neighbor called police bc i have dogs and he has a 3 yr old daughter-

Situations like this is why I'm glad we purchased our home in the country, no side by side neighbors. I can also understand the father being concerned about his childs safety and maybe he's not going about it the right way by threats but sometimes when something  we feel as parents threatens our children we don't always think rationally. Atleast from personal exsperience. Another thought....Do you think the dogs would actually bite someone if they were to jump the fence? I only ask this because I have a GSD and I would never say that she wouldn't bite therfore if there were any chance of her getting through the fence I would definately fix it ASAP. G'luck with resolving this situation peacefully[]
Also Welcome to idog!
"Not intended to sound like just because my dog or yours is GSD that she will bite just saying my dog or any dog in general"

property laws vary from state to state, but i doubt the fence is actually shared. in the state i live in possession = ownership. who possesses the fence can be determined by licensed land surveyors and/or lawyers. to verify what the laws are where you live you really need to consult with either a land surveyor or a lawyer (or both).

i am with mic, i would file a harassment complaint at the least.

Would it be possible to keep the dogs inside when the neighbor and the daughter are outside? I'm guessing what happened is the neighbor and daughter were out one day and the dogs barking and jumping on the fence scared the girl, which I'm sure daddy didn't like. Maybe if you can keep the dogs quiet for a while, until they are more settled in and the neighbor is more used to you, then you could talk to them and try to start over on the right foot.

But, if the smooth side of the fence faces them it's very, very easy for your big dogs to push pickets off into the neighbor's yard. (I know, this happened to me this weekend, suddenly I looked out and had three dogs I didn't recognize in the yard) so if there's any chance the nails could pull out, or that the pickets could splinter, I'd ask the neighbor to let you in his yard with a drill and a bunch of screws, and run new screws (cheap and not real time-consuming) through the entire thing. It'd show him you're making an effort, and you could offer to bring your dogs (assuming they're trustworthy) to meet his daughter.

I haven't read all of the posts, so if this was said please excuse me I am having trouble w/ my  eyes today,
Laws everywhere in the United states are the person putting the fence up has to put the pretty ( not the technical word) side facing the neighbors yards, it is a luxury and you  choose to do it you need to look at the ugly. that's what wendy meant by her statement and if the neighbor owns the fence he is responsible for fixing it and if he does own itI would complain my butt off that he fix it asap, so that nothing happens to   his daughter, and I would also do what Mic said.

Any chance of taking some muffins or banananut bread over and inviting the neighbor and his daughter over to meet your dogs... That way the dad gets to see your dogs are harmless, the dogs get used to seeing dad and girl thus don't bark at them as much and also you guys could talk about ways to strenthen the fence...

This is not my usual way of doing things [sm=devil.gif] but I thought I'd introduce it for consideration... My dogs don't bark at my weird neighbors anymore after being introduced a few times... My life is more enjoyable because I can leave my back door open and my dogs can go in and out at will, and my neighbors can enjoy thier backyard without being barked at anymore!

thanks guys for the advices. i think the smooth side is facing my neighbor. I'm thinking of having a wire fence put up as advised by glenmar and let be done with it.
2 of my dogs are kid friendly..one isn't much a friendly dog but they are confined in my backyard. He claimed that my dogs barked at his daughter and she doesn't want to come out to the backyard to play anymore...and that's my fault. That's his story. So, I'm wholly responsible for keeping my dogs feet away from the fence.
 

If his daughter is scared of your dogs because they barked, that's his problem. You can't control the kids emotions. Dogs bark and that's a fact of life. As long as your dogs aren't barking at hours on end and aren't eating the fence, he has no right to harrass you. If he keeps acting a fool, I'd report his sorry ass too. I'm all for being civil with the neighbors but it sounds like the guy is being unreasonable. If you can afford it, put up another fence. That way when he keeps complaining, and I'm sure he will and he'll probably come up with new stuff to bitch about, you can show that you are doing what you can to properly maintain your dogs.

ORIGINAL: mini_mom

In my area, a fence which divides two properties is a shared fence, and both neighbors are equally responsible for repair/replacement.

So you're saying that if I lived in your area, and my neighbor decided he wanted a fence, and put one up, I'd be responsible to share in it's upkeep, like it or not? That seems very strange and unfair IMO.

I live on an island where there's not a lot of room...All the houses are on fairly small lots with fences built on the property line...So all homes have fences and all the fences here are joint property...

How about bark collars?  If they aren't barking, it's not going to be scary for the little girl to go into the back yard, right? I, too, would fix the fence and work on the barking and call it done. If HE has a problem with the fence and your dogs after that, then tell him to talk with your attorney!

Some people just like to complain.  They will go on and on about anything.  OTOH, if your dogs are barking for hours on end, that is a public nuisance and the police probably will be visitng you.  From what you say, I don't see that this is the case.  It sounds like he just doens't care for dogs in general and is somewhat of a whacko.  Good luck!

my dogs don't bark hours after hours..only when there are people walking by my house. But I am thinking of getting the bark collar.. Is it safe to use? I've heard bad things about it and don't want to harm my dogs. I have 2 outside dogs..if I put bark collars on both, will both will be hurt if one barks?

These are outside dogs we are talking about?  I would definitely put up a chain link inside the other fence.  Or replace the current fence.
 
Bark collars work on vibration, so one dogs bark does not set the other off. 
 
They do work, but on the principal of pain, so it's kind of personal decision if you want to use them. 
 
They do have citronella bark collars, bu they take a lot of maintenance.

Hill you are a  genius, I agree. Mick give it a try it can't hurt

I know all these things really vary from state to state, but here there is no such thing as the *smooth*  or *pretty* side to a fence - the 2 X 4s cover about 8/10 slats on one side, then go to the other side so that each yard has a couple of sections that are smooth and a couple that aren't.  The fences are considered jointly owned by the two property owners that share a particular section and if a section of fence needs to be repaired or replaced it's the responsibility of both home owners to split the cost unless one just isn't able to for whatever reason.  If you're renting, the landlord would have the responsibility to split the costs with the neighbor.

I can't imagine looking at a fence and seeing a strip of fence that rotates to 2x4's and then no 2x4's.... or "Smooth" then  2x4's... I would rather buy the fence myself and be responsible for the up keep if I could get around that eye soar.
I live in RI and have never seen anything like that, unless I'm reading fuzzy_dogs message wrong.    

I live in Calif. and have owned 3 homes and all have had the same type of fence.  Alternating smooth side to opposite of smooth side.  It's not really beautiful but it's not as bad as it might sound.  The "unsmooth" side is the same but has a 2x4 at the top and bottom.  In most developments you cannot choose to put up your own fence and have the smooth side showing only, so that isn't an option.  I have lots of bushes, roses and other ornamentals along the fence line, so it's not really viewed anyway and it helps to keep the dogs from jumping on it when the neighbors dog is on the other side.  We've had to fortify several section with extra large nails or screws because our lab can get pretty excited and run into it.  She only gets really nutty when their gardener is working right next to the fence though.