Your Thoughts

[DrjonesUSA]

I have a dilemma with a neighbor with his backyard adjacent to mine. We have a fence separating our property that is only about 4.5' tall, the problem is a full grown American Stafforshire Terrier also known as one of the pitbull breeds. Looks just like this except for the ears not cropped.


Well, he thinks my backyard is his backyard so everytime me or any of my family, including 3 small children goes out to the yard this dog charges the fence (standard wood) with full force, sticks his head up, growls and barks at us. I usually carry my 4" 38 special revolver, but today this dog is just very ornery, barking and growling at me while jumping up a bit more than usual. I had my 38 revolver with me stoked with 125 gr JHP and I started thinking this may not be enough for a full grown 70 lb pissed off pitbull. I do have shotguns, but my other neigbors might get worried and call the cops if they see a pump shotgun being carried around the backyard. Your thoughts and opinions on what I should pack in my backyard?

josh

Do you have any idea at all how much trouble you will get into (justifiably so) if you cannot tell the judge that you have even TRIED to talk to your neighbor about the problem first???

You can't just haul off and shoot someone's dog without even TRYING to talk to the owner first!

It's one thing if its a sudden life and death situation, but in this case you are aware of the threat well before you venture into your yard and it is your OBLIGATION to go and have a polite but serious talk with your neighbor and tell him that this situation needs to get remedied ASAP as you are in fear of your family's safety.

Put the guns away.

[crazydru]

sounds bad , have you tried mace or red pepper? if you put red peppers along the fence it may keep him away,or mace him directly, im not sure if it will teach him a lesson of not , but it might

[SONYEXEC]

Since it's owner won't train it then you have to. I had a 5 ft high block fence dividing my back yard & my neighbor's. They had a med size dog (mix mutt) that barked non-stop when it heard me in my back yard...very annoying to say the least, couldn't enjoy peace & quiet in my own backyard.

Solution: bought pepper spray, when it began to bark I reached over the fence and sprayed with pepper spray. I couldn't see so I doubt I ever hit the dog but the mist floating around was enough to quiet him down and send him to the other side of the yard. Best $15.00 I ever spent. I think I did it about 10 times before the dog was trained to shut up.

[mk19]

Get a mountain lion to eat the dog and get the animal control to shoot the mountain lion... joking.
get one of those wissles that dogs can only hear and every time it comes close to the fence blow it, it hurts their ears. also spray the fence with pepper, spray the dog too when the owner is not looking, and while you are at it bark back at the dog.. that is a joke too.

[JTROKS]

and while you are at it bark back at the dog

This may sound weird, but I've growled and barked at the dog already. I even tried the Mick Dundee stare and it was working for a while. He scared living $#!+ out of me one day when I thought I had him squared away and I wasn't strapped. Freagin dog charged the fence so hard I thought my Hane's needed changing.

[pklin1297]

See if Cesar Millan (the Dog Whisperer) can come by and train your neighbors because it is they who need training, before that dog can modify his behavior.

If your life is threatened, do what you must without putting yourself in legal danger. You may think you are completely justified in doing what you must but it may come back to bite you, no pun intended. Otherwise, I would "meet" the dog in the presence of his owners and establish dominance over the dog. Make the dog back down or get to know you, but if he goes wild and his owners can't even control him effectively when you are there, then you can refute their claim that their dog is "harmless", and move to contact local authorities and show them your findings to push for further results.

Dogs are easier to train than people...

[Paradiddle]

Some puppy mill Goldens are the most psychotic dogs I've seen. I had one for awhile but I had to put it down after it bit my daughter. Any time a snarling, barking dog comes after me, if I can't kick it away (works only on small dogs), you can be sure I'm running away.

We're on our second Golden - they are VERY sweet family dogs. I don't buy from anyone who I can't research so the puppy mill thing is understandable - even though most of the time it's the parents from the puppy mill dogs that truly suffer and not their puppies.

[JTROKS]

Do you have any idea at all how much trouble you will get into (justifiably so) if you cannot tell the judge that you have even TRIED to talk to your neighbor about the problem first???

You can't just haul off and shoot someone's dog without even TRYING to talk to the owner first!

It's one thing if its a sudden life and death situation, but in this case you are aware of the threat well before you venture into your yard and it is your OBLIGATION to go and have a polite but serious talk with your neighbor and tell him that this situation needs to get remedied ASAP as you are in fear of your family's safety.

Put the guns away.

My parents and I have had talks with the dog's owner. I have shown them that I have 3 little boys running around and while we were talking, neighbor trying to convince me the dog is harmless, the dog got on his rear legs and started growling and barking. I just shrugged my shoulder and looked at them. I have multiple calls to the animal control with the complaints and one of the neighbors witnessed my conversation with the dog's owners also. I told them I don't want to hurt any animal, but my backyard is looking like crap, we can't enjoy our yard, worried about safety for my kids if they venture out in the yard. All of those concerns were relayed to our neighbors and I made it clear to them that if the dog comes over the fence I will have to shoot it and they said do what I have to do. It's not like I'm being a jerk and blood thirsty. I have owned dogs and as a responsible owner I train and make sure the dog gets along with the neighbors. I'm not a lawyer, but I think I have a right to enjoy my backyard whenever I want to without being in danger from any animals.

[DrjonesUSA]

My parents and I have had talks with the dog's owner. I have shown them that I have 3 little boys running around and while we were talking, neighbor trying to convince me the dog is harmless, the dog got on his rear legs and started growling and barking. I just shrugged my shoulder and looked at them. I have multiple calls to the animal control with the complaints and one of the neighbors witnessed my conversation with the dog's owners also. I told them I don't want to hurt any animal, but my backyard is looking like crap, we can't enjoy our yard, worried about safety for my kids if they venture out in the yard. All of those concerns were relayed to our neighbors and I made it clear to them that if the dog comes over the fence I will have to shoot it and they said do what I have to do. It's not like I'm being a jerk and blood thirsty. I have owned dogs and as a responsible owner I train and make sure the dog gets along with the neighbors. I'm not a lawyer, but I think I have a right to enjoy my backyard whenever I want to without being in danger from any animals.

Ok, sorry. I posted without reading the entire thread first. Pretty long thread.....

But anyway.....you should certainly file a complaint with the police as well.

The point is, you need to exhaust all your other options before opening fire. But you seem to understand that.

[Dirtbiker]

Hot dogs

I know you have met the owner and spoken to him, but have you met the dog?

See if you can get to know the dog. Bribe it with hot dogs (cheap) or any leftovers a dog would like. It won't happen overnight but the dog will eventually (hopefully) understand you belong there and give up.

Good luck.

[SnWnMe]

Throw a pissed off porcupine over the fence.

[JTROKS]

Throw a pissed off porcupine over the fence.

I think the hotdogs are easier to handle and find than a porcupine or a mountain lion. Does cyanide work quick and tasteless in hotdogs? LOL! Just kidding. It's not my intention to hurt the dog, but to remedy the problem with less invasive procedures.

[Twinspool]

It depends on what type of person your neighbor is. If they're reasonable and responsible people, then they should be taking better precautions with their animal. Sadly, Pits are a low-income, low-intelligence mascot, kinda like the Oakland Raiders. Odds are that the owner of a large, intact, aggressive Pit bull is a mouth-breathing knuckle dragger who wanted a cheap mean dog and didn't bother to fully vaccinate or train it.

A firearm is not the best choice if the dog wants to attack you. Pepper spray and an asp are your best tools on a beast like that and are much quieter.

[zippo]

why U not try to make friend with the dog?
give him some food or dog tread,every time U come outside for like for a week or so.
and U will see how diffen he/she become more friendly to U and your kid .
all dog love food(hotdog,bugger,ect) try that first and see what is going on,
I think dog will know better to be nice to U,becasue U will give him/her some thing good.

[JTROKS]

As much as I wanted to "not" stereotype pitbull owners, it seems 95% of all stereotyping is true. Basically this breed of dog is highly coveted by idiots, like gangbangers, wannabee machos, drug dealers and low lifes. For them it's a status symbol. I base my opinion on what I see, when I'see a pitbull it's always some kids or lowlife dressed like they are going to a rap concert (and they are the star), walks and talks like 50cent. Then you see the pitbulls with guys in low riders and that house with all the barred up windows and extra security door. Life imitating art or whatever it may be is giving this breed of dog a very bad rap.