# How can we deal with new neighbors that are antagonizing our German Shepherd?



## annaris (May 18, 2013)

We have been living in our home for over 6 years now, in a rather quiet neighborhood where everyone has more than one dog. We've had our German shepherd for about 2 years. He is an outside pet. 

Recently, about 3 months ago, my sister noticed a strange woman yelling at our Shepherd. Soon, we found out she was our new back end neighbor. Now, our Shepherd, like every other dog on our block, barks at the mailman, at the plumber, at the exterminator, at the landscaping service men, etc. Ever since this couple moved in, however, we have noticed that the wife constantly antagonized our Shepherd whenever he barks for no more than one to two minutes at these service men. She specifically comes through the alley, trespasses our adjacent neighbor’s property, and comes all the way around to the side of our home where the dog is to yell very mean things to him. I’d like to emphasize the fact, again, that ALL OTHER DOGS IN OUR BLOCK BARK AT THESE RECENTLY MENTIONED PEOPLE TOO, including her next door neighbor’s dogs that are much closer to her home than ours. Eventually, I was able to catch the wife antagonizing our pet on film. Sometimes, when she comes over, he isn’t even barking; that happened to be the case in the video clip we have of her, not once was the dog heard barking. 

The husband who lives in that home once came over, and rudely told us to “control our dog.” You’d think that a first encounter with your neighbor should be a more pleasant one. He refused to come inside to sit and talk about this issue, and he said he wasn’t interested in meeting the rest of us in the house. This man was even hesitant when it came down to something as simple as shaking hands! When we told him that no one else had ever complained about the Shepherd, he said “well now it looks like you do have a problem.” He threatened to call the animal services department and the police. 

Following his visit, we went over to our town’s city hall and later to the police department. They both assured us that they’d only take action if they received complaints from multiple homes in the area, not just one. So we went from house to house, on our block, asking our neighbors to honestly tell us if the barking ever bothered them. No one complained about our dog! As a matter of fact, a few of them pointed fingers at a few different dogs on other properties, while others admitted their own dogs barked loudly at the service men, and they questioned why their dogs weren’t being antagonized too. 

Earlier today, while we were all at school and work, when one of our neighbors called us to let us know that an animal services truck was out back in the alley, directly behind our home. The dog, however, was within our property, he had all of his vaccines, he was healthy, he had a dog house, an abundant amount of clean water, shade, lots of land to play on, etc. So nothing could be “done” by the animal services people. The dog was not doing anything wrong, and nothing wrong was being done to him. The case was dropped. 

Now, we can only think of one reason why these people may be targeting us specifically. Racism. Living in a predominantly Caucasian town, our father is dark skinned and our mother is Mexican. Ironically these troubling neighbors are Mexican too. However, there is a sort of race issue with Mexicans of European descent and those of native decent. My mother is a mix of both but looks more native, while they have European features. Normally, they look down on those of native decent.

All of our other neighbors get along with us, and they love our dog. They are aware of our situation with the back end neighbors, they’ve seen the video clip, and some of them have even seen the wife bothering the dog in person. They are concerned for the well being of the shepherd. We all fear that, since these back end neighbors can’t legally do anything to our pet, they’ll try to physically harm him. As I mentioned before, he is an outdoors dog. We tried having him trained multiple times, but for some odd reason, he refuses to be house trained, so we can’t bring him indoors to protect him from this couple. For now, we can only think of changing our fence to a taller wooden fence, to prevent these people from throwing anything at our pet.

Does anyone have any other solutions or advice, either on how we can better deal with these neighbors or how we can protect our pet from them?

Thank you all in advance.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

don't leave your dog outside. house train him. block off a room or a small
area in your house that dog can have. house train him.


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## Pooky44 (Feb 10, 2013)

What method did you use to house train your dog?
Maybe there is a better method?
Very sorry for your neighbor troubles. They can be very stressful.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

My big concern would be yours, what if they poison, harm the dog when your not home?

Can you get a webcam and set it up? I'd also take the video you have right now and show it to AC..

I'm not sure how you have kept the dog confined in your yard? Fence? Tie out?

If tied out, maybe you can move his dog house, tie out right close to your house?

I'd get a webcam and post a sign saying your property and dog are on video.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

You are not going to get a fence tall enough to prevent them from throwing anything over it at your dog. Though solid fences make better neighbors. Keep the existing fence and put a new one inside the property line so they can't get to it. It is a good set up all the way around.

It -IS-possible to house train him but it will take some time and a dog crate which he may not be accustomed to and folks here could help out. I am not going to argue against an "outside dog" though you may get many comments on that so just brace yourself...

As much as I hate it, with people like this I think your best bet is to build a dog pen well inside your fence, a camera to make sure she does not come in her fence (if she does take it to court and get a restraining order), and police the yard before you let him loose. I would not put it past someone doing these things to poison your dog.

You can also get a bark collar to stop the barking but if he is ONLY barking at people nearing your house and not squirrels, airplanes, birds, etc. well....that is not extreme.


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## Twyla (Sep 18, 2011)

I would take the video clip to the police and AC, file a report just to start a paper trail so there is history of the actions by this couple. This type of thing has a bad way of escalating to many times. In the meantime, double fencing or a good kennel with sun shade/roof installed (water bucket attached to side of kennel so it can't be flipped and you accused of not providing water  ) and post no trespassing signs.

Meanwhile, look through the forum on different ideas for house training.


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## lyssa62 (May 5, 2013)

yep I"m going to ditto -- house train the dog or get a crate. There is no way I would chance having something happen to my dog..your neighbors sound like they are whack jobs.


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

Make a police report. Show the video you have to the police and AC. Make a paper trail. I had a problem like this with a guy who lived on the next road over. He was always walking his Jack Russell off lead and letting it into my yard. My dogs would go insanely crazy at this - it was their yard after all and this dog was using it for his bathroom. When I approached the owner he threatened me, my husband, and both our dogs with pepper spray. My husband tried talking to him calmly but he wouldn't have it. I called the police and reported him but they couldn't find him at the time. He threatened to spray Raina through the fence if he ever got the chance. I believe he did pepper spray Pyrate as he lost his sight from "something sprayed in his face" a few months later but we could never prove it. I would police the yard every time my dogs went out to check for poison or anything that didn't belong. I got so paranoid it was making me sick. Finally the guy moved away but whenever someone is threatening my dogs I get very vigilant. Now that Pyrate is gone I make sure everyone in the neighborhood has met Raina and knows me so I won't have that problem again. Do whatever you can to protect your dog even if that means adding an additional fence.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Get the dog in the house and get a crate. It would be a shame if something happens to the dog and it could have been prevented.


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## GatorBytes (Jul 16, 2012)

Further to video surveillance, I would contact a lawyer who is familiar with animal law, property law (dog is property)...don't need to pay for a lawyer, some area's have free 1/2 hr or hour consult, and the legal assistant can draft a letter for a hundred or two dollars and mail to offending outling the reprecussions of what could happen if they continue antagonizing your dog, as well legal letter should mention the video and said video has been taken up with police and report filed...It should state that civil action will be taken for all costs incl. the letter if harrassment doesn't stop.

You can house train your dog and kennel, but that won't protect your property when your dog is out, so I think double fence or netting like what they have on golf courses or baseball if it's allowed.


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

I agree with all the suggestion you've received and just want to add one more. Since this woman is trespassing on you're neighbor's property to harass your dog, could you talk to the neighbor and see if they'd file trespassing charges against the woman ... you can supply them with video proof that the woman is going on their property.

BUT IMHO the most important thing is I have to agree that you should house take the suggestions of adding an interior solid fence to your property and to start house training your dog and leaving him in the house when you're not at home.

GOOD LUCKI


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## CeCe (Jun 1, 2011)

I know someone who was in a similar situation as yours and they believe their Husky was poisoned. I recommend that you move your dog inside- neutering him will help with marking and he can wear a belly band while he is being potty trained. Good luck.


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## trcy (Mar 1, 2013)

Did they buy the house or are they renting the house? If renting I would try to contact the owner. We have section 8 renting here and we complain straight to that agency and the owners will lose their ability to rent section 8. 

If they bought the house all you can do is try to gather evidence against them and seek legal advice while keeping your dog safe. If they rent....they may not stay to long.


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## TommyB681 (Oct 19, 2012)

document the incidents, date times etc. if it becomes out of control video tape what happens and notify local law enforcement


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

Some people are just rotten to the core. Just want to say I'm sorry for your troubles as I know what it's like to live near a bad neighbor. Video, the fence within a fence. a police report and an attorney consultation are all good advice. I'm really concerned your dog will be harmed. My husband's friend who is a police officer found antifreeze thrown in his backyard, he had two GSD's he used to keep in his back yard. They were not harmed, he ended up building a dog run and then moved.

There is someone in our condo complex we suspect has vandalized our vehicles based on a ruling my husband made against this person when he was on our HOA board over 10 years ago. Some people are just plain crazy. This person used to ride his loud Harley motorcycle slowly past our van so that the vibrations would set off our car alarm. My tire recently has been flattened and two years ago our car window smashed, but nothing stolen. Our car was parked on the street where this bully likes to park his truck. From my experience, I'd say protect yourself, rotten people don't change unless there is some sort of divine intervention.


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## PupperLove (Apr 10, 2010)

It really is unfortunate that you have to put up with neighbors like this. So far the suggestions have all been really good. I just want to add that it would be best to bring your dog to live in the house with you. I know sometimes in some situations, people don't really want the dog in the house, but this breed needs to be around people anyways, and should adjust fairly easily. I would also worry about your pup getting poisoned, these people sound like no good, nasty neighbors. You never really know what goes through people's heads, especially when they take it upon themselves to stir up trouble by taunting your dog. Just bring him in the house. There are a lot of people on here that can give further advice if there are any troubles once he's inside with you.


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## readaboutdogs (Jul 8, 2001)

Sorry to you are going thur something like that. Potty training would be best, but a nice run close to your house could help to for when you're not home. Our dogs stay inside, i had to "finish" potty training my sons dog when he came to live with me but now is trustworthy!


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## Thorny (Nov 4, 2012)

I'd second the notion of getting signs indicating that they property is under 24 hour video and sound surveillance and recording. Id also either get the video camera, or a fake one and place it in an obvious position towards the fenced area where the perp has access to your pets. But I'd hold off on this until after you collect the needed evidence I list below.

I'd do some homework on what's required to obtain a restraining order. If you can do it based on the video you already have, then fine, go with that. If you need to have an encounter with the offending people, then maybe THAT will get recorded the next time they are yelling at your dog and you go into the back yard and politely ask the person to stop. Either way on this, don't contact the cops until you have the evidence they will need. YOU don't want to be seen as the PITA that keeps bugging the service officers.

Once you have what you need, file for a restraining order. In my town such a thing can keep those folks 100 yards off your property, and it will be explained to them by a police officer or judge which has a good intimidation factor to prevent them from coming near again. Once the restraining order is in place, put up the camera and signs.


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## FlyAway (Jul 17, 2012)

Twyla said:


> I would take the video clip to the police and AC, file a report just to start a paper trail so there is history of the actions by this couple. This type of thing has a bad way of escalating to many times. ... and post no trespassing signs.


This! Make notes of dates and times. Let the police know what is going on immediately. 

I removed part that I probably shouldn't have. I have double fencing along a couple sides of my lot. It's just the cheap welded wire fence that costs about $50 for 100 feet. The stakes are about $3 each. I like it because it's temporary, but it works as a good barrier to keep the dogs away from the perimeter fence.


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## FlyAway (Jul 17, 2012)

I just read your entire story. I hope nothing happens to your dog. It sounds like these people are just going to be trouble. If possible, try to bring him inside, and always check your yard for poisons.


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## Okin (Feb 27, 2013)

I like the idea of a highly visible camera and a letter to the complainers letting them know that you have spoken to animal control, the police, ideally a lawyer and other neighbors and that anything they do will be on video and if the harassment of your dog doesn't stop you will have video and you will do everything within the law including a lawsuit to stop it.


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## Egypt Shepherd Guy (Jun 1, 2013)

Personally if it was me in the USA I would get a water hose and soak the person and say it was an accident

Here in Egypt however we had people looking into our property and teasing our dogs.

It stopped when I took a piece of gravel board and pounded some nails through it and buried it sharp side up in the dirt.

As there is no real law here I can say it worked and I have 1 pierced sandal as a bloody reminder hanging on my fence as a warning to others

The adult thing to do is how about speak to these people and ask them what's up and try to make friends, bring around some pie or something as much as you might not like doing it


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## Betty (Aug 11, 2002)

Your number one priority is to protect your dog. A lot of situations like this end up with the dog getting hurt, killed or "goes missing."

No way my dog would be outside without me right there.

Seriously, protect your dog and worry about if if your dog is innocent of being a nuisance later.


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## Fade2Black (Apr 30, 2012)

doggiedad said:


> don't leave your dog outside. house train him. block off a room or a small
> area in your house that dog can have. house train him.


^^^What he said^^^ 

You have got to do it and quickly. That and you need a fence. You can't leave him outside alone even with a fence...

Those clowns are trying to intimidate your family and your letting them. Your letting them get away with it and they know it. Sometimes people can't be reasoned with. I would at least let them know in no uncertain terms if anything happens to your dog. There are going to be severe and quick repercussions to the people who harmed him....

I know it's hard. You can't let a bully get away with being a bully (and there can be many kinds from ones that want to beat you up to someone with $$$ that can use legal ways to mess with you) But you gotta fight back and let them know you aren't going to be pushed around... Protect your dog!! If they get him in some way they will turn there attentions on you and your family and your property.....


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## Kitty Nikolai (May 9, 2019)

So sorry this is happening, yikes! Worst case, your dog gets loose and goes after them and then he becomes the bad guy. I won't even let my girl alone in the backyard yet, though I have a 6' fence she is quite an athlete. Police, security cam all good ideas!


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## Quinnsmom (Dec 27, 2008)

Kitty Nikolai said:


> So sorry this is happening, yikes! Worst case, your dog gets loose and goes after them and then he becomes the bad guy. I won't even let my girl alone in the backyard yet, though I have a 6' fence she is quite an athlete. Police, security cam all good ideas!


 
Old thread, Kitty Nikolai, 2013. The OP is likely long gone from here.


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