[urbaindk]

I need more advice from Monkeys...

We just got a dog about 6 weeks ago. She's great but she has a few drawbacks. She was a shelter pup for about 6 months before we got her. (She's just over a year old now) So she has a few quirks. Number 1 is that I don't trust her with kids really. I don't think she would intentionally hurt them but she's big and could by accident. (and number 2 she tries to kill every other dog that she sees, but that's not related to the topic at hand)

So we have a pretty big backyard with a 6ft high privacy fence. Sounds good right. The dog can run around and not be distracted and is pretty well behaved. She loves to fetch, etc. Good times by all.

Well, we have these super trashy neighbors. 6 vehicles, 4 old couches, a golf cart, engine blocks you name it. And two of the most unsupervised kids in the world; ages 3 and 5. They have discovered that we have a dog and have started climbing up onto the junk in their yard to peer over the fence at the dog. That was fine at first and the dog ignored them for the most part. But now they have taken to throwing things over the fence and yelling at the dog. At one point both kids were standing on top of a utility truck that is parked by our fence and were waving a towel over the fence. If the dog were to grab the towel she could easily have pulled the kid off the truck and into our yard and the kid would be seriously injured from the fall alone. This is a three and a five year old and their parents let them do this....

On the rare occasion that one of the parents is actually outside watching I have told them to keep their kids off the fence, but they never actually follow through and next thing you know they are back at it. I've tried talking to the kids, one of which is deaf (seriously) and the other is 3 so some of my arguments are lost on them... Its gotten to the point where I have to bring *our* dog inside from *our* yard because of *their* kids because I'm afraid that one of the kids will get hurt. Not to mention teasing is not good for the already fragile psyche of our dog.

What should I do? Its really pissing me off. I think I may warn the parents one more time and explain the danger and then garden hose the little demons when ever their heads pop over the fence again.

Thanks.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

Time to move.

 

[buildyourown]

Build an 8' fence.
I like the garden hose idea. I too am blessed with trashy neighbors.

 

[jacksonpt]

Talk to the parents again... then get out the garden hose, or other similar methods of determent. If that doesn't work, would the police do anything? Are they technicall tresspassing? You're not trying to be an ass or anything... it's for the safety of the kids.

 

[urbaindk]

Time to move.

We foolishly decided to sign a 2 year lease. We have about 1.4 years left on it. Its going to be the longest 1.4 years of my life. Unless I can find another job out-of-state, then I think I can get out of the lease. But I have to meet a few commitments for this job before I can think about leaving or I'll shoot myself in the foot careerwise. I'll definately start looking this December?

Can you tell I've been thinking about it? I hate it here.

 

[urbaindk]

If that doesn't work, would the police do anything?

His wife works for the police department, so no, thats not going to help.

 

[PonySoldier]

Just run some Barbed wire or Razor tape around the top of the fence...it should prevent an Urchin/Dog incident..

 

[clancy98]

buy a pitbull

 

[TN]

in mexico we saw all of these fences that had broken bottles & glass stuck in a layer of cement on all of the tops of fences....that might work.

 

[urbaindk]

Barbed wire or glass. That's nasty. I was thinking about going to the local feed and seed and picking up a nice electric cattle fence and running it around the tip top of the fence. If a kid was standing on top of a truck with rubber tires would you get a path to ground though?

 

[golgiaparatus]

garden hose the little demons when ever their heads pop over the fence again.

They'll probably think thats funny and take it as a challenge. i.e. "lets pop our head over the fence and mess with him, he's old and slow and wont be able to spray us in time"

 

[urbaindk]

If really hosed them they would probably sue the crap out of me. The deaf little boy wears some sort of back pack thing that is wired into his head somehow so he can sort of hear. If I got that wet I'd probably be goin' down.

I think maybe my best option is to talk to the parents again and work on training the dog to ignore distractions as best as possible. If we can ignore the kids then maybe they will get bored and go away. Its just that our dog isn't at the level where she can handle screaming little kids yet and it isn't fair to her that I have to keep her insided if the urchins are outside. Poor thing.

Really I just needed to vent and that seems like what the monkey is all about...

Thanks.

 

[Velocity Girl]

His wife works for the police department, so no, thats not going to help.

His wife works for the police department and is letting her kids behave like that??? Now isn't that just the model citizen of the law for you.

Maybe try contacting animal control and ask them what you can do, or a local rescue/shelter. They might have some ideas. And even if she does work for the police department make a complaint anyway. I'm sure no boss would like having multiple complaints come in on one of their own.

 

[TN]

Barbed wire or glass. That's nasty. I was thinking about going to the local feed and seed and picking up a nice electric cattle fence and running it around the tip top of the fence. If a kid was standing on top of a truck with rubber tires would you get a path to ground though?

have you ever been shocked by one of these? might as well be glass or barbed wire. I've been popped many times & its not fun. I was joking about the glass too.

 

[urbaindk]

Oh yeah I used to work on a farm and had to install that stuff. We didn't have a tester so guess who got to see if it worked? -> me <- I used the fact that your muscles contract when subjected to electrical stimuli and would touch it with the back of my hand. As soon as that thing fired your arm would jerk back and it was over. Tough job but some body had to do it.

 

[pixelninja]

The only thing worse than an untrained dog is an untrained child. Since you have no control over their children, I suggest you get that dog as well trained as possible. Also, post about a bazillion "beware of dog" signs around your yard. Do everything in your power to lower your liability in case one of those rugrats gets over the fence and gets bit.

 

[urbaindk]

His wife works for the police department and is letting her kids behave like that??? Now isn't that just the model citizen of the law for you.

She's not an officer. She's some sort of administrator. But she knows people (or at least she says she does)

Maybe try contacting animal control and ask them what you can do, or a local rescue/shelter. They might have some ideas. And even if she does work for the police department make a complaint anyway. I'm sure no boss would like having multiple complaints come in on one of their own

Contacting the shelter is a good idea. They could have some useful ideas. I don't want to do anything stupid and I do have to live next to these people.

And filing a complaint is also a good idea. 1st these kids are in danger and they are unsupervised. I'm sure that somebody would want to know that. 2nd. it wouldn't be the first time they have been reported. A while back somebody reported them about the junk in their front yard and the police came and told them to clean it up. Unfortunately I don't think there are any statues about what can be in the back yard so they just moved it all back there against our fence so the kids can climb on it.

 

[TN]

how about attaching some lattice to the top of the fence?
just cut 4' tall pieces & nail them to the top of the fence. maybe grow some poison ivy on them. :evil:
I would start snapping photos & documenting complaints....just in case.

 

[narlus]

it sounds like a tough situation. if the worst happens and one of the idiot kids gets hurt because of their provocation of the dog, you know some johnnie cochran-wannabe is gonna be all over that case. i don't know anything about training dogs, but i'd guess that it would be tough to train a dog to be immune to the tauntings of two kids determined to get the dog's attention. sounds like the best idea is to document the extent of risk mitigation you are doing, and talk to the animal control officer or similar.

 

[urbaindk]

The only thing worse than an untrained dog is an untrained child. Since you have no control over their children, I suggest you get that dog as well trained as possible. Also, post about a bazillion "beware of dog" signs around your yard. Do everything in your power to lower your liability in case one of those rugrats gets over the fence and gets bit.

I am working with the dog as much as possible. Like I said, she spent 6 months in a shelter and we've had her 6 weeks. We have a lot of shelter time to undo.

You are probably right about limiting my liablity. I need to post signs and I need in writing that I have warned the family to keep their kids off the fence. So I probably should file a police report.

Thanks

 

[dan-o]

Call the PD and tell them some WT urchins are threatening your dog and their backwards-assed parents refuse to restrain them. When the cops come they'll find out who your neighbor is and heckle her into submission back at the station. At the very least this would document your concerns, too.

 

[Velocity Girl]

She's not an officer. She's some sort of administrator. But she knows people (or at least she says she does)

Hehehe...isn't that always the case with people of this type though. They think they are so much above the law and common decency because they "know people". Damn people amaze and crack me up sometimes!

The situation does seriously suck though. I'd be about ready to rip the little rugrats heads off if they were taunting my dogs. I agree with Pixelninga and TN on the tons and tons of signs and start taking photos and video if possible. If the cops have video they can see first hand of the incident it might help. And document every time you speak to the parents, make a complaint, ask the kids to stop....can't hurt to cya. (Sad that we've come to this in our society because people can't control their offspring )

 

[urbaindk]

how about attaching some lattice to the top of the fence?
just cut 4' tall pieces & nail them to the top of the fence. maybe grow some poison ivy on them. :evil:
I would start snapping photos & documenting complaints....just in case.

I can do anything to the fence. I'm not the homeowner and I would have to go to the city to get a permit and have the guy next door sign off on it too.


I will start taking photos and taking notes. Excellent idea.

 

[pixelninja]

I am working with the dog as much as possible. Like I said, she spent 6 months in a shelter and we've had her 6 weeks. We have a lot of shelter time to undo.

Sure, sure. I've known plenty of abused shelter dogs and I completely understand the time and effort you have to put in to get them through all their past traumas. Good luck with that.

 

[atrokz]

Get a video camera or a camera and secretly record the kids doing this if possible. The ideal would be to show that there are no guardians watching them and have yourself confront the children to tell them to stop.

Do this then file a complaint.

The rest is self explanatory.

 

[urbaindk]

Hehehe...isn't that always the case with people of this type though. They think they are so much above the law and common decency because they "know people". Damn people amaze and crack me up sometimes!

Damn you nailed it. The day that we moved in they started bragging about how important they were and how he has a police scanner so he knows what going on and how he knows officer so and so, etc. etc, and she works for such and such...

AND They are the kind of parents that yell none-stop obsenties at their children and simulataneously ignoring them while they are running out in front of cars. He called the little girl something one day that I can't even repeat on here. I was so close to going over there and jerking those kids away from him and calling social services. These kids are going to be so screwed up. And now they are warping my dog too. Grrrrrrrrrrr!

 

[pixelninja]

Get a video camera or a camera and secretly record the kids doing this if possible.

I wouldn't make it secret. Have the video camera out in the open and someone record you telling these kids to stay out of your yard and stop antagonizing your dog. And make sure that the time/date stamp feature is on. If they do get over and one gets bit, you'll have solid evidence that they were warned.

 

[urbaindk]

Get a video camera or a camera and secretly record the kids doing this if possible. The ideal would be to show that there are no guardians watching them and have yourself confront the children to tell them to stop.

Do this then file a complaint.

The rest is self explanatory.

Will do. I have a digi that can do 30 second video. That should be enough. It won't even have to be a secret. I can stand on my porch and watch them. They completely ignore me just like they do their parents. I could be wearing a big freaking purple clown suit and they still would ignore me.

 

[dh girlie]

Just because the wife works for the PD doesn't mean she is exempt from having to abide by the law or be a courteous neighbor. I get complaints on neighbors all the time in my job. You CAN call the police, and maybe say the dog is kinda sketchy and you're not quite sure how it might react yet and stress that you are CONCERNED FOR THE CHILDRENS SAFETY. Trust me, no public safety agency is going to ignore such a call because it's some secretaries house. Call animal control, too.

Also, I know here in California there is a network of non-profit mediation services that handle neighbor disputes. Your city offices might have a line on that.

The last thing you want to do is spray the kids with water or have them cut themselves up on glass or something and then get arrested for assault.

Another thing you can do is call the city and tell them how their house is a total sh!thole. They are surely violating some kind of codes...call your city offices and ask for code enforcement or neighborhood preservation. People in the city I work for AND the city I live in get busted all the time for having crap piled in their yard. I busted my asshole neighbors a couple of times...they definitely deserved it, the pigs. The parents obviously aren't going to do crap.

Oh...maybe even let child welfare services in on it.

 

[urbaindk]

For more perspective on this situation, I have provided the following aerial surveillance photo curtesy of google. Notice the biking related content...

Seriously, thanks for the advice. I'll talk one more time with the parents, do the video, and report it to the police or animal control if required. I'll let you all know how it turns out.

 

[Fathead]

You are probably right about limiting my liablity. I need to post signs and I need in writing that I have warned the family to keep their kids off the fence. So I probably should file a police report.

Thanks

We had a very similar situation. The kiddos behind us were climbing on the fence, throwing things, and even hanging their hands down to tease the dogs. I saw those cute pudgy little arms hanging over and I could visualize our dogs ripping one off. We told the kids to stop but it didn't work.

I spoke to both of their parents at the same time (SOP for talking to married people. Gotta get 'em both or it didn't happen). I said I understand the kids are just having fun, and our dogs are good-natured. But our dogs still might not know where "fun" ends and "dinner" begins. The parents yelled at the kids and it stopped. It may also have helped for them to see what happened to the kids' toys and balls that ended up in our yard (our dogs turn toys and balls into confetti within minutes).

Since you're dealing with idiot parents, all you can do is document. Write them a letter. Do they own or rent? If they rent, copy their landlord (check tax records for mailing address). Send a copy to the PD and/or the City Attorney. Put the "Beware of Dog" signs up.

DHG is onto something too. . . you might get some info on what constitutes "child endangerment" or "child negligence" in your state.

 

[urbaindk]

I wonder what they will say about the 3' high kicker, lander, little skinny and the berm to wall ride in the back of my yard when I report their junk...

 

[BUCKET]

I've already seen this episode of Cops.....

 

[jacksonpt]

Could something simple be done... a polite conversation with the parents asking them to move the utility truck perhaps?

Unfortunately, if anything were to happen, you'd be responsible simply because of the whole person > dog thing.

 

[urbaindk]

The utility truck is just one of many things they have in the yard to climb up and look over the fence. Moving it alone will do nothing.

There is already a feud between our land lord and the people next door over the fence. The jackass neighbor wants to move it over so he can drive an RV into the backyard and our landlord said "screw you why should I surrender my property to you..." Our neighbors aren't going to concede anything to anything to us because of this. So we were immediately involved in that dispute when we moved in. Unfortunately there was no way for us to know this at the time. Needless to say relations are not good between us. Civil but not cordial fo' shizzle.

 

[dh girlie]

I wonder what they will say about the 3' high kicker, lander, little skinny and the berm to wall ride in the back of my yard when I report their junk...

That stuffs in your backyard? Is it visible from the street? Is all that crap in their back yard or is it visible from the street?

My neighbors hung a bright blue tarp in their backyard from their roof to the fence we share. I was a little annoyed at having an blue glow in my house from the stupid tarp (the tarp was to provide shade for the dogs they abandoned there that barked constantly into my house) They could have hung the tarp below the fenceline so I wouldn't have to see it while in my kitchen, living room, dining room, yard, etc. Well, they wouldn't move it after I asked them politely, so I called the city. They had to take it down and buy a dog house. So if you can see their stuff from the front, then they may be in code violation.

 

[urbaindk]

I've already seen this episode of Cops.....

I could start another thread about the domestic violence situation that was happening across the street that resulted in about 6 cop cars in front of the house or on a separate occasion where we had to call the police on Christmas night because the same guy was was beating his girl friend at 2am in his drive way...

I don't want to sound all negative about my neighborhood though. The majority of the people are really great. But there are 2 sets of people that are really dragging it down.

 

[urbaindk]

That stuffs in your backyard? Is it visible from the street? Is all that crap in their back yard or is it visible from the street?

There is no way my stuff can be seen from the street. Look at the little map I attached above. The yard's are barely wide enough for the houses So the house blocks most of the view and our 6' privacy fence blocks the rest. You might be able to see my head pop up to about 8-9' in the air every once and a while.

The same goes for the neighbors junk though. It really can't be seen from the street. And the code enforcement people did come by and make them remove the stuff from the front yard already. (it just moved to the back yard and created taller climbable piles by our fence.

 

[dh girlie]

There is no way my stuff can be seen from the street. Look at the little map I attached above. The yard's are barely wide enough for the houses So the house blocks most of the view and our 6' privacy fence blocks the rest. You might be able to see my head pop up to about 8-9' in the air every once and a while.

The same goes for the neighbors junk though. It really can't be seen from the street. And the code enforcement people did come by and make them remove the stuff from the front yard already. (it just moved to the back yard and created taller climbable piles by our fence.

Ok...so there goes that idea. I would focus on the fact that the kid is deaf and could easily lose balance, and you're concerned for his safety. Mainly from just falling...you don't want to make your dog sound like too much of a menace. But you could tell child welfare and the 5-0 the same thing you told us...good dog, just really sketchy at the moment in her new surroundings...seriously...if that kid lost his balance and fell over that fence or even in his own yard, he could really get hurt.

 

[HarryCallahan]

I'm with DHgirlie on this. Work the system. Be polite, respectful, but persistent. It seems like there are several agencies you can bring to bear on the situation.

You are already working with the shelter folks on your dog. Are they also the Humane Society or Animal control enforcers in your community? Let them know you've got neighbors with kids that are teasing your dog and throwing things at it. I'm guessing that this could be considered cruelty to animals.

I'd call Child Protective Services. Let them know you've spoken with the parents, and what the results have been.

Call the police. In most communities, civilian employees of the police department have to be on the up and up.

Send the neighbors a registered letter, return receipt requested, and politely tell them they have to keep their kids off the fence and stop harassing your dog.

Get a notebook today and write down everything you've done so far. Keep it current, names, dates, phone numbers, copies of correspondence

Any way to break your lease?