Anonymous
Post 05/22/2025 20:20     Subject: Say something or not?
Anonymous wrote: He could sit on the porch with the door closed. She is retired and home and could easily let him out to do his business as needed.


OR...

You could train your dogs to not GAF. I've trained highly-reactive dogs to ignore other dogs. It's not hard. Quit trying to control your neighbor and just control your own dogs.
Anonymous
Post 05/22/2025 17:48     Subject: Say something or not?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Call animal control definitely. They will remove the dog.


For being inside a fenced in yard?


For the noise violation, presumably.

She'd be calling on herself, though. Her dogs are out in the yard 'fence fighting ' with the other dog.
Anonymous
Post 05/22/2025 16:13     Subject: Say something or not?
The dogs are fence fighting through a 6-foot privacy fence, when they can't see one another?
Anonymous
Post 05/22/2025 11:30     Subject: Say something or not?
Anonymous wrote:Would you say something or not?

My backyard neighbor is in her 70s, lives alone, and is very friendly to me and my kids. She does not own a dog, but she has her family member’s dog at her house 90 percent of the time, and has for at least 5 years. Maybe longer but I didn’t have my own dog before that. I’m not sure why, but for all intents and purposes he is essentially her dog.

The dog is big, looks like some kind of German shepherd lab mix. I have two small 20 lb dogs. We used to have a 4 ft picket fence between our yards and her dog actually bit one of my dogs on the nose two years ago through the fence slats. After that, we replaced the fence with a 6ft full privacy fence but the dogs still “fence fight” and bark at each other every time. A lot of the time I resort to taking my dogs out on a leash in my own fenced backyard to avoid the hullabaloo.

Right now, her dog almost always hangs out on a screened in porch with a propped open door. So he’s not left outside all day per se, but as soon as we step out, he leaps off the porch and charges toward our fence anytime between 8am and 8pm. Lately if she notices him barking and flipping out, she calls him in, but it’s only sometimes, he doesn’t really listen, and my dogs are already on edge and covered in mulch from kicking up their back paws defending their turf.

I’m honestly so sick and tired of not being able to sit on my patio or let my dogs enjoy our yard in peace. It’s been years of this and he is hogging the use of the yard constantly! He could sit on the porch with the door closed. She is retired and home and could easily let him out to do his business as needed. The only time we get a reprieve is when it’s snowy or freezing.

That said, I don’t know if it’s reasonable to request she keep the door closed more or do something different in her own yard. It’s already slightly awkward after the bite incident, which I witnessed because I was out there taking out my dog, and she did not witness because she was in her basement at the time.

This dog means a whole lot to her and she has some other family stuff going on right now. But it’s been YEARS. What would you do?


I would definitely let animal control know. If their dog bit your dog, they can be removed from the property and likely destroyed too.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 22:34     Subject: Say something or not?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Nothing. If your dog’s nose was through the fence and got bit, that’s on you. You have a better fence now…what is there to do or say?


With all due respect, it doesn’t matter where my dog’s nose was or wasn’t. It is never ok for another dog to bite him.


NOPE! Listen, you are responsible for where your dog's nose goes. Your dog, your problem. Always. Would it be nice if other people always took the same approach and everyone was able to mind their business in peace without worry? HELL YES! And is that where we live? EFF NO!

If your dogs weren't nosing at/through the fence, they wouldn't have gotten bit. That's on you. Control the part of this equation you have control over. Teach your dogs to avoid the fenceline. PP is 100% correct, and you need to mind your business, not your neighbor's business.


Oh stop. This is like those homeowners who shot people who accidentally showed up at the wrong house. You can’t just shoot people or bite people! Would you be cool if he bit a kids face through the fence?


Cool with it? No. Liable for it? Also no. Keep your kid's face away from a stranger's fence!

Are you the crazy anti-pit poster who's always bringing guns into it?
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 22:33     Subject: Say something or not?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Call animal control definitely. They will remove the dog.


For being inside a fenced in yard?


For the noise violation, presumably.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 13:58     Subject: Say something or not?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Nothing. If your dog’s nose was through the fence and got bit, that’s on you. You have a better fence now…what is there to do or say?


With all due respect, it doesn’t matter where my dog’s nose was or wasn’t. It is never ok for another dog to bite him.


NOPE! Listen, you are responsible for where your dog's nose goes. Your dog, your problem. Always. Would it be nice if other people always took the same approach and everyone was able to mind their business in peace without worry? HELL YES! And is that where we live? EFF NO!

If your dogs weren't nosing at/through the fence, they wouldn't have gotten bit. That's on you. Control the part of this equation you have control over. Teach your dogs to avoid the fenceline. PP is 100% correct, and you need to mind your business, not your neighbor's business.


Oh stop. This is like those homeowners who shot people who accidentally showed up at the wrong house. You can’t just shoot people or bite people! Would you be cool if he bit a kids face through the fence?
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 13:21     Subject: Say something or not?
Anonymous wrote:Call animal control definitely. They will remove the dog.


For being inside a fenced in yard?
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 13:21     Subject: Say something or not?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I actually think it’s perfectly reasonable to reach out and say: the dogs are so annoying when they are both outside together. Would you be up for accommodating a couple times a week when we would like to be out there without the dogs going nuts and keep yours inside for some agreed upon amount of time.

Its all about how you ask.


Not sure any way of asking can hide that you want to get on a dog turnout schedule with your neighbor. I would agree, sure, then not see your texts when you tried to actually arrange this. Really annoying to even ask.


"Hello, neighbor. We would like you to not use your yard as you see fit, so we can use our yard as we see fit - in the exact same way you are using it. You good with that? Thanks!"

If she's polite, she'll look at you strangely, mumble something, and ignore you. If she's not polite, it will be a 2-word response, and the second word will be "off."
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 13:12     Subject: Say something or not?
Call animal control definitely. They will remove the dog.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 13:08     Subject: Say something or not?
Anonymous wrote:I actually think it’s perfectly reasonable to reach out and say: the dogs are so annoying when they are both outside together. Would you be up for accommodating a couple times a week when we would like to be out there without the dogs going nuts and keep yours inside for some agreed upon amount of time.

Its all about how you ask.


Not sure any way of asking can hide that you want to get on a dog turnout schedule with your neighbor. I would agree, sure, then not see your texts when you tried to actually arrange this. Really annoying to even ask.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 12:49     Subject: Say something or not?
I actually think it’s perfectly reasonable to reach out and say: the dogs are so annoying when they are both outside together. Would you be up for accommodating a couple times a week when we would like to be out there without the dogs going nuts and keep yours inside for some agreed upon amount of time.

Its all about how you ask.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 12:42     Subject: Re:Say something or not?
OP, it sounds like your dogs are at least half of the problem here. You can't ask that your neighbor keep her dog inside when yours are actively harassing it
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 11:13     Subject: Say something or not?
Anonymous wrote:Teach your dogs to ignore hers. It’s possible, but takes work and patience and lots of practice. Then your dogs can enjoy the yard and hers can be annoying.


This is the way. You can't control your annoying neighbor(s) and their annoying dog(s), but your own should be under your full control. Tell your dogs to "leave it" and ignore the other dog. When there's no more chat to be had about it, the other dog will probably stop running over to play barkfest with your dogs.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2025 11:10     Subject: Say something or not?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Nothing. If your dog’s nose was through the fence and got bit, that’s on you. You have a better fence now…what is there to do or say?


With all due respect, it doesn’t matter where my dog’s nose was or wasn’t. It is never ok for another dog to bite him.


NOPE! Listen, you are responsible for where your dog's nose goes. Your dog, your problem. Always. Would it be nice if other people always took the same approach and everyone was able to mind their business in peace without worry? HELL YES! And is that where we live? EFF NO!

If your dogs weren't nosing at/through the fence, they wouldn't have gotten bit. That's on you. Control the part of this equation you have control over. Teach your dogs to avoid the fenceline. PP is 100% correct, and you need to mind your business, not your neighbor's business.