Trouble with mine AND next doors dog

[Oldmamabear]

So...ive got new neighbour's and they have a dog. So do I. The fences are high and secure so they can't see each other, only smell each other through fence. My dog is not a barker. Their dog is and has barked and growled at fence which took my dog by surprise and he followed suit and growled and barked back. I told him off and brought him back indoors as they were scratching at the fence trying to get to one another. Next time I could hear their dog I distracted my dog with balls and games and kept chasing him away from fence. This works most of the time but if I go indoors to get a drink or let him have a little run out there on his own the other dog kicks off and he responds. Its nearly always me bringing my dog in and telling him off. I dont hear them telling their dog off. Now they have put a note through door asking if I can only let my dog in the garden if im out there with him. I have frequently brought my dog in when their dog is kicking off at mine but they rarely tell their dog off or take him in. Ive already stopped leaving patio door open for him to wander in and out. I always bring him in if they start at each other thru fence. Im not now only letting him out when I can be out there too. Its not practical. What would you do? Its making me anxious and angry.

i personally would ignore them, leave your doors open for your dog etc etc.

We have always had Rottweilers (one at a time), and yes they are powerful, strong etc and about fifteen years ago we had a woman with four little yappie, vicious little handbag dogs, and she was too busy playing the victim card to anyone that listened. Within three months, she had three complaints registered against her, yes her, because her vicious little darlings had bitten people.

i left my back door open constantly so my fourteen year old Rottweiler could plod in and out, sit on the patio furniture, have a swim in his paddling pool, but one thing you will find often about big well trained dogs is they don’t bark much unless it’s intruders. If anyone comes to our door, we all sing “there’s someone at the door, there’s someone at the door,” and there is no woofing, just a waggy tail, cos they know we are pleased, they are pleased!

Dont get involved in notes, just carry on with your life, and your dog will pick up that your not anxious, your dog won’t be anxious.

@tinyspiny the little psychos are close to breaking through 😡 She has locked the dog flap now so better than it was

Don't tell your dog off, you're just increasing the stress levels in an already stressful situation and/or he thinks you're joining in. You can't ignore it either because responding is self-reinforcing, and he will start to go out there looking for stuff to bark at.

Go the other way - make hearing next doors dog the BEST thing that can happen out there, pair it with high value treats and fun from you. This is classical counter conditioning, pairing the currently upsetting event with something really really good until your dog thinks this other dog barking/growling/making noise is a great thing and he actively feels good about it.

Don't wait and see if yours barks, then take action.

Don't ask yours to shush then reward.

Literally, pair next door noise with treats, until your dogs automatic and instinctive response is to look to you and he's feeling good, and when that happens the barking will stop anyway.

Then you start to fade out the free treats for hearing this dog somewhat, so its the loudest/weirdest/most aggressive sounds that get treats, and the say 5% quiet noises, they get either nothing or you asking your dog to sit/watch me/lie down to earn the treat.

Gradually you shift that ratio of free treats to earned treats/no treats over, going from easiest, least up setting to loudest. I would probably seek to maintain rewarding very loud volleys of barking, rattling bins, thunder, most of the time, for life, with all dogs, so we keep that association.

For now this does mean that if he's out there, you're out there and you have a full treat pouch on you. If you need extra security to end the situation swiftly, use a long line clipped to your dogs harness so you can bring him in if he is too far into barky territory to perceive the rewards as rewards.

No shouting, no cues to do anything, absolute consistency.

YOu should find that after a week or two, his responses to next doors dog are massively improved and after a month or so you can drop the extreme levels of consistency.

If you end up chatting with them about how to manage it, say you’ve been reading up and it helps if WE do x,y,z. Then, ‘So are we going to keep the doors closed then?’, so both sides are following the same system.

Someone I know had a little flag on the shared fence that each put up while their dog was out. It meant both sides knew the score before letting the dog out.

Hey thanks very much for all the insightful tips and advice. Its reassuring to know others have had this issue and overcome it.

Absolutely this. Tell them to only let their own dog out when they are supervising it.