The way you handled this was very good. Chances are it won't happen again, does the person frequently travel down your street?

Anyways, I would not recommend running a hot wire or doing anything to physically harm the person in any way. That is just asking for legal trouble. Running a hot wire is a very, very bad idea, especially if you live in a neighborhood with small children.

The best thing you can do is be vigilant and if possible, get evidence/witnesses if he kicks your dog again. I believe someone mentioned surveilance camera? They are relatively inexpensive and are great security measures for your house, wether trying to catch this jerk or not.

I hope you never have to deal with the jerk again. I've never had that happen, kids have tapped the fence, but no one has kicked my dog.

I would have punched him in the face called the cops on him but i must say that you handled the situation very well.

Kimberly, I can't quite tell from your description but it sounds like your fence backs up to a rather public place (elevated interstate in view). And I can't tell from your posts if he is some sort of neighbor you just don't know or a guy driving by on the interstate who stopped near your property.

If my property was within view of any Tom Dick or Harry that decided to get off the interstate, I'd start by keeping my dog out of view. The 7' cyclone fence is a start but, as you now know, someone can still get to your dog.

One very benign and legal line of defense is planting very thick, very tall bushes and/or trees that grow in such a manner that their foliage stays abundantly thick from the ground up and its leaves do not drop in the winter. Laurels are one. You could plant laurels, one after the other to line your fence and no one would even be able to see your dog, no less kick it.

As much as I agree with anyone who said they'd punch the creep, intimidate him, shoot him in the kneecap (that was a good one Janice - my favorite actually ), it's not very realistic and/or safe. Razor wire could be a headache too.

I have nice neighbors who have an idiot for a daughter. She's a beast of a child (9 years old). I caught her trying to throw rocks at my dog and another time trying to poke my dog with a stick. the last straw was when I heard her tell her little friend, "Hey, let's feed stuff to the dog".

So I promptly went to a nursery and bought dozens of 7' bushes, planting them one right next to the other, and my problem was solved. She can't even see my dog now but, more importantly, any chance she would have to hurt him was completely obliterated within one day of planting.

Sorry Kimberly, not trying to hijack but can someone please tell me how to shrink my picture? I had sent a PM to Yuko but I haven't heard back from her and frankly I just forgot all about the pic until I posted to this thread. Sorry everyone for the hijack

For anyone interested Golden Leyandi are very fast growing firs My House or Garden has a 6ft high hedge of them right around the garden, at the other side of the trees is a 4ft fence in which the firs have grown through, No chance of anyone getting through or seeing through, The only problem is it needs trimming twice a year as it is quick growing Some 18'' or two foot a year with the fence keeps people out and the dogs in
I could post a photo but i will mess it up sending it

Steve, good idea about a picture... http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r288/JCAT7/Bushes003.jpg

i have a black fence behind these bushes. If you look closely, you can just barely see the fence. It's right smack in the middle of the pic. So you can see how impossible it would be for anyone to get to my dog.

Kimberly, if you choose to plant anything, just plant them very close together so you don't have to wait for them to grow to give you coverage.

Hi Judy,

I wish we could plant more plants to keep the fence out of view, but the sidewalk is small and you legally need to give access to it. The yard is situated in between 2 garages, both are brick masonry. Our yard used to be a garage but was torn down long ago, so above the 7' fence is a steel beam that goes from party wall to party wall, so the total height is about 8.5', someone would need to climb pretty high to get to my dog.

The fence is covered by ivy vines maybe a bit more than 4 feet and we have a few tall potted ever greens outside the fence including flowering vines that hang down and cover one side of the top part of the fence. She can't run the fence because it is blocked with trash cans and planters on the inside too. The dog was sitting at the door to the fence which is not covered by anything.

The only other thing I can think to do is to install a plexi-glass panel over the fence door to allow viewing access for the animals (the cats like to go out and look besides the dogs), but this will still keep people from trying to touch the dog. I am also getting security cameras.

When I went home yesterday, the people weren't around. They are probably from my area, but living in a big city full of row homes you don't get to meet every neighbor.

Kimberly

Apologies for the hijack here -- Judy I tried to PM you but apparently your box is full?!?!

In Photobucket there is an option to resize your picture -- I think I usually choose the size that says for e-mail. After you resize it you can copy that link to your Leerburg signature.

Hope that is right and works for you -- I always like seeing your pics of Gunnar.

Katie

Hotwires only deliver a shock, they don't do any actual harm but truthfully, I wasn't totally serious about it. Like the razor wire suggestion, it was half in jest.

Kimberly, the plexi-glass sounds like an excellent idea! A nice thick one that would hold up to a kick.