Neighbor's Dogs

[Kerry L]

I am looking for some advice here....

Last July we bought a new house with 3 awesome acres of land. The land was one of the reasons we purchased the house; so we could play outside with our doodle, Hank (now 2.5 years old) and our daughter (now 18 months old) and we are also expecting another baby in September. We are in the country and our only neighbor's are right next to us. When we first moved they had 2 dogs (Boston Terriers), one male (Vader) and one female (Chewy). They have an underground fence so the dogs never came over but they barked non-stop. Whenever Hank was outside they would bark like crazy, Hank seemed uninterested and pretty much ignored them. When we'd go for walks, they go crazy and run back and forth while we passed. Vader seemed to be getting more and more aggressive so they decided to get another dog to distract Vader and Chewy! (I should mention that our neighbors are vets and own an animal clinic so I thought maybe, they had some knowledge that I was unaware of.) When they mentioned getting a new dog to me, my first thought was "Isn't this going to just encourage a pack-mentality behavior?" but I'm not an expert. They got the dog, this one is some kind of weiner dog mix that they named Jowa (male). Predictably, this didn't help and only added one more dog that barks to the mix.

Well winter came and we are in Wisconsin so they let their dogs out less because of the frigid temps. It was quiet most of the winter. Now, it's spring here....and the issues have intensified! Vader seems to be really aggressive now. He's ran thru the underground fence and comes of over, chases our Hank and nips at him. He's corned Hank on our deck a couple times and barks in his face and nips/bites at him. He's never hurt Hank but Hank is also 80 pounds vs Vaders 10-15 pounds. We've chased Vader off but he's as agile as a squirrel, thus nearly impossible to catch and take back to his home.  All 3 dogs sit on the lot line and bark at our house non stop. We will be inside eating dinner and they just sit and bark at our house. Their bark is a pitch pierces your ears! Annoying.

Then last Friday, I was taking Hank and my daughter for a walk and the two other dogs, Chewy and Jowa, came running out from the house when we were walking past. They both chased Hank and were more aggressive than I've ever seen any of the dogs! Hank tried running but finally just layed down with his head hung and both dogs jumped on him, nipping at him. Of course, I was trying to get the dogs off of him, my daughter was screaming then I got tripped and scrapped my knee pretty good. It was complete chaos and the whole time the neighbor were inside. Hank never tried to defend himself, he's such a gentle giant. I felt so bad for him.

Monday, I called the neighbors and filled them in on all the issues with the dogs. The barking, the attacks, everything. He was VERY apologetic and suggested we get the dogs together (one at a time) on lease to 'meet' and 'get everything out' and see if that helps. Will this help? It seems like Hank has already put up with enough, why should he be subjected to more abuse by their dogs?? I feel like their dogs will just bark and go crazy and lunge at Hank if they are on leash. Any suggestions on other solutions?

My main concerns are: Will Hank eventually take enough and snap at one of the dogs? He's WAY bigger than them and he could serisously hurt them/kill them. Will all of this make Hank defensive with other dogs? And my BIGGEST concern is if my daughter gets hurt when one of them comes over again! Help, I'm open to suggestions! The neighbors are showing effort but are clearly at a loss for any real solution.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

It really sounds to me like for the safety of your entire family you need to put up a fence.  It is just a shame the neighbors don't see it as a good idea to do so as well.  When we moved in our house the house next door was vacant.  After we got Lucy and Sophie we put in a electric fence.  They were doing well with it, however, I didn't ever gain a real trust for it.  When a family finally moved in next door they had two toddlers and a baby on the way.  I knew immediately that we were going to have to put up a physical fence because I couldn't take the chance of their children coming into our yard and the doodles knocking them down or something and hurting them.  I'm not sure if the solid wood fence will keep them from barking or not as they will smell, but it will keep them from coming into the yard.

Now for the barking.  We have new neighbors behind us.  The people that lived there before had two boston terriors who I never heard bark a single time.  They didn't even acknowledge our dogs.  Now the new people have three dogs.  I black and white mixed scary dog, a shar pei that looks even scarier and the cutest little beagle boy you have ever seen.  When they moved in I wanted to scream ... bark bark bark.  We couldn't let the girls out with a total bark fest.  I hate barking so I was on our girls constantly about the barking.  I always made them come back inside if they started barking.  The neighbors kept telling me don't worry about them barking, it is ok, we don't mind, that is what dogs do.  I would tell them well, it isn't what my dogs do.  I don't want them thinking that they can just sit and bark non-stop.  So I proceeded to enforce my no bark rule.  It has been several months now and it is getting better.  My girls are pretty much afraid of their boys so they don't get too close to the fence.  AnnaBelle just sits in the middle of the yard and watches them.  What I have learned just in the last few weeks though is that if I speak to the boys when they start barking, that they normally stop.  I just either call them by name and say hello or say hi boys ... hey there boys.  It is strange, but it seems to work.  The neighbors have also realized that I'm not stopping and they now call their boys inside if they don't stop barking.  I hope that you can find something that works for you as well.

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

I'm glad you've decided to not do the "meet and greet." Personally, I think those dogs will continue to respond the way they do until they get proper training. A fence will at least keep Hank and your family safe, but they will still do their obnoxious barking. I applaud the fact that they are apologetic and making some possible attempts to remedy the situation, but yet I'm dumb founded that a VET thought that adding another dog to their pack would help the situation! Yikes!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I have found side by side walks with dogs on-leash to be effective.  They offered to do this one dog at a time, right? And your dog is 80 pounds while theirs are 10 - 15? Who is not in control of a 15 pound dog, even a poorly behaved one? Sounds doable to me, but what do I know? However, I would put up a fence (even if it is entirely at your expense) because I would be concerned that your toddler might get bit.