Reasons We Can’t Enjoy Our Backyard Oasis
Last year I posted how we finished our new patio off of our shed and how I was going to enjoy reading books there as well as relaxing out there with a glass of wine after a long day. But guess what we cannot enjoy this beautiful deck that we worked so hard on. For one thing, hubby decided to start building another shed, so that is taking the place of relaxing. Also, I wanted to extend it the deck a little bit to go all along the side of the shed because I realized that we did not have much privacy where we would relax. I will come back to the privacy issue in a minute, but the weather has not been cooperating. It has rained every day for the last two weeks it seems. In fact, today is the first sunny day that it has not rained yet, but I have a feeling we will get a shower before too long. Now the privacy issue is another thing. When we first moved our house on our lot we had wonderful neighbors on both sides and now it is partly true. Our first neighbors on our right moved, but they still own the house, so they rent. First renters were people who did respect the fact that there are property lines and that cutting across your driveway at 10 or 11 at night, with their small children, when you are trying to pull in your driveway. I explained to them that it was a safety issue but do you think that would stop them nope. They still continued to come on our property and thinking nothing about it. Even after we asked them not to. We ended up making an improvement to our driveway with a flowerbed that solved that problem. Now the neighbors we have now are for the most part cool, but there is a problem. Their dog, first they had a dog who basically would come at you when he was inside their fence. (Let me add a barrier he could have easily jumped over and also the one where he knew how to open the gates.) My girls were scared to go outside alone because of this. So we did not enjoy our backyard much. Fast forward to the neighbors getting rid of that dog, yes a little reprieve. But it did not last they got another dog. Who spends 3/4ths of its time outside because they saw he is too aggressive. (And they know he is barking too much) And what does he do when we go outside to enjoy our yard- comes at us and barks at us constantly. As soon as we step outside the barking starts and does not stop until we go back inside. We are at the point that we are thinking about putting a privacy fence up on the side that they are on just so maybe we can actually enjoy our backyard that we have worked so hard on.
Now don’t get me wrong I love animals. Anybody that knows me or has read this blog knows how much our little animal menagerie means to us. And we when we first moved in neighbors on both sides have dogs that we adored. But these dogs bark to be friendly to let you know they were there to get you to come tell them hello. But not this dog he barks just to barks. So what to do?? So it looks like a privacy fence will be put up shortly which I hate because there is a possibility that our old neighbor will move back if they get stationed here. So what to do??
Have you tried a barking machine, they sell them at Wal Mart.It does the same thing as a bark collar, when the dog barks it lets out a high pitched sound only to be heard by dogs. We had to use one for our last house. Our neighbor’s dog barked all day and night. It helped a bit. They aren’t very expensive.
How much do they cost???
Had same problem. Put up 5 foot fence. Every time dogs start to bark I strayed them with the hose. Now when they start to Bark all I have to say is do you want a bath? They hate to get wet so they run into their house.
only problem is that they cannot go into the house. There is no doggie door.
My husband has a saying:
Tall fences make for good neighbors
It may he best/fav choice…and probably not that appreciated by the neighbors themselves, but after a while, most people I know would agree that a yard should be a safe haven and respite for your family. Fences do not say “GO AWAY” as much as they say “I respect your privacy and relish in mine”.
Our neighbor had a dog that actually got lose and attacked my son THREE times before we had the cash to put up a fence.
When we reported this to the dog warden {after the third time!} he was given a citation and told he needed to put up a fence because HIS dog was causing the issue.
He put up a make do fence that kept the dog off, but the barking never stopped.
His retaliation on us calling him in was to call child protective services on our family 0_0. NOT a fun moment and surely stretched my “love thy neighbor” approach to life.
A few months later up went a 6 foot privacy fence. he made a HUGE stink and even called the police to say we are on his property.
It did not matter one bit :). The dog never bugs us and after a year or so, we are amicable.
All that to say…people need to be respectful of their dogs affecting the neighbors :).
Hope your summer gets better :).
Wow Donna Thanks for that, I needed to read that others have gone through the same thing
Hey…just a thought…have you tried enticing him with treats? Probably would be better to ask the neighbors first, if they mind if you give their “sweet dog” a treat every now and then. 🙂 It’ll take some time…but try going out…one person at a time for a bit. Sit by the fence (facing away from the dog) until he stops barking. When he does, slip him a treat through the fence. It lets him know that when he stops barking, he gets a treat. He’ll associate seeing you with getting a treat. Also, being near him helps to friend him. Lets him know you are not afraid of him. Try this with each family member, until the dog sits and waits at the fence for his treat. It’ll make life much more bearable when you go outside. (May take some time, so be patient). 🙂 Hope this helps.
I am afraid that would be scared to try this.
They do make training sprays that you can use to discourage bad behavior. Pretty quickly they just have to see the bottle, or you can switch to water and maybe he will quiet down. Will the privacy fence really stop the noise or will you be tiptoeing on your side so he doesn’t know you’re out? A lot of money for a fence. Keep thinking, someone here may come up with something that sparks your answer. It would drive me nuts, seriously.
Sad but true. What’s the old saying “This too shall pass” :).