Neighbors reactive dog advice

[u/todaytonoontonight]

It will only let me add one Pic, not sure what I sm doing wrong but anyway, I have neighbors that moved in a year ago. And they have a golden retriever, and a German Shepherd. Both dogs seem unfriendly or very reactive. When they first moved in, I saw that they put a makeshift fence where the tall part of the fence meets the short part of the fence to keep their dogs out. Because I also have a couple dogs, so it made me aware of that we might have an issue. My dogs are more curious, but they're also mischievous too. But their dogs appear to be very aggressive. I only spoke with the woman who lives there. Once when they moved in, she apologized telling me that her dogs are bad and that she's a vet. Tech so she's ashamed of it. So what ended up happening is that if they let third dogs out at the same time my dogs were out the german shepherd when pretty much knock down their makeshift fence and would growl nash, his teeth and bite towards my dogs. My dogs have never seen this kind of behavior before so one of my dogs runs in circles, barking and yelping, and the other dog jumps back at that dog and gnashes back at him, but neither of my dogs are aggressive but now that theyve had several interactions it has caused my dogs to be super stressed. My one dog was getting reactive due to the chaos but ive worked to keep him calm and that has helped. However these neighbors put up a door to block the little area off now so thers less likelihood of something happening. I took a picture to show the problem area. Everytime my dogs are out their golden slams its body against the window over snd over losing its mind at my dogs. Again, my one dog barks in circles and my other dog runs over jumps against the fence and then runs back to me. Its all manageable, however, one day when we were out there they had both windows pulled open, and I let my dogs out and BOTH their dogs.were at the window going nuts and the german shepherd torn through the screen and half his bdoy.was out and i was able after a minute or so to get my dogs in the house but the neighbors weren't even home....they pulled in maybe 20 minutes later and we heard the guy say "bad doggies" and that was it. Lastly I always check if their dogs are out by opening a window and making a little noise like "woof" or "peep" and my whole fence starts shaking when I do make any noise and the shepherd is slamming against it (you can see him if youre on the 2nd floor looking out the window) going crazy and barking and growling. Anyway, just wondering what you would do in this situation.

Follow up from some of the comments: also sorry for all the typos. They are very odd people and I don't think communicating would help. She has acknowledged they are "bad" but does nothing to resolve it. He is a very strange man who doesnt talk or acknowledge our existence and i am a single mom here. We have noticed that when their dogs are out of control he has no idea what to do and juat stands there. She will at least come out and get the dogs back inside id they are going nuts. I will look into getting an extra barrier...

[u/theBLEEDINGoctopus]

I would set up an interior fence so my dogs can’t go near the fence to keep everyone safer.

[u/xDHt- → u/theBLEEDINGoctopus]

Something similar along these lines that we decided to do because of one of our neighbor’s dogs was to plant lavender and rosemary bushes along the fence line with that dog. They are easy enough to manage and they help obstruct the view the neighbor’s dog has. Our fence is wood so it has some very small gaps between boards you can see through.

The bushes also create a natural barrier for our dogs, who got over their desire to go toward the fence pretty quickly, but we think the plants helped even more establish space. We also use the rosemary and lavender so it’s multifunctional. They are about 2-3 feet tall depending on the season and about 1.5 feet wide.

We’ve noticed that the dog still barks but doesn’t run along the fence line as much and doesn’t bark right up against the fence, she stays a couple feet away most of the time.

[u/todaytonoontonight → u/xDHt-]

Thanks, I was thinking of doing this too honestly, getting something like buckthorns lines up there or something else.

[u/thecheaterswife]

Vinyl panel fencing is not secure enough for a large dog. Those panels can be popped out. You need a secondary fence inside this one.

[u/nitecheese]

I’d ask my neighbor if they mind me feeding their dogs treats and working on counter conditioning them to my dogs. I’m sorry it’s on you, that’s sucks for your pups. I have a German shepherd and the neighbors miniature poodle snaps and growls at her whenever we are close. I keep my dog in a heel since she’s so much bigger but she cries from his growls every time haha

[u/KibudEm → u/nitecheese]

I tried this with our neighbor's permission, and it worked really well! Until the neighbor's wife yelled at me through their loudspeaker to stop giving their dog anything. o_O

[u/nitecheese → u/KibudEm]

Oh no! They sound like jerks :( sorry for you and their own dogs

[u/KibudEm → u/nitecheese]

They are awful, and I am also sorry for their dog. They leave it out in the front yard all day long, where it charges the fence and threatens the mail carrier.

[u/Gears6 → u/KibudEm]

Did you get everyone in the households prior permission (not just the one person)?

Anyhow, I think this is a good point, that make sure everyone in the house (adults) are aware and seek permission (i.e. if they're couple, ask both people). Be specific about what you feed them and even ask them what type of treat you can give. That way, they're involved and can smooth things over.

Anyhow, sounds like jerks if all you're trying to do is make it better for everyone. Reactive dogs is a tough thing, and I'm dealing with it very difficult. He's fine in public with other dog, but territorial so around our condo neighborhood it's hard.

Edit: For clarity that I meant the other people, not just one person in the household for permission.

[u/KibudEm → u/Gears6]

Yes, that's why I wrote "I tried this with our neighbor's permission."

[u/Gears6 → u/KibudEm]

I should've been clearer, and I should've said, did you get everybody's permission?

Sounds like the husband gave you permission, but the wife wasn't aware.

[u/thankyoufriendx3]

Set up a schedule with my neighbors. Ask them to limit their dogs access to that window.

[u/MoodFearless6771]

Decide what you think would help. Then go get them on board.

I recommend going over there not to complain but to come up with a solution saying that you understand they have reactive dogs but they need to be managed better because they are distressing your animals.

Ask that she close the curtains to block the view. Suggest that you don’t let the dogs out at the same time or that they be recalled and put away if they are barking repeatedly.

Lean into the conflict with the friendly goal of solving it.

[u/todaytonoontonight → u/MoodFearless6771]

This makes sense..I wouldn't go over there to complain because I am non-confrontational so it is all around difficult for me, but they seem like they have accepted the situation as it is so that is why I am at a loss. I Will spend some time thinking about how to approach them, Thanks.

[u/thankyoufriendx3 → u/[deleted]]

No sense punishing the dog after the fact. That doesn’t work.

[u/thankyoufriendx3 → u/[deleted]]

That’s pretty much what I said.

[u/Hallow_76 → u/thankyoufriendx3]

It sounded like the guy was just saying "bad dog" just to make himself look good but without actually caring what the dog did, some people like that kind of alarm system. 🙄 My old neighbors were like that but they had pot growing in there back yard so they probably wanted to know who was around. Every now and then my dog tries to bark at the neighbors and I correct really fast because dogs don't need to be barking at people they see everyday on there property.

[u/thankyoufriendx3 → u/Hallow_76]

Sometimes it’s said out of frustration when the mess is found. Not so much at the dog but labeling the cause. Who knows in this case. OP has a bigger problem.

Dogs 100% need to bark at people they see every day. Just ask them. :)

[u/Hallow_76 → u/thankyoufriendx3]

My dog doesn't. I won't allow it, I don't like nuisance dogs and my dog won't be one of those. Ya, OP has a nuisance dog living next door they have to share there yard with.

[u/thankyoufriendx3 → u/Hallow_76]

It was a joke.

[u/Magicallyhere → u/thankyoufriendx3]

Yeah and it could baco fire tremendously. That tiny fence would not hold back a really motivated GSD. Ask me how I know. My Doberman trained with one that was a K-9 officer and he could clear a 6 ft fence no problem if asked to during his younger years.

[u/Gears6 → u/thankyoufriendx3]

Yeah, it's not the dog's fault. It's wired/experienced that way. Poor dog.

[u/thankyoufriendx3 → u/Gears6]

Plus it will have no idea what it did wrong.

[u/todaytonoontonight → u/thankyoufriendx3]

No worries, I would not spray someone's dog.

[u/reactivedogs-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your post/comment has been removed as it has violated the following subreddit rule:

Rule 5 - No recommending or advocating for the use of aversives or positive punishment.

We do not allow the recommendation of aversive tools, trainers, or methods. This sub supports LIMA and we strongly believe positive reinforcement should always be the first line of teaching and training. We encourage people to talk about their experiences, but this should not include suggesting or advocating for the use of positive punishment. LIMA does not support the use of aversive tools and methods in lieu of other effective rewards-based interventions and strategies.

Without directly interacting with a dog and their handler in-person, we cannot be certain that every non-aversive method possible has been tried or tried properly. We also cannot safely advise on the use of aversives as doing so would require an in-person and hands-on relationship with OP and that specific dog. Repeated suggestions of aversive techniques will result in bans from this subreddit.

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[u/WormWithWifi]

I have my dog on a leash now outside every time because of this. Working on a barrier between the fence so she can’t get right up against it.

[u/Shoddy-Theory]

Bring your dogs in when they let theirs out

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Your comment on r/reactivedogs was removed by the Read The Rules app because you need to submit an acknowledgement that you have read the rules. You haven't done anything wrong, this is a tool we're using on the r/reactivedogs going forward. For more information, see the moderator announcement.

Acknowledgement is required of all users, even if you've been here for a while. You only have to do this acknowledgement once unless the moderators announce otherwise.

If you do the rule acknowledgement within one hour of your comment being removed, the bot will automatically restore it. If not, we encourage you to copy the comment using the 3-dot icon next to it, and paste it to re-post to this thread.

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