My Life Is Going To The Dogs

When one lives in the same house for many, many years they see little children grow up. Then all of a sudden, there are no children. Wait a bit because more will show up soon enough.

The same thing applies to dogs. There have always been dogs around my neighborhood but since we have a leash law, most people have kept their pets up and most still do. I had a new neighbor move in behind me. Our yards meet. There is a fence but not a honking privacy fence. This person has four pit bull dogs. I don't care what they are but when I am out mowing my grass, they bark at me. Yep, all four of them. If only they could sing me a song. Have ya ever tried to dig a plant with four dogs barking not three feet from your ear? I never said anything to them because they are Pits. Hey, I don't need them mad at me.

That neighbor has a man who lives on the other side of him. They have two dogs. One of the dogs is a full bred hound dog with long ears. Their fence fell during a wind and I thought that they would put it back up because of their dogs. Nope. Didn't happen. Now, the hound dog comes to visit my yard many times a day. He visits more often after I have slaved in it to make it look pretty. Yesterday, after finishing my yard work, I was resting in my computer room. I was looking out the window and the hound dog was copping a squat in my flower bed. Now, if you have ever tried to get out of a chair in time to run outside to prevent this from happening, trust me, you will have to be fast.

Last night I went out for a while and when I came back, he was in my front yard howling at me. Dang, if only I had a siren. I would have blasted him. Then a moment ago, I saw him in my backyard with a buddy of his. I go to the door and tell him to go home. He walks a few feet and turns to howl at me. Walks a few more feet and turns to howl at me again.

Dang. Now, I have a smart mouthed neighbor's dog who talks back. Whatever will I do?

Tags: dog, humor, yard

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Comment by Bit Byter on July 19, 2009 at 9:16am: Marigolds. Vinegar. Pepper. Ok. Mace might get you in trouble. A notice to the owners to start. Then a call to the police about the noise.

I deliver the poop from my neighbor's dog to their front porch at the door to their house. It took them awhile to understand, but the problem has abated.

Comment by Dan on July 16, 2009 at 6:52pm: Mace.

Dan

Comment by Tracy on July 15, 2009 at 10:50pm: Oh brother- I feel for you! I am such an animal lover, and also an "animal owners with oatmeal where their brains should be" despiser! The poor animals are left out, tied or fenced (& thus, are afraid because they're trapped)...and all they can do is bark. I'm sure the dogs would love to change places with that self-centered owner, any day. What a shame.

T

Comment by elite wayne on May 21, 2009 at 7:24am: well i have a love-hate realationship with my dog (its a begel) some times he drives me crazy somtimes i love him to pices

btw i love the story

Comment by MacBaby16 on May 21, 2009 at 1:54am: Cats do like to wander and will def. run if there is water involved! hehe

Comment by SassySweetBren on May 20, 2009 at 8:44pm: I think I will go with the vinegar first and see what happens. The pepper reminds of the movie Cool Hand Luke. Remember that Blood Hound sneezing? That was too funny.

Thanks Greg. I didn't know any of the things that you mentioned and certainly not what one can buy. I did think about using the garden hose to chase him away. I don't understand why anyone would put a dog on a 4 ft leash especially when the chain is a big as one to tow a car. The guy who has the Pits does that.

Oh the cats come and go around here too. Right now, there seems to be less than last year. For some reason cats like to get underneath my building in the back yard. Maybe it is cool or something.

Comment by Greg De Santis on May 20, 2009 at 8:12pm: I understand where you are coming from and I also have a neighborhood full of dogs also. With three houses touching my property there are six dogs – One Labrador retriever, one large Boxer, one Terrier, one Doberman Pincer and two Chow mixes. You can track when someone comes into the neighborhood by which dog and how many dogs bark. One neighbor has an electric fence, another neighbor has a tall physical wooden fence and the other neighbor has a combination of wooden fence and frequent visits to obedience school. But truth be told, there are more cats than dogs in the neighborhood.

Here are some interesting repellent tips I had gathered along the way and none of these will hurt any animals, but maybe some of this will help or generate some interesting ideas.

For the pesky intruding dog you could spray the dog / dogs with a water hose. When they trespass on your property, a quick spray with an ordinary garden hose is usually all it takes to send them on their way. Dogs are not particularly afraid of water, but a blast from the hose will startle them and let them know that they are not wanted on your property. If dogs are sprayed with water each time they enter your yard, they will quickly learn that this can be expected and will avoid venturing onto your property.

You could also try to claim Victory with Vinegar. I read that if you spray the edge of your yard with vinegar, it would deter dogs/cats from coming into your yard. After a few weeks, they will remember that awful smell and bypass your yard. But you have to re-spray after a rain.

And there are other methods using Cayenne Pepper, by simply sprinkling the Cayenne Pepper around the area they have gone and they won't return to the same spot. And to deter them from coming into the yard in the first place, you could sprinkle a border of Cayenne Pepper to prevent them from crossing onto your lawn.

And on that note you can also try ground black pepper to keep dogs, cats and skunks away from my house or garden if you have one. One sniff of the pepper will send them running off sneezing. Next time, they will leave without marking your property.

If you are looking for something to simply purchase, this is a very interesting site to do some research on:
http://www.odordestroyer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Category_Code=DogRepellents&Screen=CTGY
The ScareCrow® automatic outdoor animal deterrent made me crack up laughing pretty well, you need to check it out even just for a good laugh.

And if for some reason you need some more repellent type products I hear that Ropel Animal Repellent seems to be popular and at the top of the list.
http://www.pestcontrol-products.com/ropel.htm
Or you could try some 100% all natural goodies from the Liquid Fence Company:
http://www.liquidfence.com/dog-cat-repellents.html

If vicious dogs have been known to be in your neighborhood (like if any of those pit bulls escape or get loose), the best advice I know of is to carry mace with you when you are outside. Should you come under attack; a quick spray of mace to the dog’s face will send him running the opposite direction.