I'm having trouble with one of the neighborhood kids and my dogs- not sure what the best way to handle this is.

One of the neighborhood kids- young man in jr. high- is home-schooled, tends to have a lot of free time on his hands, has a single mother with lots of health problems including obesity, he also is probably mildly mentally retarded and has adhd. I spend a lot of time in the front yard/garden, and when I first moved in he would wander by and stop to talk because I was the only person out there (probably who wouldn't yell at him). I felt sorry for the kid albeit a bit uncomfortable in his presence.

Fast forward a couple of months: I adopted my two current dogs. From the very beginning they didn't like the kid. If he came to the door they would flip out- barking, growling, once even lunged at the door. I have never allowed this kid in the house, and will never: to be honest he now makes me uncomfortable at best. His favorite topics of conversation range from "how many home-made guns I've made" to "my mom took away xyz" to "guess what, I've been shooting my cats with my nerf gun".

My next door neighbors also have a son and a niece who frequently is babysat in their home. Their son has been over to my house for math tutoring, and the dogs do not have a problem with him or the little girl. The kids, with their parents present, and I had an open discussion about safety around the dogs, about not running up to them, screaming, putting their hands in the dogs faces, and definitely not putting their hands through the fence. My neighbors are really down to earth and encouraged the learning session (one of them is even an animal handler at the zoo here).

Sorry this is so long but here's the crux- the nice neighbors are moving from the house on one side of me, which they rent, to the house on the other side of me, which they will rent. The other night the dogs were in my back yard, I was watering in the front yard, and all of the kids (including the young man they don't like) were playing in the new front yard. They decide to play hide and seek, and the kid they don't like, somehow decided it would be a good idea to crawl along the backyard fenceline (on neighbors new house side) in the 3' wide path between the fence and their garage. The dogs started going berzerk, and I dropped the hose and ran back there.

I'm afraid I lost my temper and yelled at the kid... Then ran inside and called the dogs in and put them up. I have warned this young man in the past not to get close to the dogs. Not to hang around the door if they are inside because they get upset. Please to not get close to the fence at the end of my driveway (halfway in my property adjacent to the house). I know this is a problem with my control of the dogs, and we are working on it! But I am frustrated with this young man's inability to comply with my requests. My (innapropriate) comments to the kid were "What are you doing in there!? You know the dogs don't like you! Get out of there!" he then said, "Well I was trying to hide" and I replied "well you're not hiding very well with the dogs barking at you!". This is the point at which I ran inside and called the dogs in. I admit I'm embarrassed at the way I handled the situation...

I've since moved to keeping the dogs inside unless I'm in the immediate yard with them. This way there is no danger... but I'm concerned that the young man may have come to the fence or my door when I'm not home and tormented my dogs. It seems unreal how much they dislike him. I don't know if there's anything else I can do?

Any thoughts or suggestions on the situation?

Carolyn,

Some dogs just "know" when people aren't on the up and up AND some dogs do not like people with any kind of disability. I would say the latter applies to this case.

Have you talked to the mother at all? And, what are the laws in your area about trespassing.

I would request to both the kid and the mother that he stays out of and away from your property and make sure you know where your property lines are.

Keep vigilance over your dogs when you know he is out and about so as not to have an accident, and then, if you have to...talk to the authorities (police or sheriff) about what you can do.

Start out with the nice neighbor request, but keep your options open if you have to get tough about it and do not be afraid to take the steps you need to avoid an accident or a dog bite.

FWIW....I do not think you were inappropriate at all with what you said to the kid. I probably would have said worse.

Oh yeah, Sams club and I am sure other places have fairly decent priced security cameras that you can access via internet.....that way, if he is tormenting you will have proof and can do something about it.

If the fence is solid then I don't see a problem. Dogs bark at people snooping around your property, it's what they do and its your right as long as they don't become an audible nuisance to your neighbors (like barking constantly all day).

Kids will be kids, sure, but its the parents responsibility to teach them not to mess with dogs behind a fence, trespass into peoples fenced yards and to snoop around where they shouldn't be.

As for control over the dogs, yes, if you say "knock it off, come here" then the dogs should leave it and come to you. But the fact that they bark at the fence is normal behavior as far as i'm concerned.

I agree with you Mike, however, if this kid is tormenting the dogs or trespassing and gets bit, then Carolyn needs to know where she stands as a responsible pet owner.

Carolyn....make sure to document EVERYTHING.

What really kills me (in addition to the rest of my rant above, lol) is that he and his mom have two dogs that get loose every day and roam the neighborhood. GRRRR.

I really do need to go talk to his mom- I'd hate to have to call the police, because I know that he's had other problems, and from what I've heard one more 'strike' would be a big deal. Honestly though I need to make this under control.

I've been really careful from day one about who gets close to the dogs because I didn't know their history, they are big dogs, and they're animals, sometimes you never know what will happen. It confounds me how many people I don't know will walk up and try and pet them despite my requests to leave them alone. This is so frustrating and stressful. Especially when a kid is involved, no matter what the attributes of the child.

Edit: Thanks Mike- I honestly appreciate having dogs that bark at strangers/trespassers in my neighborhood. I just don't want anything bad to happen, because I know if the kid or anyone gets bit, it's sure to be trouble. I will definitely start documenting what's going on...

Yeah, like Carol said start with the nice neighbor approach and when you go to talk to her bring a cake.

 Quote: mike j schoonbrood

If the fence is solid then I don't see a problem. Dogs bark at people snooping around your property, it's what they do and its your right as long as they don't become an audible nuisance to your neighbors (like barking constantly all day). ... Kids will be kids, sure, but its the parents responsibility to teach them not to mess with dogs behind a fence, trespass into peoples fenced yards and to snoop around where they shouldn't be. ... As for control over the dogs, yes, if you say "knock it off, come here" then the dogs should leave it and come to you. But the fact that they bark at the fence is normal behavior as far as i'm concerned.

Also, did I miss something or was this kid on the other side of your fence, between your fence and the neighbor's garage?

Not on your side of the fence, right?

I'm 100% with seeing the parents and being straightforward (and very courteous) about your concerns, and also with documenting any and all problems.

But I'm also in support of the dogs not being alone in the yard. I'd be concentrating hard on my dogs' behavior, because I would know that the behavior of kids is not reliable.

Yes Connie- you're correct he was on the neighbor's side of the fence. That's partly what makes me so nervous. If he's going to be playing with the neighbor's son often, he's going to be in their yard. He has every right to be invited into their yard- it was just such a weird spot he picked to crawl through and with the dogs barking at him already you'd think he'd have gone somewhere else. Regardless, we're going to start working extra hard on fence manners and OB...

You can look up local ordinances and statutes at municode.com .

 Quote: Carolyn Pike

He has every right to be invited into their yard- it was just such a weird spot he picked to crawl through and with the dogs barking at him already you'd think he'd have gone somewhere else. Regardless, we're going to start working extra hard on fence manners and OB...

Well, barking at people right near the fence is normal, I'd think.

Oh heck. I don't know.