I'm reaching the end of my rope.

[donie1]

I'd go to the neighbor and tell him that his dogs are tearing up your place and to keep them fenced. Tell him that if his dogs don't come home one day, he'll know what happened to them. Of course, don't shoot them but let him think that.

[burr]

Originally Posted by marmac

As I stated, a major problem is all those tracts of 5-15 acres.

All it takes is one jerk, and your problems are no different than if you were living in town.

5-15 tracts are too darn small to have people flocking to living their "homesteading dream"

Heck, with 5 acre tracts, there would be 16 different people living on 80 acres.

Sure would have a great chance of --1-- ruining it for the other 15.

And since it has been revived, an update...

No, these aren't homesteading dreamers, these are simply folk that were tired of living in all the city lights, wanted a place where one could 'pee off the front porch', maybe build a pond, not have to worry about grass height. you're right, all it takes is one jerk, but at least he's over the ridge and not in the next driveway over. and although your math is commendable, it is actually six or seven since the late 70s, not 16. There aint a whole lotta comin and goin and as stated earlier, if I coulda bought more, you can rest assured, I woulda.

And it seems that one of these jerks took the initiative and ended the problem a few weeks or so after me whining about it here. Those three S's put everybody into perspective - and it wasn't me. Course if it'd been two or three lots over and not directly next door, I woulda taken care of it without further considerations.

It has been a good thing to learn what yall do in this situation, region to region type opinions, you know ?

[new jersey mike]

I have not read all the responses, so I am sorry if it is addressed.

You need to speak to the owner stay calm and tell him the situation. Since he does let them roam he probably does not care. Conversation should always be the first step. I would also not threaten to shoot his dogs this will only throw the wrong switch in his "neighborly" brain.

If there is no response, then write the certified letter this shows your serious and starts to put your ducks in a row if this were to go further.

DO NOT shoot the dogs, it's not their fault and he will back come at you with the law and animal rights and that is not the position you want.

If you have a fire arm fire it, just not at the dogs. This audible warning maybe enough to alter his behavior.

I am assuming you have the right to shoot a fire arm on your property.

Talk to your other neighbors find out who else is being violated and feels like you and approach him as a "calm" community group not a hanging mob. Again a mob would throw the wrong switch in his head.

Good luck! I am beginning to think boarder battles are probably part of our genetic structure.

[foxywench]

actually nj mike...if the dogs are on the ops property and considered a threat in rural towns it is perfectly legal to shoot the dogs to proetect you, your family or your livestock.
wildife and digging up your flower beds in my opinion are not reasons to shoot a wandering dog, BUT in rural areas its not only perfectly legal but perfectly normal to shoot animals that come onto your land causing chaos, you have to think rural areas often eman liestock and a trio of wandering dogs can slaughter a flock of sheep in no time, damage fences, detroy vegatable gardens, and tear apart and kill rabbits, baby livestock ect...

now personally i wouldnt shot a wandering dog unless i HAD to, the animal is attacking my livestock, attacking me, or another similar threat...
BUT you can bet if i can get close enough to get a slip leash on it, it would be finding itself at the closest pound pretty dang quick.

part of being a dog owner no matter where you live or how much land you have is keeping your animals ALL of them properly confined to your property...
accidents happen so if i knwo where the dog came form the first offence i would return the dog and let them know it was on my property and they need to fix their fence/put up a run or something...
if it happens again, i call animal control and if they wont come to me...im more than happy to go to them.
they want their dog back, they can go claim it and pay the fee...

rehoming a dog you know has an owner is actually illegal...dropping them off at animal control however is not. and actually the responsible thing to do...

you should NEVER shoot a fire arm unles you intend to kill the thing your shooting at!

[AK-Cathy]

For nuisance dogs:

Paint balls: Dog/s come home all covered in paint, needs a bath

Cheap perfume (or other odiferous substance) in a super soaker: Dog/s come home reeking to high heaven, needs a bath

Feed them a big pan of milk: Dog gets the runs, probably the next day while confined and everything needs a bath

Variations on a theme. Make the owner have to work and be greatly inconvenienced (and thus pay) for his/her lazy and inconsiderate habit of letting their dogs run. Never let on that it's you doing the dog modification. Ever.

If the dogs are caught in the act of killing stock or game animals, and even being the biggest softy on the planet, I think that sadly they need to be sent to doggie heaven as quickly and humanely as possible. It really isn't the dogs fault that some people can't be taught to be responsible but at the point that they are killing for sport, there is no rewind or reset from that behavior.

[foxywench]

i absolutly agre ak-cathy...once they start killing livestock thats it...it cant be trained out, and its obviously the owner sint going to take the stpes nessicary to confine...

in this case i dont think theres livestock involved though so a catch and animal control trip might be the best choice.

[stonecypher5413]

Originally Posted by AK-Cathy

For nuisance dogs:

Paint balls: Dog/s come home all covered in paint, needs a bath

Cheap perfume (or other odiferous substance) in a super soaker: Dog/s come home reeking to high heaven, needs a bath

Feed them a big pan of milk: Dog gets the runs, probably the next day while confined and everything needs a bath

Variations on a theme. Make the owner have to work and be greatly inconvenienced (and thus pay) for his/her lazy and inconsiderate habit of letting their dogs run. Never let on that it's you doing the dog modification. Ever.

The passive-aggressive method of roaming dog control!

Might I add that skunk spray is a great addition to your ideas, and don't ask me how I know this works so well on clueless dog owners.

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