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Dogs shut in car for hours

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863 views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  Zak7710  
#1 ·
My brother's neighbour regularly shuts his dogs (border collies) in his car and leaves them there for hours. My understanding is that these are not only rescue animals but also from working stock. Therefore the inevitable happens, the dogs become insanely bored and bark constantly.

They'll bark aggressively if anyone comes into their view, and this is a problem as their house, my brother's house and the other nextdoor neighbour all live in a block with no fences between the front gardens (fences cannot be erected either unfortunately).

There was what could have been a nasty incident in the past while my brother was mowing his front lawn. The neighbour went to get the dogs in, and one of them made a beeline for my brother and snapped at his leg, leaving a mark. My brother hadn't seen the dog coming as he had his back to them at the time so hadn't been able to react to the threat. As a result my brother has banned his children from going into the front garden unaccompanied, and they are no longer able to take their own dogs out there due to the fear of what might happen, as one of their dogs is small (cat sized).

Unfortunately the neighbours are an unpleasant pair to say the least, and attempted diplomacy to resolve the issue has been roughly kicked back.

I'm sure that leaving dogs in the car for hours at a time is against the animal welfare bill but the question is where to take it from this point. I've suggested my brother obtains photos and video evidence plus keeps diary of all the times the dogs are shut out in the car. My sister-in- law is frightened that if they report the neighbour that they will know it was them who did it and the it will cause other issues.

Any advice welcomed.
 
#4 ·
That sounds like a nasty problem. I don't know your local laws, perhaps call the police when you see dogs locked in a car for a long time? Or when they run around freely chasing people or other animals?

Do you have any fence around your house? If not, maybe that is something to consider?

Talk with your other neighbors and see if they feel the same way about the situation, and if they will back you up when you confront the guy with the dogs.

I know for a fact, that badly trained (or not trained at all) border collies can become aggressive and hard to handle, so I do feel bad for you and your family living next to such dogs. I used to see such dog near my place and her handler struggle to hold it on a line, it was such a strong and angry dog, it was hard to believe.
 
#6 ·
@Tigermoon did you get anywhere with this? If you’re in the U.K. (I cannot see your profile, so I cannot check) the RSPCA would take an interest, I’m sure. Secondly (and this is U.K. again), under the Dog Act, it’s against the law to have a dog out of control in a public space. In fact, the dog doesn’t even have to bite someone - if they fear that they will be bitten, that can be enough. That would be a task for the police to take up. In both cases (RSPCA and police should be relied on to be discreet - ie, not to identify the source of the complaint.)
 
#7 ·
Thank you for this, yes I'm in the UK. Those dogs were in that car during the recent hot weather! The boot was left open but as I said to my SIL, that probably isn't enough, especially during that sort of heat. The dogs are not caged in there, they are tied in. They couldn't see if there was water. I advised my Brother to keep a diary of when and how long those dogs are in the car, including photos of he can. I did say that if they noticed any sign of distress in the dogs to call the police in the first instance.
 
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