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#727593 - 05/07/07 04:42 PM neighborhood bully upsetting pets
Phoenix Offline
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southeast
Approximately 15 year old boy lets his smallish (maybe 15-20 lbs.) dog off leash. Dog terrorized one of our cats up trees in our backyard twice, and another one of our cats has been missing for 4 days. When we confronted his stepfather, the man phoned [presumably] the boy's mother and said, "[boy's name] is at it again, really upsetting more of the neighbors."

I won't repeat what my husband said he'd do to the dog if he saw it loose in our yard again.

When we saw the dog on leash with the stepfather, the dog whimpered a bit at the sight of me, but let me scratch it under its chin while the stepfather had it on leash. The stepfather previously told me that the dog loves to chase cats, but the dog clearly can be controlled with a leash and collar; I had no problem grabbing the leash when the dog was in our back yard.

The local community does have a leash law.

Any suggestions? Thanks -
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#727595 - 05/07/07 04:47 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets Phoenix
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buy a tiger.

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#727597 - 05/07/07 04:48 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets Phoenix
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here and there
Get a big dog to chase the boy up a tree...
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#727601 - 05/07/07 04:50 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets XODUS
Fork Ate Spoon Offline
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Originally Posted By: XODUS
buy a tiger.


Scratch that... Buy a Liger.

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#727614 - 05/07/07 05:00 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets Fork Ate Spoon
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Have you thought about putting up a fence? This would keep your cats in and the dog out of your yard.

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#727679 - 05/07/07 06:03 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets hmdagal
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Confront the boy. Ask him to keep the dog on the leash when walking by your yard. Keep asking each time you see the dog off of the leash. Most of the time, teens will do as they are asked because they don't like to be nagged over and over again about the same thing. If he has a routine time to walk the dog by, be standing outside to see if he is complying with your request. From my experiences, fences don't mean squat to cats and it wont really help.

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#727697 - 05/07/07 06:20 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets TXBSA
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Agree about the fence being useless. Cat scrambled 20 feet up each tree, far above where we could even put the feral cat fencing that's available that angles in. We also have so many trees in our tiny backyard that there's no obvious route for any sort of fence.

We both work, but I do like the idea of "nagging" as we can until we get the desired behavior.
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#727723 - 05/07/07 06:46 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets Phoenix
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Originally Posted By: Phoenix
The local community does have a leash law.

Any suggestions? Thanks -


I'd give the family one more chance to correct the situation and then contact the agency reponsible for enforcing the law to determine what they will need from you in order to file a complaint.
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#727741 - 05/07/07 06:55 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets Cowboys Fan
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The point I was trying to make (nicely, of course), is that before taking any action against the family with the dog, you should be darn sure that your cats aren't leaving your property - perhaps baiting the boy or the dog?

Yes, I do have both cats and dogs, and with extremely rare exceptions, the only time any of them leave my property they are on leash or in a car.

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#728197 - 05/08/07 03:48 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets XODUS
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Originally Posted By: XODUS
buy a tiger.

[agreed]
That'll teach the dog not to chase cats...

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#728211 - 05/08/07 03:59 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets JacF
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Pulling people out of the ditc...
so you expect the dog to be on a leash, but not your cat? how funny. bleach around the perimiter of your yard will keep the dog away. so will a fence. call the police about the dog being off the leash.

Quote:
teens will do as they are asked because they don't like to be nagged over and over again about the same thing


obviously stated by someone without a teen...
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#728237 - 05/08/07 04:31 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets Cowboys Fan
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Originally Posted By: Cowboys Fan
Originally Posted By: Phoenix
The local community does have a leash law.

Any suggestions? Thanks -


I'd give the family one more chance to correct the situation and then contact the agency reponsible for enforcing the law to determine what they will need from you in order to file a complaint.



I agree. Give the family one more chance and then you can contact your local animal control and have them go to the family and speak to them about this.
Last edited by QueenBee; 05/08/07 04:32 PM.
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#728247 - 05/08/07 04:39 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets anon2006
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In rereading this thread...how can your cats run up a tree unless they too are outside unleashed???

Are they wandering into the neighbors yard and baiting the dog and kid?? Maybe the kid is trying to teach you a lesson about wandering animals??
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#728252 - 05/08/07 04:41 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets #Just Jay
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This is an interesting point - I think you should research if the leash law is specific to dogs.

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#728351 - 05/08/07 06:07 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets Fork Ate Spoon
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Originally Posted By: Fork eats Spoon

Scratch that... Buy a Liger.


it's only my favorite animal

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#728385 - 05/08/07 06:49 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets Bailey.
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My husband phoned the local animal control office: if the dog is in OUR yard again, not controlled by its owner, we can grab it and hold it and call Animal Control and let Animal Control handle the situation.

Yes, we let some of our cats outside. In the incident described, the cat was in our backyard. The dog was not controlled, and, dragging its leash, chased our cat up one, then another, of the trees in our backyard.

I doubt cats "bait" dogs. Sometimes dogs and cats like to chase each other. Most of the time, though, they just stay out of each other's way.

One of our other neighbors hinted that the dog and the boy have caused problems before, and the boy's stepfather seemed to confirm that. Since another one of our cats is now missing, we're especially concerned.
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#728388 - 05/08/07 06:54 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets Phoenix
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out of the frying pan...
I would echo the "make sure your cats are allowed outside uncontrolled" before jumping on this kid too far. Yes, it's rude - yes, he needs to be reprimanded for it....but your cats being outside (in your yard at the time is possibly irrelevant from a legal standpoint) without a means of containment per your county's leash law could cause issue if this ever required intervention by law enforcement. For example: if you have their dog impounded, don't be surprised if they return the favor in regards to your cats.
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#728409 - 05/08/07 07:20 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets RR Becca
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FINALLY ABOVE the gnat line
How many of your communities have a leash law that requires a cat to be on a leash? Cats don't attack people unprovoked. Some dogs do when allowed to run wild. Hence the leash laws in most communities.
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#728419 - 05/08/07 07:32 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets waldensouth
#Just Jay Offline
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Originally Posted By: waldensouth
How many of your communities have a leash law that requires a cat to be on a leash? Cats don't attack people unprovoked. Some dogs do when allowed to run wild. Hence the leash laws in most communities.


In Wisconsin, we do not have leash laws on cats, we assume they are ferral and simply shoot them.

Don't get me wrong...I have three cats (none of which are allowed outside), even if the kid is a trouble maker, I do not think it is fair to hold him to a different standard than you and your own pets. Yes, if his dog will be outside in their yard off the leash, he should be supervised. That should also go for your cats too.

What is good for the goose...
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#728437 - 05/08/07 07:43 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets #Just Jay
RR Becca Offline
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out of the frying pan...
In some counties the leash law applies to all pets - not just dogs. We're just suggesting Phoenix check it out before using it against the kid in question.

Also, leash laws are typically in place for more than to prevent dog attacks. They also guard against spread of communicable disease (between the animals, I don't necessarily mean zoonotics), reduce stray populations, prevent some vehicle accidents, and make animal control's job easier (if it's loose, it must be a stray) just to name a few.

Personally, I'd be more wary of retaliation by the kid if you get his doggie taken away. We all know teen boys can do very spiteful things. Your cats being outside unsupervised (if you let them out without you - I don't know if you do or not) would just make it easier and more tempting for him.
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#728444 - 05/08/07 07:48 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets #Just Jay
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I'm not sure about where Phoenix lives, but in my city we have an animal nuisance law prohibiting cats from running loose. They can be reported and picked up by animal control. The concerns with uncontrolled cats include littering and killing birds.

Again, I would make sure that the cats are controlled before taking any action against the dog and/or it's owners, or it could come back to haunt you.

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#728452 - 05/08/07 07:51 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets hmdagal
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out of the frying pan...
Forgot to add: "leash law" sometimes is a very general term for "keep your pets contained and under control."
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#728574 - 05/08/07 09:01 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets RR Becca
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Many of you bring up some good cautionary notes, and that's why I posted this - to just impulsively react could cause a number of very negative and unnecessary consequences, both to the pets and potentially to some people. That's why I couldn't think of an obvious answer. To simply lash out at the boy, or the dog - hey, there are far worse things he and/or the dog could do; yet to do nothing didn't seem quite right.

When this incident first unfolded, the cat that ultimately went up the trees was curled up on a chair on a deck 2 stories above the yard. She and another cat were looking in the dog's direction warily enough that I figured they'd stay on the deck. Instead, the boy acted his age, and the dog and cat acted typical of their species. We're genuinely concerned that the missing cat may be injured or dead because of something we didn't witness that the boy or dog may have done; that's why I (we) really appreciate your thoughts on this. Thanks again!

(BTW, I think our suburb would frown on our owning tigers or ligers!)
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#728605 - 05/08/07 09:29 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets Phoenix
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Pulling people out of the ditc...
Quote:
Cats don't attack people unprovoked


If my granny was still alive, I'd introduce you to her cat Ms. Miller, who often attacked anything within 10 feet of her. I still have scars today (30 years later) on my ankle where she bit me. I was sitting watching TV, didn't even know she was in the room.
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#728609 - 05/08/07 09:32 PM Re: neighborhood bully upsetting pets HappyGilmore
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In hades.
Just dig some punji pits on your property, problem solved.
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