Couple Installs Privacy Fence To Protect Their Large Dogs From Neighbor's Children Who Used To Taunt Them Whenever They Were In The Backyard

The mom said her children were heartbroken because they couldn't see "their dogs" any longer.

Chelsi

• Published in Animal Stories
• November 26, 2023

Any hope for friendship with their neighbor went down the drain when a couple installed a fence between their properties. The OP, her husband, and their two dogs have lived in their house for five years.

Their new neighbors moved in more than a year ago. The two kids under the age of five formed a habit of bothering OP's dogs whenever they were out in the backyard.

The kids ran out of their house whenever they saw the dogs in the backyard. They go to the chain-link fence to bang on it and yell at OP's dogs.

Her large dogs used to love lazing about in their backyard for hours. Since the family moved in, the dogs got increasingly hesitant to even go out to do their business.

The parents didn't see a problem with their children's taunts to the dogs. OP saw the mom watch her kids through their window, but she never intervened.

OP talked to the kids and gently told them that they scared her dogs. She also went over to talk to the parents who dismissed her concerns or made a non-commital response that they would talk to their children.

OP was done tolerating their neighbor's intrusion. She and her husband applied for a permit to install a new fence and were successfully put on the waitlist.

OP and her husband jumped at the opportunity when they were informed they were next in line for the fence installation.

They brought their dogs to her sister's farm where they ran to their hearts' content.

OP didn't inform her neighbors about the fence. The construction was inside their property and access from the neighbor's side of the fence wasn't necessary.

When they got home, the mom stormed over to their house. She said her kids were inconsolable since the fence was put up. They were heartbroken that they could no longer see "their dogs."

OP explained to her neighbor that she tried to approach their issue amicably multiple times. The mom yelled insults at OP until she had no choice but to shut the door in her face.

The least she could have done was talk to OP about her children approaching OP's dogs.

It would have been the neighborly thing to do. OP said she wouldn't have let her dogs near the kids because they were too little to be friends with her large livestock guardian dogs.

OP's dogs were actually more behaved than the children in this story.

The parents haven't taught their kids how to treat animals. No pets should be subjected to that household.

OP's dogs are back to their old, outdoorsy selves and are too busy marking their new fence to worry about petty human drama.

It was becoming a safety issue. The new fence was the best solution since the neighbors didn't even attempt to teach their children how to treat animals.

OP and her husband aren't to be blamed for the situation.

Now, they just need to make sure that their neighbor doesn't try to harm her dogs more than they already have.

Neighborly disputes are nothing new. OP and her husband tried the gentle approach of civilly discussing the issue with their neighbors, but it didn't work.

The fence was the best option for everyone. It could be true that the children were heartbroken over losing the limited access they had to OP's dogs, but what they used to do was too dangerous for it to be allowed to continue.

Chelsi