So my husband and I recently moved into a new house. We were very excited. We bought this house specifically for the back yard. It's nice and big--plenty of room for our girl, Maddie, to run around.
This is Maddie:
I think she's a border collie mix.
We were also really looking forward to the backyard because in the mornings, we enjoy sitting on the porch with Maddie while we drink coffee. And that's always seemed really important to her--that someone come out there with her.
When we moved in, the neighbors we share a back fence with had two dogs: a blue heeler mix and a doberman mix. We're primarily having three problems I'm not sure how to address:
1) The doberman screams all day and night. The first time he did it, I ran up stairs and checked out the window that overlooks their yard to make sure he wasn't hurt. But he's just been jumping up on the back door and crying in a very distressed way because he wants attention. There are no trees in the neighborhood (because it's new) and the sound echoes. I have to turn the tv up during the day to drown it out, but I can't wear ear plugs at night because I won't hear the alarm in the morning.
2) The doberman keep body checking the fence between our yards. The fence is the standard builder fence, so not reinforced at all, and I'm not sure how to do so affordably. But as soon as those boards weather at all, I'm certain he's going to pop one or two off and have access to our yard and dog. He's also digging under the fence.
3) After a couple of weeks, the blue heeler suddenly disappeared and a boxer mix appeared the same day. That seemed really odd. The boxer is aggressive. I'm not sure it's jumping on the fence, but when I go to the fence to bring Maddie away, he growls at me... and at her, obviously. Since the boxer has been there, there's been a lot of fighting through the fence. I guess the boxer starts it (because this wasn't a problem with the blue heeler), and Maddie starts barking... then the doberman starts barking, and it's just this really loud, really scary feedback loop. We can't get them to stop, and we end up having to drag Maddie away.
So I feel like this backyard we based our entire buying decision on is now useless to us. Our mornings are no longer companionable and serene--it's all stress and scolding. Our enjoyment of the place is ruined by the constant noise. The fence is getting torn up little by little. And I'm afraid that if there's a breach, those two dogs will gang up on Maddie and kill her or seriously wound her.
She's always inside while we're away, but she likes extended periods outdoors. I've been walking her, but we've had to limit her time outside now to supervised periods. it's also embarrassing because the noise echoes and, I'm sure, annoys the rest of the neighborhood. I'm really angry about it and don't know what to do. My husband says we can't confront the neighbors. And while we've been trying to train Maddie to come when called, it's absolutely impossible to get her attention when one of these fights starts.
Any suggestions? Currently, I'm trying to set aside money for a personal trainer who's willing to come to the house to observe the situation.
This is Maddie:
I think she's a border collie mix.
We were also really looking forward to the backyard because in the mornings, we enjoy sitting on the porch with Maddie while we drink coffee. And that's always seemed really important to her--that someone come out there with her.
When we moved in, the neighbors we share a back fence with had two dogs: a blue heeler mix and a doberman mix. We're primarily having three problems I'm not sure how to address:
1) The doberman screams all day and night. The first time he did it, I ran up stairs and checked out the window that overlooks their yard to make sure he wasn't hurt. But he's just been jumping up on the back door and crying in a very distressed way because he wants attention. There are no trees in the neighborhood (because it's new) and the sound echoes. I have to turn the tv up during the day to drown it out, but I can't wear ear plugs at night because I won't hear the alarm in the morning.
2) The doberman keep body checking the fence between our yards. The fence is the standard builder fence, so not reinforced at all, and I'm not sure how to do so affordably. But as soon as those boards weather at all, I'm certain he's going to pop one or two off and have access to our yard and dog. He's also digging under the fence.
3) After a couple of weeks, the blue heeler suddenly disappeared and a boxer mix appeared the same day. That seemed really odd. The boxer is aggressive. I'm not sure it's jumping on the fence, but when I go to the fence to bring Maddie away, he growls at me... and at her, obviously. Since the boxer has been there, there's been a lot of fighting through the fence. I guess the boxer starts it (because this wasn't a problem with the blue heeler), and Maddie starts barking... then the doberman starts barking, and it's just this really loud, really scary feedback loop. We can't get them to stop, and we end up having to drag Maddie away.
So I feel like this backyard we based our entire buying decision on is now useless to us. Our mornings are no longer companionable and serene--it's all stress and scolding. Our enjoyment of the place is ruined by the constant noise. The fence is getting torn up little by little. And I'm afraid that if there's a breach, those two dogs will gang up on Maddie and kill her or seriously wound her.
She's always inside while we're away, but she likes extended periods outdoors. I've been walking her, but we've had to limit her time outside now to supervised periods. it's also embarrassing because the noise echoes and, I'm sure, annoys the rest of the neighborhood. I'm really angry about it and don't know what to do. My husband says we can't confront the neighbors. And while we've been trying to train Maddie to come when called, it's absolutely impossible to get her attention when one of these fights starts.
Any suggestions? Currently, I'm trying to set aside money for a personal trainer who's willing to come to the house to observe the situation.