What Would You Do? Barking Dog

I go along with others who have responded here. Keeping a dog for long times on a leash would probably be considered to be cruel. It restricts the animal's freedom and can affect its behaviour. Over here, I have certainly heard of complaints being made to the SSPCA about dogs being tethered for long spells and they visit the home, inspect the conditions and speak to the owners.

Could you not call your equivalent of the SSPCA and seek their advice anonymously?
 

I'd give the device a try. Indirectly you'd actually be training the dog to stop the unnecessary barking. Then, no problem if you sell your place.

If the device doesn't work, return it for a refund and call your local animal control.
 
If it's your own dog I am a great believer in the old folk remedy of a small lead weight in the left ear.

Inserted with a .38 calibre.
 

By all means, let's kill the dog for being irritating. Jeeze. Hope there aren't any kids in the family. Someone, drunk at the time, shot my dog in front of me when I was a child of thirteen. I attacked them, hurt them too. Amazing what delicate little girls with sharp teeth, and strong boots can do! That fils de poule was singing soprano for a while. I still want to kill him, but that wouldn't be nice for a peaceful Canadianyr to do.
 
While it's easy to fantasize about ending the problem with one well-placed shot, that isn't going to happen, as tempting as it may be. This thing will drive you into a rage. Still, it's not worth going to jail over.

Now, what I have fewer concerns about is offing the family of groundhogs that has found my recently planted flowers. A swift end to those fat bastards can't come too soon. They're on my neighbor's property, but have a hole in the fence and come right down my hill to feast. I'm trying "deterrents" first, but will resort to more lethal solutions if this doesn't work.
 
We have a lot of groundhogs around here (in farm country). When I take my dog for a walk in an unused pasture and woods, he plays "connect the dots" with groundhog holes.

Anyway, nothing works around here except shooting the groundhogs. Last year, my neighbor's garden made it through, unmolested, because he shot all the groundhogs. The ones he missed came over here and ate my garden.

I think if I had a fenced yard that enclosed my garden, just having my dog out there from time to time would deter groundhogs. He barks at them from the window, and they skedaddle.

Here's a site with ideas of how to get rid of groundhogs. The cayenne pepper idea is there, too: http://www.sternenvironmental.com/b...-groundhogs-out-of-your-garden-part-ii-of-ii/

I came very close to adding groundhog killer to my list of skills. Mind you, there are no "no shooting guns within city limits" laws out here in the country.
 
WheatenLover said:
We have a lot of groundhogs around here (in farm country). When I take my dog for a walk in an unused pasture and woods, he plays "connect the dots" with groundhog holes.

Anyway, nothing works around here except shooting the groundhogs. Last year, my neighbor's garden made it through, unmolested, because he shot all the groundhogs. The ones he missed came over here and ate my garden.

I think if I had a fenced yard that enclosed my garden, just having my dog out there from time to time would deter groundhogs. He barks at them from the window, and they skedaddle.

Here's a site with ideas of how to get rid of groundhogs. The cayenne pepper idea is there, too: http://www.sternenvironmental.com/b...-groundhogs-out-of-your-garden-part-ii-of-ii/

I came very close to adding groundhog killer to my list of skills. Mind you, there are no "no shooting guns within city limits" laws out here in the country.
Click to expand...

I'm close to getting a pellet gun. I did close up one den a few times and when I checked it this morning it looks like maybe they got the message. Still, there's a HUGE hole on my neighbor's property, under a large rotting tree remnant. A good pellet gun ought to do the trick when they come over to my side. I consider them in the same category as chipmunks: destructive rodents that need to be kept off my property. It's a constant battle against both.
 
Yeah, the holes are huge. My dog can get his head in one, and they are traps for unwary feet. I'm darned lucky I didn't sprain or break my ankle stepping into one of those. The holes are hidden by the grass in pastures.

When I lived in Boston, my neighbor went to war with chipmunks. He didn't shoot any of them because, you know, it was against the law (and maybe not for him anyway). The most brilliant idea he had was to fill a tall bucket halfway with water, and put a bridge up to the bucket (a board) that was baited with chipmunk-friendly food. I was aghast at the thought of all those drowning chipmunks. No worries, not one single chipmunk fell in the bucket.

He had little kids, a dog, a cat ... so resorting to poison was not an option for him. He never solved the chipmunk problem.

Over at my house, we had chipmunks who lived next to the front door and next to the back door. We liked them. Once a few got into the house when I left the slider open. My dog followed them around, and they left after awhile. For a year, a shrew would come in every night about 10 pm, stay for an hour or so, and then leave. I had a Rough Collie back then, and they are herders, not hunters. All animals, except human stalkers, were safe with him.
 
WheatenLover said:
Yeah, the holes are huge. My dog can get his head in one, and they are traps for unwary feet. I'm darned lucky I didn't sprain or break my ankle stepping into one of those. The holes are hidden by the grass in pastures.

When I lived in Boston, my neighbor went to war with chipmunks. He didn't shoot any of them because, you know, it was against the law (and maybe not for him anyway). The most brilliant idea he had was to fill a tall bucket halfway with water, and put a bridge up to the bucket (a board) that was baited with chipmunk-friendly food. I was aghast at the thought of all those drowning chipmunks. No worries, not one single chipmunk fell in the bucket.

He had little kids, a dog, a cat ... so resorting to poison was not an option for him. He never solved the chipmunk problem.

Over at my house, we had chipmunks who lived next to the front door and next to the back door. We liked them. Once a few got into the house when I left the slider open. My dog followed them around, and they left after awhile. For a year, a shrew would come in every night about 10 pm, stay for an hour or so, and then leave. I had a Rough Collie back then, and they are herders, not hunters. All animals, except human stalkers, were safe with him.
Click to expand...

The bucket method works. Recommended by my landscaper. The chipmunks undermine the integrity of stone walls on my property. If I don't control them, it will make the walls less safe and I'll incur costly repairs. They may be cute, but they're destructive little creatures.
 
The ground squirrels will make tunnels next to the foundation of your house, also. Then when there is a heavy rain, the tunnels will channel water toward your house and cause problems with basement seepage. Best way to control ground squirrels is an outdoor cat. Whenever one of my neighbors moved in with an outdoor cat, the ground squirrels would disappear.
 
Yes Bob, on the plants themselves. We have wild rabbits in rural areas here, a friend of mine says it works well against them. Even raccoons won't touch veggies sprayed with a strong solution.
 
Bobw235 said:
They may be cute, but they're destructive little creatures.
Click to expand...

They are cute, and I'm a wimp about killing them. I live in a 100 year old stone house and have stone retaining walls. How do they undermine the integrity of the walls? I want to check mine. Thanks! Then I guess I'd better grow a pair and eradicate any rodents if there is a problem!
 
WheatenLover said:
They are cute, and I'm a wimp about killing them. I live in a 100 year old stone house and have stone retaining walls. How do they undermine the integrity of the walls? I want to check mine. Thanks! Then I guess I'd better grow a pair and eradicate any rodents if there is a problem!
Click to expand...

By digging behind the walls, (as an example, I have retaining walls since I live on a hill) that allows water to loosen the dirt as it flows into the holes, which means there's less supporting the wall itself. Same for stairs if they get behind those outside steps, it makes them less stable. If they dig next to your foundation, water can get close to the structure, causing seepage and excess moisture.
 
I have exactly the same problem,Bob. The dog looks well fed and they do bring him in at night but 90% of the time he is tied to a tree out by our fence. Sometimes I think it is way to cold for him to be out there.Barks at everything. I called the police and they told me to call our animal control. I did twice and they never got back to me. The people aren't that friendly so I really don't want to confront them. I guess I am in for a noisy summer.
 
Bobw235 said:
By digging behind the walls, (as an example, I have retaining walls since I live on a hill) that allows water to loosen the dirt as it flows into the holes, which means there's less supporting the wall itself. Same for stairs if they get behind those outside steps, it makes them less stable. If they dig next to your foundation, water can get close to the structure, causing seepage and excess moisture.
Click to expand...

If you have groundhogs digging holes around your property, go to the store and buy a good sized bottle of Louisiana Hot Sauce, mix it with a gallon or so of water, and pour the mix into the hole. The odor of that hot sauce should make the critters look elsewhere for a "domain". As for your uncaring neighbor, and their barking dog...if they take the dog inside at night, go to the pet store and get a small pack of "pet laxatives". Then, wrap a pill with a layer of cheese, and take a walk past their house a couple of hours before dark...toss the "candy" to the pooch, and with a little luck, they will be woken up about 4AM with the dog leaving "presents" all over their house.
 
The dog owners get to a point where they no longer hear the barking or find it annoying. Dogs do not consistently bark for long periods of time for no reason. The 'devices' only work at a short distance. Contacting animal control/other agencies and getting information should help with how to handle the situation. I had a neighbor with a dog tied out for the night and would bark constantly at 2, 3, 4 a.m. waking me up and unable to get back to sleep. I would then call the neighbor and when they answered the phone I would hang up. I figured that if I was going to be up in the middle of the night, so were they. It took about 3 times and my message was finally heeded.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top