Has your neighbor complained that your dog is a nuisance? Check out these 5 helpful tips on how to respond to a neighbor’s complaint about your dog from The Whole Dog Journal. The overarching advice is to stay civil and don’t get defensive—for your sake, but also for your dog’s sake. Dogs all too often pay the price for human laziness, stupidity, & vindictiveness. Try to work with your neighbor so the situation doesn’t escalate. Try to resolve the matter before Animal Control or police are involved or before your neighbor retaliates against your dog. Be a good neighbor and protect your dog.
I think one of the most important things to do before anything even happens, is develop some level of a relationship with your neighbors. Let your neighbor meet your dog. It’s harder to be angry with you if they know you than if you’re just those anonymous jerks with the dog that barks. It also means you may preempt a complaint.
Our across-the-street neighbor asked if I’d been hearing dogs barking in the night. What he really meant, was he thought Saffron was barking a ton and keeping him awake. Because we had a decent friendship and chatted, I was able to tell him the dogs he was hearing were one street over and that Saffron actually spent the night inside. If we hadn’t spoken casually, he would have begun to resent us and might have eventually called the police.
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