Please don't laugh?! Little dog questions plus more.. (Sarasota, Bradenton: real estate, homeowners association) - Sarasota - Bradenton - Venice area - Florida (FL) -Manatee and Sarasota Counties - City-Data Forum

YorkieMom4 · 03-05-2009, 06:50 PM

Hi, what a great place to gleen info. Looks like hubby will be offered a job and his work will take him from Sarasota to Naples. He says that I would be happiest in the Sarasota area...we live outside of Philly and although I am not a big shopper I do need to have my resources for Italian food specialities and decorating options. 25 years ago we were the youngest people to live in Venice. Although a beautiful place but not for 20 somethings. We should have been in Sarasota. I realize things have grown but I too think that Sarasota might be a better fit. Although Ft. Myers looks interesting and is near middle of his zone. Now to my questions...I have 4 Yorkshire terrorists. I am concerned about the birds of prey in the area. Hawks like to hunt Yorkies up north here as do owls. I don't plan on living on a lake so I figur alligators arn't going to be a threat. We already use flea/tick treatments year round here. Fire ants, spiders, are lizzards poison to toy breeds? Just trying to prepare my self and know I need a fenced in yard. I guess that will rule out many nice neighborhoods. We want to look in the 400,000 price range in a pretty and quiet mixed age neighborhood. I don't want restrictions on hanging laundry as sheets dried in the sunshine smell is a gift from heaven. We take pride in our home and want to live in a neighborhood that is the same. Anyone with small dogs out there that can share more thoughts about moving south? Anyone have a neighborhood they might suggest? Thanks!

debvic · 03-05-2009, 07:37 PM

Yes birds of prey would look at yorkies as a tasty morsel here or anywhere so take precautions when they are outside. I own chihuahuas and one day my little Bandit was taking a nap in the sun, I looked out the window and saw the shadow of a bird circling overhead. I ran out and looked up, it was vultures! I guess he looked dead from the air. Dogs learn to stay away from ant mounds but you can treat your property for them if necessary. Don't forget to keep your pets on heartworm preventative year round down here. Good luck with your home search.

FLBob · 03-06-2009, 05:54 AM

I've never thought about birds of prey looking at small dogs as food. But I guess a 5 pound dog wouldn't look much different than a rabbit.
While my dogs are a bit larger I rarely allow them to be outside alone. I'm probably a bit over protective.
I guess if I had toy breeds I'd really look for a well treed yard, so there wouldn't be clear view to soaring hawks and eagles. In my area we have red tail hawks, and some small owls. Occasionally I see fox and bobcats.
I do a routine search of my yard for fire ants, especially right after it rains. I use a product called Amdro to treat the area around any mound I see. Surprisingly over time I've gotten my yard to a point that I'd feel safe calling it fire ant free.
My vet has my dogs on a product called Revolution, it's a once a month topical treatment that prevents heartworm, fleas and ticks. I don't have fleas. So I'd recommend it has a good preventative.

justNancy · 03-06-2009, 10:06 AM

San Carlos Estates in Bonita Springs - country setting but very close to shopping & restaurants. 20 minutes in either direction to Naples or Fort Myers.

By the way, are you talking about leaving them alone without human supervision? I don't think that's ever really safe, especially at night. It's rare to see a coyote, but they do hunt small mammals at night, mostly cats. We also have lots of raccoons. As cute as they appear, they can become very aggressive and kill small animals. They're usually more of a nuisance than a threat, but the ones in my yard at night are fearless. Just make sure you never leave food outside which might attract them, even in the daylight. We also have opossums, but they usually only go after mice and other small rodents. Again, these animals are nocturnal and, for the most part, harmless, especially when they sense a human is around to threaten them.

YorkieMom4 · 03-06-2009, 01:25 PM

My Yorkies are never outside alone but that doesn't stop hawks from trying. Coyotes, yikes! We have a ground hog bigger than the Yorks. So, it looks like I will still have to be on guard and watch what chemicals I use around the yard.

imagardener · 03-06-2009, 01:41 PM

I applaud your looking into the area in advance. Visiting in person will be very important also.
If you don't want restrictions (like a homeowners association) and want a fenced yard the tricky part will be finding a new enough or updated house to your liking.

That's what we wanted also and it was HARD to find just the right one. HOA's have taken over most of the west coast in the last 15 years. We ended up south of Sarasota. You might look in Osprey and Nokomis areas. Venice is still old but it's a nice place to live.

We looked in Sarasota and Bradenton too but couldn't find the right newer house not in an HOA. There may be more now though. And boy oh boy do HOA's dislike dogs of all sizes.

Good luck.

justNancy · 03-06-2009, 03:01 PM

Oops! Sorry. This is the Sarasota board, not the Fort Myers one! When I read your original post, I noticed you mentioned Naples, so that's why I recommended looking in San Carlos Estates (not to be confused with San Carlos Park) I googled and can't find any houses listed under $500,000, but a I'm sure a local real estate agent can help you. Golden Gate Estates, which is an area in Naples where many people have dogs, horses and all sorts of creatures, has homes on acreage too.

Keep in mind that wildfires are a problem in Florida during the dry season which begins in Feb or March. When you live in a wooded area, your home is more vulnerable. There were 2 brush fires in North Port yesterday, although the news reported they were probably due to arson. Last month there was 1,000 acre brush fire in Lake County and a 600 acre fire in Brevard. By June it's usually wet enough and the "fire season" is over. Of course, then it's the beginning of hurricane season! Ya gotta love it!

RE: Coyotes. I only mentioned them so you'd be aware, but you won't see any during the day. Most wild animals steer clear of humans. (do you blame them?) I don't know if they've been a problem in Sarasota, but even a gated, golf course community in Estero had a problem with coyotes.
[URL]http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/jun/26/third-coyote-trapped-brooks-estero/[/URL]
FYI: Estero is between Fort Myers and Naples.

mrcoolmrcool28 · 03-07-2009, 03:47 PM

Funny to read this thread just now, coyotes are in the news BIG time here right now! There have been several small dogs snatched by coyotes in Madison Wisconsin!! Isn't that crazy?? Madison's population is 223,000, and there are COYOTES snatching dogs on the far west side!

dmccauley · 03-08-2009, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YorkieMom4

Hi, what a great place to gleen info. Looks like hubby will be offered a job and his work will take him from Sarasota to Naples. He says that I would be happiest in the Sarasota area...we live outside of Philly and although I am not a big shopper I do need to have my resources for Italian food specialities and decorating options. 25 years ago we were the youngest people to live in Venice. Although a beautiful place but not for 20 somethings. We should have been in Sarasota. I realize things have grown but I too think that Sarasota might be a better fit. Although Ft. Myers looks interesting and is near middle of his zone. Now to my questions...I have 4 Yorkshire terrorists. I am concerned about the birds of prey in the area. Hawks like to hunt Yorkies up north here as do owls. I don't plan on living on a lake so I figur alligators arn't going to be a threat. We already use flea/tick treatments year round here. Fire ants, spiders, are lizzards poison to toy breeds? Just trying to prepare my self and know I need a fenced in yard. I guess that will rule out many nice neighborhoods. We want to look in the 400,000 price range in a pretty and quiet mixed age neighborhood. I don't want restrictions on hanging laundry as sheets dried in the sunshine smell is a gift from heaven. We take pride in our home and want to live in a neighborhood that is the same. Anyone with small dogs out there that can share more thoughts about moving south? Anyone have a neighborhood they might suggest? Thanks!

I live in Sarasota and also have three dogs. It is a deed restricted community but I would say the majority of homeowners here all have dogs. We also have fenced in yards. Every night there are at least 20 different couples walking their dogs around the neighborhood. I haven't had any problems with vultures. There is also a doggie park down the road, less then 5 min.,it has a fenced in area for the small dogs, also has a time out place too.lol There are some great deals here. The homes were selling in 2005 and 2006 for 400-700k depending upon the sq. foot. The prices have dropped and you could get a home for less 300k.

YorkieMom4 · 03-09-2009, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmccauley

I live in Sarasota and also have three dogs. It is a deed restricted community but I would say the majority of homeowners here all have dogs. We also have fenced in yards. Every night there are at least 20 different couples walking their dogs around the neighborhood. I haven't had any problems with vultures. There is also a doggie park down the road, less then 5 min.,it has a fenced in area for the small dogs, also has a time out place too.lol There are some great deals here. The homes were selling in 2005 and 2006 for 400-700k depending upon the sq. foot. The prices have dropped and you could get a home for less 300k.

Is it OK to ask you what section/development in Sarasota you live....sounds great!