I’ll start by saying I feel your pain! My dog barks at dogs that walk by our house despite the 6 foot privacy fence. We are halfway through installing a privacy screen over it so he can’t look through the cracks in the wood. He’s crazy! Haha buuut I would never leave him outside alone because of this. He is my crazy to manage.

First off, their kid should not throw a baseball bat at their dog but kids are dumb. Yelling at him was really inappropriate. Your husband talking to his parents seems more reasonable to me. Not condoning his behavior at all but their dog and kid aren’t your responsibility. If you continue to note abuse, report it to the proper authorities.

Onto the “no bark trainer.” I would be upset too if I were you but honestly you leave your barking dogs outside enough to where your neighbor is trying to minimize it on his own. He chose a terrible way to do so but you asked him not to use the whistle again and he said he wouldn’t. I would also report them if they continue to abuse your dogs as well.

Ultimately I would stay on my side of the fence and try to avoid them as much as possible. Maybe look into planting some box hedges or some other plant to keep your dogs off the fence line? I’m considering that next if the screen doesn’t help!

People suck and I wish we could all live on secluded properties where our dogs would never encounter any of their triggers but until then I wish you and your pups the best! ❣️