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Thursday, May 27, 2010

Repeat Offenders

Yesterday morning around 7:00 am we heard the all too familiar noise again.

Rattle, rattle, crunch, rattle...

Our neighbor P's two dogs got out of their yard again, into ours from another hole in the back right corner and somehow into our other neighbor H's yard (perhaps by pushing under our gate which needs a better lock) and proceeded to chew on her back gate ripping a hole in the bottom.

P and his wife have jobs that require them to work hours that change almost weekly.
[It seems that way at least.]

Let's just say they work for two different airlines. That makes more sense about the odd hours right?

I think J and I have realized something with the dogs. They are happy to stay in their yard when their people are home. *duh* When their mommy and daddy are gone they get bored, dig and chew out. Perhaps the dogs are trying to find their parents. I'm not really sure.

After the dogs got out, we left our gate open so they could get back into our yard and back through the hole in the fence into their yard.


[Ah, now I know what you're thinking. Why bother?]


Instead of trying to corral the dogs back into their yard we let them be. We knew they'd want to get back into their own yard and being the dog people that we are, we wanted them to be safe.

Yes this whole situation is annoying, inconvenient and even dangerous for everyone. It's potential danger for many reasons. One, because the offenders dogs get loose and could get hurt roaming around. Two, it creates security issues in the fences therefore allowing other dogs to get out when they previously had been safe and secure in their own yards. Three, it causes property damage which gets really old after the first occurance.

Our neighbor P was wondering if his male dog (who thankfully is neutered) was going after our neighbor H's female dog "S". Perhaps "S" is in heat, but we're not really sure. If so, it would make complete sense. They're dogs acting on instinct, but that doesn't mean you should leave your dog outside all day long unattended. Especially since this isn't the first time the two dogs have done this - thus the title above. P's female dog is the escape artist and the male is the chewer and follower oddly enough.

So here we go. The dogs get out of their yard but once that happens, all they want to do is get back into their yard. Sheesh! Why break free in the first place then? Okay, they're probably bored and their behavioral issues stem from not having something to keep their minds busy. Maybe they break out of their yard first of all because as it's said, "the grass is always greener on the other side". Once the dogs get out they realize that their yard is home and they like it best.


[I wonder what an animal behavioralist would say about it.]


Back to the jail breaks... I almost wish we could tell when the neighbor dogs are about to chew through the fence, because I'd go out there with a spray bottle of water and squirt their nose/face and tell them "no!".


[Hey it works for puppies when they're chewing on furniture or misbehaving.] This is most definitely misbehaving in my book.


Thankfully P will fix the fence... again. J and I are still pondering what we're going to do to help prevent this in the future. Perhaps lining the current fence with a utility mesh barrier - just like P has done in a few places. Then we'd really like to put up a new cedar fence on the inside of the current fence so we can control its appearance, keeping it looking new and making sure it's secure all the time. Basically we'd double the fence just like our rent house had, and that worked really well. The object is to have a secure yard that Kira can't get out of on her own, and one day a place where our kids can play without J and I having to worry about other dogs wandering in.


I keep telling myself that these issues ares just part of owning a home. You know what? It's okay even if bothersome things happen. [Yes, keep telling yourself that.]

1 thoughtful comments:

Chris H said...

I would not be happy to have to 'double fence' my yard to keep someone else's dogs OUT.
It should be up to the dog's owners to make sure their dogs are secure in their own yard.
Perhaps you could talk to them about that?
I think you are being very NICE about it all... I don't think I would be! I am far too crabby.

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