Neighbour keeps feeding my dog

ailuro2

Reverse psychology - give her the "special diabetic dog biscuits" and ask her if she could make sure he gets them at the same time every day as he's on a strict regime to keep his blood sugars under control and must be fed at, say 3:20 pm. If she refuses / cl;aims she can't do it, then say you'll buy a special dog bowl to do it - one of the ones with timers.;)

This gives her a chance to feed the dog if she genuinely wants to,but gives her no excuse to keep feeding him biscuits if she's got an ulterior motive.;)

LittleTinker

Rich Tea!??? What a cheap skate!! Im sure your doggy must be worthy of a custard cream, at least :-))

Savvy_Sue

YorkiePud wrote: »

Personally, I would get one of those dummy video cameras that you can mount on a wall. It senses movement and will turn in that direction, with a red light coming on as though it's recording.

I would then tell this crackpot neighbour that my poor dog is on a strict diet and borderline for needing expensive medication because of the digestive problems she is causing it.
I would then point out the camera and tell her I would be collecting evidence because her feeding the dog like this is tantamount to causing it harm and the police have told me to keep records of who is causing my dog harm then I can sue them to cover the cost of my vet bill.

I know you said a dummy camera, but be aware that a 'real' camera must NOT be trained on anyone else's property. And you have to have proper signs up to say you are recording. Now, maybe the neighbour doesn't know this, but it wouldn't take much to find out, which could lead to an escalating dispute. So IF the suggestion of carrots doesn't work and you have to resort to this, make sure that the camera appears to be pointing towards your garden only.

In practice it's very difficult to set these things up to monitor boundaries correctly, ie without also seeing beyond your boundaries. So if you were doing it for real, you might find that you could see the treats coming over the wall, but not who was giving them. Obviously if it's coming from your neighbour's garden that might seem conclusive, but common sense doesn't always work in these situations!

moggylover

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

oh dear, I used to have the same problem with the old man next door - he enjoyed giving the dog a treat so much that I didnt have the heart to stop him!

Could you tell a white lie about certain foods upsetting your dog, (diabetes, IBS, whatever) and you having to watch his diet very vey carefully - and (maybe) give her a pack of suitable treats and let her give him one of them a day instead to maintain neighbourly harmony!?

As Tigerlily says - does he have to be outside? - it's one of the risks of a dog being in the garden is that people can chuck it allsorts to eat - I have heard of neighbours poisoning dogs, at least yours is kind hearted!

Thanks for being understanding of that FC! My mum used to feel very sorry for the dog next door to her as it was left alone (with a dog flap) for very long periods and used to "talk" to mum over the wall (a samoyed, so the usual grumble sounds and short howls) and she always gave her chew sticks and dog biscuits but it was with the knowledge and agreement of the neighbour who also appreciated that her dog got a bit of "attention" from mum.

Op, I think it is probably worth going with the suggestions of stressing that the dog needs a special diet and suggesting that biscuits and things are not good for him anymore and trying not to get to the situation where it causes nastiness between yourself and the neighbour. I suspect it is MEANT kindly to the animal - even if it is a bit misguided.

I always have a couple of chewy sticks in my pocket when I go around to my neighbours as her dogs love a treat from me as well - I did ask first:D

[Deleted User]

I truly sympathize. People like this almost certainly mean well but the are an absolute menace and they do need to be stopped!

We don't have a problem with neighbors, but we have a hard time stopping people in the park from feeding junk to our dogs. This isn't just a health hazard, but it makes training very difficult. There's no better way to train your dogs to jump all over everyone they meet and rip at their clothes than having people reward them for doing so with lots of unhealthy treats! We spend a fortune on training classes and put hours of work into training our dogs to be well behaved only to have people undo all of our good work. The worst offenders are usually people that don't have their own dogs, or people with very fat, unhealthy, poorly trained dogs - not satisfied with harming their own dogs they're hell bent on doing the same to other peoples!

According to the RSPCA something like 50% of the UK's dogs are overweight, resulting in long term health problems. There are moves to prosecute owners of overweight dogs for cruelty. There have been a couple of test cases where I believe owners have been found guilty. Would "It's the neighbors feeding my dog" be adequate defense I wonder? I'm pretty sure a court would hold you responsible for preventing your neighbour from feeding your dog. Does this kindly neighbour want to force your hand and lead to your poor dog being shut indoors just to protect him from her cruelty?

Very many dogs suffer from allergies and it's not uncommon for a dog to be placed on an exclusion diet. In fact, this happened to my dog last year. We had to keep her on-lead for 12 weeks to ensure that she couldn't possibly get hold of anything to eat other than her strict diet. Just one mouthful of something else and we had to go back to square one. It was impossible. Even when she was on the lead 'well meaning' idiots would insist on giving her treats even when clearly told not to. They would simply feed her by 'accident' - dropping the treat in her mouth and saying "Oh dear - I'm sorry".

Do these people even stop to think about how bad an allergic reaction can be, or what harm sugary snacks will do to a diabetic dog? They are so wrapped up in their deluded fantasy that they are being kind to the poor dog and that the owner is just mean.

Lots of friends from the park have overweight dogs and are struggling (under strict instructions from their vets) to trim them down. They are fighting loosing battles trying to stop "well meaning" friends, neighbours and strangers on the street and in the park from feeding them junk. One friend was half-starving her Beagle, walking it for miles and still he put on weight. It turned out that the cleaners were feeding it sugary buscuits behind her back! The had decided that she wasn't feeding the dog enough as it always seemed hungry

We all worry about hurting these peoples feelings as after all, they mean well. But they are doing serious harm. Do they really deserve our tollerance when they blatently ignore our clear instructions regarding OUR pets?

My advise is to tackle the problem. Don't let people make you feel bad about challenging this woman. Why should you let your much loved dog suffer just to maintain harmony with a neigbour that clearly doesn't give a damn about you? Ignorance is NOT an excuse for what is essentially cruelty to animals. And in a society where 50% of dogs are overweight it is not extreme to call it cruelty when people insist on feeding sweet buscuits (or ANY kind of food) to other peoples dogs when they have been told in no uncertain terms that the dog is on a diet (or suffering from some other health problem that is aggrevated by feeding of treats).

I wonder, would these people give sweets and other unhealthy snacks to other peoples children if the parents specifically asked them not to for health reasons?

[Deleted User]

I truly sympathize. People like this almost certainly mean well but the are an absolute menace and they do need to be stopped!

We don't have a problem with neighbors, but we have a hard time stopping people in the park from feeding junk to our dogs. This isn't just a health hazard, but it makes training very difficult. There's no better way to train your dogs to jump all over everyone they meet and rip at their clothes than having people reward them for doing so with lots of unhealthy treats! We spend a fortune on training classes and put hours of work into training our dogs to be well behaved only to have people undo all of our good work. The worst offenders are usually people that don't have their own dogs, or people with very fat, unhealthy, poorly trained dogs - not satisfied with harming their own dogs they're hell bent on doing the same to other peoples!

According to the RSPCA something like 50% of the UK's dogs are overweight, resulting in long term health problems. There are moves to prosecute owners of overweight dogs for cruelty. There have been a couple of test cases where I believe owners have been found guilty. Would "It's the neighbors feeding my dog" be adequate defense I wonder? I'm pretty sure a court would hold you responsible for preventing your neighbour from feeding your dog. Does this kindly neighbour want to force your hand and lead to your poor dog being shut indoors just to protect him from her cruelty?

Very many dogs suffer from allergies and it's not uncommon for a dog to be placed on an exclusion diet. In fact, this happened to my dog last year. We had to keep her on-lead for 12 weeks to ensure that she couldn't possibly get hold of anything to eat other than her strict diet. Just one mouthful of something else and we had to go back to square one. It was impossible. Even when she was on the lead 'well meaning' idiots would insist on giving her treats even when clearly told not to. They would simply feed her by 'accident' - dropping the treat in her mouth and saying "Oh dear - I'm sorry".

Do these people even stop to think about how bad an allergic reaction can be, or what harm sugary snacks will do to a diabetic dog? They are so wrapped up in their deluded fantasy that they are being kind to the poor dog and that the owner is just mean.

Lots of friends from the park have overweight dogs and are struggling (under strict instructions from their vets) to trim them down. They are fighting loosing battles trying to stop "well meaning" friends, neighbors and strangers on the street and in the park from feeding them junk. One friend was half-starving her Beagle, walking it for miles and still he put on weight. It turned out that the cleaners were feeding it sugary biscuits behind her back! The had decided that she wasn't feeding the dog enough as it always seemed hungry

We all worry about hurting these peoples feelings as after all, they mean well. But they are doing serious harm. Do they really deserve our tollerance when they blatently ignore our clear instructions regarding OUR pets?

My advise is to tackle the problem. Be polite - kind even. Take the time to educate the woman so that she understand why her actions are cruel. But be firm and do what it takes to make sure she takes heed. Don't let people make you feel bad about challenging this woman. Why should you let your much loved dog suffer just to maintain harmony with a neighbor that clearly doesn't give a damn about you? Ignorance is NOT an excuse for what is essentially cruelty to animals. And in a society where 50% of dogs are overweight it is not extreme to call it cruelty when people insist on feeding sweet biscuits (or ANY kind of food) to other peoples dogs when they have been told in no uncertain terms that the dog is on a diet (or suffering from some other health problem that is aggravated by feeding of treats).

I wonder, would these people give sweets and other unhealthy snacks to other peoples children if the parents specifically asked them not to for health reasons?

LittleTinker

The first line of your post is quite interesting for everyone on here because its pretty much how many cat owners feel too.

So many people also take a cat in to feed without knowing whether it is diabetic or on a special diet.

Seems as though its ok to do that with a cat though.

miamoo

mouseymousey99 wrote: »

Having read the read the reply I now see the error of my ways. Obviously, you are right and I am wrong.
These rich tea people eh? Where will it end, one day rich tea biscuits the next crack cocaine at the school gates. While you are on the phone demanding they are immediately arrested for daring to show some affection I would demand their garden is searched for bird tables, you know what they are like, feeding birds that no doubt belong in your garden. How dare your mutt respond to anyone else but you, I should have said you would be utterly correct to severely correct him/her. As well as chaining the mutt you could draw a line in the snow (see the weather conditions come in useful) some poor mutts have been left indoors all day by uncaring owners who have thoughtlessly taken them in (or as said given access) – anyway – the line will ensure mutt sits and waits for you and only you to return home. Pats on the head eh? That’ll show him!! Whats 8 hours? In the snow??
Blooming rich tea, next thing you know they will be keeping an eye on your house (obviously they are at home all day) and taking note when your burglar alarm goes off – or Billy burglar is going up your drainpipe. Taking in parcels (feeding the mutt when you are on holiday) - these people eh? Infact why not demand they are arrested immediately why should you as a taxpayer have to put up with this? Neighbours eh??No you are so right not to waste your time going over there and explaining ......(I know I know you've done it before so don't waste another 5 minutes - time is so valuable)....

Oh grow up.:mad:

Op I have had a similar problem, I have a 16 month doberman and the kids that live next door give her sweets, crisps, cake what ever they have to hand really. I have told them not to but they wait for me to go inside, call Mia over and then chuck stuff over.
We are going to have to get a bigger fence, hopefully that will solve it.
Dont get me wrong they are sweet kids, they love Mia, but they keep feeding her things that are bad for her

foreign_correspondent

I reckon sending a bag of dog biscuits or low fat treats round for the kids and explaining why sugar and junk is bad for dogs would be fab.. ETA maybe a white lie that the junk food makes her feel sick (even though she likes eating it!) would be handy!

Maybe you could ask them to make sure the dog gets a healthy biscuit every day, and ask them to watch out for other kids feeding him stuff - it would make them feel involved and important, and most kids love that!

You could educate the kids a little whilst letting them enjoy having a nice relationship with your dog!

miamoo

Foreign correspondant yes I always say come round and play with Mia, they love it and so does she, in fact I have all the kids down the street round to play with her! Its good for them to get on well.
Thats a great idea about sending round some dog treats, why didnt I think of that! thanks FC x