That counts as wandering!
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Yeah. An early strategy that failed.
Unfortunately the middlensized dog can climb..
Food was elevated but he managed to get it.
Funnily enough I tried again this evening. They defimitely found it inside a concrete mixer. I donāt think they got much though but certainly spilled it.
If I could get it not too high for the cat to climb - and for me to reach up to - then they can get it or at least dislodge it and spill it in hopes of getting it.
The giant bloodhoind thing is as tall as me if he tries to go up on his hind legs a bit - a threat he has made looking intently at my cat from 7 metres away.one time I saw. He would tower over me if he got fully up onto his hind legs.
Youāvw just reminded me I need to update a selection of incidents today with them into the dated and timed sample list of incidents Iāve been keeping since I spoke to her.
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Is this keeping you awake at night? Sounds like a horrible situation.
Karen - is it that the dogs break their own fence, or do the owners just let them roam wherever they want? Either way is unwanted I agree, but do I take it that the owners just do not care?
Sounds like itās become a game to two, very bored dogs, with food as the reward. Iām not sure how you can break their behaviour, that should be the owners job, perhaps someone with more experience than me can suggest something?
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Could you not borrow an electric fence from a farmer neighbour for a few days - too high for cat and just right for a bloodhound. Our dog touched an electric fence once and wont go close a second time.
A wildlife camera could be set to record any incidents
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Hi Adam1, Nice words but the owners havenāt solved the basic problem of their dogs thinking my property is part of their territory. 1 was OK but got corrupted by the later arrival of the other.
Since they moved in, their property being opposite mine on the other side of the road, there have always been barks from them inside their fence eeing me coming and going from my own property or along the road on foot or bicycle. As though they were defending their property. And right from the beginning some barks just when I was moving about inside my own property near my wall. Ie they were defending my property from me as the enemy. Because it is their territory. As far as I can understand this behaviour.
The neighbours reacted to early escapes of the 2nd dog when I mentioned he was occasionally visiting, very promptly (only to ssve their own muttās skin I suspect 
) by building a higher wire fence and making it longer. At that time no.food iasue.
Of course neither my boundary nor theirs can be fully sealed. Their gates closed only takes them 30 seconds more, to escape as they have country walls further down that they can leap. I sealed 1 side of my gate and they promptly found a hard to seal gap on the other side. Or they could leap the country wall.
Since I spoke to her about the constant raids nearly 5 weeks ago they have confined the dogs further inside their property or taken the dogs away eith them much more often. And it sounds as though they are separating them a lot.
All good and sppreciated. But as soon as the dogs are freed (or free themselves) they zoom over here and their behaviour is more frustrated and aggressive. I told her the root problem is they have always viewed my property aa theirs and they need to know my property is not theirs - or that they should stay within their own frontier and not breach the frontier of my property.
So theyāve confined the dogs or removed them and not retrained them. So every time they escape they will still come here.
This week has been bliss as the dogs were away or confined except for brief episodes on 2 days. So multiple attempts to get in, intimidate me and/or my cat on Sunday, all within about a 2 hour period whrn they were let out before being confined again (apparently). The big dog escalated to a short āfrontwards āpretend chargeā from outside the gate towards my cat 4 metres away inside. And also escalated recently to the half-lift onto his back legs, ie another pretend aggressive move, directed at me from about 7metres whereas only seen before done towards my cat (also 7meters distant).
Sunday evening they stayed inside their fence but me going outside to feed my cat provoked sustained barking by both at us for about 8 minutes.
The good news is that on 2 separate days this week I saw one of the 2 dogs enter my property from the side that has a very fast dangerous road nearby. So Iāll be able to mention the danger to their own mutt when I next have to communicate with them about this. And if anyone thinks I have been fantasising about what could happen of course I would be heartbroken.
Yes exactly
All I can think of is ask her to get a device dog could wear round neck or as a harness. Each time they come here I press a button on a handheld device that emits a smell the dog hates or perhaos gives it an electric shock. So āaversion therapyā.
It would require me to be on constant alert for a while to embed the link between crossing into my place or appearing in front of the gate and immediate discomfort. We could do 1 dog at a time.
Unfortunately the big bloodhound is so big that if the device round his neck emits an electric charge today it probably wonāt reach his tail till next week
Somehow though I canāt see the dog owner reacting well to this suggestion.
Thank you all very very much for your detailed suggestions and especially for your sympathy.
I can see the neighbour is making efforts. I suspect the root oroblem is not solved and that I may only be benefiting from their confinement measures. But to give them their due the confinement measures have progressively increased.
As Iām here for the long term Iāve decided to give them more time in case theyāre doing training I donāt know about to fix the root problem. I have carefully stored all language suggestions and will use them whenever I next speak to them - and Iāll make sure to mention that 1 of the dogs has now been seen on 2 recent days entering my property from the side near the busy dsngerous road. Where I would guess if he goes onto it, his life expectancy would be 2 minutes.
I read an article this week, where a cat-owner is fined every time her cat trespasses on a neighbouring property (it has been proved the cat has caused ādamageā in the past inclduing foot/pawprints in wet cement) and now the French Court has judged that the cat-owner must pay for each trespass (whether or not damage is caused). The owners were also fined!
For cats, I am astounded as I thought they were free-spirits but am wondering if that particular ruling might work in your favour. gently, gently. 
The dogs are eating the cat-food you pay for, so the neighbour should at least reimburse you for that lotā¦.
Personally, Iād try to keep things on a friendly-footing, but discussing the amazing legal outcome of the ātrespassing catā might make your neighbours more inclined to ensure their dogs do NOT trespass. The onus is on them to ensure their dogs remain on their property (by whatever means).
Best of luck.
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Yes Karen, these things do exist and more often than not work wonders, BUT it would of course have to be the neighbour, as owners, to instigate the programme and allow you to control the zapper button. Unless the neighbour is really committed to the plight could be difficultā¦
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Lovely, Stella
In English law I gather the reality is better reflected. : Cats are viewed as not able to be controlled by their owners but dogs are.
Just as well really. Since my cat has bern known to venture onto their far fields .
16.50 Neighbour drove out aroind leaving their gates open.
17.15 the big dog was at my gate, saw me in my yard, turned tail.
17.25 I returned from the back of the garden only to find the big dog here inside where the catās dish was formerly He saw me coming and ran back to their place.
17.35 I came out to call cat who is 10 feet above the ground in a tree by the gate. SuÄdenly cat spits and the giant dog who had been making another attempt to get in as I had gone nside, ran away back to their place.
I am sure there were later visits after that. But all I can do is not leave catfood out and aware of where the cat is in case they chase him but I do have to get on with other things.
Iāve easily had 8-10 attempts over and over - whether they got catfood or not on each run,- within 1 to 1 and a half hours when theyāve had a gap in their confinement. The cat now wonāt eat his meals without constantly checking in case theyāre coming. Even earlier this week when weād had 2 days with them apparently being away.
I am wondering if I am entitled to use force on them (if I can catch them) legally. I very much like Mikās idea of an electric fence, not that I know anyone with one, but under French law am I liable if the dog intrudes and gets fried ? Or if the cat one day drops down from the tree snd scratches the dogās eyes out ?
If you have no friendly farmer neighbours, you can buy one online from Amazon etc for under ā¬50. The intruder does not get āfriedā they simply get a shock which they wonāt forget. My dog showed no discernible ill effects from touching one. Neither did I when I touched one!
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You have a little yellow sign that identifies it as an electric fence, and thatās all you need. We have them to repel board from veg garden.
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The MDF ones are the worst. 
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That was a particly perceptive observation.
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Well I try not to be a complete plank.
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Iām board with this now.
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Pining fir the old chestnuts?
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Or just stooping to conker.
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