We have a neighbor who we pay to hay our fields because we don't have the equipment.
Today, he came to hay with his dog. His loose dog. No collar on, even.
We have dogs, horses, and poultry. Two of our dogs are OLD and are on meds for joint issues, back issues, one has fragile luxating kneecaps. We really want to keep them mobile and healthy. So we don't want them running into loose dogs when out for a walk, even a friendly one.
I went and spoke to him, and he said that his dog was sweet and wouldn't instigate anything and would be fine with our poultry. O.K. But our cockers would instigate something, if they saw a loose dog on our property. I told him that, and he said, "I just find that dogs have a lovely way of working things out." Argh!!! I don't want our 15 and 14 yr old cockers to have to work anything out with a young cattle dog whose loose on our farm. He said he would put the dog away in his truck if it bothered me. I said o.k. and left.
O.K. I go back inside. Only to look out the window and see the dog loose. I am fuming. When he comes back towards the house and gets off the tractor, I go to speak to him again. He is on his cell phone. He makes me wait for a good 10 minutes while he finishes his conversation. Finally he finishes and I tell him that I don't feel comfortable with loose dogs on our farm. He says "That's all you need to say, you just have to tell me. I'll put her away."
Then I look out the window again, he is having lunch in the field. His dog? It's loose.
Am I getting too worked up about this? I don't want to trust my poultry to someone else's word that their dog won't bother it, and I don't want our dogs to have to encounter a strange dog on their own territory. He will be probably be on our property for about a week.
Today, he came to hay with his dog. His loose dog. No collar on, even.
We have dogs, horses, and poultry. Two of our dogs are OLD and are on meds for joint issues, back issues, one has fragile luxating kneecaps. We really want to keep them mobile and healthy. So we don't want them running into loose dogs when out for a walk, even a friendly one.
I went and spoke to him, and he said that his dog was sweet and wouldn't instigate anything and would be fine with our poultry. O.K. But our cockers would instigate something, if they saw a loose dog on our property. I told him that, and he said, "I just find that dogs have a lovely way of working things out." Argh!!! I don't want our 15 and 14 yr old cockers to have to work anything out with a young cattle dog whose loose on our farm. He said he would put the dog away in his truck if it bothered me. I said o.k. and left.
O.K. I go back inside. Only to look out the window and see the dog loose. I am fuming. When he comes back towards the house and gets off the tractor, I go to speak to him again. He is on his cell phone. He makes me wait for a good 10 minutes while he finishes his conversation. Finally he finishes and I tell him that I don't feel comfortable with loose dogs on our farm. He says "That's all you need to say, you just have to tell me. I'll put her away."
Then I look out the window again, he is having lunch in the field. His dog? It's loose.
Am I getting too worked up about this? I don't want to trust my poultry to someone else's word that their dog won't bother it, and I don't want our dogs to have to encounter a strange dog on their own territory. He will be probably be on our property for about a week.
I have no idea what haying the fields involves, but the bottom line is,
it's your property and you make the rules. Plus it sounds like he is deliberately being a jerk by ignoring your clear instructions - twice! I don't
think you're too worked up at all.
Nancy
I warned him, he ignored me - I didn't yell at the dogs. I
can see that's not an option with you, and I think you have been beyond nice about it.
This WILL be resolved today. Kidding, but not.
.
