My dog, my fence, the law???

[stacwase]

Maybe a shorter fence, more than her arms' length from the taller fence, would keep the baby away?

The mother should be forced to pay for the fence, since it's her child you're trying to protect.

Poor little kid. I hate seeing kids raised in environments like that.

[ParNone]

chocolatepuppy writes:

ParNone, What do you think I should do to prevent anything from happening? Get rid of my dog? And I'm not trying to 'get away' with anything, just trying to protect myself and my dog!

Sorry, if I came off a lil' harsh chocolatepuppy. This is somewhat of a sore subject with me, because I've got a cousin, who's got 2 scary aggressive dogs. One's bitten several people and the other one, although I don't he's actually bitten anybody yet, I saw him lunge at my 14 year old cousin with the intent to bite. She thinks they're wonderful, because they're so protective. So she doesn't do anything about the situation.

Anyway, only you know your dog and what your level of concern is as to whether she'd actually bite somebody. So only you can discern, what's the appropriate steps to ensure others safety. I've got a very high confidence level that Murph and Oz wouldn't bite anybody (Gully's still a puppy, so although he's shown no aggression so far, I think it's too early to know for him). Even with a high confidence level, I've got a 6 ft wood fence enclosing the backyard and I always keep the gate locked and the dogs are never left alone unsupervised with kids. I do leave them unsupervised in the back yard though, because I honestly don't think they'd ever hurt anybody. I've had workmen and meter men jump the fence, while the dogs were back there, and the dogs happily welcomed them into the yard.

Par...

[chocolatepuppy]

ParNone, It's ok, I certainly don't want to fight with anyone about this, but I felt like you were critizicing me.Lord knows I have enough problems with my neighbor. But let me assure you Lacey is not mean or aggresive, she is fearful and not well socialized with little kids.She was like this when we got her and I have tried working with her, she's been to school, but she still remains a fearful type of dog. I don't really have a lot of little kids to socialize her with anyway. I would never think aggresive dogs were great. I'm 95% sure Lacey won't bite the kid, it's just we worry so much about it, we can't even enjoy our fence and dogs. Our Mandy who is leashed because of her heart is not out as much as Lacey. If Mandy bit someone I would have a heart attack, she is so friendly and out going!
And yes legally I'm concerned like if she bit him what about our homeowners insurance, never mind what would they want to do to my dog?I just wanted to see how other people felt about it.Thanks for your input.

[Pam]

I tend to think that if a dog bites anyone, even if it's on your own property, there would be legal problems. The reason I think this way is if someone should fall down on my sidewalk (for example when there is ice during a storm) I am responsible. It is on my property and so I am responsible. I don't know if it works the same way with dog bites, but I'd err on the side of caution and keep a sharp eye out when there are little ones near the fence. I think the idea about weaving something through the fence is a good one. You could also plant bushes that would spread and provide some privacy inside your fence, but of course it would take quite a while for it to make a difference. Sorry I'm not more help.

My daughter was bitten when she was around four years old by a neighbor's dog. It was a small dog and I think it was a shih-tzu or something like that. It was tied to a tree out front and she walked over to pet it. I just asked the neighbor to show me proof of up-to-date vaccinations and we let it go at that. Shortly after that I noticed they didn't have the dog any more. These people didn't know anything about dogs and weren't very bright. In the short time they lived here they had two dogs and both went back to wherever they got them. I don't think they even had a clue how to housebreak them let alone train them.

[Tonya]

Originally posted by jazzcat
I knew someone that had this problem and the animal control officer told her to post signs that said "Beware of Dog" on the fence in plain view.

I can't remember where I heard it, but I heard that if you post beware of dog signs, you are acknowledging that you have an aggressive dog, so you are liable. Don't know if that is true or not.

[chocolatepuppy]

Pam, that's what I always thought, if it's on your property you're in trouble. I doubt that much damage could be done through the fence. If she were to bite it would be more of a nip.Depends on how the neighbor would take it. Lacey is up to date on her shots.I guess for now we'll continue to be a nervous wreck and try to be careful. As the boy gets older I'm sure he'll be teasing my dogs and we'll have more problems. This lady has made our lives a living hell. I know the mother would let it be but the daughter , well I don't know. Anyways I'm hoping nothing ever happens but it's a shame we put a fence up so our dogs could be safe and be outside with us and then this

stacwase, I thought about a double fence, but get his mom to pay, I don't think she even has a job and I think the boys dad is in jail. Grandma (the neighbor) has a good job but I know where all her money goes!

[chocolatepuppy]

Tonya, I heard that before too. I thought I read it in dog fancy a long time ago, that it's not a good idea, like you're admitting you know your dog may bite. Don't know if it's true though.

[jazzcat]

Originally posted by Tonya
I can't remember where I heard it, but I heard that if you post beware of dog signs, you are acknowledging that you have an aggressive dog, so you are liable. Don't know if that is true or not.

Oh wow, well then forget what I told you. My friend that was told this lives in a really backwoods kind of county so who knows if the animal control officer even had a clue.

On that note though, we had problems with neighborhood kids climbing our fence to get their ball and I was terrified that one of them might fall in the pool and drown so I asked my insurance agent about it (I just happened to be talking to him that day) and he said we should post No Trespassing signs on the fence. I don't know if that would really help from a legal stand point but I did notice that the kids quit climbing the fence. At least it made me feel like they had been warned - even though me telling them to stop didn't help.

[chocolatepuppy]

jazzcat That's funny I was just telling my husband that we should put up a no tresspassing sign facing her property.Of course a 3 year old can't read but mom and grandmom might get a clue.

[cocker_luva]

Originally posted by heinz57_79
Personally, I think any child stupid enough to stick his fingers thru a fence deserves to get bitten.

exactly my opinion also! i think that you have a legal stand on the subject.

[Jamieejo85]

[
So my question is this: what if Lacey snaps at the little boys fingers through the fence? Not only is she fenced on her own property but the little boy is four feet in on our property!Will we have a legal leg to stand on? Does anyone know? Has anyone had a problem like this? Any opinion is welcome.But please don't suggest talking to the neighbor, like I said she's stoned or drunk most of the time. [/B][/QUOTE]

We had an alaskan malimute/wolf mix who was the greatest dog! He was NEVER agressive toward anyone. My eight year old sis and all of her friends would run around with him in the back yard and he would just wag his tail and run around. The next door neighbor boy,about 7 or 8, was sticking sticks through our 6ft wooden fence trying to poke the dog. the dog was trying to grab at them because he was very playful. then the boy stuck his finger in the fence and Kovu nipped at it...a tiny little bite no bigger than a blackhead (sorry had to think of something REALLY small)..it wasn't even a bite, it was a tooth mark that drew blood. The animal control came and took him and put him to sleep!

[cocker_luva]

thats horrible!!!

[chocolatepuppy]

Does everyone see why I'm so concerned about this? I have to worry about this everyday of my life- that something could happen. Checked out some slats to put in the fence but the ones we looked at wouldn't do much good the kid could still put his fingers through it. Then a finger might even get stuck in the fence and they could blame us for that. Will call animal control and any other place I can think of this week as I am off the rest of the week. Maybe they can give me some insight as to where we stand on this. I tell you it's a shame to spend all that money on a fence and can't use it because of someone else. We have to be right there all the time watching Lacey and she hasn't done anything wrong!