At one point in time we did actually have a dog ~ a dalmatian for the children & she was a lovely dog, just too much. I like animals who like to be with me but are far less demanding & so for the most part I have kept cats, with the occasional foray into chicken keeping.
At present I have 2 cats & 5 chickens, & if, @ some point, I can talk the MOTH into it, the chicken population will increase because there are so many pretty breeds to choose from & I would dearly love some silver laced Wyandotte or Cochins, just not @ present because they are both flighty & flyers & I just don't feel up to dealing with that unless we have a proper run.
What we have had, or not had, has never been a problem because we had 50 acres virtually to ourselves the entire time our children were growing up, but that has now changed. We have neighbours both sides now & they haven't complained about either our cats or our chooks when both lots are dog people. *sigh* In fact, our cats pointedly beat up our right hand neighbour's cattle dog to ensure he understood who was boss & though it was unacceptable for him to invade their territory it was perfectly all right for them to wander through his @ will.
Our cats have been something of a shock to these particular neighbours because they are by no means stand~offish nonentities who ignore everything & everyone. Indeed their protectiveness of me was a real eye~opener. Our neighbours have also spent a lot of time training & exercising Cooper so he's pretty good about not barking or wandering or fouling the footpath. I so appreciate their consideration I checked with them before purchasing our chooks & make sure they always get some of our excess eggs because sooner or later my chooks are bound to get into their garden & cause havoc before they are discovered & removed. They are also pretty quiet, even when they are home so we have jogged along pretty well together, doing neighbourly favours while being careful not to invade each other's space.
We have recently got new neighbours on the other side. Originally we owned a double block, which we divided down the middle when the MOTH's parents bought next door & wanted to put in a pool, so there is quite a bit of land between us & them, though not nearly enough from my point of view. I could live on a deserted island & still consider it overcrowded.
Our chook pen is on their boundary & they have never been anything but interested in our chooks & amused by their antics foraging down the hill & across the boundary though I have erected a makeshift fence around the pen because they have put up nylon bush houses where the pool used to be to grow seedlings & if my chooks ever discover this neither bush houses nor seedlings will be safe!
To my horror they also breed Maltese Terriers. If you must have a dog then it should @ least be a dog! not some weird looking yappy mop. If I must, I like Alsatians & cattle dogs, collies & spaniels ~ dogs who know how to work for a living & keep their yaps for the important moments in life but not Labs; I cannot abide Labs. I do not understand the attraction to toy breeds even as companion animals. One could as easily keep a cat & for far less trouble & noise. Yep, they're noisy. They yap constantly @ my chooks ~ & lucky they are confined to their verandah or I'm pretty sure they would be chook chasers. They go ballistic @ my cats & snarl @ the sight of me ~ which doesn't give me great confidence. I suspect they are biters.
Truth be told, most dogs frighten me ~ regardless of their size. I don't trust them unless I know them very well indeed & too many people round here have aggressive pit bulls they allow to wander. I've been bailed up on numerous occasions, needing a stout stick to fend of some pugnacious beast with a Muhammad Ali ego.
So we are learning to live with neighbours. This is easier for the MOTH. He is as deaf as a door post & was terribly surprised to learn that our new neighbours even had dogs, let alone bred them while I am constantly finding myself bailed up for friendly neighbourly chats...
Meanwhile I hand out free eggs all round...Just in case ofs....
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