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Neighbours dogs


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Thanks Christine.  It is a delicate situation and why I haven't done anything.  They are fed but they have no shelter from the sun or rain, the kennel is totally open and they never leave.  They bark at anything because they are bored.  I don't think these dogs are dangerous, I was talking generally, and they do wag their tails when they see you, but it just really breaks my heart that they have nothing to do.  They've gone from working dogs to doing nothing, never going for a walk and apart from being fed at 6am, never having human contact.  They do have each other and I guess that's something.  They also have nothing to play with. 

I also have to live next to these people and one has to be diplomatic.  Like you say, what is the alternative?  I looked at one dog's home and I drove away in tears!  It was dreadful, even though they must have been trying to do their best for these animals. 

Thanks for replying Christine and I'll be checking out all the links.

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It has taken me some time to come to terms with the French attitude towards keeping dogs ....I now no longer concern myself with it ...I accept that unlike the way I  kept our dog  a Basset  ...in the house in front of the fire.... members of her breed  in France would most likely be caged outside ...thats the way it is .My neighbors dog I could set my clock by ...at the same time each day it starts to howl .. I assume because its left alone on the property..... in a run outside  and it sees its owner drive off ....It howls for a couple of hours ....every day for almost two years as far as we are concerned ....so on a warm day while in the garden we just sit and put  up with it like everybody else ....I often wonder what the reaction would be to dog wardens .... a requirement to pick up poo ...fines for none compliance .etc ...While waiting for the ferry at La Harve only last Wednesday we saw local  people running their dogs  on the grass area  by the terminal building car park  ....were they picking up after their dogs .....of course not !    As for the streets of Nice ...last time I was there pavements were covered with it ........
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Hi Frederick.  Do you think that it is right then?  That it is simply a different way of living?  Haven't we learned that animals have feelings etc.?  I just feel that we could very gently educate people, that's all.  You are obviously a dog lover.  Don't you feel sad when you see other dogs in that situation?  I don't think I can ever get used to it.

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Herbie .....I was very concerned about the way these doge are kept  and would be very pleased if things were greatly improved for them ...But .........I also realise that as a visitor from another country as far as the rural hunting community is concerned in the village of 500 or so that my place is in.... I.... am not going to change things.... and.... would be on a hiding to nothing to try and enforce my views on animal welfare on them .... I am sure I would  soon be told where to go ....  France has to take on animal welfare and get the message over to its own people .....  
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[[Shoot them with an air gun if they trespass.]]

Why punish the dogs who know no better...if the cats trespass on the neighbour's land...do the neighbours then have the right to shoot them?

Several years ago...we we moved into our new house in the country in the UK...and a huge feral cat came into our unfenced garden...(which had been part of his vast territory until we moved in)...and attacked our three Siamese...one of which was almost blind...needless to say they were terrified...and we were distraught...however we realised that the feral cat was not to blame...and quickly had a high chain link fence erected...our side of the beech hedge...surrounding our property.

We emptied the cats litter trays all around our land ...on our side of the fence...letting the feral cat know that this was now our cat's territory...it took a while...but eventually it learned to keep out.

When we lived in Cornwall...my son's cat Tiger was shot to death with an air gun...it was some time before our friend ...a local farmer ...(who knew that Tiger was missing)...found Tiger in his corn field...a few feet from our property...my son was heartbroken.

I feel for these three cats and they're owners...it's an awful worry...and I wish them an early answer to their problem....but hurting these dogs... is not the answer.

Blessings to all concerned

Effie

 

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I agree Effie, and I would never do so.  I would like to come up with a creative way to keep the dogs away, just like you did with the cat litter.  I thought this was a great idea.  Just sorry your cat had to get hurt in the process.  Animals are animals and will behave accordingly.  Understanding their behaviour is the key.

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[[I would like to come up with a creative way to keep the dogs away, just like you did with the cat litter.  I thought this was a great idea]]

We've moved many many times...and on one occasion I let the cats that we had at that time....out too soon....and one went missing...never to be found again...(heartbreak hotel)...so I got the idea of boundary marking with the cat's litter trays. If you do this as soon as you move in...and before you allow your cats out in their new garden...it not only tells any neighbouring cats/dogs that there are new cats in the neighbourhood...but also gives your cats their own scent to home in on...if they go too far from their new garden. We've never lost a cat since we started doing this twenty years ago.

With regards to keeping your cats in and your new neighbour's dogs out...as I said in a previous post...Jade one of our Siamese was almost blind due to progressive retinal atrophy...she was a great hunter...her ears became her eyes...and she soon cleared our garden of all the little rodents...(cats will be cats)...and then taught herself to climb the chain link fence. Her greatest joy was to sit in the sun...in the church yard next to our house...and listen to all the new interesting noises...however she was then at the mercy of the feral cat...who would chase her...and being semie blind she was not only unable to find her way home quickly...but unable to get back over the fence...and on one occasion was lost for twenty four hours...we finally found her half a mile from our house...completely bewildered...and very frightened.

So...we made the fence higher...and when that didn't keep her in...we used an electric fence.

However we now found that we had become prisoners in our own home...garden gates had to be locked...the front door could never be left open...and I was constantly checking to see where Jade was...as I knew she'd find a way to get out eventually.

I wish that I could think of a simple solution for you Herbie...but short of building a huge cage for your cats...which I'm sure you'd find unacceptable...I don't know what else to suggest.

I had to put our last remaining Siamese to sleep eight weeks ago...he was attacked by a local cat soon after we moved here six months ago...what with that....the trauma of the move...(catteries/flying etc)...he became ill...withdrawn...and terribly unhappy...so rather than watch him suffer I asked the vet to put him to sleep.

No more cats for us.

Blessings to you and your cats

Effie

 

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Oh Effie, my heart goes out to you.  Sadly though, heartache goes along with being an animal lover it seems.  The joy they give me though on a daily basis makes it all worthwhile.  I totally understand you not wanting any more.  Apart from all that, they are a tie and we would one day like to be able to travel.  I will definitely put the litter around the boundaries and put the picket fence up I've made, just as a bit of a barrier and then I guess we'll just have to wait and see and hope.  The neighbour's dogs are old, my cats are young, so with a bit of luck, they will be able to outrun them!

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Years ago we had exactly the same scenario with our new neighbours in England. They had two huge Alsations and they threatened us just like that and I was so worried for our cats but in the end it never happened, they had one or two confrontations but they lived to a ripe age of 20/21 (the cats!)  As long as you have lots of trees around your property, they will be pretty safe. They will soon know where they are safe and I have found that cats sometimes are quite provocative towards dogs and they quite enjoy a challenge. I hope everything will go OK!
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On the subject of electric fences, there are ones just for dogs, you can get them at Decathlon. BUT they're for training your dog, and he has to wear a collar so no good for a neighbours one. However the ones you have for horses work for dogs too, they learn quite quickly! You can buy these in Decathlon too.

We have a friend who has a neighbour who is a hunter and hates cats as they eat baby birds / rabbits etc. She quite casually told us how she saw him once run over her pet cat, and another time beat another of her pet cats to death with a stick!! I couldn't beleive it. I've no idea what I'd have done if he'd done that to my pet but I'm fairly sure I wouldn't still be living next door to him.

The same guy has also threatened to shoot my dogs if he sees them catching the hares he's set free and have now established themselves on our island. Nice guy all round really!

suzi

www.patiras.com/trinite.htm

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  • 1 month later...
The situation with the neighbours' dogs is much worse than we first thought.  It turns out he has a pack of hunting dogs that have been trained to kill wild cats and will kill any cat.  He said that they may be able to train the dogs not to get domestic cats which in my opinion is a ridiculous suggestion.  I'm absolutely distraught right now because I'm supposed to be moving in 18days time and feel that if I go there with my cats, I'm giving them a death sentence.  I really don't know what to do now.  I would really appreciate any suggestions.

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The only thing you can do Herbie is to keep them in in the safety of your home, that's what we do.  Then you can build them a good enclosure in the garden so they can go out in security.  These are in wood just to give an idea, but you can get metal panels as for kennels, that's what we use, much stronger.

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/cat_care/fence_me_in.html

                     

                                        

Otherwise they won't stand a chance with the dogs and you will have peace of mind.

Here are some panels for catteries :

http://www.komat.fr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=54&Itemid=52

 

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Thanks Christine.  That looks like a lovely enclosure and I'm not being funny but it's breaking my heart to think they will no longer have their freedom.  We chose the house so that they would have plenty of room to run around.  We would have been better off living in a town at this rate.  They were house cats for the 1st year of their lives but now that they have tasted freedom and been able to hunt, I really don't have the heart to lock them up even though I appreciate I may not have a choice.  I was thinking maybe of electrical fencing again where the cats stay within their territory.  I could fence the whole lot and give them collars.  Maybe...

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I've just learned that killing with dogs is in fact illegal in France.  Flushing out is OK but not killing.  It doesn't help a great deal except that I now feel in a stronger position to insist that they do not come on our land etc.  The house has stood empty for over 25 years and they are very used to just using the land.  The little boy just plays in our woods with his friends etc. and the cows are left to graze on our land.  It's quite obvious that they have used the land for a long time.  If we put fencing up and insist that the hunt does not cross our land, I hope that we can minimise the risk. 

Having thought a little more overnight, I've hardly slept, I really don't think the dogs live nearby because hunting dogs howl a lot.  I've always lived close to hunting dogs so far in France and I would have heard them.  So I'm thinking these dogs belong to someone else and they are brought out just for the hunt in which case it is an organised event and we can be notified each time.  Then we can simply keep the cats in. 

I will telephone today and ask for more information.  We have to be able to live in harmony and I feel that they have been used to living there alone for so long that they're just not used to having to think that way.  They are nice people and have been accommodating so far.  I do hope we can work together on this.  I'll let you know.

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I do hope that for your sake that the neighbours have not got " grazing rights " from a previous arrangement. As to the fencing issue just say you have young children visiting and you need to ensure their safety, you are also thinking of getting some chickens and they will have to be securely kept within your boundaries.

In the UK if a neighbours child was playing in your unfenced wood and got injured there would be a claim heading your way.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

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Thanks Higgy.  There are no grazing rights, thankfully.  You make up very good reasons for having fencing which should not antagonise the neighbours.  I feel that having fencing would 'educate' the locals that this house is now lived in and they can no longer just use the land.  It's quite clear that having been empty for the last 25 years, they think it somehow belongs to them.  The children come and play in our woods for example.  Of course if anything happened to them whilst there, they try to start fires (!), we could possibly be held liable. 

Having given this much more thought and from reading through all the advice, I have decided that I will entirely fence off our land and therefore stop the hunt and their dogs crossing our land, I will speak with the farmer and get him to notify me when the hunt is on and keep the cats in those days, I will give them fluorescent collars and I will allow the cats to go out at night as there obviously won't be any hunting going on then.  They should then also hopefully stay indoors during the day and out of harms way.  Apart from attaching a cage to the house, which I don't really want to do, I don't see that there is much more I can do.

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