To have a word with this girl?

[GruffBillyGoat]

My dog has many bad habits, but never barks. We worked very hard when she was a puppy to teach her not to bark as we know how annoying it is for our neighbours.

The young girl next door seems fascinated by the dog, but not in a good way. Last year I had to speak with her about throwing plums over the fence, as any stone fruit is a choking risk. I calmly explained that while the dog may love the plums, and I knew she was trying to be nice (though I did suspect otherwise) that they could hurt the dog, and asked her nicely to stop. Plums continued to appear.

This week the dog has started barking, a lot. In particular at the children playing on the road (whole other AIBU thread). I have been very stern with her about it, and at the same time trying to figure out what was causing it.

Today I solved the mystery, I was out with the dog where from next door the girl could see the dog but not me, and the girl was up a tree that borders our property hissing at the dog. I yelled at the dog to be quiet and the girl heard me, but continued to hiss until I stepped in to view at which point she became quite sweet and started to tell me about her day.

Am I being a cranky old lady, or am I right to be concerned about this girl and worried about leaving the dog outside when I am not here? What would you do in this situation?

Link fail. Was meant to be a picture of Regan from The Exorcist!

What are your neighbours harbouring up their tree? Agree that those who torment/are cruel to animals grow up to be serial killers.

I agree that its not nice to goad a dog into barking and I would definitely tell her to stop it in simple, non disputable terms that a child of that age would understand. (No going into reasons why or defensiveness which I've found people who don't have their own offspring often try to talk to children like they are adults).

It's not "odd" for a little girl to sit in a tree in her own garden and watch her new neighbours moving in. I know you haven't had children yet but I think you'll find they do a lot odder things than that.

What are her parents like, BTW? (Obviously that affects things.) If you're lucky, she'll stop soon as the weather will become too horrible for tree-sitting, and she'll have grown out of it by the time Spring arrives!

LackingEnergy is spot on about the huge vets' bills that could result if a plum stone causes an intestinal obstruction. Our ddog2 swallowed a plastic bottle cap that caused an obstruction (thanks, ds3, that's why we tell you to put stuff in the bin), and the bill for the surgery and the two night vet stay was £450! Luckily we have insurance.

I would tell the girl's parents all about it, and about how they will be liable for the bill if the dog gets an obstruction from a plum stone. They need to deal with her unacceptable behaviour - and at between 7 and 9 years old, she is definitely old enough to know what she is doing is wrong, and to bloody well stop it.

I wouldn't bring money into it, personally - it's unlikely to have a positive effect, and could easily have a negative one. I'm pretty sure that the parents couldn't be forced to reimburse the OP, so their only reason to pay would be if they considered themselves to be morally responsible (in which case they'd support the OP on principle, not just for financial reasons).

By all means talk to the parents, but it's probably best to avert further problems by changing the way the dog uses the garden until you are no longer concerned (although I absolutely agree that you shouldn't have to).

Speak to her parents about it, it's cowardly to go after the child.

Right Op, thanks about answering about the plumb tree overhanging.

In that case then i would def. take a plum and a rock to use in evidence if/when you have to approach the mum. (Neither could have arrived in your garden unless they've been chucked over the fence from hers.) It doesn't have to be all guns blazing, go gently, and with a bit of luck she'll be horrified and apologetic and put an end to her DDs behavior towards your poor dog.

Good luck.