Neighbours kid

[wishingw]

So we've lived in our home for 2 years now (we own it) and we've had a few issues with the neighbours kid who lives diagonally to our back garden. The kid is 12/13 ish (pretty sure he's in high school now) and he's been known to sit on the fence and look into our garden at our dogs. I've caught him doing it maybe 5/6 times, today being one of those times. He was sat on the fence and looking over and my dogs obviously went ballistic so I had to go out to calm them down. He did it again and pretended he was climbing over to my neighbours to get a ball, again my dogs went crazy so I went out and asked him politely to get down which he did. 5 mins later he again was up at the fence and my dogs went crazy again, he also was whistling and clearly trying to get my dogs attention.
I went out and brought my dogs in as they were getting worked up.
I've been out and asked him to get down, I'm not really sure what more I can do. I'm not sure who his parents are but my neighbour said they're kinda rough so don't really want to go round there.
I'm trying to think of a way to block his view and give my garden more privacy. We already have 6ft fences but has he climbs and sits on his fence anyway it doesn't make much difference.
AIBU to want to block his view or am I overreacting?
I'll also add I have autism and very bad anxiety and this is really having an effect on me and I constantly feel paranoid that he's up at the fence looking in.

Plant a fast growing tree or similar.

Also do you own your fence? I think you can get spikes for the top of the fence

There's a property I pass with my dog most days and always, without fail, their yappy lhaso apso type dog woofs like mad at my dog. My dog just carries on without a reaction wondering what all the fuss is about. It's a nuisance.

He is doing it to get a rise out of you. When he is there take the dogs in and keep doing this, he will soon get bored.

It’s clearly very different.

A child jumping on a trampoline or someone up a step ladder are viewing the garden as a byproduct of their activity.

A 12 year old staring into the garden for no reason is creepy. What about when the lad is 15? 20? 40? Still okay to climb a wall to stare into a garden?

Exactly. No dog reaction , and the boy will be bored.

He's 12. Creepy is subjective. He probably will stop doing it as soon as he's started. This place is more like gransnet. The OP is onto a losing battle.

Don't put a leylandii in - they are very fast growing which is what you want but can turn into a real issue to maintain. Some bamboo in pots is a good idea

He may well be taunting them etc but I would wonder what’s beneath that - kids of that age often behave in stupid ways when they actually want something else, like attention or to be able to be included in something. Have you tried asking him if he’s interested in dogs, wishes he has dogs himself, wants to get to know them properly etc? Rather than assuming it’s malicious, it may be a maladaptive attempt to feel included or an interest in dogs (especially if there are problems in his own family home).

Yes, 12/13. Not 7.

Sounds like genius idea

There are dogs in his garden so I think he does just like dogs. I didn't mind too much when he was just peeping his head over for a look at my dogs but when he's just sat looking in it feels very uncomfortable

He's deliberately baiting the dogs. I wouldn't like someone invading my privacy either. I keep my dog inside, so maybe that's what you need to do unless you are with them. It's going to be a long summer.

I'd invest in some fast growing trees. Creepy little sod

Oh, give over.

Dogs are supposed to bark at unusual stares or whistles.
You don't get a dog and bark yourself.

The kid...

If he wasn’t intruding the dogs wouldn’t be barking would they. It’s very odd, entitled behaviour to sit on a fence, any fence, nosing into another’s private garden

Wondered briefly if this was about me and my DC - she climbed our fence to reach the ball that got stuck in our tree, neighbours yorkies went ballistic (they always go ballistic whenever any neighbour is in their adjoining garden). Neighbour screamed at her to get off the fence - it wasn’t her fence, it was the fence between mine and my next door neighbours garden. Her garden is at the back of us yet she always thinks she has a right to order her neighbours inside because she doesn’t want to control her dogs barking. She tried it with me once and got told to mind her business. Not one of our neighbours like her, the rest of us can control our dogs but hers make an absolute racket.

The kid in the OP is a boy and sat spectating, not getting a ball

Has numbnuts been hanging on the fence today?

Maybe he just wants to interact with your dogs, might be bored, lonely or unable to have pets in his home environment. Could you introduce the dogs to him so he's not a stranger. They might bark less if they don't see him as a threat. Understandably that doesn't solve tge issue of him sitting on the fence staring in but it might make the dogs calmer.