Neighbor's dobermans on my land, protecting "their" property ...??

[beppington]

Yesterday I drove my tractor around a corner on the vacant land I bought 9 months ago, so that I was next to the fence line my land shares with neighbors that have dobermans. There's a 4-barbed-wire fence between us. As I made the turn 2 dobermans were running back-&-forth inside their corner of the fence, goin' nuts barking like mad at me: No problem, they're just defending their turf. I've seen these neighbor folks before, but haven't met them, yet. As I drove our shared tree-laced fence line, the dogs following along on their side of the fence still barking, when I got to a clearing I waved to the neighbor (husband?) - He didn't wave back; No problem, maybe he didn't see me.

I had ear plugs in & continued doing what I was doing: Pushing over a sapling with my BB. Next thing I know I look up & the 2 dobies were about 100 feet in front of me on the path running straight toward me very obviously about to defend what they think is their territory Uh-oh ... Only "weapon" I carry is a machete.

Within a second or 2 one of the dogs did a 180 & disappeared back thru the trees/ fence line. The other took a couple seconds longer to (apparently) respond to his owner (again, I had ear plugs in, plus tractor noise; I assume the owner was hollering at them), but stopped & stared at me for a moment before turning around & tearing home, too. Nonetheless, increased heart rate for me. The one dog got as close as about 35 feet from me when he stopped & then turned back.

With them apparently back on their side of the fence, as I continued to make my way forward along the path, on high alert, I saw the owner & the 2 dogs making their way back to the house, away from the fence line. I also spotted 2 different places where they have obviously been dragging their bellies on the ground to get under the 4-barbed-wire fence onto my land. They must think it's theirs now.

I mowed this path probably 6-7 months ago when it was incredibly overgrown (nobody but rabbits would've enjoyed it then) & have travelled it probably 15 times, but never noticed the dogs being free like this, & somehow never noticed the bare ground where they've been coming under the fence.

I really needed to jump off my tractor right about then to re-tighten my clamp-on derbis forks that had come loose on one side (I dragged backwards too hard with the FEL down) ... but didn't want to, too nervous with dobies running loose.

What would you do about this? Nothing, & see if it happens again? Be proactive in some way? I really don't want to have to worry about being attacked by dogs on my own property. I don't currently carry a gun. I don't really want to, either, but maybe I should?

I hope I see the owners in the yard again & can talk to them. I plan to ask "Am I in danger?" and "Do I need to carry my pistol?"

What do you think?

 

[Duffster]

Carry dog treats.

 

[beppington]

Carry dog treats.

Carry poison dog treats???

 

[DMA1]

I would call the local sheriff's dept. or county police dept. and relate this story to them and ask their advice. They may be willing to come out and look at the area where the dogs are coming on to your property and go talk to him about it. You could call your neighbor and very politely ask him to please keep his dogs off your property because they are intimidating. Shooting someone's dog can open up a nasty can of worms, even if on your property. Having said that, I would rather open up a nasty can of worms than bury a loved one or have someone burying me because of an irresponsible dog owner. Good luck.

 

[Duffster]

Carry poison dog treats???

That would work. :thumbsup:

 

[not2old]

I'd suggest talking to the owner next door and trying to get to know the dogs first. If that doesn't work, carrying your gun while waiting for the police to respond wouldn't be inappropriate.

 

[RoyJackson]

I love dogs and my first (as an adult) was a dobie...great dogs, but they are territorial.
I reckon it's time to introduce yourself to your neighbor and lay down the law. If you're threatened by his dogs, you will defend yourself...and that includes if you need to get off your tractor.
As far as what to carry, I'd suggest a spray as well as a handgun. Although I'm not a big fan of the .410 shotshell (Taurus Judge), that would be a good deterrent and probably not kill the dogs.
As far as the spray...use the same stuff mail carriers carry (Cayenne (sp??) pepper).

I surely wouldn't want to kill a dog...but I'm not going to be bitten!

(BTW, I carry a .38 revolver or a 9mm semi-auto when I'm on my tractor)

 

[beppington]

As far as the spray...use the same stuff mail carriers carry (Cayenne (sp??) pepper).

That seems easy/ reasonable enough, at a minimum. :thumbsup:

I surely wouldn't want to kill a dog...but I'm not going to be bitten!

I have no desire to kill a dog either, for the sake of the dog ... & to avoid a confrontation with its owner.

(BTW, I carry a .38 revolver or a 9mm semi-auto when I'm on my tractor)

I have a 9mm semi-auto but never really wanted to carry it around. Was just for while-we're-at-home protection. I do have moccasins, (supposedly) coyotes & (supposedly) hogs (haven't seen those yet) ... so maybe I should've been carrying it all along. Dangit - I have enough "stuff" to carry around already.

 

[Transit]

You can try to make friends with the dogs and still be armed.

 

[phiferpharm]

I think you should talk to the neighbor, but watch your back if the dogs are that aggressive. My neighbors dogs are all over the place on my property in Fort McCoy, but the worst I've had with them is jumping in my Rhino if I stop to shoo them off. Then I just take them home. They are two little Jack Russells and proven themselves to be pretty harmless.

When my daughter was young however, the next door neighbor in Miami had a Rottweiler that would jump the fence and "protect" her on my front porch from me when I came home. Neighbor was too drunk most of the time to understand that it wasn't cute. That ended with the dog tearing into the neighbor's porch across the street and having a Poodle Buffet. He was not amused and ended the issue with a .357.