My husband and I just bought property that is very rural...the
neighbors are good folks...but unfortunately they have the huuuugest
yellow male intact Lab that I've ever seen and they let him roam
free. Our acreage is next to them and it's been vacant, abandoned for
years so the animals have had free reign...Since we've been going up
there, we've brought things like a picnic table, bbq grill, Rubbermaid
storage containers...
Well, this big ole dawg is delighted, because with all this new stuff,
he thinks he's won the lottery with having to mark everything...and
because he's so big, his squirts are unusually high up on things and
substantial volume too.

The other day, I was up there working and he was hanging around,
peeing, resting, and peeing some more. I had enough of him, so I got
in the Mule and escorted him home. His owner came out of her house
and I simply said, "I brought Josie home"...she intuited that he was
being a bother without me having to say it. That was nice. And
coincidentally, at that minute, the husband called and the wife
relayed the scenario and the husband remarked that the dog was
"nuttin' but a road whore"....(like he was proud of it) I really like
these people for neighbors..but....
Two days after that I had concrete poured and I told the wife that I'd
appreciate them keeping the dog contained, so that I wouldn't wind up
with errant dog prints in wet concrete...and her reply was " ok, I'll
let him out early, so he can use the bathroom and then pick him up"...
I'm wondering how to convey to these people that it is not acceptable
for the dog to be on my property at all...whether or not I've got
something going on...without damaging what looks to be a good neighbor
relationship...
Perry

on Sat, 31 Mar 2007 15:57:17 GMT, wrote:

The other day, I was up there working and he was hanging around,
peeing, resting, and peeing some more. I had enough of him, so I got
in the Mule and escorted him home. His owner came out of her house
and I simply said, "I brought Josie home"...she intuited that he was
being a bother without me having to say it. That was nice. And
coincidentally, at that minute, the husband called and the wife
relayed the scenario and the husband remarked that the dog was
"nuttin' but a road whore"....(like he was proud of it) I really like
these people for neighbors..but....
Two days after that I had concrete poured and I told the wife that I'd
appreciate them keeping the dog contained, so that I wouldn't wind up
with errant dog prints in wet concrete...and her reply was " ok, I'll
let him out early, so he can use the bathroom and then pick him up"...
I'm wondering how to convey to these people that it is not acceptable
for the dog to be on my property at all...whether or not I've got
something going on...without damaging what looks to be a good neighbor
relationship...

How about being direct instead of beating around the bush? They can't read
your mind.

--
Lynne

On Mar 31, 11:37 am, Lynne wrote:
on Sat, 31 Mar 2007 15:57:17 GMT, wrote:





The other day, I was up there working and he was hanging around,
peeing, resting, and peeing some more. I had enough of him, so I got
in the Mule and escorted him home. His owner came out of her house
and I simply said, "I brought Josie home"...she intuited that he was
being a bother without me having to say it. That was nice. And
coincidentally, at that minute, the husband called and the wife
relayed the scenario and the husband remarked that the dog was
"nuttin' but a road whore"....(like he was proud of it) I really like
these people for neighbors..but....
Two days after that I had concrete poured and I told the wife that I'd
appreciate them keeping the dog contained, so that I wouldn't wind up
with errant dog prints in wet concrete...and her reply was " ok, I'll
let him out early, so he can use the bathroom and then pick him up"...
I'm wondering how to convey to these people that it is not acceptable
for the dog to be on my property at all...whether or not I've got
something going on...without damaging what looks to be a good neighbor
relationship...

How about being direct instead of beating around the bush? They can't read
your mind.

--
Lynne- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Yes...I do want to be direct...but I want to choose my words
carefully...I want to make my wishes clear but not derogatory or
inflammatory to them or the dog...I was thinking of different various
situations and "if this comes up, say this" or "if that comes up, say
this"....I want to make my position low key, but firm..polite, yet not
timid...HOW something is said, I think, can make all the difference in
the world. They come to visit when we're there and sometimes the big
old dawg comes with them...I was thinking of saying something like
"Josie's a good dog, and welcome here anytime on a leash, OR with you
guys."
Yes, Lynne...I agree...I need to speak up...but my main concern is
saying the right thing the right way....the husband looks as if he can
get kind of bent out of shape (he likes to think of himself as a
kingpin)...the wife looks to be ok....
Perry

on Sat, 31 Mar 2007 17:18:17 GMT, wrote:

Yes...I do want to be direct...but I want to choose my words
carefully...I want to make my wishes clear but not derogatory or
inflammatory to them or the dog...I was thinking of different various
situations and "if this comes up, say this" or "if that comes up, say
this"....I want to make my position low key, but firm..polite, yet not
timid...HOW something is said, I think, can make all the difference in
the world. They come to visit when we're there and sometimes the big
old dawg comes with them...I was thinking of saying something like
"Josie's a good dog, and welcome here anytime on a leash, OR with you
guys."
Yes, Lynne...I agree...I need to speak up...but my main concern is
saying the right thing the right way....the husband looks as if he can
get kind of bent out of shape (he likes to think of himself as a
kingpin)...the wife looks to be ok....

You've already blown at least one PERFECT opportunity to say something.
The longer you let the problem annoy you, the harder it's going to be to
address and resolve.

Just go over there, and politely say, "listen, we have a problem we need
to discuss." Then tell them what their dog has been doing and that you
will appreciate them keeping him off of your property unless he is with
them and on a leash. Then thank them. It's that simple.

If they are good neighbors, as you say, they probably have no idea their
dog is annoying you (since you haven't said anything) and will be
embarrassed. If they don't care that their dog annoys you, you'll find
out soon enough.

--
Lynne

wrote in message
ups.com...

Yes...I do want to be direct...but I want to choose my words
carefully...I want to make my wishes clear but not derogatory or
inflammatory to them or the dog...I was thinking of different various
situations and "if this comes up, say this" or "if that comes up, say
this"....I want to make my position low key, but firm..polite, yet not
timid...HOW something is said, I think, can make all the difference in
the world. They come to visit when we're there and sometimes the big
old dawg comes with them...I was thinking of saying something like
"Josie's a good dog, and welcome here anytime on a leash, OR with you
guys."
Yes, Lynne...I agree...I need to speak up...but my main concern is
saying the right thing the right way....the husband looks as if he can
get kind of bent out of shape (he likes to think of himself as a
kingpin)...the wife looks to be ok....

One of my pet peeves - people who have the attitude that their dogs can
wander in the country, where there is no animal control.

Just tell them that he's a really nice dog, and you're so sorry to restrict
his wanderings, but he is something of a nuisance at your house. He pees on
everything, you thought after the first time he would stop, but he keeps on,
and you've got to wash everything, blah blah blah.

Offer to split the cost of a fence between your two properties. Four foot
welded wire is about $60 for 100 ft, and the T posts (pound-in posts) are
roughly $4 apiece.

Alternatively, if that would be too much fence or they are uncooperative,
you could put up a fence that delineates your immediate yard from the rest
of your acreage, to keep him out. That probably wouldn't be a bad idea,
anyway, as it will help discourage wildlife like possums and skunks from
making a home under your deck, etc. If you use welded wire to surrounded
your house, you can easily camouflage it and make it more dog-proof with
attractive landscaping.

I'm not going to suggest you tell them how to manage their dog, unless you
think they might take very tactful hints. But the fact is, even in the
country you are responsible for your animals, be they livestock or pets.
Critters need to be confined to their owner's property so as not to cause
damage to others' property. Dog owners can be liable for other people's
rabbits, chickens, pigs, calves, or auto damage. You should keep this in
mind, yourself; your neighbor won't like it if you get chickens, let them
free range, and they destroy her flower beds or vegetables.

How we deal with this is, we have fenced around our house, so that we have a
suburban-yard-sized area for our dogs. They aren't let out to wander
around, although they come out on leash. We were the objects of some
hilarity when we moved in and people saw us fencing in our DOGS, which
nobody in the country does here - until I said, well, I don't like buying
other people's dead livestock, or scraping my dogs off the road.

flick 100785

Thanks...flick..that's the kind of approach I was looking for. I am usually
very direct...but these neighbors, I'm afraid, if I come off like a roaming
dog nazi to them, it will damage good neighbor relationship...and this seems
to be the only sticking point...They seem to be really great neighbor
material so far.
I'm hoping to lead by example, by keeping my critters penned and leashed.
And when the opportunity arises gracefully, then mention positives (thanks,
guys for keeping Josie out of our hair) or negatives (gently) "darn that
Josie, he pees on everything"....

I wholeheartedly agree with Lynne's approach, but I'm afraid with my
forwardness to begin with and then to spout off about their dog, I would
come off too bossypants and do more harm than good at this point...

Perry

"perrylep" wrote in message
.. .
Thanks...flick..that's the kind of approach I was looking for. I am
usually very direct...but these neighbors, I'm afraid, if I come off like
a roaming dog nazi to them, it will damage good neighbor
relationship...and this seems to be the only sticking point...They seem to
be really great neighbor material so far.
I'm hoping to lead by example, by keeping my critters penned and leashed.
And when the opportunity arises gracefully, then mention positives
(thanks, guys for keeping Josie out of our hair) or negatives (gently)
"darn that Josie, he pees on everything"....

I wholeheartedly agree with Lynne's approach, but I'm afraid with my
forwardness to begin with and then to spout off about their dog, I would
come off too bossypants and do more harm than good at this point...

I don't know what it is about some people in the country, with their
wandering dogs. Old-timers seem to be the culprits as often as newbies.

If you're going to have pets of your own, your best bet is probably to put
up your own "yard fence," where you surround your house for a total of maybe
half an acre, an acre, two acres. Whatever size you're comfortable with
and/or can afford, if you can't put up dog-proof fence for the entire
perimeter of your property. Inside the fence is where you put the nice lawn
furniture, the barbeque, etc. It's slightly harder to steal that stuff from
inside a fence, too, if you lock the gates when you're out.

If you'll be acquiring any kind of livestock, from chickens on up, you will
of course fence that in. Depending on what it is, you may want to surround
their pens with a couple hot wires (electric fencing), which will help keep
all kinds of four-legged predators at bay.

flick 100785

on Mon, 02 Apr 2007 14:18:17 GMT, montana wildhack
wrote:

Sometimes such lies work better than the truth.

And sometimes people are just too self-absorbed to even begin to think
about how their actions (or inactions) affect others and subtle hints
aren't going to get you anywhere.

The fencing idea is really the best solution if you don't want to risk
pissing off neighbors. Especially since it's so common in rural settings
to let dogs roam.

I recently had a similar discussion with the guy across the street and I
didn't really care if I pissed him off. I was tired of his dog shitting
all over my front yard while their fenced backyard goes unused, not to
mention tired of hearing Roxy go nuts when that dog was on our property.
This is the second time I've said something to him and I was quite a bit
more forceful this time. The guy didn't know what hit him just after
dawn on a Sunday morning. Not only did I tell him how tired I was of
picking up his dog's **** and depositing it in his yard where it belongs,
I also told him how far I'd seen his dog roam and what a foolish risk he
was taking with his life given the way people speed on our street. I
thanked him for addressing these issues, assuming that he will. It's
been a week and the problem appears to be resolved. At least for now...

I have no patience for dumbasses. I also don't consider someone as
irresponsible as he is with his dog to be good neighbor material.
Neither does anyone else in my neighborhood.

--
Lynne

wrote in message
oups.com...
My husband and I just bought property that is very rural...the
neighbors are good folks...but unfortunately they have the huuuugest
yellow male intact Lab that I've ever seen and they let him roam
free. Our acreage is next to them and it's been vacant, abandoned for
years so the animals have had free reign...Since we've been going up
there, we've brought things like a picnic table, bbq grill, Rubbermaid
storage containers...
Well, this big ole dawg is delighted, because with all this new stuff,
he thinks he's won the lottery with having to mark everything...and
because he's so big, his squirts are unusually high up on things and
substantial volume too.

The other day, I was up there working and he was hanging around,
peeing, resting, and peeing some more. I had enough of him, so I got
in the Mule and escorted him home. His owner came out of her house
and I simply said, "I brought Josie home"...she intuited that he was
being a bother without me having to say it. That was nice. And
coincidentally, at that minute, the husband called and the wife
relayed the scenario and the husband remarked that the dog was
"nuttin' but a road whore"....(like he was proud of it) I really like
these people for neighbors..but....
Two days after that I had concrete poured and I told the wife that I'd
appreciate them keeping the dog contained, so that I wouldn't wind up
with errant dog prints in wet concrete...and her reply was " ok, I'll
let him out early, so he can use the bathroom and then pick him up"...
I'm wondering how to convey to these people that it is not acceptable
for the dog to be on my property at all...whether or not I've got
something going on...without damaging what looks to be a good neighbor
relationship...
Perry
==============
Somehow I don't think your message is going to have much affect on them. I
would build a fence around your own property.

Lynne wrote in
m:

I have no patience for dumbasses. I also don't consider someone as
irresponsible as he is with his dog to be good neighbor material.
Neither does anyone else in my neighborhood.


I have a really low tolerance for living next door to people who hate me,
and would definitely take the conservative approach that Perry has
chosen. Do you live in the South, Lynne? Because often a too-forthright
approach can backfire here.

Being at war with the neighbors is to be avoided if at all possible, in
my book.

--
Catherine
& Zoe the cockerchow
& Queenie the black gold retriever
& Max the pomeranian
& Rosalie the calico cat