A good neighbor-Opions Please

getut · Apr 15, 2005

( Why should it be OK for my rural neighbors to treat my yard differently than I do)

I will admit a definite bias on this issue. A large part of my stance on this issue comes from my previous existence in a housing development. I'm not saying everyone does this, but many people where I came from used their lawn as just another way to be better than someone else. It was nothing but vanity and vanity is wrong wrong wrong. I call those people yard freaks. And that is defintely the basis for many people not wanting dogs in their yards. It is the "development" attitude, not the truly rural attitude.

If you legitimately treat your yard like that out of joy of doing it, and don't do it for vanity, then I have no issues with that. You are legitimately wanting the dogs out because of damage of something that gives you joy.

chucko · Apr 15, 2005

I see this all as a chance to buy or build a 3pt Dog-Tured-Picker-upper

to me it is not easy to tell if it is my dogs or their dogs. So it is hard to put up a stink about it...I just mow it over and keep going
But then again in Fla I mower weekly almost all year so it can't "pile up"

riptides · Apr 15, 2005

( Why is it an annoyance though? Just because of a "control" thing and the owner didn't give it permission?)

It is a annoyance because as the originator of this string said so.

Something to the fact that his neighbor is picking the stuff out of his own yard, but not extending that courtesy to his.

Anyhow, I'd get a york rake and go "scoop" up my lawn, then just drive it over to extend the courtesy of returning the fertilizer to a more usefull state.

-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

slowrev · Apr 15, 2005

It was nothing but vanity and vanity is wrong wrong wrong.
//
I fully agree with this statement. However Vanity is a VERY large part of society today in the US. Our economy depends on it to a large extent. How many people buy a large SUV because they need it capabilities vs how many buy it fo status or to keep up with the Joneses ? Have a small yard in a subdivision ? Why buy a 4,000 lawnmower when a 1,500 or even a 250.00 one would do the job nicely ? Or own 1 acre and buy a 10k sub cut ?
A lot of this is pure vanity and competition.
The other aspect of this is that many people move to "the country" to get away from the city, but take parts of the city that they want with them and eventually when the movers outnumber the origional residents, pass rules to make "the country" just like where they moved from..
this urbanization of the country has been going on for decades and is accelerating as our population grows....it is inevitable..
Oh well off my soapbox..

Ben -
raised in the country and back there now, while it lasts /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif sigh...

Unclebuck257 · Apr 15, 2005

We live out in the country on 50 acres and our house, barn, etc, is right in the middle of it. Out here, many of our neighbor's dogs run loose, and because I work out of my home, I'm here most of the time, and usually go feed the cattle and horses about the same time every afternoon. ALL the neighbor's dogs know those facts and learned a long tme ago when feeding time every day is. That's because I carry a bag on my waist full of dog bones, everytime I go to feed, and everyone of those dogs gets some. We have 5 dogs now, and only two ever go out and run beyond our fenced in backyard area.

Any and all dogs are welcome on our place, as long as they stay in line regarding fighting, attacking other dogs, etc. Most never cause a problem and always wait their turn for their dog bones with all the others.

One neighbor has 3 dogs, two chows and a mixed breed, that travel and HUNT in a pack when they get out. They hunt, without provacation, other dogs, and in fact attacked one of the Great Danes that came to visit me, and attacked him on my property. They're just nasty, mean, dogs, period! That was the second attack they did of a dog on my place. It won't happen a third time!!

I politely told my neighbor that if they ever came on my property again, since he hadn't yet paid the vet bill from their first attack on one of my dogs, that I would put a bullet in each one of the three dogs, put them in my FEL and dump their carcasses into a large field so they could become Coyote food, never say another word about them and we'd all live safer.

I then just turned and walked away. It must have worked because they haven't been out since, and that was months ago. I'm almost ready to put that loaded rifle I keep by my back door away, it's been that long.

If you live out in the country, and you know your neighbors, then having their dogs on your place is just part of it, in my opinion. No different that deer, quail, or anything else.

If you live on just a few acres and have a beautiful lawn, that's your passion, and the neighbor's dog take dumps on it, say something to the neighbor who owns the dog, put out pepper powder, squirt the dog with a hose, scare the dog somehow, or just scoop the poop and go on. Don't hurt the innocent dog because he has an ignorant owner.

We all need to take a dump routinely!! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

getut · Apr 15, 2005

Thank you Uncle Buck. Exactly what I was trying to say. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

DaMadman · Apr 15, 2005

I am gunna throw my $.02 in on this one because my wife and I also have different opinions on this and I actually just had a neighbor inform me that 2 my dogs (we have 5) had been using his shrubs and lawn as their toilet.

Ikeep my yard about as presentable as the average Joe but it is not a golf course fairway or anything. If the neighbors pooch shows up in my yard I normally try to befriend it and give it a pat on the head and if it happens to "dump" on the lawn the Oh well, it will disolve the next hard rain or get chopped up when I cut the grass. One the other hand it quite annoys my wife if she see another dog in the yard. Her theory is we do our best and spent a lot of money to fence most of our yard and people shouldn't let their mutts run loose.

I have a fenced in acre that my dogs stay in 90% of the time that they are outside, they go out in the day and come in at night. so most of their crap is inside the fenced in field and not in the "yard" around the house.

We also HAD a bad habit around 10:30 or so at night we would let the dogs out to go to the bathroom before going to bed and we thought they were staying in the yard and doing their business. Well we found out they were going to the neighbors and pooping over there.
The neighbor just so happens to have a lawn that looks like a plush carpet. The man, HANDPICKS dandelions out of the lawn on a regular basis. Which is good for him, his lawn looks very nice and I do envy it sometimes (then I wake up and think about cutting grass 2-3 times a week) /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Anyway I think it all really depends on how you take care of your yard and your animals as to how you feel about other people's animals roaming loose and "messing" on your lawn.

After finding out that our dogs were pooing on the neighbors, we now walk them out to the fence at night also, that way they stay in our yard and the neighbors are happy.

I dont' think it is unreasonable that the neighbor mentioned it to me about the dogs pooping on their lawn and me trying to be a good neighbor I am doing what needs to be done to stop it.

I say that if you go to the neighbor with a polite, Hey how are you doing, BTW your dog is pooping all over my front lawn, do you think you could do something different. I would hope they would listen and not get pissy and immature about it.

Good luck with the issue I hope you work it out

Freds · Apr 15, 2005

( If you legitimately treat your yard like that out of joy of doing it, and don't do it for vanity, then I have no issues with that. You are legitimately wanting the dogs out because of damage of something that gives you joy. )

Whoa, whoa, whoa... just so we are on the same page here... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
My yard is anything to be proud of. The ONLY reason I would not want dogs crapping in my yard or anywhere on my property that I might use, is because I don't want to clean it up. I don't want to scrape it from between my sneaker or boot treads and I don't want to see it on an inside floor I just walked across.
I walk dogs as part of my job on the back of my property and they are always picked up after if they "go" while on their hike. Stuff like that will build up if it isn't kept after. I don't need my work added to because of the neighbor's dog crapping on my property on his way over to raid the other neighbor's garbage cans. Ever try to clean poop off of a gravel drive from a dog that had corn the night before /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

I'm speaking from a strict, "I don't want to add to my work or cleaning" perspective.

mmkayy?
/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Freds · Apr 15, 2005

( The other aspect of this is that many people move to "the country" to get away from the city, but take parts of the city that they want with them and eventually when the movers outnumber the origional residents, pass rules to make "the country" just like where they moved from.. )

I see statements like this written on this forum all the time. They seem a bit upitty to me. Do most people born and raised in the country really think that they have some kind of right to keep their little corner of the world unchanged?
Most people "start" somewhere and when they have achieved some of their goals move on to bigger places, more acreage, cleaner air, and that just happens to be the country. I don't intend to start something here, even though I probably already havve, but I don't get the negativity about people moving to the country from city or suburban upbringings. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

That being said, my next door neighbor was born and raised in the country and has an invisible fence to keep his dogs in his yard. I guess working in the city must have eroded his brain from this, "country folks have the rights to let their dogs run free" attitudes that keep coming up.

No offense, I am just really confused on this. I know if I let my dogs roam free and they helped themselves to the ducks across the street.. I don't think that neighbor, who was also born and bred out here, would want to hear that it was OK because we are in the country.

Electric_City · Apr 15, 2005

There are laws to protect home owners they are called "quality of life" laws/rules- ie.noise,leash laws ect.

Because you do not think it's not a problem for your dogs to roam free on everyones property because you own dogs.

Well I like rap/hip hop or whatever it's called these days I would like to move next door to you I have a 3000 watt stereo and I like to listen to it all night at full volume and my budy just bought a house next to me.We both agree that everyone within a 5 mile area should put up with it.

And it's a vanity thing.I hope you do not mind