Concerned neighbourhood

I have a situation where my neighbours dog is very aggressive, and whenever it is outside it is barking, growling and snarling at us, as if it would attack us at any given moment. My fiance and I were walking down the street, and our neighbour drove by, and the dog was barking and almost jumped out the window. Then when we approached our front door, the dog was still in the car in the driveway of our neighbours house, and it again attempted to jump out to get at us. Our neighbours kids had to shut the window and it still was climbing up the window to try and get at us. It isn't just us either. Anyone who approaches the house or is around the dog outside, it persists to bark and looks like its going to attack them. It's very upsetting to move into a house where you're afraid to come home, in case the dog next door is going to be outside. Does anyone have any advice in how we should deal with the situation?

Personally I would call your local animal control or SPCA and lodge a complaint about the dog and owners. That way they know about it, can visit them to see what is going on.

I second that! I don't know if the police could help??

Ummm, have you considered that maybe this dog is just resource guarding it's family? Has it ever been seen loose? Has it ever attacked anyone? Has the dog ever given any indication other than barking and snarling that it's going to do something? Some breeds of dogs are very protective of family. What dog breed is this?

Tucker barks at people that pass near our truck, he sounds nasty, but I tell him thank you and enough and he stops. It is hard to tell if it will really bite or like BMD luver said he is protecting his home. My last dog BMD x GSD would scare the crap out of anyone with his big voice but was as gentle as a lamb.

I agree with doggylover and BMD. Our heeler cross, Helix, sounds really scary and even looks scary, but wouldn't hurt a person, ever. I'd be very upset if the SPCA or police showed up to my house saying Helix is a threat to my neighbours because he barks and gets his hackles up around strangers. I'd first try talking to your neighbours and see if the dog is genuinely viscious or just protecting the family. tell them your concerns and see what they say. It's not fair to just call the police or SPCA without attempting to resolve the issue with them directly first. That's what I would do anyways. JMO.

I would talk to your neighbors. Ask them if he is just a barker or if you have to worry about a bite. Our neighbors rotti plays the part of a vicious dog when you pull up, but she is all bark and no bite. The owners of the dog probably know more than anyone about their dogs behaviour.

I wouldn't call the authorities on them. as this could create huge problems with your neighbours and may spark a fight between you!! (just look at some of the fighting with neighbours threads :eek: ) you wouldn't want to come home to that every day!!

Why don't you talk to them, and ask for a proper "introduction" to their dog, ask what kind of treats he likes, and if it would be OK if you got him some to give him :)

I vote make friends with the dog :o

I agree it's worth a try to make friends with the neighbours and the dog. We used to live near a school and the kids walked by our fence. We made a point of introducing our dog to as many of the kids as we could in our neighbourhood. Those kids then made sure the other kids didn't tease her at the fence when she was out. My current dogs will bark like crazy if you come up to our driveway, but then kiss your face off if you actually open the gate to come in. If you know their names and tell them to settle and talk to them they'll quiet down. Friends is good :)

I agree that the dog may not be as vicious as he sounds. Our black shepard sounded like he was going to rip your head off but he was just a big sweetie! It was nice at times to have him sound that mean - but I always knew that even if the person actually got close to him, he wasn't going to do anything. Our quiet belgium shepard was the one you had to watch out for - he very seldom barked, but he would bite if he had the opportunity. I would talk to the neighbors. If you find while talking to them that the dog really is mean, then you can go from there. Appearances can be deceiving.

I have to agree with not reporting the dog. It's really scary when a dog acts like that but usually they're all bark. Lily has a big big deep bark for a little lady and if you didn't know her you'd wonder what kind of large beast is in our back yard. Once she's been introduced to a new human she's all floppy ears and waggy tail the next time she sees them.

I'd approach your neighbours and talk to them about the dog. Let them know your concerns and how the dog frightens you. It may just be a matter of proper introductions or the neighbour waking up to how the dog is being viewed and getting some training in to calm the dog down. Sometimes when a neighbour knows they were that close to animal control being called they wake up pretty fast to training the dog to be calm and receptive.

:) Jen