[Tbugs]

I just read the POA paper that was delivered on my driveway. On page 13, a letter to the editor states the concerns of a person who went for a walk and saw 2 dogs in the yard who were barking at the people walking by the yard. The dogs did not come out of the yard because they most likely had the underground dog fencing around the yard. The writer stated he did not believe dogs should be left outside in the yard.

The response from the POA newletter was that they forwarded the question to Diane Tucker, District Operations Manager, who oversees deed compliance and her response was: "The Restrictive Covenants state the pet(s) must be kept on a leash. We would be happy to have our Deed Compliance Officer talk with the property owner if you provide us with an address."

Basically, this is saying that even though you have underground fencing, the dogs have to be leashed. Does this sound correct? I always thought that if dogs were not allowed out of your yard, they were allowed to be unleashed.

[MikeH]

What is it about this sentence that is not understandable? "The Restrictive Covenants state the pet(s) must be kept on a leash."

[JSR22]

There would not be any purpose for underground fences if dogs need to be leashed on their property. The reason for underground fences are for the dogs to be unleashed on their property.

[Mark1130]

So this means that if I have a CYV with a fence I still cannot let my dog out without a leash?

[bike42]

Here's the exact wording (Sumter County): "Birds, fish, dogs and cats shall be permitted, with a maximum of two (2) pets per Homesite. Each Owner shall be personally responsible for damage caused to dedicated or reserved areas by any such pet and shall be responsible to immediately remove and dispose of any excrement of such pet and shall be responsible to keep such pet on a leash."

Since the leash statement is part of the sentence about dedicated or reserved areas, EITHER they need to be kept on leash while in those dedicated or reserved (public) areas OR they need to be on leash at all times, including in the house. Fish on leashes too. I think Ms. Tucker might want to check with a lawyer before she sends out the deed restriction police.

[K9-Lovers]

I love foreign films. No, this is not a hijack. There is a Korean film that is just wonderful, "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter . . . And Spring". You don't have to know how to speak Korean, or read subtitles, because there is very little dialogue in this flick. One of the lessons to be learned by the main character is demonstrated by him putting a leash on a fish. YES! He ties a string around a fish, and ties the end to a rock. Now the poor fish is tethered. He feels guilty and returns to the pond, but the fish is already dead. His punishment (by his Buddhist Monk teacher) is to tether a large rock to himself with a rope. He wears this for some time.

Interesting movie. I watched it over 2 years ago, and still think about it occasionally.

Anyway, please don't put leashes on your fishes.

Here is a link to the movie trailer, which shows the leash on the fish. You have to get past a "Platoon" movie advertisement first.

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2441412889/

[Barefoot]

I'll leash my dogs on my property where they're confined by invisible fencing. No problem. But first, I want The Villages to leash the golf course alligators.

[graciegirl]

There are some people that do not like dogs and/or are afraid of them.

That is probably the reason for the original letter.

Wouldn't you hate to have to be the one who had to answer her and represent The Villages? Legally? What if the power went out? I'd hate to try to answer that letter.

Dogs may bark at you when they are in their yard with an invisible fence. They may think they are protecting their yard. People who don't like dogs are always not going to like dogs.

I like dogs. A LOT.

We have two cats.

I am Aunt to a dog named Lexi.

I really LOVE dogs.

[Tbugs]

Do the deed restrictions mean that dogs must be on a leash even though the yard has invisible fences? I would hate to see someone go to the expense of having an invisible fence installed and then find out they can be cited for having an unleashed dog in their yard that someone thinks might attack while they are walking on the street by that yard.

[Gerald]

It seems to me. That there is only a problem if the dog leaves the owners property. Since an electric fence could lose its power I can see why there might be a fear that the dog might run out and do whatever outside the owners property. Also since we can not fence in most of the properties with a physical fence that the dog can not get by I can understand the problem. Someone told me you could put in a small physical fenced in dog run on your property say on the side of the house. If that is true would that solve the problem for everyone. Just wondering at this point

[DonH57]

From restrictions I read there can be no physical fencing or visable containment means on any property of any construction. I'm only boggled by the start of this post as to what occurred originally. I'll read it again.

[bluedog103]

Originally Posted by Gerald

It seems to me. That there is only a problem if the dog leaves the owners property. Since an electric fence could lose its power I can see why there might be a fear that the dog might run out and do whatever outside the owners property. Also since we can not fence in most of the properties with a physical fence that the dog can not get by I can understand the problem. Someone told me you could put in a small physical fenced in dog run on your property say on the side of the house. If that is true would that solve the problem for everyone. Just wondering at this point

What if the leash breaks, what if it slips out of the person's hand, what if the dog walker falls and drops the leash, what if the dog barks even when on the leash, what if the person complaining is afraid the dog will pull free, what if...what if...what if....
If the dog stays in its yard, there is no problem.

[tony]

I think I would contend the invisible fence is, in fact, a leash. Dog are trained not to go beyond a certain boundary, and after a while if power is removed, the dog stays inside the boundary.

Friends of mine have it and I have seen that demonstrated.

That's just my view, from the outside looking in.

Some people would rather see fences permitted and have their neighbors own an invisible dog.

[billnterri]

Tony is right. Our dog was trained to know where the boundaries are and she won't go near them. She doesn't know if the power is on or not, if the collar battery is dead or not, or if the system is unplugged (My husband likes to use that outlet for some reason and often fails to re-plug the invisible fence). I'm sure there is a slight possibility that a dog could get out, but again, at what point do we stop with the "what if's"?

[DonH57]

We had a failure of our invisable fence due to a line breakage about 8 months ago. It was repaired 2 weeks after the audible alarm signalled a problem. Our dog has been on the system since he was a puppy 4 years ago. He did'nt try to break thru and he actually never goes to the borders of our yard. He knows what that warning tone means.