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We're about to move to Puy de Dome and our neighbours are farmers.  They have 3 fairly small dogs, one is a Jack Russell and not sure what the others are but just slightly bigger.  They looked fairly old and were friendly to us.  We have 3 cats who we adore.  After talking to the neighbours and telling them we had 3 cats, they very nonchantly told us ' not for much longer!'.  I was horrified when they said that their dogs would attack our cats as they are just left to roam free.  We also wanted to get a couple of chickens but feel that this may not be possible now.  I've started to make a picket fence to which I will attach chicken wire to try and create a barrier to hopefully put the dogs off from coming onto our property.  Are there any other precautions we can take?  I'm really quite worried about this.  I thought about a giant water pistol as I have trained my cats by squirting water at them, not to touch my free-flying budgies, but you can't be stood there the whole time!

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[quote user="cooperlola"]Electric fence?  It sounds a bit cruel but in effect once the dogs have been "bitten" by it, they respect it and stay away.  My dog never goes in the ponies' field thanks to this.[/quote]

That sounds like a good plan.  I could have an electric wire going along the picket fence and put a warning sign on, maybe.  Thanks.

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[quote user="herbie"][quote user="cooperlola"]Electric fence?  It sounds a bit cruel but in effect once the dogs have been "bitten" by it, they respect it and stay away.  My dog never goes in the ponies' field thanks to this.[/quote]

That sounds like a good plan.  I could have an electric wire going along the picket fence and put a warning sign on, maybe.  Thanks.
[/quote]My neighbours opposite have their dog outside in the garden pretty much all day.  They have a strand of electric wire about 18" off the ground, and although he's a lively chap and barks at all the passing cyclists, he never leaves the garden.  I think you can get special doggie ones (lower voltage than those for horses.)  I'll see what I can find.  However, as Christine says, it only solves the problem on your land.  Teaching the cats about the dangers of leaving is something else!
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I'd have to stop the cats going out that way towards the neighbours.  There's plenty of countryside to the front of our new property for them to roam around and there's really no need for them to go round the side and the back.  I just felt that if I could stop them leaving that way, or the dogs coming in, then it may work.  I obviously don't want to electrocute either dog or cat!  It would be very handy to know what I could buy.  Thanks for your help.

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My cat has all the space in the world in which he can run, hunt lizards and birds by the thousands etc etc etc etc. but he STILL likes to run across the (admittedly very countryfied) road and sometimes lie in the middle of it, playing chicken with the local farmers tractors.   fortunately he does it rarely, and I have seen them stop on occasion and shush him out of the road.   The point being, whatever you do to keep the dogs away, you won't unfortunately keep the cat in.

When we came here my cat had actually never seen a dog before, and wasn't particularly bothered by them.     Until the day that he trotted next door, and next door's rottweiler chased him .. never have I seen a cat run so fast in my life.     As it happens the rottie loves cats and was wagging her tail during the whole chase, but of course the cat didn't know that.   He no longer goes next door !!

If you don't know if your cats are naturally cautious and likely to avoid the area where the dogs are (presupposing you can keep the dogs out, but not cats in) I don't know if this is worth a try.   Find someone with a frisky but essentially cat loving dog (I would do this for you if I was nearer !!!!), who will give your cats a good old chase and scare the life out of them, preferably barking loudly the whole time, it might just put them off the idea of going anywhere near where there are dogs; better still if you can get the dog to chase them in the general area of where the other dogs are.     Of course you must logically make sure the other dogs aren't around when you do this !

 

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Hi Herbie,

We are in the countryside too and are definitely cat people.!I am afraid that whilst we were indifferent towards dogs when we arrived here we are now very anti-dog! I think this is because the majority of people in our area have an abundance of the things and let them roam freely (fair enough if they are friendly but the poo is really annoying - at least cats hide it and don't do it in pathways!) The only exception is one immediate neighbour who keeps his 5 little dogs enclosed or on a leash at all times. These are the only dogs who actually like us and wouldn't damage our garden if they were allowed in! The huge german shepherd on the other side is another matter...

Whilst I don't mind keeping our chickens in a big run or fencing round all my veggie patches (against wandering sheep or sanglier at night)it does bug me that my 4 year old can't play outside on his own in his own back yard for fear of attack. The garden is too big for us to fence off completely.

Rant over, my point is that unfortunately you must protect everything in your garden that you don't want dug up, pooed on or eaten. Because even if these dogs were fenced in there will be others that roam from further afield, and other animals too. Clearly the cats are going to prove tricky - ours are fine but we found them as kittens in a wood pile just down the road. Yours will need to get accustomed to things. I know it sounds a bit mean but would it be feasible, after you have put up your fence, to leave them just next to it in a cat basket , with the dogs on the other side, for a little while, so they can be protected whilst seeing what they are up against? You don't want them wandering over the line without realising what's there and then getting electrocuted on the run back home!

Good luck and enjoy your new home,

Jane

ps ask neighbours if you have wild boar around there - if so your fence needs to be strong - they barge their way through anything!

 

 

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Thanks everyone!  Some very useful stuff there for sure.  My initial feeling was simply to put a picket fence up the side where the chemin is to the neighbours, simply to create a barrier so that if the dogs did chase the cats, the cats would jump the fence, but the dogs would not and therefore give them sanctuary.  I do not allow my cats out at night so I hope that wild animals or wandering dogs at night will not be a problem.  They have always come in from being kittens and are very used to this.  The tuna waiting for them in the evenings certainly helps too!

Until I move there I guess I just don't have any idea how bad these dogs are going to be.  Did they exaggerate the problem?  Were they joking with us a bit?  I really don't know.  Where we currently live, our neighbours have hunting dogs in a tiny cage.  They no longer use them for hunting and they therefore never leave the cage.  They howl all the time and throughout the night.  It's so desperate and I've been looking for an organisation where I could maybe report this.  I know though that there are many more cases like this in France.  It's so sad.  Of course these dogs then become dangerous animals because they have been treated badly.  It's a terrible situation. 

Anyway, I digress, the point is, my cats are pretty used to barking dogs that sit in cages and they in fact walk right up to them!  They know that they can't touch them so they have no fear.  This is why I'm concerned because I'm thinking that they'll wander right up to them thinking the same thing. 

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The neighbour in our last house gave us a similar warning about her 4 dogs and chickens, and she was right. Eventually they killed several. We ended up fencing our land off completely which was expensive but worth it for peace of mind. Many times we felt like doing as avinalarf suggests. Pat. ps the neighbour did reimburse us for the dead chickens but made no real effort to keep her dogs in.
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When I had chickens, they were pets.  They all had names and they used to follow me around.  The French thought I was just totally mad as they do not view chickens as pets, creatures with personalities and feelings.  It breaks my heart when I see how the French treat their animals.  I cannot understand how it is that neighbours are permitted to allow their dogs to cause havoc on someone else's property and still not be obliged to do anything about it!  Are there no laws here?  I did not think that anyone had the right to spoil the enjoyment of someone else's property.  Be that by planting high fences, letting trees overhang, letting their dogs roam around...Why do we expats put up with this?  Because we feel 'visitors' in their country?  This is all wrong.

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[quote user="herbie"] Are there no laws here?  I did not think that anyone had the right to spoil the enjoyment of someone else's property.  Be that by planting high fences, letting trees overhang, letting their dogs roam around...Why do we expats put up with this?  Because we feel 'visitors' in their country?  This is all wrong. [/quote]

Of course there are laws - just as in the UK - and you have the right to do something about it viz  THIS  which deals with overgrown hedges.

And THIS which deals with dogs barking.

It is up to you, just as it is in the UK.

Sue

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Herbie,

I wholeheartedly agree with you but I really don't believe the situation applies to just ex-pats - all of my neighbours are french and grumble at the wandering dogs and various other things - they rarely take action unless something really serious happens. Yes, there are appropriate laws and regulations - indeed, last year our maire sent out a leaflet saying all wandering and unleashed dogs and cats (?!) would be captured and impounded due to the village being overrun with wild animals. I panicked for our two cats for about two weeks (they come in when they want to and have collars but we don't keep them fenced in) until I realised nothing was going to actually happen, and all the roaming dogs and wild cats were still around. It simply is not worth rubbing up your neighbours the wrong way. Our offending neigbours are in trouble with the authorities for various things and I prefer to hope that they will disappear eventually and that we live in 'harmony' with them for the time being. They may never go but the thought of having them as enemies is unbearable - they are physically close and my husband works from home with clients coming and going, etc, and it would just be a nightmare to be persecuted by them. Of course if anything immediately threatening occurred I would not hesitate to take necessary action, but for the time being we put up with the small annoyances.

I do hope you enjoy your new home despite the worries!

Jane

 

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[quote user="herbie"] Where we currently live, our neighbours have hunting dogs in a tiny cage.  They no longer use them for hunting and they therefore never leave the cage.  They howl all the time and throughout the night.  It's so desperate and I've been looking for an organisation where I could maybe report this.  I know though that there are many more cases like this in France.  It's so sad.  Of course these dogs then become dangerous animals because they have been treated badly.  It's a terrible situation.  [/quote]

Sorry I am seemingly going backwards with this quote but I didn't realise the full implication of this until I reread it just now. If you feel strongly about this treatment of the dogs and you want to find out more about the legal issues or actually report the problem it might be worth sending a pm to ChristineAnimal as she knows an awful lot on this subject.

THIS site is revealing too.

Sue

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This is a very delicate problem.  First of all, because dogs have been penned in doesn't mean they have become dangerous, especially the hunting type.

All the animal shelters are overcrowded and pets are being put down everywhere.  So is it a good idea to send them to one?  Secondly, often when the people who keep dogs in these conditions are interfered with, the dogs suddenly "disappear".  If you consider they are being very badly treated you can make a "plainte" at the local gendarmerie and they will investigate.

If you can take a dog in these conditions on, or know someone who can, the best route, especially if you think the owners have no need for them, is to try to offer to "relieve" them of it, offering it a good home.  Not easy and it all depends on the relationship with these people and the actual conditions of the dogs.

I don't know anyone in the Morbihan, but have found some of the local animal shelters if you feel they should be informed.

http://www.refuge-arpa.com/annuaire-animaux/bretagne-p1-10.html

http://refuges.animaux.ws/Morbihan-(56).html

 

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[quote user="Christine Animal"]

I don't know anyone in the Morbihan, but have found some of the local animal shelters if you feel they should be informed.

http://www.refuge-arpa.com/annuaire-animaux/bretagne-p1-10.html

http://refuges.animaux.ws/Morbihan-(56).html [/quote]

Sorry CA it wasn't for me in the Morbihan, I was responding to something written earlier by Herbie who is moving from the Tarn, where the caged dogs are to be found at present.

Must go dinner's burning ...

Sue

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