NDN’s dangerous dog

[MaroonFlame]

AIBU to think I shouldn’t have to put up with my NDN’s giant and territorial GSD trying to get in my front door and bite my 3yo every time I go out? We have a shared access front gate and path that splits our two patches of garden. They constantly let the dog urinate on my garden and on the steps. It barks for 10 mins at a time all day every day etc. Just the whole bad dog owner package really.

I feel I need to report the dog as dangerous as it is clearly very territorial and isn’t controlled in the slightest. The couple who own it are late 60s too so if my DD ever runs out into my garden and their backs are turned it could get nasty very quickly. Because they have allowed the dog to roam our garden and around the front door for a good 5 years it will go for anything it thinks is threatening, I.e. my excitable screaming DD or a very stressed me! GSDs have been bred to be a certain way and I don’t want that around my child if it cannot be controlled properly. My council doesn’t seem to have a dog warden, what’s my next port of call? I haven’t used my front garden and porch the whole time I’ve lived here because of it. I also think dogs should be on a lead in a shared area surely?

Film it a couple of times then show the police.

You have a similar set up to me, raised front garden, shared path and adjoining front doors. Ndns have dcs but 3 dogs, so the urinating and poo is an issue. However the dogs do come in if they get a chance and sit in the kitchen waiting for a biscuit.

I have walked GSD's, both of which lived in pubs and people were wary of. I had a colleague who has gsd's. They had to have one PTS due to temperament, a rehomed dog. Their current one was a puppy, but they have an acre of ground. One thing I was warned about by a GSD owner was that dogs don't like high pitched noises, such as young children make, and you should never leave a dog unsupervised with a young child.

I am familiar enough with the breed to be quite horrified at your neighbour's irresponsible and ignorant behaviour. Our front doors are inset about 18" under a porch and my neighbours fit a baby gate across there if the front door is open to prevent the dogs getting out. This might work for you as when you open the door the dog couldn't get into your front door. If you don't have a porch put it in the hall so you can open the door first to check before opening the gate to let dd out. Keep a water soaker handy to aim at the dog when you see it on your front garden.

Speak to your LL, report to 101, RSPCA and try environmental health at your local council if you don't have a dog warden.

Your front garden is open to the public so it is an offence to leave dog poo there, if bagged it has to be double bagged.

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That isn't actually the aspect of dog law that changed though, it has ALWAYS been the case that an offence has been committed if the dog is dangerously out of control in a public place, and the 'victim' reasonably fears injury. Always.

Whats NEW is where the offence occurs - the law changed so that now an offence is committed even if its in your own home and the victim is someone who was invited in there or is in there for some viable reason.

It now applies to inside dwellings and rear gardens, rather than only in public places (which has always included front gardens where there is a perceived right of access).

It is even rather fuzzy over intruders with the wording stating that an offence is NOT committed if the dog causes injury to an intruder ENTERING a dwelling.... it is highly likely if the dog caused injury to an intruder already LEAVING that dwelling that an offence has been committed (I do not think this has actually been tested in the courts yet!).

Whenever I read threads like this I always find myself exasperated: your NDNs are NEVER going to see your point of view. Never.

The only way you can deal with this is evidence of your own reasonable behaviour and their poor response. So you are going to have to write letters or emails and date them. Speaking to them will not work.

Record footage, times, dates behaviour. Note eg Amazon and food delivery people’s responses. Send the first letter today, noting any previous interaction (‘when we spoke about this last week’), and date it - keep a copy. Then send the next letter after the next incident, saying you will contact the council. Then send the third letter to them and to the council.