A neighbour has taken to throwing bones over our garden fence (6ft high) in order to feed my dobe- I dont know this neighbour and I have warned her to stop but am wondering if anybody knows how I stand legally to stop her from doing anything like this in future-any advice regarding trining dog not to accep the food or otherwise appreciated.

What does she say when you ask her to stop? 

A load of abuse and allegations that she looks hungry and I dont fee her and dont take her for walks- But she gets fed twice a day with an expensive dried food and fresh cooked chicken in the evening and a treat of bones once a week- walks once in the evening and the run of a 1 acre garden and the companionship of me and about 30 students resident in my flats within the complex who love her to bits- I was quite forcefull with this woman about stopping feeding her because after she had fed her she ended up sick and dhiaorrea-- sorry cant spell that but mean the runs

crazy tavey:

Easiest way is to say "Dire Rear", sounds right and that is what it actually is! :D

You can warn her that any future vet bills will be at her expense and that her behaviour could be construed as causing distress to her dog and that you will be reporting her to the dog warden, RSPCA and the police (possible harrassment).

Also you could mention that this sort of behaviour could attract rodents to the site and that she could be prosecuted under the environmental health act (see EHO).

Finally there is NO way to train dogs to reliably not accept food from any source without the use of severe aversives.  In sports where food refusal is part of the schedule we rely on the dog being more intent in wanting something else (ie biting the criminal) to override the food temptation.

Also you need to consider whether teaching a dog food refusal is sensible if for example you needed other people to feed her or she went into kennels.

HTH

I would definately try the Environmental Health route as chucking what is effective rubbish and clinical waste toboot is likely to be taken far more seriously than a threat to your dog.

From what you describe she sounds a few shillings short of a pound to me.  Other than that it can only be deliberate antagonism.  Why do YOU think she is doing this?

I think one of the most important things to consider is are the bones she is throwing over cooked or raw? If they are cooked then she is putting your dog in great danger

I do the same thing that this woman is doing with my neighbour's dog PLUS i walk him,but he has never told me to stop,and the dog IS skinny,neglected and never walked! :(

I have to ownder why this woman thinks your dog is too skinny and is never walked??

Hi,

Anyone chucking rubbish anywhere is fly-tipping no matter what it is, so therefore can be prosecuted.

Briony.

the bones are large cooked knuckel type bones that i think are the remnants of her own smaller dogs diet- I feel she knew that what she was doing was wrong and she used that as an excuse to justify her behaviour-either because she is not a full shilling and i have known of people deliberately poisening dogs just for the fun of it or she wants to befriend the dog for other ulterior motives because the estate she comes out from has more than its fair share of people with social problems- the dog even though i say so myself is in fantastic condition and is one of the best loooking dobes i have had or seen in a long time (over the years i have had several) - i dunno the answer to your question hailey may be she thinks it should be like a rottweiler- I had thought about going knocking on her door (if i find it) and telling her whenever i feed her or take her for a walk-she might get the message with me knocking on her door three/four times a day!! I am going to make enquiries with the RSPCA to establish if she may be on their books for cruelty to animals etc

I'd just pick up the bones and throw them back!

We have a neighbour that won't stop feeding the neighbourhood cats. She leaves all sorts out in a dish. When we complain she just says that if the cats weren't hungry they wouldn't eat it. Now what would you rather have? A bowl of ribs (with meat attached) or cat food? One of another neighbours dogs has started to visit ;) No amount of talking to her is doing any good.

I hope you can sort this out. I know we won't be able to, but at least my neighbour isn't throwing bones over for my dogs. She did ask first and I said no, as they might fight over them. They won't, but she doesn't know that :D

I had this same problem with my neighbour....he was chucking cooked bones over the fence for my dog, i asked him to stop it and he said he would, then one day i was in the kitchen and i saw him chuck another bone over for the dog, i ran outside to take it off the dog.....but it was stuck in his teeth, his poor teeth we're bleeding (he's 11 years old) so my husband had to get some pliers to take it out for him, i went round to my neighbours and gave him a piece of my mind, and touch wood he hasn't done it since :-D

well i dont know how the law works where you are but here if someone was to do the bone would be classed as you neighbour throwing garbage into your yard notify the police see what they do they would probably only ask her to stop but maybe you calling the police and showing her that you are very serious will make her stop and if she believes your dog is not being fed show her your dogs food tell her to mind her business and a bone isnt going to cure a dog with hunger anyway so her throwing a bone to what she is calling a hungry dog is pointless if she was truly worried she would throw the dog some substantial food to me it sounds like she just wants to clear her dinner scraps

The law would regard it in the same way here, Slee.  Apart from the littering/clinical waste issues I think it is totally unacceptable to lob any kind of food into a neighbours dog no matter how thin you think it is.  For all you know it could have a medical reason for being in that condition and there is always the possibility that whatever you are chucking may actually make matters worse if they are suffering from an allegy.  I would never wish my dog to have access to a bone without my supervision anyway.  If any body feels that a dog is neglected the correct thing to do is report it to the RSPCA or whatever agency exists in their country ;)

Touch wood since the last confrontation when i took the bone off Bella and lobbed it back over the fence in the "ladies" presence along with a few choice words I have not noticed any more in the garden- I just hope Bella hasnt twigged that I take bones off her so rather than bring them into my sight she should hide them by burying/secreting/leaving them in the garden-(she is a very quick learning intelligent dobermann)before she comes in- searching five hundred metres or so of perimeter bushes/trees and garden is an impossible task

Madness isn't it.  I know people feed dogs they don't own for all sorts of reasons and quite often it is because they think they know best when clearly they don't.  It is amazing how stubborn they can be on this issue, like granny giving the kids a ton of sweets even though it makes them sick and they won't eat their dinner.

We had a neighbour who threw fish waste into the garden after fishing trips, I am sure there was no thought of feeding the dogs in this one though that was the excuse used.  The Environmental Health people put a stop to it.

Just out of interest, and to prove how determined people can be, my brother insists on feeding my dogs high value treats by scattering them on the floor in front of them.  He says its because he is really soft and loves the dogs to bits.  Imagine his horror when this indiscriminate treat scattering triggered off a food scrabble between mum to be, new pup and resident male.  He still hasn't learned his lesson though tried to do it again the following day.  I cant imagine what possesses people to do this.

I hope your problem is now solved, if not get the Environmental Health people involved.

At least your neighbour only throws bones over.Before we moved here,we lived in a terraced house so had neighbours either side.One neighbour used to scrape his leftovers from his tea (mainly chips and beans) over our fence.
One day I seen him doing it and ran out to ask him what the hell he was doing."Oh I'm giving her this sausage and a few chips" he said,"I always save her some of my tea!."
I was livid.I told him that Callah shouldn't be eating that as she was barf fed and he said "well she must want it or she wouldn't eat it"
I told him that most dogs are natural scavengers and would probably eat it if it is thrown over.I asked him not to do it again and he wandered off mumbling.Luckily though we moved house a few weeks later so I dont think he got chance to do it again :D

I would ring the police and inform them that the lady next door has attempted to attack you by throwing a bone at you while you were in the garden ......also there are plenty of where there is blame there is a claim... all the suffering from the impact of the bone! haha

how is it going with your neighbour ?

Has she thrown anymore bones over your fence since throwing it back over her fence

Apart from the very serious side of this.  If this woman really thinks that your dog is too skinny, why is she throwing bones over and not chicken or fresh meat:rolleyes: much more appropriate for a 'starving' dog.  Looks like she is just getting rid of her rubbish!  Hopefully you can get the situation sorted out pronto, before any damage is caused to your poor dog.