.

 

[Scoop]

Re: Dang Dogs!

Agree, speak with the neighbor. Just let them know exactly what you said here. That you value his friendship etc. Any covert activities, while fun to talk about will just produce ill will between you and the neighbor. Offer to help if you would like. Let him know you have researched some possible solutions if he would like to see them. Don't go over with the solution you think he should use. Normally this will create an adverse reaction because he will not feel in control of the situation. If you say it is his choice to view them or come up with a solution on his own, then he is still in total control. Good luck CK.<br /><br />If you need me to do some drive bys to get the dog to be nervous around strangers, let me know. Any dog can be trained as Pavlov proved, but it takes work to train behaviors and is not easy.

 

[495v]

Re: Dang Dogs!

Great story Calico! Just curious, how well do you know the dog?(have you ever been in your neighbors house with the dog?) I have noticed with many dogs that they only bark at the strangers or people that they really don't know, but then again I've seen strange dogs that bark at their shadow all day. Have you ever tried going over to the dog, letting him smell your hand, and if he reacts okay, pet him a little. He may just be barking because he wants attention. Do you ever speak to the dog? Dog's recognize voices very well and sometimes will silence up after hearing a common voice. Never show a dog that your afraid of him, try raising your voice a bit and show him who is boss. If not, a foot up the bum will work.

 

[Fishbusters]

Re: Dang Dogs!

A couple of dog training tips that can be used on an unruly dog. Be warned some of these are borderline cruel and if you get caught could cause plenty of problems. However all are proven methods for stubborn dogs.<br />1 Get one of those button activated sonic dog trainers. When you go out back and the dog comes running say no and activate it. <br />3 Sling shot with plastic ammo you say no and shoot rover with sling shot. Soon enough the sound of the slingshot will be enough.<br />3 Cattle prod. Go up to barker and say no then zap.<br />There are many other things you can do along these lines and truthfully a dog learns best through softer praising approaches and associates the trainer with something to like. However using the pain avoidance response is a quick way to train any animal but you tend to get one that is cowed and very shy of you and something to be feared but that is the desired result in this case.

 

[Hooty]

Re: Dang Dogs!

As roscoe said, the cat "payday" ain't gonna make the dog sick but, I might add, it sure as hell makes his breath smell funky.<br /><br />c/6<br /><br />Hooty

 

[ebbtide176]

Re: Dang Dogs!

lol at you guys... funky breath no doubt! but my shepherd will gobble those things up like bonbons too

 

[CalicoKid]

Re: Dang Dogs!

Thanks for all the great ideas guys! I know that talking things out with a neigbor is always best but if I could just take on the task myself I'm cool with it and so is my neigbor. She has tried shock collars and sonic collars and scolding and other punishment but it's all attention to this dog. She actually encouraged me to use the hose. I'd like to ask her to shave the dog's neck and put that shock collar on real tight but I'm sure she would not like that. She knows how I feel and I don't want to push the issue too hard, although I might make a few suggestions that you guys advised.<br /><br />The dog isn't afraid of me and I'm not afraid of him. I've rough-housed with him on plenty of occasions in front of his owners, we're all good. I just think the dog is looking for attention good or bad. He's always wagging that tail while he barks. I've been ignoring him for a long time now in hopes he will get bored of it but it isn't happening.<br /><br />I'll most likely give the lemon juice a try as I was thinking of squirting him with a solution of fresh Habernero peppers and water each time he barks. I am afraid that would be a little too hot though and maybe injure his eyes? I don't want to be cruel, but I do understand positive and negative behavior reinforcement. I think I'd have to break off my foot in his butt before he understood and ,well, I'd get tired of jumping the fence and kicking dog butt everytime he barked. Plus sometimes I have nice shoes on...<br /><br />Slingshots and cattle prods: I'd love to really but these people are older, kids gone and I'm sure they would be pissed if they caught me traumatizing their "babies". Then again, I do have a nice wrist rocket and a bag of marbles... maybe as a LAST resort.<br /><br />Yeah, I'll ask them if they have any more ideas, suggest some of those posted here, ask them if I can squirt the dog with lemon juice when he barks, and keep it to myself that for as long as that dog is barking at me he'll be licking his masters' faces right after dining on Kitty's feces!

 

[MJC]

Re: Dang Dogs!

If you resort to any physical actions be prepared for the worst...............shootin marbles at the dog be ready to face a blind or dead dog. Old Murphy has a way to make the worst case scenario come true just when you forget about unintended results. <br />The bottom line: the dog isn't the problem - the owner is. Get training or get rid of it.

 

[Fishbusters]

Re: Dang Dogs!

By the way I have never used any of the methods I mentioned the last two as well as a couple more that are a little cruler are used by fellows training hard headed hunting dogs. The first I thought of after seeing a friend who has a dog that barks at company get one and use it. The dog still wants to bark and sometimes will when you arrive but quits pronto when the sonic device is used.

 

[derwood]

Re: Dang Dogs!

here is a little tid bit of useless information for you guys.<br /><br />A cat does not compleately digest all of the food it consumes....Almost all dogs will eat cat crunchys because while all you smell is sh!t....the dogs superior sence of smell picks up the undigested portion of the little kitty treat and his instinct to eat takes over.<br /><br />He will spread his scent over the yard to tell other animals that it is his part of the world....The cat sent threatned to cover his own sent over so he flipped out and marked everything to get his sent back to being the strongest smell in the yard....hence makeing it his again.<br /><br />They sell all kinds of sonic trainers....there are ones that are on the dogs collar itself and some that go off automaticly and others that you controll....some also have electrobes in the collar and will give the dog a shock of electricity when he barks, some will also increase in power if the warning is not affective the first time.<br /><br />If the dog is not vicious you could also put in a dog gate and when he barks at you just let him into your fence and say hello....maybe even play a little. (That is if your yard has a fence....and you like your neibours dog)<br /><br />You could also try dog treats....but in my exsperince they just learn to bark more at you to get the treat,<br /><br />You could also get a lawn chair and sit close to the fence with a book and talk softly to him while he barks he little heart out....If he stops barking do something to make him bark at you again....they'll get used to you being in their space all the time and usally quit barking at you after awhile....I guess they find it pointless to bark at you if you don't leave....EVER.<br /><br />I see to many dogs in a day as a surveyor.....some nice and some not....but I know my dog launguage pretty well now.<br /><br />Dogwood.

 

[ebbtide176]

Re: Dang Dogs!

CK, since you clarified it, i can give more examples, and maybe help you more...<br />PFB & Derwood told some stuff that really works. but nowadays, ppl are too PC to do things that involve pain.<br /><br />this is just all my opinion<br /><br />i've gone the distance, done things i've regretted, and learned from it, up to now, and i have had many dogs. i got the best info from a waltdisney trainer, who didn't pull any punches. i've had duma$$ hardheaded beagles, rottweilers, boxers, pitbulls, collies, mixed, and now shepherds. i hate to say it, but i'm only impressed with good breeding nowadays. <br /><br />but training a dog like what you're talkin about seems to be a need for a scary life experience to me. in other words, someone has got to make the dog understand the diff in being carefree & happy AND feeling PAIN for misbehaving. only if you/the owner understands the consequences of hardtime. its not a lackadaisy thing to be hard on an dumb(once again=relatively) animal...<br />if no other labor works, then you gotta get on their level(PETA be damned).<br />remember they are basically a small child in brainpower, but like a child have very receptive learning abilities (altho limited). ya gotta makem understand who is the master.<br />i didn't have to do many strict lessons on my shepherd, but in the past it was different.<br />an example: my beagle/ridgeback/dachsun was hardheaded as a brick. he dug constantly, he pizzd/dumped anywhere, he ate plants/shrubs, howled constantly... i scolded constantly, petted profusely.<br />had to end up digging out his holes, running the waterhose in there, filling with water, and BULLDOGGIN his a$$ in the hole until he was practically out of breath. (following a books method). i'd tried the touchy-feeley method at the beginning, of course(i'm married to an animal lover)<br />i'm from a background of farmers who've had great animals in all hunting pursuits, practically (won't get into it all)<br />well, after 3 'seminars' the dog quit diggin in the yard. it was a very tramatic thing for my wife, and i didn't like doing it worth a dam, but i decided i'd give my best effort. if you've never tried to hold a 40#dog'd head in a mudhole, then you can't comprehend. anyway, i don't have to go to that extreme anymore. and i've got a huge amt of patience with pets compared to the early yrs. but i still believe in exercising the mind of pets, especially when it comes to training for human compatibility.