SHould I report neighbours dog for this?

[tundrah]

On sunday my little boy (2) sneaked in to the neighbours garden. The neighbour let his 5 dogs out and they surrounded my boy barking, snapping and snarling at him. The dogs are not very well trained but usually the neighbour would call them back. This time he made no attempt to call them back, I had to grab my boy who was bawling and shaking like a leaf. The neighbour jsut gave me a foul look.

I am constantly telling my boy not to go in there, he is well aware he shouldn't. THE only good thing is he might not try to get in There again. I am absolutely livid that the neighbour seemed to be letting his dogs scare my child like that!

Should I report it?

there is more to the story, too. We are farmers and our fields surround these neighbours, I have also had 3 sheep killed and 7 aborted since these neighbours moved in. I have reported the worrying to the police (you should always do that) but I don't know for certain it was them. Judging by Sunday I have suspicions now that it was them.

You said you were constantly telling your son to stay out of neighbours garden yet you don't live next to them. How is he constantly getting in there then? You have no reason to report neighbour about this. The sheep worrying is a different matter.

I come from farming stock. I can't imagine any of my family, or any of the farmers we knew letting a 2 year old wander around near a bull.

Bulls can be dangerous and unpredictable, and real farmers know this.

The child was not in a field on his own with a bull! The bull was in the field and we were all on the track outside.

You can write but you can't read? astounding.

Lurkedforever yy, you start getting inventive with the containment after a while, don't you?

Of course you can block up the bloody access.

No, the neighbour wasn't right to let the dogs out.
However, you were also in the wrong for not keeping your toddler safe and with you.

interesting first post OP

YABU - but I am not sure why you would ask if you are so sure you are not

Yes, I can read, and you previously said you were moving the bull. Now you say the bull was confined.

"We do not live next to these 'neighbours'. our land neighbours them. We were bringing the bull to the cows at the time."

What you said ^

Also clears throat

None of you exactly come out of this smelling of roses.

You should have kept your DS under closer control.
DS should not have trespassed.
Neighbour should have called his dogs back when he realised there was a child in the garden. I imagine he gave you a "foul look" because you'd allowed your child to trespass.

The best thing to do would be to put this behind you, ensure you keep a closer rein on your DS in future, and hope that your DS has learnt his lesson about not wandering into private property (any private property, not just your neighbours).

If you do have legitimate reason to believe his dogs are causing distress and casualties amongst your sheep then you must of course report him, however the incident with your DS is a separate issue.

OP, you may find this instructional

The point isn't whether the bull was loose. The point is your outstandingly low level of supervision in what is a dangerous environment. And details add nothing. It just tells me that your 2yr old was unsupervised on the track, therefore he could have wondered in with the bull or anything else without you noticing. And saying you were holding the bull at one point adds nothing either. Presumably you weren't holding it under your arm so just as much chance of him being trodden on with you not paying attention.
New to farming are you? Cos no farming family would last many generations with that attitude. You can get away with it in a park. Maybe even on a quiet road or car park. Not on a farm though.

I'm also beginning to think if the neighbour did leave his dogs longer than necessary, it could well have been to scare you without placing your child in danger, to make you aware of how easily a kid can be hurt on a farm.

IF your fences are as secure as you say, how did your son end up in the neighbours garden in the first place? He is 2, not a ninja?!
If its because actually its only the neighbour's side fenced, then I don't really think that's good enough, especially if you have had sheep worrying - as a farmer you have to fence your livestock in AND keep things out. If a bolting 2yr old can get through then its unlikely to be a good enough fence ..

For the neighbour situation, I'm afraid as nasty as the whole thing sounds, I highly doubt your neighbour "set the dogs" on your son - I'd hazard is far more likely dogs wanted to go out, and neighbour didn't realise your son was there. Not calling the dogs back may have been for loads of reasons

OP you used the word "sneaked" into the garden in your OP.

That's implies he wandered off without you noticing and that's what people are responding to.

Yy themother we did a lot of 'I know sit up here mini lurked so you have a good view'. Although she'd generally contain herself if you directed her to anything involving mud or filth

Just read the rest of the replies. If your son can get in their garden, their dogs can get out, and that's your responsibility to keep that blocked off for your animals

I don't think any of us are saying that not calling off the dogs (assuming that's what happened) is ok. But does that warrant a report? No. Was your parenting lax? Yes. Is your story a little bit conflicting and inconsistent? Yes.

So what would have you done if you were talking to your friend on the edge of the road, or next to a river?

That's right - you'd have controlled your son.

The same applies here - have you considered a leash, especially if a 2 year old can out run you.....

Yes you should absolutely report this

"Police, please. Yes, hello. I'm calling to report some dogs in their own garden. They were barking. Barking at my son. He's 2. No, he sneaked into the neighbours garden. Yeah I know he shouldn't be sneaking into the neighbours garden but you try telling him that! He's only 2 ya know! Where was I and why wasnt I watching him as he's only 2 and has a tendency to sneak off my property into the neighbours garden where there are dogs who might bark at him? Well I don't see how that's relevant. Now, what are you going to about about the neighbours' dogs barking at my son when he snook into their garden?"

the two year old should not have been in the garden but two year old's do not have any sense of boundaries, however he as a owner of dogs should able to call his dogs back at anytime, instead he did not, so yes I would be reporting HIM to the police, and also the dogs!.

The dogs should be able to distinguish between a child and an intruder on their property.

Do you teach them to do this using flash cards?

Yes definitely report. He stood there and watched while his 5 dogs terrorised a little baby.
He should be banned from keeping animals IMO.
I shudder at the thought of what could have happened.

I'd be surprised if a sheep farmer couldn't make their garden fence child proof

I think you're expecting far too much of two year old to think he's going to do what he's told. Two year olds don't normally do what they're told.
who can control what their child does 100% of the time
Well a good parent actually. You literally have to have eyes in the back of your head and always be one step ahead of them. You, as the parent have to anticipate danger and protect them from it. Telling a 2 year old not to do something is not enough.