How to cope with a bad pet neighbor – Part 1

How to cope with a bad pet neighbor

If you have pets then chances are that sooner or later you may have a bad pet neighbor. Whether it’s the neighbor who can’t tolerate your pets or the neighbor who treats his own pets in a questionable manner, you can be in for trouble.

There are two basic kinds of bad pet neighbor. One kind is the neighbor who has pets himself and mistreats them in some way. If there is actual cruelty involved you will need to contact your local animal control. But please keep in mind that there is sometimes a gray area where animal care is concerned. You and your neighbor may have differing ideas about what constitutes good animal care. If you have doubts your animal control authority can resolve the issue based on the legal statutes in your state. However, please keep in mind that calling animal control on your neighbor is likely to sour your relationship for the foreseeable future. It’s hard to return from that brink. If you have pets you could be putting them at risk if you call animal control on a neighbor who will hold a grudge. Think carefully before you call animal control and make sure there is genuine abuse involved. There are many cases where people are reported for abuse when it’s actually a case of a simple disagreement about how animals should be cared for. Not everyone cares for animals in the same way. A Saluki or Afghan Hound, for instance, is supposed to be a slim dog, yet there have been cases where their owners were reported for keeping them underweight when such was not the case.

Sometimes you can talk to a neighbor if you have concerns about their pets. If you take this approach you should try to be diplomatic and not judgmental. Be willing to listen to what your neighbor says. You may want to document your conversation afterwards in case you are later asked for information about it. Please keep in mind how you would feel if a neighbor approached you to talk to you about how you take care of your pets. Act with tact.

You may have a bad pet neighbor who has dogs who howl all night or who lets his animals run loose. In this case, again, talking may be the best approach. If that fails, try asking yourself if your own pets ever do anything annoying. Does your neighbor put up with anything that your pets or family do? Do you have kids who have broken a window on the street or do you leave your garbage cans sitting at the road for days? Before calling in the authorities it’s best to see if you have a good reason to be tolerant. As a last resort you could contact animal control, but only as a last resort.

If you have the other sort of bad pet neighbor – the kind who complains about everything that your pets do – you may need to practice some patience. In reality, the law is generally on the side of the person making the complaint. It’s hard to prove a dog didn’t bark. Afterall, you can’t ask the dog. You will need to try to keep your pets from barking all night and certainly keep them contained. If your neighbor calls animal control and they pay you a visit make sure that your pets are up-to-date on their shots and licenses. Explain the situation and try to comply (within reason) with what is asked of you regarding your neighbor’s complaint.

It’s a good idea to ask yourself what kind of pet neighbor you are. Do you complain about your neighbors? Are you or your pets a problem in the neighborhood? Do your neighbors have reason to complain about you and your pets?

Remember that being a good pet neighbor and having good pet neighbors can depend a lot on good communication. Keep the lines of communication open and everyone can benefit, especially the pets.

My dog is smarter than your dog: How to identify pet intelligence

Just like people, dogs have differing levels of intelligence. You may have wondered whether your own pet dog is the Einstein of the furry world, or whether he or she is lacking in the brain cell department. To find this out we need to have a look at what intelligence actually is in the dogie domain.

In the wild dogs who were intelligent would learn how to work as a team. This was necessary for survival, and also to ensure that pack members all found their place successfully in the pack. They would have behaved in such a way that was helpful to other pack members, so that the pack could perform as a unit. This type of intelligence is instinctive in nature.

Another type of dog intelligence, which crosses over slightly with the first in places, is that which is learnt and which is picked up from the environment. This kind of intelligence shows a dogs ability to adapt to his or her social environment and to get the most out of it.

The breed of your dog is said to have a bearing on their intelligence, hence German Shepherds are said to be brighter than Afghan Hounds. But this assumption is based on genetics alone, and doesn’t take into account social learning. So an Afghan Hound may still be brighter than a German Shepherd under the right circumstances. Its unlikely, but it is possible!

The amount of social interaction that your dog has had, particularly while growing up can also have a bearing on how well they perform in intelligence tests. A dog who already understands commands and knows that it is likely to receive a treat for doing well is more likely to succeed faster in some reward based activities.

There are as many variables as there are intelligence tests that may affect how well your dog performs in man made tests, which incidentally are sometimes based more on the human idea of intelligence than that which resides in the world of dogs.

However, there are some basic ways to find out if your dog has the intelligence of Lassie, or of the hapless wolf in the Roadrunner cartoons. Its best for your dog if you approach these tests with fun in mind, making them a game for your furry pal, rather than a stressful chore.

One

Place a towel over your dogs head, so that his or her eyes are covered, and see how long it takes for your dog to get it off again. make sure though, that you dont let your hound walk into a wall in this state like my intelligent dog did immediately when we did the test. Apparently if the towel is removed in under fifteen seconds then