Mans best friend

[dcustoms]

Last night I let my 2 dogs out in the back yard. I have a black lab mix and a king charles caviler spanial (wife's dog ). The neighboor's have two dogs both muts. there is a 6 foot vinyl and a 4 foot chain link sperating the dogs. While I was standing out there the neighboors dog jumped up and made it 3/4 the way over the fence into my yard and latched onto my lab on it's way into my yard when it hit the ground it grabbed Lex (my lab) and started maling his chest and front leg. In the time it took me to run 30 feet it had a death grip on Lex's chest and lex was making un holy sounds. The king charles was trying to get into the mix, weighing in at 22 lbs would not have been a good outcome for her. I grabbed the dog around it's neck and squeezed has hard as I could until she finally released. At that point Lex was bleeding and limping towards the house. Now I had a really big problem the Peanut (the king charles) was trying to get at the dog and then the dog turned on me and tried to attack me. The only thing I could do was to wressle it to the ground keeping my body parts out of it's mouth. When I looked back Lex collapsed on the back steps. I was totally helpless. I had to get this dog out of the yard but we were all fenced in together. With absolute adrenlin running through me I picked up the dog trying to attack me and threw it over the 4 ft. chain link fence. It immediatly turned to jump over the fence back at me. At that point I started yelling at it as loud as I could to try and scare it out of jumping back over. She stayed long enough for the neighboors to get control of her. When I turned around Lex was unable to stand and I could see blood coming out of his chest. I immediatly scooped him up and put him in the truck and off we went to the emergency vet about 15 miles away. After some surgery and a lot of shaving and cleaning of the numerious puncture wounds, he was finally released to us hours later. After 12 hours he still can't realy walk and is just sleeping behind me in my office.

Today I get to figure out how to handle the situation with my neighboors. For now I'm just happy he will be ok.

[Vic]

Wow! Sorry to hear about your dog. I hope he continues to improve. I hope they at least take care of any vet bills.

Going forward is going to take some thought. My dog, Shelby, was attacked by three neighborhood dogs that had gotten out and come on to our property. I've had to put panels up to prevent Shelby from being able to see them in their yards. She hates them so much she gets very fence aggressive and pulls at the chain link. The panels have helped. My concern is that she could break her jaw pulling on the fence. I'm amazed how deformed she has made it.

Good luck.

(null)

[dcustoms]

Thanks, VIc,

Sorry to hear about your dog...This is the second attack from the neighboors dog and we have had a similar problem with fence fighting. Nothing seems to help. The fence inbetween is a 6 foot solid vinyl fence with no way to see though then there is about a foot and there is another 4 foot chain link fence.

The whole thing is just a nightmare.

[Vic]

If their dog is doing that, what about animal control? I'm almost never in favor of euthanizing an aggressive dog. I'd rather see the dog rehabilitated, but the sad truth is because we don't have strict breeding laws, sometimes that is the only viable option.

(null)

[Bobby Slack]

Reading the post I could see you holding your neighbors dog while watching Lex bleed on your deck. What a moment. Sad to see people who don't train their dogs correctly.

My wife and I have two dogs. Gaucho (my dog) is a brown lab and everybody loves him and ... Banjo (my wife's dog) he is a brindle boxer. Boxers are very tough, she rescued him and we have him since is very young. Our "free" dog cost a fortune on training using an remote collar method and has a huge amount of energy.

I hope your dog is OK and recovers soon.

Good luck with dealing with your neighbors. Dog issues between neighbors can be very difficult to handle. Take care.

[rodger.]

I am a dog person, and I read your post with great empathy. My dog (a pug) was attacked at a dog park by a ridgeback. I was not there (my wife was walking him), but she got him back before the larger dog "shook" him. If the ridgeback would have shaken him, my dog would have been killed.

I would insist that your neighbours pay your vet bills, and tell them that their dog's behaviour is more than unacceptable. Dog owners are responsible for their dog's behaviour, and they are accountable for any issues arising from it.

I wish your friend a speedy recovery - all the best.

[dcustoms]

Thanks everyone for you responses. I have a sit down this afternoon with the neighboors to try and work out this situation. Hopefully things go well, but as bobby said its a tough issue.

[Jfitz]

Good luck. I agree the the dog is unacceptable. The dog should be confined in all direction (including vertical) at all times. Seeing as this is the second incident of that dog attacking, the neighbors should be on a short leash (pun intended) as well as be responsible for your vet bills.

[dcustoms]

I just met with my neighbors. They flat out said that they are not going to get rid of the dog. Their solution is to just keep it chained up all the time. I am very uncomfortable with that solution because it has already happened twice and there are too many ways for the dog to get off leash. Considering the first time she attacked Lex she was on leash and got out of her collar. I don't know. What a tough situation. I can't handle the thought of Lex being attacked again...or god forbid my wife next time...or anyone or anything for that matter.

[mikepdarr]

Barbed wire in between.

[Jfitz]

Report the incident to the local authorities, along with copies of your vet bills and any pictures you have of the injuries. I am not sure what you can do but at least you will have some documentation.

[rodger.]

Agreed - I would tell them that you are calling the police to report the issue.

[CT Proctor]

Glad Lex is going to be OK, I would be contacting the Police and an attorney! Maybe contact Cook County Animal Control and see what they have to say about the situation.

We are dog people too, have a German Shepherd named Sarge.

[Vic]

Although, I fear the outcome will be that the offending dog is put down, making a formal charge may be the only solution. The problem being that it may be you need to further confine your dogs to make sure the neighbor doesn't do something vindictive. A very tough situation.

[Derwood]

I'm sorry to hear of this. It's gut wrenching. Are there one sided, topped off electrical fences? If not, stripping an old ext. cord would suffice.

If this doesn't seem viable then sneak traps on dogs work pretty well. They learn not to go near a certain spot ever again after the first time.

Don't be alarmed by the term sneak traps, I am just saying something any dog would avoid... Rosebushes, ground cayenne pepper and the likes. Reverse psychology works well too. Any dog who has bitten me has been bitten back twice as hard.

[dcustoms]

A little up date, Lex is doing better and finally starting to run not just limp around. I am currently in the process of trying to deem the dog dangerious by the village code. This would just impose alot of rules and regulations on the owner of the dog. I think this will be a step in the right direction. Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions. It is quite difficult to figure out how to handle the situation. Thanks again.

[Rutabagared]

A little up date, Lex is doing better and finally starting to run not just limp around. I am currently in the process of trying to deem the dog dangerious by the village code. This would just impose alot of rules and regulations on the owner of the dog. I think this will be a step in the right direction. Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions. It is quite difficult to figure out how to handle the situation. Thanks again.

dcustoms,

Glad to hear Lex is recovering. Having your neighbors' dog deemed a dangerous dog is absolutely the correct approach. There are many restrictions that will be placed on your neighbors and they'll be held criminally liable if they don't comply. Also, their homeowners insurance may elect to cancel their policy or increase their premiums to a cost prohibitive level.

I'm a animal lover and I especially love dogs, but your neighbors are irresponsible pet owners, and their dog is dangerous. It has attacked twice. It tried to attack you, causing you to rightfully fear for you and your family's safety. See it through until the end. Good luck!

Joe

[tdale51@yahoo.com]

DCustoms,

This story really makes me angry! I commend you for keeping such a cool head and going about things the proper way. I dont know if I would have been able to keep such a level head. My dogs are almost like children to me. When I first read this post my initial reaction was was no were near as level headed as you've been.

I'm so glad to hear that your dog is getting better.

[dcustoms]

I thought I would post a picture of both of the dogs healthy and happy on their favorite couch.

[Bobby Slack]

Wow .... You gave your neighbor a chance ... What I have to say may be good or not.

I would walk up to your neighbor and with a smile ask him / her to see the issue from your side and also to let them know upfront what your choices are and what are the consequenses for them.

If your neighbor kicks you out and never speaks with you again, you lost nothing because they are not responsible for their actions.

If you come up with an agreement, then you both win.

You can't loose but telling them ahead of time what is your situation and what is going to be your plan ahead of time. I like to be upfront.

Hope it helps.

Good luck.

[Pwalter5110]

So sorry to hear about your dog, I have had dogs literally my entire life. Growing up my parents had a lab and now I have two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Love them dogs...But they are my wife's I agree with how you are handling the situation. It's a shame people have dogs and do nothing to train them...