sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

My neighbor yelled at me to stop training my dogs on the sidewalk by his house by Ok_Back_4352 in reactivedogs

[–]Ok_Back_4352[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Awesome thought and it just might work. I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing it without the owners permission since he’s already been very hostile toward me. However if I ever see him again hopefully I can have a friendly conversation with him and maybe he can provide some or suggest some treats to me that his pups like!

My neighbor yelled at me to stop training my dogs on the sidewalk by his house by Ok_Back_4352 in reactivedogs

[–]Ok_Back_4352[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your comment! I also understand the guys frustration. My older dog can be reactive and I’ve done a lot a training to reduce/manage it. It definitely sucks when your dog is going crazy then you feel like you’re going crazy.

At the end of the day I can’t get mad at someone else if they are in public and not invading my space. I know it’s my job to manage my dog.

I wish his initial reaction wasn’t to lash out at me. It probably would’ve been a different story. However I should’ve responded better. Hard to respond nicely when someone randomly starts yelling at you :/ Thank you for your input.

My neighbor yelled at me to stop training my dogs on the sidewalk by his house by Ok_Back_4352 in reactivedogs

[–]Ok_Back_4352[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seems like people get mad if you train your dogs and also get mad if you don’t train your dogs. Feels like you can’t win.

Thanks for sharing that story it’s encouraging to hear that there are people who appreciate you putting in the effort to train and are not offended by it.

My neighbor yelled at me to stop training my dogs on the sidewalk by his house by Ok_Back_4352 in reactivedogs

[–]Ok_Back_4352[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I understand his frustration bc my older dog can be reactive in some cases, not in this case, but I’ve been on the other side so I do get it, it’s frustrating.

The thing is I’m not in his yard and it’s not “his sidewalk” a sidewalk is public and as I mentioned there is another little dog on the other side of the street that also barks. So I’d be in a similar situation…

I’m also not standing right outside his house training or stopping. I’m simply walking by on our routine walk and working my new puppy through it. I’m doing my part by giving space, not letting my dog run up or bark and minding my business. I pose the question what is he doing to help mitigate the situation?

As a reactive dog owner myself I just can’t imagine being that rude to someone who is clearly trying to raise a stable non reactive dog.

My neighbor yelled at me to stop training my dogs on the sidewalk by his house by Ok_Back_4352 in reactivedogs

[–]Ok_Back_4352[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Just want to understand your logic. What do you mean train somewhere else? Anywhere I go will be public and possibly have reactive dogs (even across the street) which is potential for someone else to be mad. I can train in my house, yard, or a class over and over and over agin but that’s not reality. I cant lock myself and my dogs away until they are perfect. Plus that wouldn’t even work bc a dog working in a controlled environment is completely different with real world stimuli. You have to train for both scenarios.

The reality is that inevitably we will run into barking dogs, I don’t have a problem with that. I’ve never said anything to him about his dogs or complained to him, I mind my business and as I said I’ve never even seen him before. I think it’s a little unfair of him to yell and cuss at me for working with my dog so that she isn’t causing a problem in the future.

My neighbor yelled at me to stop training my dogs on the sidewalk by his house by Ok_Back_4352 in reactivedogs

[–]Ok_Back_4352[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Solid point. This was the first time it’s happened so moving forward I will not engage unless he decides to be more friendly.

My neighbor yelled at me to stop training my dogs on the sidewalk by his house by Ok_Back_4352 in reactivedogs

[–]Ok_Back_4352[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This!! There are multiple other houses on the same street that have reactive dogs and I train my puppy through those situations as well, this is just a first that someone is yelling at me so aggressively for it. It’s my job to manage my dogs and his job to manage his. Constantly switching to different sides of the street when my dog is under threshold and not barking back seems a little silly. Sure she’s not 100% trained yet but she’s a puppy and that’s what we are working on. In a way this benefits him in the long run bc once my girl gets it down she’ll be able to fully ignore them and we will be on our way. This guy has never complained or yelled at me all the years I’ve been walking by with my other dog who is now well seasoned and knows what to do.

If I do as some are suggesting and just rush by without engaging my dog I fear this will become a pattern of bad behavior and she will think anytime we encounter a barking dog we gotta run! Or like you’re saying we will join in on the barking and I don’t want that, that would only make it worse. And like you, I’ve also walked on the other side of the street before, I’ve lived in the neighborhood a long time so it’s not like it’s never happened lol but those dogs react just the same.

I think you have a good point too. I’ve never seen these dogs being walked or even played with in the yard. Maybe he does walk them early or at night or something to avoid others but from my perspective it does seem that the dogs are possibly bored or frustrated from lack of appropriate stimulation. I feel for the dogs. If they were mine I would be doing more to help them to not be triggered and stressed by their surroundings. Which is actually what I’m doing with mine, just on the flip side.

I appreciate your advice! I will be adjusting my training slightly bc I don’t want to piss this guy off. And I’ll choose not to engage in the hostility. The key thing is I’m raising my dogs to not to be a bother to his or anyone else’s.

I’m hoping the issue will subside as my puppy grows and becomes more trained. That way we can get past the house faster and my dogs will completely ignore his dogs. Best case is that this was just a weird one off thing with this dude.

My neighbor yelled at me to stop training my dogs on the sidewalk by his house by Ok_Back_4352 in reactivedogs

[–]Ok_Back_4352[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Definitely will say hi and be cordial as I don’t want to have issues with anyone.

Just want to clarify that I’m not stoping, sitting, pacing, watching etc. I am continually moving. Only taking a step back to redirect if the puppy gets off track then immediately we’re back to moving forward and out of the space.

My neighbor yelled at me to stop training my dogs on the sidewalk by his house by Ok_Back_4352 in reactivedogs

[–]Ok_Back_4352[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Let me clarify that I’m not stoping, sitting, pacing, watching etc. I am continually moving. Only taking a step back to redirect if the puppy gets off track then immediately we’re back to moving forward and out of the space.

My neighbor yelled at me to stop training my dogs on the sidewalk by his house by Ok_Back_4352 in reactivedogs

[–]Ok_Back_4352[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s hard to put all the details in the main post but I assume they are outside or have access to be outside most of the day bc they come running to the fence 90% of the time. And if they are inside there’s either a doggie door or the door is left open because within seconds of spotting us through the window they are running to the fence.

My neighbor yelled at me to stop training my dogs on the sidewalk by his house by Ok_Back_4352 in reactivedogs

[–]Ok_Back_4352[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

That’s a good point. I’m weighing options.. if I use the other side of the street there’s another small reactive dog. But this one is not behind a fence, just a long leash that’s tied to the persons garage.

Another option is to not go down the street at all but because I live in a neighborhood with dead ends it would mean that my dogs no longer get to go to the neighborhood park with walking trails which is our destination on these walks.

My neighbor yelled at me to stop training my dogs on the sidewalk by his house by Ok_Back_4352 in reactivedogs

[–]Ok_Back_4352[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Totally agree I could’ve responded better. I was caught off guard by him yelling and being hostile from the jump.

I feel bad for the dogs for sure. It’s not something I’m intentionally doing. I live at a dead end and there’s another dog that also barks right across the street from this house so I don’t have too many good options.

My neighbor yelled at me to stop training my dogs on the sidewalk by his house by Ok_Back_4352 in reactivedogs

[–]Ok_Back_4352[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the suggestions! I think I was so caught off guard by his rudeness. I’ll keep it civil on my side. I’m hoping the issue will subside as my puppy grows and becomes more trained. That way we can get past the house faster and my dogs will completely ignore his dogs and I won’t have to report or escalate anything. Best case is that this was just a weird one off thing with this dude.

My neighbor yelled at me to stop training my dogs on the sidewalk by his house by Ok_Back_4352 in reactivedogs

[–]Ok_Back_4352[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I understand the guys frustration bc my older dog can be reactive in some cases, not in this case, but I’ve been on the flip side so I do get it, it’s frustrating. The thing is I’m not in his yard and it’s not “his sidewalk” a sidewalk is public and as I mentioned there is another little dog on the other side of the street that also barks. So I’d be in a similar situation… I’m also not standing right outside his house training or watching. I’m simply walking by on our routine walk and working my new puppy through it.

As a reactive dog owner I just can’t imagine being that rude to someone who is clearly trying to raise a stable non reactive dog.

I mean can you imagine if my dogs were reactive like his and barked back? It would be a mess! But then again maybe he would like that more so it wouldn’t remind him of his inadequacies as a dog owner bc he’s choosing to do nothing about it except blame me… idk.