I noticed this picture of my dog has the hole in the background. The driveway they were walking up is between the pictured fence and their home. The dogs have been walked past everyday without incidence until the other day. His dogs are always on a leash as he doesn't have a fenced in yard.
I noticed this picture of my dog has the hole in the background. The driveway they were walking up is between the pictured fence and their home. The dogs have been walked past everyday without incidence until the other day. His dogs are always on a leash as he doesn't have a fenced in yard.
I'm struggling to see how that dog got it's face so far out of that hole that it could open it's jaws to bite the face of another dog. It does, however, look like the size a dachshund could stick its face into.
When the incident occurred we weren't aware his dog was injured until he came over and showed us photos and the e-vet bill two days ago. My husband wants to put the blame on him and his dogs, but I understand that our fence should be in good repair and that if my dog was calm instead of territorial the incident would have not occurred. I want to figure out how much of the bill to help with, and it sucks that my husband is not being empathetic to my neighbor.
I noticed this picture of my dog has the hole in the background. The driveway they were walking up is between the pictured fence and their home. The dogs have been walked past everyday without incidence until the other day. His dogs are always on a leash as he doesn't have a fenced in yard.
I'm struggling to see how that dog got it's face so far out of that hole that it could open it's jaws to bite the face of another dog. It does, however, look like the size a dachshund could stick its face into.
It is possible the dachshund ran over to the fence and put his head through the hole and chomped down on my dogs foot.
I would wait until after you see your vet for your pups paw before you decide anything. if you decide to split the cost you should take into account your vet bill as well.
I am only on page one but WTF? I am a dog owner of 2 large dogs and you can be damn sure that if I had a reactive dog you can be damn sure I wouldn't have a 6 inch gap at the bottom of my fence right next to my neighbor's driveway at at place where you KNOW your dog gets riled up.
Pay what the neighbor asks. Fix your damn fence. And don't try to tell the neighbor where he can walk his own dog on his own property. Supervise your dog when it is outside.
I am only on page one but WTF? I am a dog owner of 2 large dogs and you can be damn sure that if I had a reactive dog you can be damn sure I wouldn't have a 6 inch gap at the bottom of my fence right next to my neighbor's driveway at at place where you KNOW your dog gets riled up.
Pay what the neighbor asks. Fix your damn fence. And don't try to tell the neighbor where he can walk his own dog on his own property. Supervise your dog when it is outside.
This could have been written with kinder delivery, but I appreciate all the responses. It is a crappy situation all around.
Sorry to hear your dog is injured. That does change my mind, and I’d be more likely to pay half of the combined vet bills. Neighbors $1500 + Your Vet Bill /2.
And kadams767, I wasn’t implying that you were being unsympathetic to the neighbor, but answered your question as to “WTF is he walking 3 dogs?” Yes, there are daycare and dog walkers, but they’re super expensive to people who may be on a fixed income. Also, if it’s never been an issue until now, he’s probably never thought about it. The thing about aging is that you slowly lose the ability to do things you’ve always done...and often don’t know it until you suddenly have an issue. He may never walk all of the dogs together again. It was never a problem, until it was.
Sorry to hear your dog is injured. That does change my mind, and I’d be more likely to pay half of the combined vet bills. Neighbors $1500 + Your Vet Bill /2.
And kadams767 , I wasn’t implying that you were being unsympathetic to the neighbor, but answered your question as to “WTF is he walking 3 dogs?” Yes, there are daycare and dog walkers, but they’re super expensive to people who may be on a fixed income. Also, if it’s never been an issue until now, he’s probably never thought about it. The thing about aging is that you slowly lose the ability to do things you’ve always done...and often don’t know it until you suddenly have an issue. He may never walk all of the dogs together again. It was never a problem, until it was.
He has had mobility issues since we've lived here. The lab is very docile and easy to walk and the two dashunds are a handful but are tiny dogs. I know walking his dogs is one of the highlights of his day, as he has been injured on walks several times and shared he can't wait to heal and get back to walking every time.
You have a dog that is territorial and bites and a hole in your fence.
I’m missing where this would be anyone’s fault to pay but your own.
If I’m walking my leashed dog down the street and encounter another dog who’s owner doesn’t have full control, I don’t feel responsible for what my dog does. Same situation. Her neighbour’s dog shouldn’t have been up against her fence in the first place. I would be like ‘lesson learned’ and move on. (I wouldn’t pay the vet bill lol).
It does look difficult for your dog’s head to reach out of that hole and bite anything. I think the dachshund probably did stick it’s head in your yard. What all has been said between you and the neighbor? Did he admit his dog was too close? Did he admit his dog bit your dog’s foot? Does he just solely blame your dog?
Sorry to hear your dog is injured. That does change my mind, and I’d be more likely to pay half of the combined vet bills. Neighbors $1500 + Your Vet Bill /2.
And kadams767 , I wasn’t implying that you were being unsympathetic to the neighbor, but answered your question as to “WTF is he walking 3 dogs?” Yes, there are daycare and dog walkers, but they’re super expensive to people who may be on a fixed income. Also, if it’s never been an issue until now, he’s probably never thought about it. The thing about aging is that you slowly lose the ability to do things you’ve always done...and often don’t know it until you suddenly have an issue. He may never walk all of the dogs together again. It was never a problem, until it was.
I get it, I really do. And I will admit I am seeing this through the eyes of someone who has an older neighbor in my neighborhood that is most definitely going to be pulled down by his dog one of these days, because he cannot seem to grasp the idea that he should cross the street rather than walk directly towards other dogs.
Yeah, my original response was based on the thought that his dogs were on your properly unnecessarily. I was kind of picturing my old house where there was a section of fence facing the street that was not facing my neighbors' property.
If the dogs were in their own yard on his property and your dog stuck its head out onto theirs, you should pay the whole thing. If they were on your property I think half is more fair, but paying it all wouldn't be out of line either
While I agree a dog should not be unattended in the yard, I think part of the point of having a yard is that you can let the dog out to do it's stuff without having to be with it 100% or the time. I would have never in a million years let my dogs out while I was not home, but I usually just hung out in the rooms within earshot when I'd let them out. If I heard barking I'd go get them but if they wanted to enjoy the space for a bit there was no reason to watch them the whole time. I guess I am unclear here if someone was home to go outside right after this happened?
Were your dogs aggressive? Because that makes a difference. My previous dog was large and territorial - I would never leave her outside unattended. Not just because I believe it is irresponsible to leave your pet unattended in a place they could possibility escape, but because if something like this happened, I would have no real idea of the circumstances.
Not aggressive, but I don't think the OP said hers is, either. Most dogs are territorial, especially when charged by a barking dog. If this little one ran up to the fence and barked in OPs dogs face, I don't find it surprising that her dog fought back.
It really does sound like in this case, both owners should have had better control of their dog. I tend to think the person actually present had more responsibility for managing the situation, but I don't think that let's OP off the hook either. Splitting all vet bills down the middle seems fair. More would be a nice gesture but I don't see it as required.
The hole looks smaller than I was expecting. I think the issue here is legal definition vs moral/neighborly things. It seems like no one knows exactly what happened, and that there are issues on both side. I think parsing technicalities like property lines etc isn’t the way to go here. It’s not super clear cut, it seems like the guy isn’t a bad neighbor...half seems very fair to me.
And I think that since you'll both have vet bills to deal with, I'd just say everyone handle your own dog's bills and lesson learned. You fix the fence to protect your dog and he should keep his dogs clear of yours to protect his.
I noticed this picture of my dog has the hole in the background. The driveway they were walking up is between the pictured fence and their home. The dogs have been walked past everyday without incidence until the other day. His dogs are always on a leash as he doesn't have a fenced in yard.
This sweet boy is absolved of any and all suspicions. /gavel
I'm struggling to see how that dog got it's face so far out of that hole that it could open it's jaws to bite the face of another dog. It does, however, look like the size a dachshund could stick its face into.
I feel like there's a joke here, but I don't get it, lol.
I guess I'll be in the minority. I'm team OP. I don't think you owe anything although I might pay half just to keep the peace. If neighbor was walking dogs on a leash he should have had full control of them. I highly doubt your dog got his head through the hole to bite the dog. I think the dachshund went into the hole and he was trespassing onto your property.
I would say fix the fence and move on.
Opinion possibly colored by a neighbor who has 3 dachshunds who are annoying as fuck. They run out of the house and bark at me every time I walk my dog. On the rare occasion he walks all 3 they jump and bark at me as I walk by. Control your dogs, people! My limited experience with dachshunds is that they are lunatics.
And I think that since you'll both have vet bills to deal with, I'd just say everyone handle your own dog's bills and lesson learned. You fix the fence to protect your dog and he should keep his dogs clear of yours to protect his.
I’m with you. Also, people are conflating aggressive with territorial. My dog is a gentle giant, huge baby who is a friend to all, unless he’s behind the fence of his own yard. I could walk him off leash through a frigging zoo and he would be under my control, but don’t approach the fence to our yard. I take no responsibility for what he does to any dog unattended anywhere on my property.
I don’t think your dog has a small head, seeing the hole it makes more sense that the dachshund’s head was the one that came through it.
Yeah, I’d probably pay some, but not all. Even if the fence is right up against the driveway, most driveways are what, 6 feet wide? He can shorten the leash and walk a few feet away from the fence. He knows the dogs don’t get along, so he shouldn’t have let them run right up to the fence.
Post by dreamcrisp1 on Aug 2, 2019 11:57:05 GMT -5
Sometimes I feel like this place is a twilight zone.
I don’t think you have any liability but I might offer to pay 15-20% if you could swing it. Or just pay your own vet bills, fix your fence, and move on.
As a dog owner, he shouldn’t be letting his dog stick his face under the fence into your dog’s space. Any dog would go crazy at that situation.
It sounds kind of terrifying for your neighbor, being an elderly man with mobility issues who witnessed his small dog get injured by a larger dog and have to rush him to the emergency vet. I'm also sorry your dog is injured.
Dachshunds have big personalities, so I wouldn't assume they WEREN'T the aggressors in this situation, but like everyone else said, including yourself, if your dog wasn't alone and territorial, and if there wasn't a gap in the fence, it wouldn't have happened.
If this man is on a fixed income, I'd offer to pay as much as possible (at LEAST half) and be thankful you don't have to get your homeowners' insurance involved.
Sorry to hear your dog is injured. That does change my mind, and I’d be more likely to pay half of the combined vet bills. Neighbors $1500 + Your Vet Bill /2.
And kadams767 , I wasn’t implying that you were being unsympathetic to the neighbor, but answered your question as to “WTF is he walking 3 dogs?” Yes, there are daycare and dog walkers, but they’re super expensive to people who may be on a fixed income. Also, if it’s never been an issue until now, he’s probably never thought about it. The thing about aging is that you slowly lose the ability to do things you’ve always done...and often don’t know it until you suddenly have an issue. He may never walk all of the dogs together again. It was never a problem, until it was.
He has had mobility issues since we've lived here. The lab is very docile and easy to walk and the two dashunds are a handful but are tiny dogs. I know walking his dogs is one of the highlights of his day, as he has been injured on walks several times and shared he can't wait to heal and get back to walking every time.
At this point I would start to wonder about his mental health (I'm not being snarky, I'm wondering if he's suffering from dementia, or something else?) and I'd be worried about his safety and the safety of his dogs.
From what I've read, I'm feeling really annoyed that he's been hurt before, and yet he KEEPS going out on walks where he puts himself and his dogs in danger. Those dogs could be hurt terribly - by another dog, another animal, a passing car, etc. It's really not fair to them.
I know that was off topic , so anyway, how is your dog doing OP? What's your vet bill looking like?
This is straying into the territory of the Pizza Hut employee who was stealing and posters were like, "Don't report her! She might be a struggling single mom of 17 kids!"
Post by sapphireblue on Aug 2, 2019 12:54:27 GMT -5
With the photo and info about the property line, I don't think liability-wise that you need to pay anything.
However, if I liked this neighbor and I knew or suspected these vet bills might be a hardship, I would pay half. And if I could easily afford it, I would just pay his whole bill. Just to be nice.
But I don't think you are obligated to do that.
The fence hole is small but since this happened I would block it with a paving stone or something. We got a piece of wood from Home Depot and sunk it in the ground a bit to cover a gap in our yard.
Post by sapphireblue on Aug 2, 2019 12:59:32 GMT -5
Also--my large dog is not aggressive at all with other dogs, people, cats, etc. Our other dog is very alpha and he just slinks away if she asserts her dominance.
But when my neighbor's small dog comes to their side of the fence barking through it at my dog, he runs along the fence and barks and acts pretty aggressive. I think it's pretty normal behavior. It would not cause me to label my dog "aggressive". That label would be laughable to anyone who knew him.
This is straying into the territory of the Pizza Hut employee who was stealing and posters were like, "Don't report her! She might be a struggling single mom of 17 kids!"
Or something like that.
RIGHT?!?!
I'm calling BS on everyone in this thread who has said "not your fault, but if I could afford it I'd pay the whole thing because he's an old man".