My neighbor's dog hates me, or maybe not

O

opus1

Joined
Dec 13, 2004
Messages
3,835
Location
Chicago Area
One of our immediate neighbors has a dog that barks like crazy whenever I'm outside, even if I'm just taking the trash out to the bin. Didn't think anything of it until Saturday. I was outside, cleaning the snow from the front porch and walkway, and the wife comes by, walking the dog. We say hello and exchange the usual pleasantries, and she goes into the house.

Then it his me - the dog didn't bark, snort, or make any sort of sound despite seeing me. So I'm thinking it's one of two things; 1) the dog realized it wasn't home yet and didn't feel the need to let me know it was going into protect mode, or 2) the neighbors put up a solid fence that the dog can't see through so whenever I'm in our yard, it flips out because it can't see what's going on and assumes that there's a threat out there.

I'm not losing sleep over this but am curious on what people who deal with dogs think.
 
In my experience and observation 80-90% of dog owners don't really know how to handle or care for their dogs. Most owned dogs are anxious and frustrated and this comes through in the dogs behaviour. It's not the dogs fault or intention, it's the behaviour and ignorance of the owners.

I haven't dug into this in many years but the light went on for me when I started watching the Dog Whisperer. I ended up watching all of it, skipping through all the redundant intros and poor editing (for TV) and the patterns became obvious.

Most dog behaviours are very predictable just like people. Most people who watched the show did not really "get it". People would mishandle their dogs either through ignorance or past trauma and the dogs behaviour would change accordingly.
 
Any dog is naturally protective of its owners and boundaries. If he was released while you were in your yard he wouldn’t give you a second look as he joyfully ran past you to explore the surroundings.
 
If you come across a dog that barks at you, and you'd like to help, then do this:

Remain calm / relax
(can be much harder than you think)
Don't make eye contact
Wait patiently (10mins? 30mins?)

The dogs behaviour will change. After consistent repeated exposure to this the dog will not bark at you (as much or at all). A well balanced dog will not act out like this but that's up to the owner.

Dogs are great at responding to their environment and to people.
 
Certainly a dog can go into protection mode on its home turf, particularly when it's behind a fence. I had a dog that barked at a neighbor until the neighbor consistently greeted the dog by name. That may work for you, may not.
You might offer a treat to make friends when the dog isn't barking at you -- maybe ask your neighbor to bring the dog over to your yard on leash. Have the neighbor shake hands with you to let the dog know you and the neighbor are friends.
 
My enighbors dog sometimes runs up behind me to herd me and remind me to stay on my side of the yard :)
My neighbor worries that it might upset me but I love his dog and know he isnt trying to hurt me.
Now MY dog? He is downright terrified of neighbors dog. When they see each other my dog doesnt bark he just sits down and looks.
Now the dog across the street? My dog barks at him and tries to fight him. He is always on a leash so this is not a problem.
 
Dogs love to know their boundaries and what’s expected of them. When they have that they are very happy. People don’t teach their children boundaries or the dogs.
 
Having time to think about it further, I don't think it's dogs in general because my former neighbor had a Golden Retriever and that dog couldn't get enough of me if we happened to be outside at the same time, and another neighbor has a pair of Samoyeds that like to see me when she takes them for a walk.

Just one of those things I guess...
 
These ultrasonic bark deterrents are not supposed to hurt the dog and are supposedly as annoying to them as barking is to humans. It quiets them pretty easily. Short of DIYing my own super powered ultrasonic device, I plan on getting one of these to see if they work. This model appears to be the most reputable with longest range of all the devices I've researched on the net.

https://stunick.com/products/stunick-sb1-neighbor-pack

SB1-NB-Black.webp
 
MrGraybeard said:
Certainly a dog can go into protection mode on its home turf, particularly when it's behind a fence. I had a dog that barked at a neighbor until the neighbor consistently greeted the dog by name. That may work for you, may not.
You might offer a treat to make friends when the dog isn't barking at you -- maybe ask your neighbor to bring the dog over to your yard on leash. Have the neighbor shake hands with you to let the dog know you and the neighbor are friends.
Click to expand...
Next door neighbors moved in recently and have a dog that always barked at me or my dogs if we were in our yard (separated by a privacy fence). Once I learned the dog's name (Leo), I would greet him through the fence. Once he got used to me doing this, I went next door and introduced myself to his dog in person. No barking, no growling, or other defensive behavior. In fact, his tail was wagging and let me pet him after a few minutes of familiarization. Neighbor asked how the heck I did that because Leo hates everyone, including members of his own family. I told him the secret is to remain calm, speak calmly, and it lets the dog know I don't present a threat to him. Now when Leo comes outside, he doesn't bark at me anymore. I still talk with him though each time we out outside at the same time. We friends now.
 
opus1 said:
Having time to think about it further, I don't think it's dogs in general because my former neighbor had a Golden Retriever and that dog couldn't get enough of me if we happened to be outside at the same time, and another neighbor has a pair of Samoyeds that like to see me when she takes them for a walk.

Just one of those things I guess...
Click to expand...
As long as the dog is behaving in agreement with its owner then there is no issue. If the owner lacks control / influence / understanding then it's their issue. "I don't know why my dog keeps doing that?!?"

Most people don't know how to care for a dog and aren't really that interested or motivated to do so. Bad behavior from dogs is the norm.
 
martinq said:
As long as the dog is behaving in agreement with its owner then there is no issue. If the owner lacks control / influence / understanding then it's their issue. "I don't know why my dog keeps doing that?!?"

Most people don't know how to care for a dog and aren't really that interested or motivated to do so. Bad behavior from dogs is the norm.
Click to expand...
While there are various registries like AKC, most dog breeding is of the backyard variety with little regard about temperament, genetics, etc., and a lot of breeders don't work very hard to socialize puppies. So there are a lot of damaged dogs out there. We have one, a mini-aussie rescued from a hoarder that is congenitally fearful. We're able to provide a quiet environment, but a lot of similar dogs aren't so lucky.

Which reminds me of an old joke: "Lost dog. Three legs, missing an eye, no teeth. Answers to 'Lucky.'"
 
Just depends on the dogs I suppose. My one neighbor had one of those little terrier dogs that would bark at anything that moves. Annoying sometimes to say the least but it was a tiny little thing that would never come anywhere near you so its not like there was some worry it was going to attack or anything. My other neighbor has 2 big dogs and they pretty much only bark at my dog when she goes over to the fence to try to sniff them. Shes annoying to say the least but shes also totally deaf these days so she rarely ever barks anymore, she just wants to smell them. Guess they don't like my dog very much. Other than that they rarely ever bark even when I'm near the fence doing yard work or something and they are outside.
 
My one dog has never liked one of my neighbors since they moved in, 8yrs now. Doesn't matter what he is doing, he gets barked at. The other 2 dogs don't mind him and don't bark. Now my dog won't bark at his wife just him. Is what it is.
 
LDM said:
Just depends on the dogs I suppose. My one neighbor had one of those little terrier dogs that would bark at anything that moves. Annoying sometimes to say the least but it was a tiny little thing that would never come anywhere near you so its not like there was some worry it was going to attack or anything. My other neighbor has 2 big dogs and they pretty much only bark at my dog when she goes over to the fence to try to sniff them. Shes annoying to say the least but shes also totally deaf these days so she rarely ever barks anymore, she just wants to smell them. Guess they don't like my dog very much. Other than that they rarely ever bark even when I'm near the fence doing yard work or something and they are outside.
Click to expand...
Have you ever wondered why the little dogs are such a loud nuance so often? Hint, it's not because of the breed.
 
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