Neighbor Provoking Dog - Barking, etc

[Shetlander]

If that fails, it may be lawyer time - he's messing not only with your friend, but with your valuable dog. If, through this person's misbehavior, you wind up with a bite situation on your hands, it seems to me that you have a legal defense and claim against him for his taunting.

 

I'd worry about my dog learning to be aggressive and bite. But even more I'd worry about the guy stealing, hurting or killing my dog. He may simply be misguided and ignorant at best. A much worse scenario is he may be someone who enjoys hurting, torturing or killing animals. Don't continue to allow him to mistreat your dog like this.

 

I agree with trying to approach this guy rationally and see if he will stop. But if that doesn't work, don't put your dog in a situation where you know she will be teased, pick up bad habits and may be at risk of being harmed by this guy. As much as she feels she must protect herself and the property, that really is your job, not hers. If you feel you must document what the guy is doing, I'd limit it to just one or two videos. Every interaction your dog has with him is one more bad lesson to be learning, one more opportunity to get herself into trouble by biting and one more chance to be harmed by this person.

 

Even a privacy fence is no assurance of protection. My dogs can still see between the slats of my sturdy wood fence. They can hear and smell things. And anyone who wants to throw poisoned meat over the 6 foot fence certainly can do so if they are so motivated. Once upon a time, I used to let my dogs spend time unsupervised outside. That no longer works for my current dogs and even if it did, I no longer trust people the way I once used to.

 

Please protect your dog. Do not put her in harm's way. Don't let her believe every person approaching your property is a threat. Do not let her out by herself without supervision any more. Please.

[painted_ponies]

Liz has a good point. Even with good intentions, people can wind up harming your dogs. Several of us on this board have had well-meaning farm workers toss (cooked) chicken bones into our yards as a "treat" for the dogs. So I never let mine outdoors unsupervised.

 

Even in a solid fence, you never know. DH let my new guy, Scot (BC/pyr cross) out into his pen and buried himself in a book indoors. There is a reason they are called "disapyrs," as I found out when I got home and there was a large excavation under the empty pen. No harm done, though - Scot was just waiting for me in the driveway and hopped into my lap before I got out of the truck. *whew* Scot's apparently pretty good with horses, since they were standing placidly about twenty feet away waiting on supper. But the situation sure could've turned out differently.

 

I don't think I'd waste any time talking to the guy. I'd just tell him to stop it. Once. Then enforce if necessary. But I'd say chances are good you won't have to.

[1sheepdoggal]

Hey Sally! Glad to hear Scot is doing well, and figuring out where home base is so quickly. Such a happy little?? dog. Are ya stilll working Vi? How's she coming? Im with you on this line of thinking. Just tell the fella to knock it off. If he is such a chicken sh** that he has to stoop to teasing a dog , I'd bet he will get scared if a person stood up to him, and find better ways to spend his breaks. At least its a first step in letting him know your on to him, and could just be the end of it as well.

[Eileen Stein]

Talk to him. That's the first step. Right now you have no idea why he's doing this. I think mbc1963 is right when she says

 

Seems to me there are a number of people in the world who think that fake-barking and growling at dogs is AMUSING to both themselves and the dogs. Honestly, I think some people think it's a funny way of interacting, and don't get that the dogs find it stressful and threatening. It's like they think getting a dog to bark at them is having a conversation with the dog.

 

You need to get a feel for why he's doing this, and for what he's like, to figure out what the best course of action is. The only way you can do that is by talking to him, starting off neutrally and modifying what you say according to what you find out. I also agree with the suggestions to video, and then to not let the dog continue to be subjected to this even if it means never letting him out in the yard unsupervised. If he won't stop after you talk to him, I would escalate to contacting his employer and/or talking to the police along the lines Gary M suggests.