WWYD/Can I do anything? (Neighbor issue)

So we've been in our house about 3 years, and it came with a long list of projects to tackle. We also had our first baby about 3 weeks after moving in. Needless to say, the backyard didn't get done until a few months ago, which means we rarely ever used it.

Now that it's done, I want to use it more. Here's the issue. Our backyard neighbor has two dogs that they leave outside all day when the weather is good. They bark at EVERYTHING, but when I'm inside I don't really care. The problem is, whenever I open my back door and anyone steps foot outside (me, hubs, my almost 3 year, and the worst of it is MY dog) the two dogs charge the fence and start jumping/hitting it and barking like mad. They are BIG dogs. This scares my son, who doesn't wanna play outside, and if I let or take my dog out to play or do his business, he ends up standing at the fence barking back like crazy, or running along the fence barking. I'm afraid with all three dogs going nuts, the fence (which is ours, we redid it) is gonna give and then I'll have 3 big dogs mauling each other (my dog is very protective, and he's responding to these barking dogs out of fear and protectiveness - it would not be a pleasant encounter if they were face to face.)

So all this means I have a brand new backyard that I can barely use, my kid is scared, and I need to stay outside with my dog if I let him out. I'd love to let him out for 15-20 min to do his business and play a bit while I get other things done, but I can't.

Can I do anything about this? Or do I need to suck it up?

Re: WWYD/Can I do anything? (Neighbor issue)

My neighbor has two big dogs - the more they see me, the more used to me they got and they don't bark as much.. maybe that will help? I don't have a dog though, I'm sure that probably makes it worse.

Re: WWYD/Can I do anything? (Neighbor issue)

I would personally look into putting up a tall pvc privacy fence. My neighbors actually did this (without us even asking) - because they have 2 large dogs as well and didn't want them barking more when we were outside.

Re: WWYD/Can I do anything? (Neighbor issue)

WWYD/Can I do anything? (Neighbor issue)

Are the dogs unattended outside all day? Because that is not allowed. Are they chained up? Because that's illegal. In would stay outside. Say hello to the dogs. The more you're out there the less they will care.

Message edited 8/8/2016 2:05:13 PM.

Re: WWYD/Can I do anything? (Neighbor issue)

Re: WWYD/Can I do anything? (Neighbor issue)

Thanks for the replies.

It IS a big privacy fence that's up - it's not PVC it's wood but it's the same width/size/height as the PVC fence.

I think if it was just me and my son/husband then letting the dogs get used to us would be fine, but I think the two neighbor dogs and my dog are always gonna clash :/

To answer the other q's: yes, they are left outside pretty much all day, but no they aren't chained up. There is an upper deck that they usually hang out on (I can see it from my son's window), but they have freedom to move and when we/my dog come outside they come bounding down and to the fence.

WWYD/Can I do anything? (Neighbor issue)

This is a tough one-idk if the other people are necessarily doing anything wrong , but just because it's not wrong doesn't make it right. Have you tried to talk to them?

Re: WWYD/Can I do anything? (Neighbor issue)

I can imagine how frustrating that is for you.
Clearly, the fence isn't enough barrier.

It will be pricey; but the only other alternative I can think of are trees. Very tall and thick arborvitaes?

Your dog being protective is most likely the same thing your neighbors dogs are doing. Even though they dont realize you are not a threat.

Do you happen to talk to the neighbors at all?
Also, after a while, do the dogs stop barking?

Re: WWYD/Can I do anything? (Neighbor issue)

If there's a tall fence in between (not a chain link that you can see through) then I dont really think there's much else you can do. I would say, maybe plant some tall trees along your fence line that will create more of a buffer. But aside from that, the more you use your backyard, the more the dogs will get used to it and stop barking.

But personally, I dont think your neighbors are doing anything wrong. If the dogs are fenced in on their property, they can be left outside unattended for hours. As far as I know, there's nothing illegal about that.

WWYD/Can I do anything? (Neighbor issue)

I would walk around the block and talk with them. Let them know what your concerns are. We had a similar issue, only they have 2 big dogs and we have chickens. The owner didn't realize the dogs were being so troublesome and really worked to train them better.

WWYD/Can I do anything? (Neighbor issue)

We had this problem at our last house. The dog was f-ing mean. It was a pitt and trained to not just protect but attack. I LOVE pitbulls so this isn't a breed thing. My kids couldn't play outside and our dog couldn't either because they started attacking the fence to kill each other. We put up a tall wood privacy fence on that side of the yard, and it did nothing. We were on good terms with our neighbor and we tried everything to fix the problem. It was so bad before we moved I used to keep treats in my door so when I got home I could throw them to distract her. The fence was right next to the driveway and she would try to bite me as she hopped up the fence. In the end there was nothing we could do. It sucked.