What do I do?!?!!

[Fynn&Vandy]

Hi guys,
Im posting this because I messed up. I don't know what to do! We recently moved into a big beautiful house that was significantly more expensive because we wanted our dogs to have a massive yard. We've been here two weeks.

What we didn't know is EVERY house around us has two dogs. Directly behind us are two pitbulls. One is a massive beautiful male and the other is a maybe a year old puppy. The owners are just the WORST. The dogs are never brought inside, ever. It's been in the high twenties/ low thirties at night here lately and, these pups don't even have so much as a blanket. They get no attention or discipline ever. The neighbors come out once a week and, fill up a big bowl of food and, a tub of water. That's about it. There is trash and, large barrels everywhere. it's awful.

The thing is, that massive male, yeah he's a fence fighter. There's even a big patch in my fence where he came through it before we moved in. He barks and, barks which gets EVERY dog in the surrounding six houses going. Except my angels, who prance around wanting to join in but, know better.
Anyway this happens eight to ten times a day for about half an hour at a time. I wake up to it every morning. Not only is the barking just enough to make you go mad, he's trying to get through the fence. He's intense. I have trained Fynn not to fence fight but, he is not tolerant of other males. If that dog gets so much as a paw in our yard, Fynn will not hesitate to lay him out. 90% of the time I'd bet on Fynn but, this pit is massive. He's gotten through the fence before and, my nerves are shot just waiting for it to happen again.

I decided to just call my local police department and, see if there was realistically anything I could do about the situation. An officer came out and, checked it out. It turns out that this big boys dog house is shoved into the corner of fence. He's getting on top of it and, trying to get over the fence, which he is very close to managing. The officer agreed that should he continue this he's bound to get over or through my fence and, that his behavior is not only territorial, it's very aggressive.

He decided to fine my trashy neighbors for the noise and, promised to double check that these dogs were being taken care of and, not in harms way. The next day and, today it's been virtually silent. All the neighborhood dogs are quiet and, there is NO fence fighting between any dogs. (The corner of our fence meets three other yards, so all the dogs would fight there.) Being extremely hesitant to enjoy this peace I half climbed my fence to see what the change was.

Big boy is chained to the porch. He can barely make it off the porch, much less do any running. Now, he can't go in the dog house when it's cold or do anything really. There is tons of garbage for him to get tangled up on.
Im crushed I am a rescuer, I've been involved with shelters, rescue groups, fostering and, animal sanctuaries since the moment I got a drivers license and, could actually get around to where I was needed. My stupid phone call actually made this dogs life worse. Keep in mind, they give these dogs NO care. They get food and water from their owners. NOTHING else. That dog will never leave that porch again.

What do I do? It's not illegal. He's under a shelter, he's fed and, has water. I can't live here knowing that this poor beautiful animal is being neglected and, trapped 24/7. I thought my neighbors would feel embarrassed because they were upsetting all the neighbors (the cop asked the other neighbors how they felt about it before going to their home) and, they would take the time to deal with the situation or bring him inside during the day. I now realize that expecting them to actually deal with the situation themselves was far too much to hope for.

I can't leave this situation as it lies. What would YOU do? Because other than my plan of trespassing, stealing them and, putting them into a better home, I've got nothing. I have a firm rule of only breaking one law per day hahaha! So what can I do here? ANY advice would help! Thanks all!

[FlyAway]

Probably should have checked out the neighbors before buying the house. Sorry, I know that doesn't help you now. Add additional fencing inside your perimeter fence, plant shrubs and vines between the two fences, or make it a privacy fence.

I have a secondary fenced area I use when I'm not able to sit outside with my dogs. It keeps them within sight and earshot so I know when there's trouble.

About the poor dog, maybe it's time to talk to the neighbors about it?

[PINESTATE]

What an awful situation for you.
Have you thought of drafting a letter to the editor of your local (community?) newspaper to be signed by all the other (good) neighbors outlining the awful treatment? It might shame those bad owners into acting more responsibly.

[qbchottu]

Unchain Your Dog.org | Improve Dog Chaining or Tethering Laws/Ordinances
Check and see if your county has anti-chaining laws. You may also consider taking video or photos to show the conditions the dog is living in - perhaps you can make a case for animal neglect.

[joshua9578]

a little off the point of this thread, but how do you train your dog not to fence fight? my girl is pretty well behaved, but there is a weimaraner across the street from us that we meet up with every once in awhile when im walking her. it never leaves the yard and has a good perimeter dirt path. i can correct her after the fact, but how do you get her to not get involved in the first place?

its not an aggressive interaction just a vocal excitation exchange.

[1sttimeforgsd]

As far as helping the pit have a better life I don't know what else that you can do. As for the fence I am guessing that it is wooden, since you said that the pit had came through it once before you moved in. Is there a reason that you cannot have a tall chain link fence installed just on the side where the problem is? I would install it directly up against the wooden one which would make it much harder for the pit to enter your yard.

[Fynn&Vandy]

Thank you for the link about tethering laws!!!! It's a program I'd love to get involved with! Unfortunately we dont have any laws pertaining to this locally (yet).
I believe I'm going to speak with them and, see if they just don't know how to handle fence fighting, if they are interested in rehoming their pups or what the deal is. Maybe I can help. I have started taking pics etc. to document not only their conditions but, their behavior. Hopefully a change can be made where everyone wins.
Joshua: It takes A LOT of consistency! I mean tons. Fynn is a rescue so because of his fears I have to be very gentle about reprimanding him. I don't ever want him to do what I say because he's afraid. He isn't learning then (in my opinion anyway). Because I am so consistent with what I do train my dogs, when they are misbehaving all I say is "Come here." in a low stern voice and put my finger on the ground. Fynns nose and, paws will be exactly on that spot in seconds. I literally mean directly on top of that spot. So yeah it'll be a challenge to be 100% consistent but, it's so worth it.
When it came to fence fighting, I would simply go outside whenever I let my dogs out, I'd stay the length of time that they are out there. Until they learned fence fighting was a no go they were never left unsupervised.
If they start running the fence, barking or acting aggressive I'd first get him away from the fence, every time. Then I reprimand him. I'll gently hold him by the collar and, bring him low to the ground. I use the same command/reprimand every time. "Away from the fence." I don't yell it. I just say it in that sort of "Mom" tone LOL
It's a pain in the butt when they just keep going back to the fence over and over. It's hard to be so consistent with something so frequent and annoying without getting frustrated.
It pays off though, in less than a week we were done with fence fighting. Every now and, then he'll let out a bark or two. All I have to do is open the door and look at Fynn and, he comes running and lays at my feet. Ta-da! It's great. Try not to tell your dog to come, then reprimanding her. She'll be less likely to listen. I also don't yell. If I do they'll just turn their heads and, wait to be able to leave. If I say it in a stern low voice all their attention is on me and, that's what you want. Good luck, hope this helped!

[martemchik]

Originally Posted by Fynn&Vandy

I believe I'm going to speak with them and, see if they just don't know how to handle fence fighting, if they are interested in rehoming their pups or what the deal is.

I would get that idea out of your head immediately. Don't, under any circumstances even bring that up. As a rescuer you should know better than anyone that the last thing you ask anyone to do is give up their pet.

Sorry, this is like the 10th "bad neighbor" thread I've seen in the last week. Sounds to me like, "the neighbors have a bad dog, they should get rid of it so that I can live in peace with my dogs." How would you feel if someone said that about your dogs?

Depending on the people, they might accept some help or they might just think you're being nosy. Especially for someone that just moved in. They'll also pretty much know who called the police on them at this point, which would piss me off to no end if I were in their shoes. I understand why you want this issues fixed, but when people treat their dogs this way, I have a feeling they won't be too receptive to your advice or help. A lot of times when you try to "suggest" training to people that aren't asking for it, you just come off bad and are pretty much saying to them "you don't know how to train your dogs but look at how great my dogs are and I can help you do that."

If this home is really that expensive...I'm guessing money isn't the issue for your neighbors either. Its just lack of interest.

[wolfy dog]

Introduce yourself to your neighbors, have them over at your place and let them see how you keep your dogs and maybe you can get on good terms with them rather than calling AC on them as soon as you moved in. It will be better for everyone including the Pit. It is a sad society nowadays where everyone seems to live in his own cocoon and emails, texts and facebooks.......
Or, since it is quiet now sell your house.
and for others: before you buy a house: check it out on weekdays, weekends and nights to find out what is going on in that area.

[JackandMattie]

Tough situation. Sadly, I fear you might have blown any chance of helping the poor pits when you called the police before trying to talk to your new neighbors.

We had neighbors once who made a noise complaint shortly after we moved in, and I got a fine for a barking dog. Well, you know what, that same night he was barking his crazy head off there was a skunk in the yard and we had to make a midnight run to the WalMart for enough tomato sauce to cover a 127-lb dog. I'm not saying there's an excuse for your neighbors behavior, but what I am saying is that even a responsible pet owner can be offended that you didn't start with giving them the courtesy of introducing yourself. An irresponsible owner is even less likely to be impressed.

I'd also be careful peering over the fence

I do hope I am dead wrong, though, and that you are able to come up with a civil resolution that benefits all the animals' best interest. The idea about reinforcing your fence and planting shrubs is a great place to start...Maybe by taking that first step, you can then follow up by apologizing to the people that they had to chain their dog and let them know you have made sure it won't happen again so maybe they will feel comfortable letting him off now.

That might seem like a lot to swallow, since their dog is the fence-fighting offender, but it's really all about the dogs, isn't it? I'd want to reinforce the fence anyway, for my own dogs' safety. That chain might not be 100%...

Most importantly, don't beat yourself up with "I messed up." It's life. It's messy, sometimes.