Neighbors dog came over the fence and came after me

[Anonymous]

I told my neighbor several months ago their dog was being overly aggressive, snarling, and trying to jump over the fence. Well today it did and came after me in my own yard. One of the neighbors jumped over the fence and got the dog before it got to me. I ran in the house. It took several minutes to drag the dog back into their house. The neighbors texted me and said they would build a six foot fence if I don’t complain to the city about then building a fence out of code. They think I should be cool with that. I don’t think that’s a solution. It could have been my daughter instead of me. We both have small kids. I don’t feel reassured. I think their kids could leave the gate open or the dog might just dig under the fence. I don’t think it’s worth the risk of keeping a highly aggressive dog. What is the reasonable solution here?

[Anonymous]

I would text back that you don't feel safe around the dog, and a dog that needs an illegal fence to keep it from attacking neighbors is not a dog that belongs in the city limits. I'd flat out say "I appreciate you finally being willing to make a change but I can't stop thinking that it could have been Larla in the yard, not me." Honestly they sound like terrible pet owners *and* parents that they're keeping this dog around their kid.

- dog owner and lover. That dog needs to be surrendered back to whatever rescue they got it from and/or put down.

[Anonymous]

Demand the dog is put down.

[Anonymous]

Call animal control immediately.

[Anonymous]

Call 911

[Anonymous]

If it was jumping the fence in an aggressive way to come after you, I definitely agree with prior posters.

If it was jumping the fence because it is excited and wants to play with you, I wouldn't worry.

The second can be trained away or dealt with by things like taller fences. The first cannot really be trained away, and if the animal is so desperate to attack someone that it will jump a fence, it will find another way.

Not ever barking dog that jumps a fence is aggressive. But a dog that is so aggressive that it's willing to leave it's own territory to proactively attack someone is not a good dog and there's no way to change that.

[Anonymous]

A dog that wants to attack will do so silently, and just lunge and bite. Just remember that the ones who bark and snarl aren't necessarily the ones who do most damage. In the heat of the moment, of course, it's hard to tell, because both types will run towards you, and if you run too, it reinforces their drive to catch you, whether to play with, greet, or bite you.

Since it's better to be safe than sorry, you really should insist that they get rid of it, and tell them you will sue them for all they're worth it the dog hurts anyone in your household.

[Anonymous]

Sadly nobody cares.

Just like guns they are not a threat until they hurt or kill somebody.

Welcome to Merica.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If it was jumping the fence in an aggressive way to come after you, I definitely agree with prior posters.

If it was jumping the fence because it is excited and wants to play with you, I wouldn't worry.

The second can be trained away or dealt with by things like taller fences. The first cannot really be trained away, and if the animal is so desperate to attack someone that it will jump a fence, it will find another way.

Not ever barking dog that jumps a fence is aggressive. But a dog that is so aggressive that it's willing to leave it's own territory to proactively attack someone is not a good dog and there's no way to change that.

I would 100% agree with this, but OP specifically said the dog was snarling at her, not barking. An excited, happy to see a person dog might bark excitedly, but it wouldn't snarl.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would text back that you don't feel safe around the dog, and a dog that needs an illegal fence to keep it from attacking neighbors is not a dog that belongs in the city limits. I'd flat out say "I appreciate you finally being willing to make a change but I can't stop thinking that it could have been Larla in the yard, not me." Honestly they sound like terrible pet owners *and* parents that they're keeping this dog around their kid.

- dog owner and lover. That dog needs to be surrendered back to whatever rescue they got it from and/or put down.

PP again. Just for pragmatic purposes, what I'd do before texting back is call Animal Control. And then you can either write some version of the above and say "I had already called AC before you messaged" or wait until they complain about the visit from AC and tell them you'd already reported it before they texted. Short version: don't get into a negotiation about whether to report it. Report it before you speak to them about next steps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would text back that you don't feel safe around the dog, and a dog that needs an illegal fence to keep it from attacking neighbors is not a dog that belongs in the city limits. I'd flat out say "I appreciate you finally being willing to make a change but I can't stop thinking that it could have been Larla in the yard, not me." Honestly they sound like terrible pet owners *and* parents that they're keeping this dog around their kid.

- dog owner and lover. That dog needs to be surrendered back to whatever rescue they got it from and/or put down.

PP again. Just for pragmatic purposes, what I'd do before texting back is call Animal Control. And then you can either write some version of the above and say "I had already called AC before you messaged" or wait until they complain about the visit from AC and tell them you'd already reported it before they texted. Short version: don't get into a negotiation about whether to report it. Report it before you speak to them about next steps.

Yup this.
But I'd also be inclined to get a permit for a very secure fence of my own--very tall and possibly topped with some kind of dog deterrent. You can't rely on this bozo neighbor for your safety.

[Anonymous]

My friend almost lost his life this way and had to have extensive surgeries on his face after the dog mauled him. Please take this seriously. Report the dog.

[Anonymous]

It depends on if the dog was actually aggressive or not.

OP could just be scared of the dog so automatically believes it’s snarling and wants to attack. Or it could be an excited dog with a loud bark that needs more training and a better fence.

The way people on here are so quick to always believe the worst, I’m not jumping to the OPs conclusions right away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It depends on if the dog was actually aggressive or not.

OP could just be scared of the dog so automatically believes it’s snarling and wants to attack. Or it could be an excited dog with a loud bark that needs more training and a better fence.

The way people on here are so quick to always believe the worst, I’m not jumping to the OPs conclusions right away.

How is op - or anyone else supposed to know if the dog was ‘actually aggressive or not’? Try it ahead and see if it eats her ears off?

Op, I’d report the dog. If they don’t regime it, I’d demand the fence and chaining at all times or the dog goes. My sister has an extremely aggressive dog behind her that’s about three ‘playful’ jumps away from taking down the 6’ fence between them and eating her cocker spaniel. This ‘playful’ dog lunged through their front window at me and my dog a few weeks ago. Happily the broken glass cut his paw so he didn’t go for the second attempt through the window.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would text back that you don't feel safe around the dog, and a dog that needs an illegal fence to keep it from attacking neighbors is not a dog that belongs in the city limits. I'd flat out say "I appreciate you finally being willing to make a change but I can't stop thinking that it could have been Larla in the yard, not me." Honestly they sound like terrible pet owners *and* parents that they're keeping this dog around their kid.

- dog owner and lover. That dog needs to be surrendered back to whatever rescue they got it from and/or put down.

Spot on.