Neighbours send rottweiler out when my asd child plays!

[cookiesandmilk]

I really have to encourage my child to go outside. But just recently he has been going out more. Just it concerns me that nearly everytime I hear the neighbours open their back door they send the dog out which constantly barks at my child. They make no attempt to stop it and my child gets scared. I don't know why they do it as my son isn't particularly loud outside, possibly quieter than the average child. He just does do a lot of stimming with his arms. When I go outside on my own they don't send the dog out. What could I do to stop my son being scared. I also daren't approach the neighbours as they aren't the approachable type!

@cookiesandmilk

Some people are quite rude, I will at some point speak with the neighbours when an appropriate opportunity arises. I just want advice as I don't have a dog and to be fair where I used to live the dogs either side weren't an issue. Quite lovely to be honest and my son would stroke them. I am trying to get knowledge of others experience with this sort of thing so that I am able to resolve the issue. To the rudeness of the vile person who commented on stimming. If u educated yourself and found acceptance in difference u may one day find happiness in ur empty existence. I find my son's stims sweet and know he is expressing his emotions in a more visible way. I also won't leave my son unattended in the garden for safety and also because I enjoy spending time with him.

The overwhelming sensible advice is talk to them or get a fence

They, and their dog, have as much right to be in their back garden as you and your son do

Buy a dog whistle and blow it when they send their dog out

@leobynature yes however the one where she said she cant afford fence wasnt there when I wrote my suggestion. Just tryna be helpful🙃 maybe fence only the side where the rotty is if cant stretch to the entire garden. When you have the money.

I am planning on shouting over when the dog barks at my son to see if that helps. I am waiting for a chance to see the neighbours to tell them but it is difficult with not going out at the moment. Even if we took out a loan to get a fence it may not work. The dog has dug holes under a bit where we have a fence. I have to keep filling in the holes. I will take a photo later to show.

You need a fence.

The dog has dug holes under a bit where we have a fence. I have to keep filling in the holes.

I'm not one to be like this but if I had those people as neighbours, I would seriously consider reporting them under the dangerous dogs act. The police will speak to them about securing their garden as there is just cause for you worrying about the dog.

It won't go any further than that as it isn't a banned breed and hasn't actually done anything, so no harm will come to the dog, but it might put the wind in their sails a bit regarding sorting it out.

As long as you have reasonable cause to think a dog may do harm, then you can report under this. Unreasonable would be if you were scared of dogs and a friendly dog came up to you...
Large breed dog barking at child, digging under the fence and trying to get through a hedge qualifies as reasonable to me.

I would talk to them first though as if somebody reported me under the DDA, I'd never be their friend again.

What about bellowing OW YOUR BARKING DOG IS SCARING THE SHIT OUT OF MY SON CAN YOU GET IT INSIDE WHILE HE PLAYS OUT every single time they let the dog out? Just me who would do that?

I am planning on shouting over when the dog barks at my son to see if that helps. I am waiting for a chance to see the neighbours to tell them but it is difficult with not going out at the moment

OP, just speak to your neighbours first! Why would you shout over at a barking dog, likly making the situation worse and then wait for "the right time" to talk to your neighbour? Just knock on the door, step back 2 metres and talk to them like an adult. You are making this whole thing so much harder for yourself.

There's so many stories of dogs making people's lives miserable. I honestly think this country needs to stop idolising them so much.

There have been lots of absurd suggestions on this thread and bizarre extrapolations from things the OP didn't say "evil cunts report them to the council" etc.

Social distancing doesn't preclude the OP from knocking on a door, stepping back the required distance and having a conversation.

I don't know many Lithuanians but the ones I have worked with in the UK have spoken excellent English. They have a very good school system and like most Baltic States, enjoy excellent language teaching.
If the OP's neighbours fell through that net, it makes you wonder why they'd come to the UK to work, doesn't it? Particularly as OP has said they own their house. The paperwork must have been difficult with them not speaking the language.

My teenagers don’t have ASD and would find it awful to have a rockweiler barking at them! You need to speak to neighbours. How awful for you.
Is there any music or sounds which help calm dogs?

Can you move?

If you genuinely believe this is a guard dog, OP, and it's left out in the garden when they are out, I would report it to the council's dog warden. As a PP has said, there are very strict laws regarding guard dogs and leaving it out would breach them.

As it's essentially a noise issue, I'd also start keeping a noise diary, with dates, times, effect the barking has on you and your son, so that you have a clear history you can produce if you want to report it as noise nuisance.

And I'd bite the bullet and put up a solid fence. Or move.

my neighbours came into my garden one day to chop down my tree. I saw them and stopped them. They did a "blame the victim" strategy and ever after that they would let their doberman pinscher come rushing out to the gate at me barking when I passed their garden.
Often I would be shocked enough that I screamed and then the neighbour would say "Gaaahhhhh". It was like something out of Charles Dickens.

You have my utmost sympathy.

I'm sure you've thought of this but can you see up cctv so you can track and verify the pattern, then report back here? Right now it's only your word against theirs that it's a pattern

Report the neighbours to rspca dangerous dog act.
Clearly I'd be scared for my own sons safety if the dog is digging and trying to get into your garden heaven forbid if that mutt did get into your garden it could do serious harm to your DS if not kill him.

We see it all the time in news children killed by dogs that are aggressive.
If your that worried about talking to neighbours then record the dog and take photo evidence of it digging and report it and them to council, rspca etc

I understand why people are saying report now but honestly i'd gather the evidence first. otherwise they will change their behaviour just enough to evade being "caught". But then start it again later....

have you taken photographs of the dog's head going through gap?

What are you filling the holes with?

Report the neighbours to rspca dangerous dog act.

What a dramatic suggestion. Barking isn't enough for a dog to be considered dangerous so OP wouldn't be taken seriously. She needs to speak with the neighbours first. Simple as that

What a dramatic suggestion. Barking isn't enough for a dog to be considered dangerous so OP wouldn't be taken seriously. She needs to speak with the neighbours first. Simple as that

I don’t think it’s dramatic at all.
And I have a dog and am a dog lover.

It’s a very big, very strong breed of dog.
We don’t know what the dog’s intention is but if it is bad, and I appreciate it may not be at all, but we just don’t know, it is more than capable of killing the child, I imagine quite capable of killing the OP too.

If I had a large dog barking every time I went out into my garden and forcing its way through my hedge I would be really frightened.

I wouldn’t approach the neighbours because I would take the view that the fact they haven’t secured the boundary to begin with and the fact they are letting the dog bark at people suggests to me they are irresponsible, selfish individuals who at best won’t care, at worst will get nasty.

As soon as you mention it you lose any anonymity too, the second you then try and take it further when they inevitably do nothing, like the council or dog warden, they will 100% know it’s you responsible and you open yourself up to grief.

It may not be as simple as just moving out either because you may have to declare the dispute.

OP needs a fence.
A good, strong, sturdy fence, preferably with the concrete boards at the bottom sunk down a bit to prevent digging and if it was me, id put aviary wire even further down to make it even more difficult for the dog to dig.

It is the only sensible solution imo

A play date with a big aggressive Rottweiler 😂 This thread has it all!

Barking isn't enough for a dog to be considered dangerous - even if someone says a dog made them feel scared, that's enough for police involvement. OP has said the dog is digging under the hedge, so that should be enough for some action to be taken - try your local authority dog warden first OP.

@GreytExpectations

Report the neighbours to rspca dangerous dog act.

What a dramatic suggestion. Barking isn't enough for a dog to be considered dangerous so OP wouldn't be taken seriously. She needs to speak with the neighbours first. Simple as that

Yes, it is. The dangerous dogs act has changed recently.

If someone feels threatened or scared by your dog, they can report it to a dog warden or the police. A dog doesn't have to bite, snarl or growl to be considered scary.

"Since 1991 it has been illegal for dogs to be 'out of control in a public place'. In 2014 the law was amended to include incidents on private property - so inside your home and others' homes, including front and back gardens.

Your dog is considered dangerously out of control if it:

• Injures someone
• Makes someone worried that it might injure them"

www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/campaign/bsl/dda

A dog can be considered dangerous for all sorts of reasons - lunging and snarling, jumping up constantly, barking aggressively and frightening someone.

Of course, it's highly unlikely someone will have their dog taken off them because it barks at strangers, but it's worth remembering that if your dog is not under control, it is considered an offence.

I wouldn’t welcome a loud barking dog next door either, luckily not an issue.

If you can’t do a fence what choice do you have but talking to them? Use google translate and see if you can strike an agreement through being friendly.

Although I see dog whistle mentioned, not sure how and if that works

This is what the dog looks like. It's an old photo, I have filled in the holes it has dug under the fence with bricks but when I can go outside I will try get a photo of some recent holes behind my summer house.