Had a thread like this existed before 10/2004, odds are I would have looked into it, heeded the advice and avoided a lawsuit.
I had absolutely no idea that a telephone company employee can enter my fenced in back yard without notifying me - and that when he does - if my dog (who’s home alone and has access to the yard) causes an injury to that worker, I can get sued.
Is my dog vicious? No. But I don’t know how he’d react to a stranger coming into the yard without me at home. Until I see the incident report Monday, I’m going to assume he jumped on the injured party and scratched him.
Did I schedule a repair? No. The telephone lines / utility poles in this neighborhood run along the back property lines of people’s houses.
What are my options to prevent this from occurring again? Very limited. I can’t chain him outdoors - the weather is far too unpredictable and can’t leave him indoors cuz I’m at work 10 hours a day. Maybe I’ll make him wear a muzzle and booties for his front paws on the weekdays - it’s not like he’s a slave to fashion anyway.
Why can’t he be inside when you’re gone? If he is properly hose trained it shouldn’t be a problem. We have two dogs (until last August it was three) and a fenced yard and when we’re not home, the dogs are inside. I’m gone 8-10 hours per day and my SO is gone 9 hours or so, and we don’t have problems.
I don’t ever leave my dogs in the yard alone and unsupervised for various reasons:
The reason you mentioned
Someone could open the gate and let them out
They could be barking their heads off al day and I’d never know
Neighbor kids could be teasing them through the fence
The weather
If keeping him in is absolutely not an option call the utility companies and ask them to call you before they enter your property. I did this when they were coming in my yard unnannounced. One time a meter reader panicked when he opened the gate and my dog rushed towards him. The meter reader panicked, ran across the street (without closing the gate so my dog was loose and following him) and ended up macing my dog in the face. I was home at the time so I gathered my dog up without further incident, but I was mad about the mace.
I thought a “Warning: Bad Dog” sign was sufficient warning for people entering your yard?
You could build an outdoor run that is fenced in and large enough for the dog to have some exercise room. Just leave him access to the run when you are not home and when you are home he can go out in the big yard.
Is this one of those only in New York things? If so I can’t believe that PETA’s not all over this like white on rice. In the state of Virginia it’s illegal to keep a dog on a chain outside for over three hours. let alone all day. And is there some sort of imminent domain thing there that a gives the phone company a right to come onto your property at any time? In Virginia, that’s trespassing and can get you shot.
Not to mention the complete lack of common sense by the telephone person, if I see a fenced yard, before I enter I’m gonna make damn sure Cujo ain’t lolling about!
Not an inexpensive solution, but have you considered building a kennel within your yard? My parents have a kennel within their yard since the dog really prefers to be outside when no one is home and the RCMP dog trainer said it was unwise to chain a dog for any length of time (he said it breeds aggression).
FWIW, I must say I think it’s ridiculous a utility worker enters your yard without notice and is upset about your dog. Had they left you a notice, perhaps you could have left the dog inside or otherwise out of the yard. I think it’s the worker’s own damn fault.
The reason I bought a house with a big fenced yard was so my doggies could run free. I work 12-hour days, and some days I’m gone more than 15 hours straight. There’s no way I’m leaving the dogs in the house.
The only meter reader that needs to come inside the fenced yard is the electric guy, and the usual guy is cool with the dogs (you’d think it would be a prereq for the job). One day I saw a guy using binoculars to read the meter from outside the fence; I don’t know why they can’t all do that. The phone people have no reason to be in my yard, but I guess I better put up a “Bad Dog” sign to protect myself (if indeed it does).
Why not put a lock on the gate and a small sign that says “Private Property, protected by dog” or something? At least with the lock, they would have to jump it to get into the yard. That would prevent others from accidently opening the gate and letting him out, too.
Easement. Look at your deed. Mine has easements for PENNDOT and Adams Electric COOP to enter my property for service and maintenance of their equipment. Knowledge of that easement would make me restrict activity of a dog (if I had one).
Boscibo, I dunno about you, but I can’t go ten hours without peeing. Why should I expect my dogs to? Maybe your dogs have super-bladders, but mine sure don’t. They’re perfectly house-trained, but that’s no reason to lock them up for 9 or 10 hours a day without access to a yard.
Here in Brisbane, Australia, meter readers take one look at the “guard dog” sign, and the sound of two dogs going off their tits, and don’t even try to get into the yard. They simply write up an estimate of electricity usage and make a note of it. When I get the bill it says, “This is an estimate as readings could not be taken because there was a dog loose in the yard.”.
Max.
While my post may sound like my dogs are alone 8-10 hours, in reality (since our hours overlap) they are only alone maybe 6-7 hours, max. The dogs are used to our schedule and can hold it.
I could never just leave them out, there is too much that could happen to them. It is hot here in the summer, and way too cold in the winter to leave them out, plus I don’t trust people to not fuck with them. One of the dogs has the nickname “Barky”, I respect my neighbors too much to let him stay out all the time.
My dogs are very good watchdogs, and I prefer them to be in the house where they can guard my stuff.
To me, it is not worth the risk of getting sued, or losing my dog if one of them happened to bite someone (not that I think they would, but both dogs are very protective of their territory).
There is always the option of hiring someone to take the dog out during the day if no other way can be found - then he won’t have to hold it but won’t be outdoors to attack people that need to enter your yard.
I’ve only once experienced the hell that is living in neighbors with neighbors who’s homes can easily be seen from yours, fenced in yards and such, very unpleasant.
Luckily though in that situation any legitimate utility worker never had to go to my back yard which was fenced and in which I would let my dog roam when I was home. The meters and such were in the front yard which wasn’t fenced and wasn’t connected to the back yard.
As it is though I would never let my dogs stay out while I’m gone. I live on a large plot of land and my dogs are trained enough they wouldn’t leave the area around my house if I left them out, but I have some expensive dogs and wouldn’t want them stolen.
You just leave too much in the hands of others if you leave your dogs out in a yard while you are gone.
And I think a dog could actually hold it pretty easily for 8-9 hours a day. Dogs don’t eat as much as people do (mine eat once a day) and despite having their water constantly filled they seem to drink much less than people as well. Letting them get a good drink then walking them til they urinate before you leave would probably keep them satisfied for 8-9 hours.
I like the idea that’s already been suggested- put a lock on your gate and a “Beware of Dog” sign …
You shouldn’t have to be inconvenienced or spend money unnecessarily (i.e. by installing a dog run or something), just to make your utility company happy.
I believe as long as your dog is well-behaved in your yard (i.e. doesn’t bark all day and drive your neighbours crazy), it is YOUR business that you choose to leave him there, rather than inside.
I’ve heard those signs can be used against you in court if your dog ever bites someone. “Beware of Dog? So you knew your dog was dangerous?!”
I take my dogs to daycare if I am going to be gone more than 8 hours. They have fun playing all day, I know they’re safe, and no utility people have to be bothered if they go in my yard. (Except for the “land mines” my dogs leave behind. ) It’s not very expensive, and it makes them happy.
Some dogs can also be trained to use a litter-box. One of my co-workers has her medium-sized (about 40 lbs) dog litter-box trained, and says it’s ultra-convenient.
We do have a beware of dog sign (but like Lissa says, I have heard it can be used against you if your dog does bite - it implies that you know the dog is dangerous), and in my experience it does not stop people from entering the yard. The worst are the UPS deliverers. I have also posted a “keep out” sign, and it also gets ignored. A locked gate is an idea, but it can be a hassle if you or anyone else needs to enter/exit the area often.
There are legitimate reasons for utility workers to enter yards, not much can be done about that . Like I said earlier, calling the utility companies did do some good; I asked them to ring our front doorbell (not in the fenced part of our yard) before entering the gate so if my dogs were out I could bring them in - and that has worked. I did need to tell them again when we got a new meter reader.
Can some arrangement be made so that you know when they will be coming onto the property? Is it legal to come onto your property like they do?
If the anwers are no and yes, then chaining him where he can’t get to utility workers and still has access to a doghouse, water, and food is about the only logical option besides getting rid of him.
Chaining won’t hurt him. It’s much nicer for the dog than keeping him in a crate all day inside the house or muzzling him (which still wouldn’t prevent him attacking utility workers). And it definitely beats the heck out having to get rid of him, especially if that means euthanasia. You should unchain him and play with him when you get home.
Now if the animal rights types in your area have managed to make chaining illegal in your area, then it looks like getting rid of him is your only option. Which could mean putting him down if no one adopts him.
I’m not sure how universal it is, but it’s at least normal for there to be easements on every property in a neighborhood to permit utility workers access. It can be necessary to promptly repair problems (what if repairing a down line or such requires them to enter your property? Should your neighbors wait with no electricity till you get home from work?)
In their defense, they’re not doing it to get at people like JohnBckWLD who care about their dogs. They’re trying to stop those assholes who get a dog, tie it up in the yard and ignore it except to feed it.
I had neighbors who did this. The only time they spoke to the dog was to scream at him to shut up when he barked excitedly at the sight of them. It had been a Christmas puppy, but the new owners were apparently surprised that puppies grow and that they need to be trained to behave. The concept of actually having to spend time teaching the dog was apparently too distressing, so they put him out in the yard. Not once in the two years they had the dog did I see them play with him, or give him any attention other than to shove a bowl of food at him.
Having to walk by that poor animal every day, I honestly considered putting him out of his misery. I would have welcomed some animal rights advocates with open arms.
Personally, I think they have done a lot of good in areas where they were able to get laws passed. I wish they could in my area. Yeah, it sometimes inconveniences good owners, but I think it’s a small price to pay to try to stop some of the bad owners.
Many years ago I remember hearing that the you had to have a “Warning:Bad dog” sign as opposed to “Beware of Dog” sign because the beware sign was not a strong enough caution but it was not an acknowledgment that your dog was actually dangerous. However, as I said this was a long time ago and I suppose that now, in our sue happy society, it would be taken as an admission that your dog is dangerous. Also, any idiot can see the sign and still walk into your yard and get bitten by your dog and sue you even thought they trespassed and were warned not to do so. However, I think a sign is still preferable to no warning at all.
Still I think the best solution would be to build a run that the dog can access directly from the house. Sure it will cost some money but it’s basically fencing. You should also put a lock on it so as to protect the dog when you are not at home. There are some people out there that like to steal dogs from people’s yards for nefarious purposes.
Finally, generally most adult dogs can go about 8 hours holding their urine but if you have a puppy or an older dog you really can’t expect them to go that long.
You can call the utility company and find out when EXACTLY they will be reading your meter. Keep the dog inside that day, if you can.
We have 2 large dogs and they stayed inside for 10+ hours a day, when I was working and my daughter was at school (Hubby is a truck driver and gone all week, so he wasn’t available to let them out, either), and we didn’t have a bit of problem with them.
) It’s not very expensive, and it makes them happy.