Help,I need to know what I can use to stop the neighbors dogs from coming after me and my dog when we walk>

Question

I have asked them to tie them up nicely,but there still loose,I'm afraid they will hurt my old dog and me.He is on a lease they are not.Is there anything I can spray at them with out hurting them.Its the owners fault and I don't want to hurt the dogs just discourage them

Yes they are aggresive,they have come after us once before,yes there is a leash law,but they don't care.My dog is 10 and there are 2 of them that came after us.We live in the north woods and theres not much on this road.The sheriff here "has better things to do than worrie about unleashed dogs" going to get the pepper spray!!!!

Answer 1

Report them to local dog catcher or your local equivalent. If you are afraid these dogs may harm you and/or your dog then these animals absolutely have to be dealt with. It is also possible that the dogs will harm someone else including a small child. Other than the safety of yourself and anyone else that walks in that area there are other concerns for dogs running loose like that which are:
diseases that are carried by the dog
diseases that can kill the dog
traffic that can kill the dog
other neighbors that may not be as kind as you are to the dog
the dogs breeding and creating unwanted puppies
joining in a neighborhood dog pack

Letting pets run loose like that is cruel to them. While it is your neighbors fault they are running loose and putting their dogs and other people and animals in danger, it doesn't mean the dogs are bad. A dog isn't a well behaved dog unless it has a good owner. Unfortunately rather than the owner paying a serious price for neglect to care for the animal, it will most likely be the animal its self that pays for it.

I would discourage trying to spray something at them or trying to inflict something unpleasant as this will simply provoke the dogs even further and enough treatment like that from people will make them mean.

If you absolutely must use something to discourage the dogs I would recommend walking past the house with a friend several times (leave your own dog at home) and use a training device that makes a high pitched noise which dogs hate and will try to escape from. This will not hurt the dogs at all. These are inexpensive and you should be able to find them at any pet supply store.

Answer 2

Two choices:

1. Call Animal Control and ask for help. If you live in an area with a leash law or the like, they can solve it for you.

2. If that is not possible, get some really strong pepper spray. You can find a product that is designed to discourage bears, should work great.

Answer 3

Just plain water in a stream from a spray bottle or water pistol should work fine, If the dogs are not aggressive just introduce them and they should be fine, I would also take a picture if they are acting aggressive and call animal control if the neighbors are not cooperating in this case you might upgrade to pepper spray and again document with a camera or video (no need to kill a rabbit just catch them in aggressive or off property images).
This kind of goes to common sense and politeness, either you are overreacting to well behaved dogs that are fine off lease, or the owners are not controlling them. I have several dogs in the neighborhood that are loose but well trained and stay on the owners property as we walk by etc.

Answer 4

I saw your additional note, and I tend to agree with what spiderspell has to say (although I have less problem with harming the intruding mutts!). If the local authorities responsible for animal control are negligent in their duties, you should contact the Humane Society or the state-wide authorities. Yes, you might get on the bad side of a few people, but it would be they that went there. Remember, you have every right to defend yourself and your pets from harm, and while I agree that the pepper spray idea will be problematic in the long term, it may be your best short-term solution. (An ultrasonic device will hurt your dog as well.)

Answer 5

You some a bit too humanitarian for this method, but the reality is that the council will usually only act after an incident has occurred. If you go to the council and say ' I think these dogs might be dangerous' the council will essentially do bugger all.
HOWEVER
if you go to the pet shop and buy a rabbit, take the rabbit for a walk past the dogs, and the rabbit gets mauled by the dogs, then you can go to the council and say' those dogs have mauled my rabbit, DO SOMETHING' this puts the council in a position where they must take action, rather than just giving the owners warning after warning after warning until you o your dog is mauled.

Answer 6

Get some big dog biscuits and carry with to throw to it. That will distract it enough and eventually will like you. If that don't work, get the pepper spray or a spray bottle with strong lemon juice.

Answer 7

Do you have leash laws where you live? If so, call Animal Control and report them for having their dogs off-leash. And when you see them, stop asking them nicely. Get rude.

And don't poison them! That's disgusting, illegal, and makes the dogs pay for the stupidity of their owners.

Answer 8

I think the law requires them to keep their dog tied up or enclosed in a fence. You should contact animal control. They'll most likely issue them a warning to have their dog tied up. You should ask to remain anonymous so has to not cause tension between you and your neighbors.

Answer 9

I believe that your first responsibility is to your dog - you need to protect him. Get yourself some pepper spray and use it. Also, I'd have reported them to animal control before now - these dogs need to be controlled.

Answer 10

are there not leash laws in your area? if there are have the dogs picked up. i once broke a couple of dogs from chasing my car and trying to bite my tires while driving by filling a squirt gun with real lemon (lemon juice) and 'shooting' them in the face. they did not like the lemon juice and soon stopped chasing my car. they would still chase other cars but not mine. one of them ended up getting run over. better a little discomfort from lemon juice than a disaster.