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

Blah![].........lol

I live in RI

hey... where in RI are you ? I'm originally from Newport.

Mickeyboo, how have things progressed since you added another layer to the fence?  Was the added layer a permanent fix or just a quick temporary solution?  (I have in my mind a 6 ft privacy that has some boards missing/damaged in it, am I correct?)  Have you had a conversation with the father and things calmed down?  What about contacting the police/AC?  Hopefully things are better.

mickeyboo, I am not personally attacking you, but IMO, a GSD is the worst breed to leave outdoors all alone all day.  They tend to chase things that move, and some become barrier aggressive doing so (after all, every time they chase, they are successful at getting the intruder to leave - it's self reinforcing).  You might not even notice that's what's happening until they either get out or someone gets in.  Also, they are often anxious when not in the company of their human or pack mates, and anxiety is stressful and frustrating, which often leads to barking.  Why are you only leaving this one dog outdoors? 

Amen Anne.  As the somewhat reluctant mom to SIX german shepherds, I would NEVER leave any one of them outside when I wasn't home.  Even without all the fears of someone tossing poisoned something to them or bothering them, it's just not gonna happen here.  GSD's are simply NOT outside alone dogs.

nigguysmom-
The original fence does not have damages, just 2 cracks on 2 different pieces of the fence. I already put another layer on these two pieces. Also, I've put up as much layer as I could but it's not completely done because I have no help. Carrying the wood and putting up the fence by a 5' woman is not easy.
The neighbor and I have not had a chance to talk yet.

ORIGINAL: nigguysmom

Mickeyboo, how have things progressed since you added another layer to the fence?  Was the added layer a permanent fix or just a quick temporary solution?  (I have in my mind a 6 ft privacy that has some boards missing/damaged in it, am I correct?)  Have you had a conversation with the father and things calmed down?  What about contacting the police/AC?  Hopefully things are better.

spiritdogs- he's not the only dog that I left outside. There's another one-chow/lab mix. My GSD is not aggressive at all. He's very friendly. I don't know how to put all 3 dogs inside the house when I'm not at home. They will destroy my house. Plus he doesn't like to stay inside. I tried it before when I was at home, put him in my computer room  but he didn't like it and kept bumping into the door, scratching to door, whining and barking wanting to get out. His previous owner originally raised him up as outside dog.
My chow/lab mix can't be inside dog all the time. I used to let him stay inside before, but his excessive shreading and his smell are unbearable. If I leave him inside all day long, I have to vacumn my house and bath him EVERY SINGLE day. I have tried and can't do this anymore since I work about 10 hrs everyday.

Ok, after reading the last post I can see why the neighbor is concerned. These are two dogs who are outside for at least 10 hours. Are you absolutely positive that they aren't being a nuisance? I mean, you aren't there to know what they are doing. They may be perfectly fine and keep to themselves but on the other hand, if they hear something in the next yard they may start barking and acting a fool by the fence. This is a very serious issue and since your dogs are outside all the time, there's a very high probability that someone can harm them because they were being vindictive jerks.
 
Have you ever  tried crating your dogs? Crates work wonders and this way, they'd be indoors, they won't destroy the house and they'd be safe. You say the Chow mix stinks. What are you feeding him? If you're feeding a lower quality food, that can cause a dog to stink to holy hell. Since you're gone all the time, can you have someone come over to let them out/walk them in the afternoon?

Mickeyboo, sounds like you are doing the right thing, just be proactive and take care of the fence and protect yourself from any liability by making sure your responsibilities are taken care of and up to snuff.  []
 
Keep doing what you are doing and things will be ok.  Ask for help if you need to to get the fence fixed, ask the neighbor to help, maybe that will help him with his attitude that you are trying to fix things and maybe give him a chance to meet the dogs. 
 
Also, if you are going to continue leaving the 2 dogs outside while you are gone, just make sure that you have all of the necessaries out there for them.  By that I mean water, shelter, adequate safety measures that they can't get out, toys, etc.  Please do not think I'm saying this because I think you are abusing your dogs by leaving them outside, (I leave my dogs outside when I am school, so I have no problem with dogs being outside in a safe environment) I say it so that you can make sure that there are no grounds for anyone to say that you are.
 
Keep us updated.

Also forgot, you might want to talk to your other neighbors to make sure that the dogs aren't being a problem for them.  Talk, talk, talk to people in your neighborhood to make sure that they know you are are perfectly willing to address any and all problems concerning your dogs.  Let them know that you can't fix or address a problem if you don't know it's there.  Good luck.

meilani,

Yes, i tried crates for my chow mix and he was miserable. He didn't like it and would do anything to not go in there. He was not a friendly dog when I tried crate on him.
For the past few days I've put my dogs in my garage..making the garage their home. They seem to like it alot. Maybe this can be my alternative. Maybe I can put them in the garage that's not totally closed when I'm gone and let them run in the back yard when I'm home.
Also, I feed my dogs Nutro Max natural. My chow has skin problems since he was little. He's also on medication for allergies. I've tried almost everythign out there..but his skin is just out of wack.


[link>http://forum.dog.com/asp/showProfile.asp?memid=12449]nigguysmom[/link]-Thanks for your support and advices. I really appreciate your kind advices. I will call the police dept once I get the fence completely done. Until then, I will keep my dogs inside when I'm gone. Like you said, the neighbor might do harms to my dogs when I'm not at home.

ORIGINAL: meilani

Ok, after reading the last post I can see why the neighbor is concerned. These are two dogs who are outside for at least 10 hours. Are you absolutely positive that they aren't being a nuisance? I mean, you aren't there to know what they are doing. They may be perfectly fine and keep to themselves but on the other hand, if they hear something in the next yard they may start barking and acting a fool by the fence. This is a very serious issue and since your dogs are outside all the time, there's a very high probability that someone can harm them because they were being vindictive jerks.

Have you ever  tried crating your dogs? Crates work wonders and this way, they'd be indoors, they won't destroy the house and they'd be safe. You say the Chow mix stinks. What are you feeding him? If you're feeding a lower quality food, that can cause a dog to stink to holy hell. Since you're gone all the time, can you have someone come over to let them out/walk them in the afternoon?

I completely understand where you are coming from.  Let me start out by saying, put up a wire fence away from his to get him off your back.  I'm currently going through sort of a same situation because one of my dog barks when people go by.  What are you going to do... living in the city sucks and I completely agree with Glenmar... I'm currently working on renting a single family home with a fenced in yard so I don't have to go through this.  Right now I have to stand outside with my dogs while they go to the bathroom so they don't bark.  [&o]  And it's New England... it's really cold here!!!
Good luck!

I don't have a fenced yard, either, so we walk outside. When your dog tries to limp on all four feet, now that's cold! LOL (-20, etc.---though it's starting to warm up now during the day)

Mickey,
How are things?

it doesnt really matter who owns the fence.  it is your job to keep your dogs contained.  if there wasnt a fence you would have to put one up.  if your dogs do happen to get through the fence and hurt or damage anyone or anything, you would be legally responsible, no matter who owns the fence, because you own the dogs and its your responsibility to keep control of them.  i completely understand the fathers concern.  try putting yourself in his shoes for a sec.  just because your dogs havnt done anything yet, does not guarentee they wont.  children have been attacked and killed by dogs, and he doesnt want his daughter to be one of those children.  im not saying your dogs would do any harm, but how does anyone know?  especially a parent protecting his child, who doesnt know you or your dog.  i think you should try to be a little more understanding of his view point.

Jaye,
Your are correct in the fact that the OP's responsibility is to contain and ensure the safety of her dogs, no one is disputing that.  But please, do not absolve the father from any responsibility for the safety of his child.  You are correct, he does have the right and the responsibility to keep his kid safe, but he needs to approach it in a constructive manner and be a part of the solution and not the problem.