Dog in the garden

[maherwoman]

I'm so glad no one's hurt, Hun...

I would hate for someone, ANYONE, to go through what we did...

(((HUGS)))

 

[paul2641]

Sabine wrote:

Unfortunately it is a very Irish thing, especially in estates, that people let their dogs roam around. There are laws but they are not being enforced. In fact I have friends who leave their dog roam around and are appalled at dog wardens impounding dogs occasionally.
I used to live in a very rough estate where my complaining about someone's dog would have caused loads of harrassment and bullying coming my way. That's why I chickened out and let David do the phoning up. The owner was nice but I have no daubt that that dog will be out again and I am terrified for my rabbits. To make matters even worse the owner told us this dog was a rescue etc and he is a lovely creature adored by everyone in the area.... but he has it in for my rabbits. I suffered years of abuse in the place I lived before i am terrified of making enemies only weeks after moving into a new place.

It is best to figure how the new community is before you take any action because if there are some nasty people there you could end up in trouble, From what the you have said the family seem respectable so you should be able to sort it out yourself, Just keep at them if the dog keeps reappearing and they should get the message, Maybe you could send David around to show you mean business, Not saying you would send him to harm them or anything. But it just implies you mean business and for them to take you seriously. Hope things work out for the best.

 

[mouse_chalk]

Wow, that must have been so scary for you- I would have been terrified as well!

Is there any way you can make your garden more secure in time? Like a taller fence, side gate, patch up any 'holes' etc so you can let them play without the risk?

I'm glad nobunny got hurt- I hope they don't suffer too much from the stress of it all!

 

[Sabine]

No sign of the dog today but i still felt nervous. So I created a little "panic room" for the buns within the run: I took the little wooden houses that are normally attached to the outside of the run inside. Although it gives the buns less space they quite like sitting on top of them inside. With the houses inside the dog can't topple them over but they have a safe place to hide out of sight. I also put extra pegs in to secure the run and used some of the open run fencing to create an enclosure around the enclosure. The dog would be able to jump the outer fence (so are the bunnies) but it may keep some more distance and make the buns feel safer.
It's a bit like Fort Knox at the moment and I dread having to move the whole lot tomorrow as the grass is getting worn
There is very little I can do to make the garden more secure. There is supposed to be a gate installed but that may take months. It's really open all round

 

[Sabine]

As I predicted - the dog was back in our garden yesterday and to make matters worse this time he brought a friend. Yhankfully I saw them coming and managed to catch the labrador quick enough and tied him onto a post out of sight straight away. The other smaller one apparently belonged to some farm quite a distance away. Thankfully a neighbour child volonteered to bring him back.
In the meantime i viewed the damage: this time Coco had jumped the run and was roaming loose in and out of our garden. Magic was struggling madly having her head caught in the bars like Lint before. That is the bit that really worries me even more than the jumping the fence.
Anyhow, I rang the owner, she came up apologized and took the dog away but I am convinced he'll be back within a week and if it's not him than some other dog will visit as people seem to have a rather relaxed attitude about free roaming dogs.
So we had to bite the bullet and invest in fencing material to create a jump proof run AROUND their enclosed run. Hopefully this is deterrent enough.
The new run ist about 20 sqare metres and hopefully will be sufficient for the five bonded ones. Benny and Raylann who are always in a seperate run will have to stay in that permanently. It is fairly safe and they didn't react as panicked as the others. So maybe with their little wooden cabin inside they should feel safe enough even with a dog prowling around.

 

[irishbunny]

How frustrating!
I hope this gets sorted out, if he comes back again I would call your local dog warden, he/she will bring the dog back up with a warning or fine them.

 

[paul2641]

Frustration, This woman just thinks coming down and saying sorry is enough well she needs to cop on 7 rabbits lives at steak because she can't keep her dog under control.

I thought benny and raylann where together?

Can we have some new pics of your buns?

 

[JimD]

You might look into something like the water scarecrow...a motion-activated sprinkler

http://www.amazon.com/Contech-Electronics-CRO101-Scarecrow-Motion-Activated/dp/B000071NUS

 

[mardigraskisses]

How hard is it to keep your own animals in your own yard?

Why not just let your children roam around the neighborhood as well?

 

[Sabine]

paul2641 wrote:

Frustration, This woman just thinks coming down and saying sorry is enough well she needs to cop on 7 rabbits lives at steak because she can't keep her dog under control.

I thought benny and raylann where together?

Can we have some new pics of your buns?

Benny and Raylann are together but seperate from the other five buns. I have towo enclosed runs.
I took loads of pictures the other day and when I uploaded them everything was blurry. Something seems to be wrong with the setting and I've mislaid the instructions for the camera. It's a new one and I haven't figured it out yet. I think I will have to borrow Davids phone to take some good pictures.

 

[Sabine]

mardigraskisses wrote:

How hard is it to keep your own animals in your own yard?

Why not just let your children roam around the neighborhood as well?

We've had visits from dogs again. Thanfully i had my 11 year old son instructed what to do and Lint managed to get her heat stuck in the barts of the run again. Had Kristjan not reacted quickly the dog could have easily taken off her head.
A member on an Irish bunny forum told me that friends of hers had to put up an electric fence around the rabbit hutches to keep the neighbour's dogs from chewing their way into the hutch
Even if my immediate neighbours start being more vigilant about their dogs their are dogs roaming around from all sorts of places...

 

[Sabine]

JimD wrote:

You might look into something like the water scarecrow...a motion-activated sprinkler

http://www.amazon.com/Contech-Electronics-CRO101-Scarecrow-Motion-Activated/dp/B000071NUS

Do dogs really get scared having water sprinkling down on them? It's an interesting idea though. i was thinking of having the pressure washer handy and blast them away when they come near the runs. I am so totally fed up with having to fight dogs on a daily basis. Often they are walked by kids and they just don't keep them under control. I am surprized all my bunnies are still alive and haven't died of shock yet

 

[Brandy456]

Alot of people this week seem to have no consideration for letting their dogs loose now do they.

Maybe , if you see the owner around invite her for coffee/tee (without her dog of course) and in the middle of it (not accusing her) tell her that bunny'scan easily get heart attacks, or something like that but say it as a random fact. Maybe even letting her see them and their skiddish-ness now will make her think twice.

:hug:

 

[paul2641]

Sabine wrote:

paul2641 wrote:

Frustration, This woman just thinks coming down and saying sorry is enough well she needs to cop on 7 rabbits lives at steak because she can't keep her dog under control.

I thought benny and raylann where together?

Can we have some new pics of your buns?

Benny and Raylann are together but seperate from the other five buns. I have towo enclosed runs.
I took loads of pictures the other day and when I uploaded them everything was blurry. Something seems to be wrong with the setting and I've mislaid the instructions for the camera. It's a new one and I haven't figured it out yet. I think I will have to borrow Davids phone to take some good pictures.

Are they all after Benny or is Osker and Benny going for each other? Please we haven't had an update in a long time! Oh and maybe you should get one of thos whistles that only dogs hear? and blow that any time they come around?

 

[Sabine]

Benny and Oskar fight and Raylann hates everyone except Benny. Benny does get on with all the other girls but that would mean we'd have to isolate Oskar. Oskar and Raylann can be left together but they are not particularily happy.
I promise there'll be updates soon.
I checked out those ultrasonic dog repellent devices. But a few of them said they also repell rabbits so i guess it would drive them insane too

 

[paul2641]

Sabine wrote:

Benny and Oskar fight and Raylann hates everyone except Benny. Benny does get on with all the other girls but that would mean we'd have to isolate Oskar. Oskar and Raylann can be left together but they are not particularily happy.
I promise there'll be updates soon.
I checked out those ultrasonic dog repellent devices. But a few of them said they also repell rabbits so i guess it would drive them insane too

Oh! Well not everyone can get along, Would you ever consider getting a massive enclosure built so all 5 could live together permanently?Oh bummer bout that ultrasonic device.

 

[Sabine]

We are in the process of building a large enclosure. It'll be about 7m x 7m

 

[MyLOVEABLES!!]

WO! THe buns are gonna have fun in that! Would it be dog proof?

 

[paul2641]

Sabine wrote:

We are in the process of building a large enclosure. It'll be about 7m x 7m

Oh cool lucky bunnies, Will it be weather proof? I hope everything works out and that woman takes better care of her dog!