DOG PROBLEM

So I bought my home about a year ago. One of the reasons I bought this home was it was on a cul de sac in a nice quiet neighborhood & had a decent amount of land. Prior to moving, I made a promise to my son for that I would get a dog when we had the proper means & space to care for it so naturally after moved in I adopted a female puppy for the family. I figured it was a good idea to have an extra set of ears & eyes on my family too, since I work at night.
I considered us lucky because she was like an angel. She never caused trouble, tried to escape, barely barked, & never even had an accident in the house. The one small problem we did start to have after a while was that a neighbor’s dog actually liked break into my yard. The dog looked just like mine but was male. I didn’t consider it a big issue because both were fixed & they got a long like best friends, running around & playing. I even invited the owner to bring him over if they ever wanted since someone is always home at my house. The owner never took me up on the offer but his dog would break out & visit a few times a month to the point where I had his owners number on speed dial & the owner knew where to go everytime he realized his dog broke out.




I seen how sad both dogs were when separated & after the neighbor started locking his dog up better decided it was a good idea to get another dog since she enjoyed the extra K9 company.So I adopted a male puppy that resembled my dog & they got along just fine. All summer my son played out in the yard with them. They did escape once through a spot where the other dog used to break in but my next door neighbor brought them back after she was kissed to death. She has a dog of her own & really likes mine saying hi to them every time she walks by so it wasn’t a big issue. I fixed the fence & added a bunch of stakes for extra strength anyway & never had an issue again till now.
My other neighbor at the rear of my yard is an older women who clearly loves animals but she seems a little weird. She will come out of her home & walk toward my gate just staring at the dogs driving them nuts. I’ve actually watched he just stand there really close for a long time as my female barks at her like crazy & had to walk out to figure out what she wanted. I’ve had to do this multiple times & even my male dog is starting to bark at her. It’s a pain in the butt having to throw shoes on when I’m dressed for bed only to walk through my whole yard & here the same thing every time. She says they are so beautiful & ask if I think they would bite her. I told her they never bite anyone before & don’t usually show aggression like they do towards her so it was probably best not to reach her arm over the gate. I thanked her for the compliment but mentioned it was probably best if she didn’t just walk up to the gate & stare, especially while my son is in the yard because clearly they think she is a threat. I really don’t think it’s fair to train them to allow folks to walk straight through my yard toward me house either for security reasons.
Today it happened again & after walking over to her I asked what she needed & again got the same response so I gave her the same answer. I asked if there was anything else because she had a lease in her hand. She said she just lost her dog walking it a few minutes ago & wanted to see if it made its way over to my yard. This kind of made me worry a bit because I’m 99% sure she don’t even have a dog & I’m wondering if she has a small mental issue.
My dogs are up to date on all shots, been micro chipped, a life time dog license, & anything else you could possibly think of a responsible owner should do. The fence around my yard has over ten “beware of dogs” signs clearly posted. Besides having to walk out all the time, I’m really worried one day this lady is going to tempt fate & get bite or let them out. I don’t want to see anyone get hurt & really don’t want to be responsible for anything she causes. I was thinking of talking to her husband or even setting up some kind of surveillance or new fence but don’t think it’s fair I have to spend even more money & don’t want to be a jerk neighbor either. Any suggestions?

Those are beautiful dogs. Your neighbor does sound like a bit of a loon, but instead of just taking care of her, since the world is full of loons, maybe a better equipped fence might be an idea.

My back yard has a 6 foot tall privacy fence with a locked gate. I think that would be helpful. Or you can purchase vinyl slats that weave into your wire fence so that people can't see through. You can run a 2 foot wire fence on top of your 4 foot by just nailing it to 6 foot posts.
Alternatively you can make the fence impassable by planting a hedge or a climbing rose. Rosa 'Mermaid' is very effective, I had one at my previous home, it grows quickly, is huge, with pretty single yellow blooms on and off in flushes all year (in Texas) and wicked thorns.


There is some theft in my area and dog theft is big business in general these days. So most of the time, when my dogs are outside I am outside with them. I do let them hang out in the back (behind the six foot privacy fence) on nice days by themselves for a little while if I am doing stuff inside, whenever they start barking (inside or out) I go check out why.
I don't think even a loon would go over a 6 foot fence or a thorny rose hedge.

Originally Posted by Lucille

Those are beautiful dogs. Your neighbor does sound like a bit of a loon, but instead of just taking care of her, since the world is full of loons, maybe a better equipped fence might be an idea. My back yard has a 6 foot tall privacy fence with a locked gate.

Thanks, my son picked them out because they reminded him of cows. Even though I really like it open, my wife said she wanted a privacy fence & honestly it sounds like that's going to be the way to go. It's just a lot of fence to put in & I'm guessing will cost me a lot. There are still a few other things that I need to finish updating on the house so I'll probably have to just deal with it until I get a tax refund or something. I really like & didn't even think of the hedges idea. That would keep an open natural feeling to it too so I might have to look into that & how fast they grow.

I know what you mean about folks stealing dogs. They do it around my area too, especially the bully breeds dogs. I doubt that's my neighbors plan, I just think she see's herself as the next Cesar Millan or something.

Thanks for the tips, especially the one about the Mermaid Rose. I'm gonna look into that or some other safe for dog hedge's.

Chris,
My front yard has a four foot picket fence which I built myself ( my sons helped with a few of the post holes).

It took a while to get done but it is beautiful if I do say so myself. And it cost a fraction of what a fence company would have charged. If you ultimately decide that what you want is a privacy fence, check to see if your city/subdivision has any rules about fencing and then consider building it yourself.
Expenses can be spread out a little at a time, (that's what I did) first all you need is posts and concrete, you don't have to buy the fence pickets until your post work is done.
I realize that if you work and have a family, your time at home is precious. But on the other hand it could be turned into a family project with picnics as you are setting up the fence, father/son time to show your son how to research and plan and accomplish a project, etc.

I would be careful with any mentally unstable person around your dogs. My smaller pit is exceptional with mentally challenged people, but my bigger one needs to be distracted when one comes by him on walks. I'm not sure if theres any correlation but i would hate to see somebody else with a bully breed issue because they didn't know their boundaries. Maybe a large hedge would be the best idea, that way she can see the dogs but not reach them.

It cost's a bit but I had full 6 ft wooden fence installed this summer. I had a hodge podge of fencing that looked horrible. My neighbor to left of me put up a wooden fence with crappy side towards my house and she had a 3 ft wire fence next to that. I got to see all the crap grow in between. Behind me put up a 4 ft wooden fence that looked liked it was made from pallets. I then had a 5 ft wire fence that was rusty and a double wire gate fence at drive.

My dogs fought with dogs behind us through the holes and boards had been knocked through a couple times. There is now 3 ft between the 2 fences in back. It was a pain because the people behind me had no control over dogs. My other neighbor had a berry tree that dumps berry's all over which caused skunks, opossums and racoons. I had many a fight after dark and that problem has gone away. I still do a quick scan with high powered flash light before letting them out.

I installed an extra heavy fence. Not only does it look 100% better but provides security. I don't have to see people out in backyard and dogs are much quieter when out. It also increased property value.

1) Lock on the gate, for more than just the neighbor.

2) I would go with a thorny privacy hedge over a taller fence. You could either plant ornamental flowers like Lucille suggested, or something like blueberry or blackberry bushes.

It may also be a good idea to install video surveillance, just in case. It sounds like your neighbor may have a bit of dementia going on. She probably doesn't mean any harm, but that doesn't mean she still can't cause accidental damage to herself or your dogs if she sends your dogs the wrong signals. A privacy fence is probably the best solution for everyone though. If you are having problems now, it may take too much time for vegetation to grow up high enough for you to get any benefit out of it, especially since you are now entering winter up in Pennsylvania.

I'm not sure the exact breed because I adopted them but clearly they have some kind of bully breed mixed in which is another reason I want to be extra careful since I know they get a bad rap as it & will made to look like the bad guys no matter what. I was actually thinking of maybe catching her husband when he is outside one day cutting the grass or something & just talk a little. Hopefully if I'm extra sensitive maybe I can get some insight on what's actually going on in the meantime. I'll definitely update this thread if I get any info. Lots of good ideas here for me to think about & I know eventually something will have to be done.

I spent a lot trying to be a good dog owner already & know it's my responsibility to get it done soon as I can, which I am fine with. I just wanted to post an image too just so everyone gets an idea of the size gate I would need to get. I don't want anyone to think I'm just being jerk but it's a lot to cover for me & I know I'll need a little time to get the funds together.

You need to call the police and file a report. I've seen people like this at the dog park or around neighborhoods with a lot of dogs. She might try taking one of your dogs or something. Be careful