Law around soaking neighbours pets?!

[TurmericFan]

My next door neighbour's large dog always barks extremely aggressively when I go out of my side-return door and then down my garden path. This is very disturbing and is negatively affecting my ability to enjoy my garden.

There is a gap in the fence which it runs to, and it looks straight at me barking with full intensity aggression. So now I carry a water-bottle and I will get it right between the eyes whenever this happens. (This gap is where the fence goes around a protected tree which is on the boundry line).

I intend to continue soaking it until the owners stop the dog from doing this.

I understand that legally speaking the dog is the neighbour's property. Am I 'damaging' it in some way by doing this?

It is not in my garden when this is happening. But I don't think there's any kind of trespeass because although the water is going into the neighbour's garden, I am not.

Am I legally safe to keep on doing this, until such time as the neighbours pay to send their dog to doggie behavioural classes/to live on a farm somewhere?

Also, as I embark upon this course of behaviour, I find myself wondering about my own cat, who goes where he likes into other neighbour's gardens.

Would a neighbour who didn't like cats, whose flowerbeds were being trampled, etc, be permitted to soak my cat? Because I'm sure I wouldn't like it if that happened...

Have you had a conversation with your neighbour

Have you even spoken to your neighbour and asked them to try and stop the behaviour first?

Legally there is no reason why it’s a problem

I wouldn’t have a problem if people did this to my dog, but I would appreciate you talking to me first.

Only on mumsnet! If you feel it’s ok to do that to a dog, don’t be surprised when someone does it to you or your pet.
seriously what’s wrong with ppl, why not go and knock on next doors door with a bacon sarnie and make friends with the dog 🤷‍♀️

The dog is probably not at all bothered by getting a soaking, in fact it may even enjoy it and you have now inadvertently set up a fun game between the two of you!

Oh God. Have you even talked to your neighbour and told them that their dog is disturbing you? Maybe do that first.

And if you wouldn't like someone spraying water at your car, maybe don't spray the dog.

Well as long as your happy for me to tip a bucket of water over your cat every time it poos on my lawn.

I soak any cat that comes in to use my garden as a litter tray. But I wouldn't soak them in their own garden.

I would talk to your neighbour though. Soaking the dog may cause further issues. Not legally, but the dog may come to associate you with getting wet causing it to bark all the more.

They approached me once and apologised for their dog barking. This must have been because of one time when I banged on the fence in response to the barking. That was about six months ago.

Sometimes they will call the dog back inside, but most of the time they do not.

But I just don't think they are considerate people.

They also let their dog out at 6.45am-7am, and it will bark five or ten times. Is there any law that says you can't let your dog out before 8am or something? There must be 10 people getting woken up by it every morning.

Be my guest!

But seriously, I do think an aggressive dog bark is far more disturbing than a silently pooping cat!

I've given my neighbours full permission to soak my cat should they see him using their blackcurrant bush planter as a litter tray.
They seemed a bit confuddled at the offer but I still made it and gave them a spray bottle to use.

So at the point they approached you with an apology for the dog barking, did you not think that an ideal opportunity to discuss the situation?

I don’t think there is such a law 😂😂😂

are you for real?

don’t believe it at all

But seriously, I do think an aggressive dog bark is far more disturbing than a silently pooping cat!

Eh? A dog barking or cat shit on the lawn?

Yeah, sure the dogs definitely worse

It was two against one and my tendency to be agreeable got the better of me.

You're best off with a water spray bottle (like you get at the hairdressers) with water & lemon juice. They hate it.
My parents use it with their very large (stupid, goofy, pr**k) of a dog 🤣
I'm being light hearted but she is a nuisance jumping at people all overexcited!
Works a treat.
You've probably started a game with the water bottle & made it worse!

Is there any law that says you can't let your dog out before 8am or something?

Erm, nope.

It's much cooler in the early morning at the mo; too hot for them to go out during the day.

Just explain to your neighbour that the constant barking is upsetting you and ask them to keep him inside.

Yes if every time you go out to your garden the neighbour's dog is barking like WW3, it's extremely disturbing wouldn't you agree?

Christ that’s early. I’m really hot on calling my dogs in if they are barking outside, especially when it’s early.

I hate it when people just let their dog bark all hours outside

Ah yes I've got one for the houseplants. Then I would have plausible deniability because I could say I was just watering the flowerbeds! It can produce quite a targeted jet of water.

Not sure about the lemon juice though, isn't that acidic so potentially harmful to the dog's eyes? I'm not an absolute monster, I do actually like dogs, just not ones that are in attack mode!

Not when it's leaving its faeces an my garden for me to walk in and my kids to pick up.

Be my guest!
Because I'm sure I wouldn't like it if that happened...make your mind up.

Would a neighbour who didn't like cats, whose flowerbeds were being trampled, etc, be permitted to soak my cat? Because I'm sure I wouldn't like it if that happened...

so, your happy to soak someone's pet who is in their own garden but wouldn't like someone soaking your cat if they were trampling flowerbeds in someone else's garden?

There is also no laws about what time dogs are allowed to bark. Mine likes a morning bark after breakfast (8am) but she doesn't bark for long. My neighbour's DC are out playing at 7am and we accept this trade off.

So the dog barks at you aggressively, and to help resolve that situation you have decided to do something which... annoys the dog? Well done, that's a really constructive way to deal with this, because now the dog, with its rational logical thought process, will now decide to be quiet.
How about you act like a grown up, go and speak to your neighbours, meet the dog, give it a few treats.