Problems with a neighbours dog

[wack]

My neighbour bought a puppy about a year ago, looks to be some sort of Staffordshire cross but bigger , a lot bigger.

The problem is he just leaves it outside all day , from early morning 7-8am to late evening 7-8pm

The dog is showing behavioural problems, wrecking the garden, shredding anything in sight and barking all day.

It sits on a wall and stares into the house waiting for somebody to come to it but nobody does, it looks well fed but that's all,

It has no shelter, gets left outside in all weathers , tonight I saw it excited to see him but all it got was a bowl of food chucked outside and the door shut .

I've reported it to the RSPCA who say as the dog has no shelter and a garden full of faeces an officer will call and check up on it but I don't see as there's much else I can do

It's seems friendly enough but I'm worried a charge at the fence would have it in our garden , I have 2 spaniels, it's 3x the size of them already.

Any suggestions as to anything else I can do, I feel really sorry for the dog, it has a pretty crap life

[bexVN]

All you can do is keep on the RSPCA, thecwelfare act does now cover providing for the dogs mental well being (not just physical as it used to be) this, from what you have written, is clearly not being provided for.

I am not a great fan of the RSPCA but they are not all bad either and they really are the only ones with the power to do anything. I hope they act soon.

Of course I am assuming your neighbour is not approachable for you to talk to him about it.

[Patch1875]

If it's barking all day phone the council its anti social behaviour.

[bexVN]

Patch1875 said:

If it's barking all day phone the council its anti social behaviour.

That's a good point. Also keep a diary noting when it's worst etc (plus any other notes that may be relevant)

[AdiT]

Poor thing sounds bored.
If he is approachable and the dog doesn't show aggression towards yours,then you could offer to walk it.
More work for you but might reduce the barking... but long term you might end up with a new dog.

[imagineifyeswill]

That dog is getting bored and thats where the behavioural problems that get Staffies a bad name starts. By nature Staffies are very gentle docile dogs, but there also very social dogs and like to give and be given lots of attention and affection, dont like being left on there own and prone to wandering if left alone, they also are very sensitive to temperatures dont like the cold or excessive heat and dont like to get wet, hate going out in the rain, all the things this dog is being subject too. Before people get dogs they really should research the breed to see if that type of dog is really suitable for there lifestyle. Once again I will push the point that in the right homes Staffies are ideal family pets and not the viscious out of control animals thier generally portrayed to be.

[wack]

Bad owners make bad dogs , this dog is heading that way, I've looked over the fence at it and while it barks at me its tails wagging so I don't think for a minute it's aggressive just really bored, yesterday it was shredding a sun lounger.

He's out a lot so I'm starting to think he's got it as a guard dog with no idea they just want loving when they're pets.

The RSPCA asked me if I wanted to know the outcome so I said yes

At least he's on their radar now, next step is environmental health as it's going to be a crap summer if there's a woofing dog out there all day

[bexVN]

Sad isn't it, a potentially lovely dog being slowly tortured into a nightmare dog purely because of boredom and loneliness .

[TwistingMyMelon]

Have you spoke to the owner?

[Autopilot]

I wouldn't assume that a wagging tail is necessarily a sign that he's happy or friendly!

You've done all you can, so fingers crossed it's a good outcome, eg the dog can be rehomed with somebody that will look after it!

[Hooli]

imagineifyeswill said:

That dog is getting bored and thats where the behavioural problems that get Staffies a bad name starts. By nature Staffies are very gentle docile dogs, but there also very social dogs and like to give and be given lots of attention and affection, dont like being left on there own and prone to wandering if left alone, they also are very sensitive to temperatures dont like the cold or excessive heat and dont like to get wet, hate going out in the rain, all the things this dog is being subject too. Before people get dogs they really should research the breed to see if that type of dog is really suitable for there lifestyle. Once again I will push the point that in the right homes Staffies are ideal family pets and not the viscious out of control animals thier generally portrayed to be.

I'll second that post.

The poor dog left on it's own like that

[KFC]

Wack, whats the main end goal here?

If you're getting constant noise/risk of your own dogs being hurt I wouldn't exactly be surprised (or care) if someone in your situation just removed the dog and rehomed it elsewhere. Or put it down. Some people just shouldn't have dogs and it appears this person is one of them.

You could perhaps offer to walk the dog if it fits in with your schedule okay. Though this arguably just rewards people for treating their dog badly. If it had food, water and is fenced in I can't really see the rspca doing much. If the owner adds a sheltered area then they'll not be able to do anything.

[AdiT]

KFC said:

...I wouldn't exactly be surprised (or care) if someone in your situation just removed the dog and rehomed it elsewhere. Or put it down...

Really?

It'd be an interesting conversation at the vets...
"So why do you want your dog put down?"
"Well actually it's my neighbours dog, but it barks a lot, so I thought I'll just take it and get rid of it"
"Ah, OK. Just wait there and we'll sort it out."
Some minutes later... nee nah, Nee Nah, NEe NAh, NEE NAH...

[KFC]

I wouldn't expect anyone to take it to a vet and say that. I have seen instances of where dogs have been removed from gardens and dropped off at kill shelters as a dog they've found. If they go unclaimed for 7 days, they'll be put down.

I'm not suggesting the OP should do that here. I'm just saying that in some extreme circumstances it does end up happening.

[moorx]

KFC said:

Wack, whats the main end goal here?

If you're getting constant noise/risk of your own dogs being hurt I wouldn't exactly be surprised (or care) if someone in your situation just removed the dog and rehomed it elsewhere. Or put it down. Some people just shouldn't have dogs and it appears this person is one of them.

So theft is okay now, is it? Has the dog actually shown any signs of aggression towards the OP or his dogs?

KFC said:

I wouldn't expect anyone to take it to a vet and say that. I have seen instances of where dogs have been removed from gardens and dropped off at kill shelters as a dog they've found. If they go unclaimed for 7 days, they'll be put down.

I'm not suggesting the OP should do that here. I'm just saying that in some extreme circumstances it does end up happening.

It may happen, but that doesn't make it right. A perfectly innocent dog stolen and dumped/PTS through no fault of its own. I thought this part of the forum was for people who like animals?

Edited by moorx on Monday 23 March 17:08

[KFC]

"It's seems friendly enough but I'm worried a charge at the fence would have it in our garden , I have 2 spaniels, it's 3x the size of them already." - it seems the worry is going in that direction.


Sure its the owners fault not the dogs. But that won't help the victim (not talking about OP here, just in general) when someone gets their own dog savaged, their garden wrecked, or their peace and quiet continually disturbed by what is effectively an abandoned dog.



OP I would speak to the neighbour first. A small % of owners are just idiots, rather than any malice or cruelty being involved. Perhaps he doesn't even know he's treating it badly.

[wack]

We've had words before over a fence,, he's not a neighbour as such, just part of his garden borders mine at the back.

Up to now it hasn't really been a problem because it was a puppy but it's grown a lot in the last few weeks , I spent an hour hoeing the borders this evening, a constant woof woof woof for 30 minutes until they eventually took it inside so at least it's indoors this evening

Now the summer is coming I'll be going round for a word before contacting environmental health, you may be right about them not knowing how to look after a dog

I'm not planning on a midnight dog napping

[KFC]

The only issue with going round to have a chat is you're now on the radar of giving a st about it.

If you skip the chat stage and jump straight to making complaints then you might be one of 3 or 4 neighbours who it could have been. Have a chat first, he tells you to ps off and 3 weeks later the RSPCA turn up then its you thats in the firing line for any revenge

It might be hard to weigh up whether its worth the risk or not if you don't actually know the guy...

[elephantstone]

KFC said:

The only issue with going round to have a chat is you're now on the radar of giving a st about it.

If you skip the chat stage and jump straight to making complaints then you might be one of 3 or 4 neighbours who it could have been. Have a chat first, he tells you to ps off and 3 weeks later the RSPCA turn up then its you thats in the firing line for any revenge

It might be hard to weigh up whether its worth the risk or not if you don't actually know the guy...

This. i wouldn't bother speaking to him. You don't want him seeking revenge and making stuff up about your dogs.

[wack]

What a pain in the arse, I hate irresponsible dog owners, I watched a guys dog lay a pile about 4 inches high on a football pitch a while back then start to walk off, er aren't you going to pick that up

I haven't got a bag, here you go, he then spends his valuable time scooping it up and walks away really pissed off.

I'd like to know when the last time anybody actually got prosecuted for it, not that it'll be a problem with the dog over the fence, I don't think it knows what a walk is.

You're probably right , I'll wait and see what the RSPCA say

KFC said:

Wack, whats the main end goal here?

The perfect ending would be the RSPCA take it away and re home it with somebody who'll look after it properly , if they just carry on leaving it barking then environmental health do have the power to take it away but that could take months.

It hasn't made any attempt to get out of his garden yet but it's a big dog so it wouldn't take much

Edited by wack on Monday 23 March 22:39