Should I Pay for the Fence?

I am a dog owner, so I'm not hostile toward canines and I know well their ways. I'd tell the neighbor that a new fence won't stop the digging, and that if they continue to come in, you'll have to call animal control and have them picked up. Then do it! Once they have to pay to bail them out, they might realize they have to take responsibility. People who own animals, but fail to do this shouldn't have them!

Even if you guys get a new fence it sounds like these dogs will still attempt their emancipation and cause damage. I'd point blank ask this guy IF you go in halvsies on a fence and the dogs still continue to cause damage - what's his plan of action? I'd call animal control. People who choose to own dogs needs to act responsibly and it doesn't sound to me that these folks take pet ownership very seriously...

Go to Home Depot and buy "Critter Ridder Concentrate & Granuales". We put a lot out in the yard near the fence and even threw some over the other side of the fence and no more problems with the neighbor's dogs. Hey, we also talked to them and they did nothing; we even called animal control and this was a last resort and it worked for us. You have to put a lot down so don't go light...go heavy on it. near the fence. And no you shouldn't have to pay for the repairs, they should. I would definitely take them to small claims court.

i know this sounds gross, but a vet gave me this advice. where the dogs are digging, put your dogs poop there and it seems to keep them from digging. then he said if that doesn't work to, and this is straight from the vets mouth, pour nails or tacks under the dirt and they will not dig anymore. just a thought. however fix it yourself and call it a day, but barbed wire under the soil wouldn't be a bad idea. DO NOT GET ME WRONG...i love animals and have 3 of my own, and the poop alone worked for my digger!!! good luck...

As a rule of thumb, when a fence divides both yards both people share the cost. Better to keep your neighbors friendly...

My Aunt has this problem.

She has several small dogs, her rear neighbor has a large, very friendly dog, who is constantly pushing on the fence and breaking through. She has talked to them, they do nothing. We have shored up the fence and replaced boards on and off for years. Eventually, the whole dam back fence is going to come down.

Just angers me - she is almost 70, they are not - she is on a fixed income - they are not. But, technically, it is her fence, so they are not obligated to fix it. In a perfect world, if your neighbor's dog is damaging your property, they would step up and fix it. I mean, if their child damaging your fence it would be considered vandalism and they would have to fix it.

If you have a resident association you could take it up with them - sometimes they will write a letter, etc. You could have your husband go over and talk to them - even tho' we all know you can handle it - but they seem misogynistic. You could have your fence fixed and present them with a bill. You could document the damage and sue them for repairs.

There are bunches of options. But in end, you will probably wind up repairing/replacing the fence. I know this is what we will wind up doing at my Aunts. Thank goodness the fence posts are sound - I can hammer and nail new boards into place.

Good Luck
God Bless

Take pictures of the damages the dogs are doing, take pictures of the dogs in action. repair the fence and give the bill to your neighbor.

Maybe he wants to replace it and wants to be sure he is doing the right thing and getting the right fence? And your permission? One would hope so. He just said he wanted to talk about replacing it, not asking you to replace it, right? Don't jump to conclusions...you might be surprised! ???

It has nothing to do with the fence. Every time the dogs break into your property by digging or whatever you call Animal Control to come get them. Your neighbor will tire of having to pay a fine every time to get them released and he'll figure out that he has to manage them better. Suggest to him that he get an electric fence with the collars. I know many, many people who have them and they're set at a frequency that doesn't harm their dogs in any way. They're only deterrents but enough that the dogs are well trained enough that they don't try to force through them.

EDIT: I just also want to add that the reason it's not about the fence is because it's about your safety and your dog's safety. They are forcing their way onto your property and you've warned their owner to keep them on his own property but his response was to get a different fence and to put the cost of it on you. That's not being a good dog owner and he's clearly not concerned about the safety of anyone else in the neighborhood. That's why you have to call Animal Control EVERY TIME they escape their yard and dig through the fence or whatever they're doing especially if they come into your yard. Don't touch the dogs. Just get your own dog in the house, your own family, and call Animal Control.

Who actually owns the fence? In other words who's property does it actually lay on.

Okay, it really does matter who owns the fence guys. Our old neighbors had Pit Bulls. My brother, an attorney, pointed out that since we owned the fence if the dogs broke through we were liable for all damages, not them. So, if you own the fence, take it down, they have to keep their dogs in their yard so they will be forced to replace it. Unless you have dogs, then it won't work because you have to keep your dogs in your yard.

no you should not pay for the fence when their animals did the damage!. what would happen if those dogs get a hold of your child or your dog. what i would do next time they are in your yard is call animal control. we had this issue with neighbors before and i ended up having animal control pick the dogs up.

If you quoted him directly, he didn't say he wanted you to replace it. He said he needed to talk to your husband about replacing it. Maybe your neighbor intends to replace it, but because it's a shared fence, wants to discuss it with your husband? Especially since you keep your side in good repair, he probably feels like he ought to discuss it with you. Also, and this is just me (and a lot of more traditional women, I guess) I wouldn't discuss replacing a fence with my male neighbor. I would say, "Talk to my husband." Maybe he's just being polite. Of course, I don't know the situation, and could be way off base...

I don't think a new fence will fix the issue. It will make their yard look better but still, their dogs are the one messing it up. If you are both owners of the fence then it does legally fall to both of you to repair it or replace it. He can't without you just as you can't without him. It's his property as much as yours.

I think I might put up my own fence inside the other one. If you can sell/give him the rights to the other one then that gets you out of owning part of it.

We had a situation similar to this and we just put up those fence panels from Lowes that hook up to the metal poles. We dug down some then put them in very low. We planted stuff in front of it and made it look very nice, where the panels didn't show. We still had the ownership issue but the little chihuahua couldn't fit through and poo in our yard anymore.

My opinion about the "Talk to the hubby" comment, you're in Texas where men make the money and the women stay at home and raise fat babies...lol. It is a bred in sexist society in these here backwards states...LOL.

I am not sure how it is in other places but here in south Texas we share the cost if we share the fence. The last time there was a fence that needed repairing the neighbour paid for the materials and we supplied manual labor. The fence on the other side was paid for by us and the neighbour helped with the manual labor. It is just the neighbourly thing to do, or so I always thought.

As for wanting to talk to your husband about it...that's a man thing. Men discuss things with each other instead of with spouses. Once upon a time that was considered respectful and not offensive.

If it is only damaged due to his animals - he should take the full responsibility of repairing or replacing that section of fence... AND take his dogs to obedience training and stop leaving them so long outside without supervision.

You AND your husband need to talk about this before the neighbor comes to call... and together, maybe you should both approach him at his home. Don't allow your neighbor to write you off, you need to be part of the discussion about the fence and make sure you and husband are on the same side.

If it is only a small portion of fence destroyed but the neighbor wants to replace the whole stretch... then you can consider putting something toward the brand new fence line... but keep in mind it needs to be replaced due to your neighbor's animals.

I would call your homeowners insurance ASAP and discuss the situation with them. They will clear up any legal and financial issues.

But your doomed with an ignorant, dog owning neighbor who thinks he's not 100% responsible for the destruction and repair of this situation already.

P.S...I used to live in a small hick town called Leesville, Louisiana many years ago while I was an officer in the army. The local real estate giant had a guy working along the back of our house and he started an illegal fire to burn building materials. I just happened to be home to witness our backyard fence melt. It was a chain link fence with plastic privacy inserts.
I called our home owners insurance company....even they were hesitant to call this man. So I looked up his name in the phone book, called the number listed. He answered, which shocked me. I explained the situation to him. But I was feeling confident b/c I had just spoken with our insurance company and knew what my rights were at that particular time.
And he graciously replaced the entire fence. I am not kidding you when that the insurance company knew this man's reputation in the community and they did not want to go against him. Being an out of towner was too my advantage and I knew it.

First, the fence issue. With two of our neighbors we paid 1/2. The one behind us we paid the full amount which pissed me off but hey, the hurricane blew it down and I needed it back up. However, if its his dogs that have destroyed the fence then guess what? Its his responsibility. That being said, a new fence isn't going to stop the dogs. They are diggers.

Dogs - I would tell the neighbor the next time the dogs get in your yard you are calling animal control. It is his responsibility to control his animals and he is not. It is his dogs creating the mess of the fence and thus I think I would tell him to pay for it himself.

Yes, it's a pain.....I say it's time for the neighbors to use the buried lines & the zap collars to keep the dogs out of the fence line. They will learn their boundaries that way! & yes, both my sis & my neighbor use that system & it works for most dogs.

& as for your lab, why would you think he wouldn't want the other dogs in his yard?.....my dogs rejoice when they have company! Peace....

A good neighbor would pay to repair damage done by their dogs. I'd try talking (with your husband) with them again. If they're not forthcoming you could try Neighborhood Mediation. As a final resort, it might be possible to sue in small claims court.

But this will keep happening until you find a way to keep them from digging under the fence. One solution is to dig a trench and fill it with concrete. Difficult to do once the fence is built. They could also chain the dogs so that they couldn't get to the fence. I would expect them to either continue to pay for repairs or find a way to prevent it from happening.

Based on what you put in quotations, he didn't ask or indicate he was going to ask you to pay for the fence. Maybe he just ment he wanted to discuss replacing the fence and since you share it, make sure you were ok with it. He could have said "I need to talk to you or your husband" but probably didn't mean anything by it.

This is very dangerous for your dog and your kids! I would definitely have a talk with your neighbor about taking responsibility for his dogs. If his fence doesn't do the job of keeping them in, then, he needs to pay to have his fence fixed. You should not have to take responsibility for this!

I don't know the legalities of it, but I know the "right" thing to do would be for him to pay for it since his dogs damaged it. It also bugs me when people act like they need to deal with the man of the house, especially since I'm the one who handles most things around here since my husband works so much.

Our neighbors have horses, and the horses love our grass. They leaned over the fence and destroyed the previous fence we had. Our neighbors replaced the fence with a different kind of fence that the horses can lean through; we don't mind them eating our grass - we just want the fence to look nice. They never asked us for a dime since it was their horses that did the damage. The back part of the fence needed repairing, and that's where our pig is. We paid for that since the horses didn't damage any of that part of the fence; it was just an old fence. It all worked out great, and everyone was happy. If only everyone would do what they SHOULD do.

oooooohhh they say the fences make the best neighbors....but in your case, it's not sounding that way.

I know when we had a "shared" fence - we split the cost of replacing it 50/50 since it was ONE fence separating the yards....

I would split it 50/50 but I would also make sure that the area where they are digging under is made to where they can't get under it again!!

I would be a little put off as well about him not talking to YOU when you were right there....sounds a tad bit chauvanistic (spelling).

GOOD LUCK!!!

No you shouldnt pay for anything. I have 2 dogs that are outside during the day. If they were to get out and cause damage to anyones property ( even the neighbors im not fond of) I would offer to pay for any & all damage they caused. Your neighbor sounds like a jerk and not a very good dog owner.

Is it in between your two propertie lines? Or is it on one or the other.

We have a very good relationship with our neighbors and when we put up our fence this past spring he let us butt (is that the right word?) it right up to his so we only had to build 3 sides. So if anything ever happened to that side of the fence they would replace it since it is on their property line.

You can contact the city and have them come survery the property and figure out whose property line it falls on.

Your neighbor needs to pay for the broken boards of the fence since it is his dogs doing the damage.
Not knowing your neighbor but if they have a small but nice yard with a Gazebo & Koi pond, he sounds handy, & maybe when he said he needs to talk to your husband about replacing the fence you share, is because he may be willing to work with your husband to physically replace the boards since it will be working on both sides of the fence (your yard/his yard) and out of respect for your husband not to discuss it with you since you are married and he doesn't need to add to the situation more than it already is.
Solution would be to have him chain up his dogs temporarly and take the fence down all along his side & both or yourself pay for cement (& him the broken boards of course) & build a two foot deep trench all the way down the fence line on the side his dogs would be coming from leaving about a 1/4 or 1/2 a foot above the ground & then replace the fence on top of the cement portion that would make it final once & for all, I know as we did this, make sure you leave a hole through the cement where water can drain to each of the yards for rain, PVC pipe works well placed before pouring the cement. Best of luck to you!

My feeling is you never are obligated to pay for a shared fence, but it is nice. If you are not in the position to pay, just say, I'm sorry, that's not in our budget now. If the only issue with the fence is that they are digging under it, a new fence won't stop them from getting into your yard. If that is truly the case, you can offer up some solutions like maybe they could chain their dogs where they can't quite make it to the fence, plant some bushes along the fence line that would deter them from getting all the way to the fence. Again, if they are digging and that is the only problem, a new fence won't help. Maybe you can just replace the broken boards. I think I would try as nicely as possible to explain that you don't feel you should pay for a fence that is perfectly fine except for where their dogs have caused damage.

Who has the "right" side of the fence? That's who "owns" the fence on those sides.

I have no pesonal experience with this, but could you erect your own fence, just inside of the common fence so that it is definately on your property and no longer a "shared" fence? I am asking this because then when it is damaged, you can definately make it your neighbor's issue.

A good dog owner would make securing their yard and repairing the common fence his/her issue, but it sounds like this neighbor is clueless.

Good luck. I hope you can keep the peace.
~C.

1. It is off putting that he needs to talk to your husband, but think of it as a culture difference. I have learned that some cultures simply refuse to speak to me as a woman. Others won't speak to a married woman. Just shrug it off as that.

2. We had pigs that used to get out all the time and there are several solutions. You could string a line of electric fence and they will learn not to come into your yard. This can be done before the fence is fixed. You could put about a foot of cement under the fence and they will learn not to dig under the fence.

You could take the high road and say your not going to pay half of the fence, if that's what he's implying. However, he may not be able to afford to repair it. It could be one of those situations where if you want it done, your going to have to do it. Just make sure when it is done, you do it in a way where it is not going to get broken again so fast.

Your neighbor should pay for the fence AND contain his animals.

I was the neighbor whose dogs constantly broke through the fence and I spent TONS of money fixing the fence, the neighbor's mangled drip line, replacing plants and trying to secure my yard. I even had to cover vet bills when my pooch and the neighbors pooch had a fight. My willingness to step up with the checkbook and keep trying for solutions was probably the only thing that kept me on speaking terms with my neighbors.

In the end, the only thing that helped was doggie old age. I tried everything from chicken wire, to shock collars, to keeping them indoors. Nothing worked. <chuckle> I raised two fine sons, but a dog whisperer I am not! Now, my dog (we recently had to put one down :( ) is too old and tired to do these things.

Even though I love/d my dogs with all my heart, I will never own another one. Nor would I willing buy a house next to people with dogs. I'm just done.

Good luck!

Your neighbor needs to pay for the fence AND find a way to keep his dogs in his yard. It sounds like you have been a very nice neighbor putting up with this. I would start complaining that he needs to get his dogs under control.

If the fence is on both surveys, yes, generally both parties must split repair costs. And most judges will say you are responsible for dog-proofing the fence, while he is responsible for keeping his dog in his yard. So that puts it at 50-50.

If the fence is only on your survey, then your neighbor has destroyed your property.

They should be fixing it if their dog is tearing it up. I know it is hard with neighbors as you want to keep the peace. I would make it clear that you are not repairing it, they need to take responsibility for their own dogs. If they are the type to not fix it than send them a certified letter stating that you are giving them 30 days to fix it or you will let a court make a judgement on the damage. Only go this route if you have politely asked them to take responsibility for the dogs and to allow them the chance to fix it. I would suggest that if the dogs dig is to place something at the bottom of the fence on their side to send a message to the dogs it is not okay to dig. I hate when people have big dogs in cramped spaces and they may not be exercising them and that is why they are digging to get out, normally when dogs are exercised they are too tired to sit and dig at something. Good Luck to you! You are dealing with dogs and I am dealing with a drunk neighbor! Seems like there is always something to test us.

If the wind blows down the fence, then you split the payment. If your kids break the fence, then you pay for it. If his dogs break the fence, then he pays for it. You only split it when it's no one fault. If it's someone's fault that the fence broke, then the person responsible needs to do something about it.

We've had similar problems with the fence breaking, but luckily our neighbors have fixed the fence themselves. And when it's the wind or a storm blowing it over (it gets super windy out here!), then we split the cost. No big deal.

I guess you need to consider whether your relationship or the cost to fix the fence (that you technically aren't responsible for) is more important. Will it be worth refusing to pay and telling him it's his fault and he's responsible and potentially creating an enemy neighbor. Or would you prefer to keep the peace and pay for half of it?

He needs to do something about his dogs. Our neighbors on both sides had dogs. They put boards along the bottom that somehow kept them out. Then our neighbor in the back, on the corner, his huge dog kept digging into our backyard. So, we filled in his hole with some cement. Now he can't get in. Technically the owner should have done that, but we saw he had made attempts several times and failed.

Anyway, you are right that you hold no responsibility. It's more a matter of what you want the end result to be as to whether you go ahead and pay or not. Not a fun situation. I would be irritated! He should realize he's responsible when HIS dogs ruined the fence.

BLOCK WALL! The first house my husband and I bought had a wood fence and their dogs did the same thing. We were pretty cool about it until we were out of town for a week and their dogs came INTO OUR HOUSE with muddy paws and chewed EVERYTHING, furniture, shoes, rugs, toiletries, husbands expensive script glasses, etc, etc, etc. The damage was huge and their compromise was to pay for 2/3 for a block wall to keep them out.

WHO owns the fence? Typically if the poles are in your yard the fence is your responsibility. The exception is if your property backs up to an alley. Then of course it is your fence no matter where the poles are located.

"Talking to your husband." Ha! Iwould have had to tell him that my husband and i make decisions eaqually. Anything you wish to discuss you candiscuss with me and i will share it with my husband.

All that being said... Good fences make for good neighbors. If the fence is his and just needs minor repairs he should suck it up and fix what his dogsdestroyed. If it must be rellaced, offer to pay 1/3 of the agreed upon construction. Afterall, you have been paying for upkeep and maintenance on you side. Obviously he has not.

We just replaced 127ft of shared fence. It was our neighbors fence and the storm knockec it down. However they have a pool and we have a 7 yr old. We were tired of them "looking for the cheapest price." So we claimed it on our insurance and replacec it.

We actually had our next door neighbor call our city's "Code Enforcement," because our cats sometimes go in his yard to do their business. The woman who came out explained to him that cats are wild by nature and you can't control where they go. But, she told us that if he trapped one of them on his property (it's legal) they would come out, take the animal, and we would have to pay a fine for not keeping the cats on our property as it's our responsibility.

That said, it's your neighbor's responsibility to keep his dogs in his yard, regardless if the yard is too small for them. Have your husband talk to him and respect whatever decision they come to regarding the fence.

I would take him to small claims court. Try to get some video evidence if you can to back up your claim. YOU should NOT have to pay for the fence. No matter whose fence it is, it's his dogs that are tearing it up, therefore,
he should pay for his dogs' destruction. Next time he says something about you paying for "the fence you share", just say "yes, I'll find out an estimate & send you the bill" since it's his job to keep his dogs in his yard. If he argues, tell him that you will take it up w/the proper authorities if he doesn't stop or tell him that next time he allows his dogs into your yard, you can't be held responsible for anything that may happen to them...OR better yet, don't say anything then take it up either with the police & if that don't help, take him by surprise to small claims court, that way he won't concoct any type of false information. But I'd definitly get it on tape how the dogs are getting in, document every time they do it...at least the date if you can't get the time it happened too. If you have a phone w/a recorder, tape any conversation you have so you can have that too! Good luck!