The Neighbors...again

[corgilady]

Well I think I just need a little support here! As you know, the neighbors took down my fence, I paid for a survey to show them that it was MINE, not theirs to take down (it went all around my property, DUHHHH!). Then they kept saying they were going to put up a fence, and they were lying. so I finally put one up myself.
They complained that koda stands between our houses and barks, so I put a 2nd gate near the back corner of the house, so that he can't get in between. He barks MUCH less if I shut him all the way in the back. He also is beginning to respond to the "no bark" command. Just a little. I started keeping him inside a LOT more at that time, about one month ago. I feel though that if he were outside about 4 hours a day, that's enough to run off his energy. But since they complained , he is in like 22 or 23 hours out of the day. Many days I only leash walk him and don't even let him out alone at all.
On sunday, I put him out after church and the neighbor was immediately over here. He said, what are you going to do about this???? and pointed to koda. NOTE: Koda did NOT bark at him when he walked up. :roll: He just wagged his tail. I said, I keep him in 23 hours a day, is that not enough????? he said no, because we might put our kids in bed at any time of day, and he barks. I said well if I knew their schedule I could help you. He said, we do not have a schedule. they sleep whenever. So I said well I will stop putting him out right after lunch, I will put him out in the mornings instead, does that help? he said yes but you need to give the dog away --- and proceeded to tell me about various dogs they have owned for a few months and then got rid of.

Now that I have had time to think about this:
1. After they stole my fence, they continually let (really nasty) garbage blow out of their cans into my back yard, and they never picked it up. so I always had to. Now it catches on the fence and stays in their driveway, until it blows forward and over into my front yard and I pick it up.
2. I do not own a tree, but since they have TONS and they do not rake leaves, I spend all fall and part of the winter cleaning up their leaves, which blow over here and cover my walk, porch, and garden. It takes hours to get them out of the rose bed.
3. They wake ME up almost every night coming in from their mom's (where they go eat every night) and I have NEVER complained
4. We are surrounded by 8 other dogs besides ours, all of whom bark. Some are out all night and at least one starts barking every morning at 5:30 a.m.
5. When another neighbor complained about this same guy always leaving his trashcans all over the sidewalk for a WEEK after the trash ran....they called the city on him....he said to me, well when people complain it makes me want to leave them taht much longer. THEREFORE I FEEL LIKE leaving my dogs out all day. and all night. and borrwing some more barky dogs.

I feel that I have bent over backwards, and I want to just ignore them and do whatever I please. It is inconvenient to me not to let the dogs out around 2:30 right before my students come. Also I like to let them out around dinner time. But I know that I am pretty angry right now. What is reasonable?????

[yellowlabsrule]

Sorry about your bad neighbor. :( Reminds me of a lady I know that had such a bad neighbor they SHOT her dog! :cry: :cry: :cry: Felt sooooo sorry for her and you!

[yellowlabsrule]

Sorry, that probably didn't encourage you much.

[corgilady]

That is the kind of thing I am afraid of! Recently I went out and one of their bowls was full of those red seeds that come off a magnolia tree....I don't think it was the dogs that were collecting them. There is a squirell and a possum but they probably wouldn't do that either sOOOOO I wondered if someone heard they were poisonous so they put 'em in there. The nearest magnolia tree is about 75 feet from there, and across afence. And there were none in the yard; only in the bowl!

[Guest Anonymous]

id say call the police, tell them about the fence about making sure he doesnt bark and about the seeds. poisoning a dog is a crime, even if the seeds werent bad ones putting them in teh bowl trying to make the dog sick is still a crime. i had trouble with my neighbor to. he is a teacher at school but hates my kids ( says there are to many at my house, i have 6) well he said my dog barked all the time, the cop told him to grow up and get a life, dogs bark live with it. ( she dont back all the time ) well one nite she was barking cuz some other dog across the street started barking, he went in my yard and threw a large plastic garbage can at the dog. i didnt see it but i heard it! i found my dog laying down scared to death and the trash can next to her. i called the cops and he now hasent said a word about my kids or the dog. this has gone on for the past 6 years ive been living with. i had one dog we had to put down from a mysterious brain infection. this dog only barked at my neighbor cuz he yelled at my kids nonstop. we had to put her on the other side of the house so that she couldnt see him at all. he is so bad he shot another neighbors visitors dog. yes it was barking nonstop all nite long, it anoyed me to but he said it was an accident, says he didnt mean to hit it, yet it was shot in the head. he told others well i didnt mean to but it was a nice shot tho wasnt it then laughed ug i cant stand this guy. imagine having this kind of person living nexxt to you and teaching you kids and you cant take them out of his class. when my kids were smaller they had nitemares about this guy. just call the cops. they can help or at least they will hear your side of the story first and i think that will help

[eric]

Well, the first thing you should of done is called the police for damage to property if they took down a fence that was clearly on your property. It also sounds like you have some less than pleasant neighbours.

I have to say, however, that in my opinion there simply is no excuse for leaving your dog barking outside for any length of time. It is simply rude and disrespectful to your neighbors.

Understand, I have 3 dogs so its not like I have no idea what its like being a dog owner. But when my boys start to bark, they are immediately brought in, and they are never left outside unsupervised.

I also understand what its like living next to someone who lets their dog bark. The main reason we moved from our last house was because our immediate neighbor let her dog bark constantly. We called by-law, we talked to her, etc, but she still let that dog bark. She did curb the dog's barking, but 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there 20 times a day can be just annoying and frustrating.

I realize that your neighbors are doing things which bother you, but their offences are not carte-blanche for you to let your dog bark, and this would only escalate the situation. I think you should deal with these issues as completely separate items.

I *am* sympathetic to your situation as I have dealt with bad neighbors on many occasions. The first thing you need to realize is that there are some things you are powerless to change. The leaves may be an example of this depending on your local by-laws. Before speaking to your neighbors, find out what the local laws and by-laws are concerning your particular issues.

The next step is to then either speak to your neighbor or write a polite letter stating your concerns. Keep it very cordial and to the point. Don't turn it into a large rant bringing up every little incident that's occured. This only serves to inflame the situation.

You can't expect your neighbors to know something is annoying you if you don't talk to them. Its important to remember that while you might be all riled up, they may have no clue. Keep your calm when speaking to them.

If this doesn't work, then you start escalating by calling by-law/police. Hope this helps.

[Guest Anonymous]

Eric I am just curious as to what you would do about the seeds in the dog bowl?

[corgilady]

Eric look here:
[quote name='corgilady']They complained that koda stands between our houses and barks, so I put a 2nd gate near the back corner of the house, so that he can't get in between.
I had already talked with them. I put up a gate to help the situation.

He barks MUCH less if I shut him all the way in the back. He also is beginning to respond to the "no bark" command. Just a little.

There is improvement.

I started keeping him inside a LOT more at that time, about one month ago. I feel though that if he were outside about 4 hours a day, that's enough to run off his energy. But since they complained , he is in like 22 or 23 hours out of the day. Many days I only leash walk him and don't even let him out alone at all.

NOTE: Koda did NOT bark at him when he walked up.

eric said:

I realize that your neighbors are doing things which bother you, but their offences are not carte-blanche for you to let your dog bark, and this would only escalate the situation. I think you should deal with these issues as completely separate items.

ERIC I DID NOT PLAN to use this as an excuse to let the dog bark! If you read what I wrote, it should be clear that I have made every effort to KEEP HIM QUIET. I cannot believe that you are accusing me of such a thing when I think I made it clear that I have bent over backwards to help them, and been completely kind and considerate although they have been very poor (rude) neighbors.
Do you keep all your dogs in the house, all the time?????Well it doesn't even matter whether you do or don't because you haven't had them very long.You have no idea, I am sure, what it is like to do all the things I do and still keep the dog INSIDE ALL THE TIME. I feel as if I can't even walk him, on a leash, into the back yard for a second.
When this guy came out the dog WASNT BARKING!!!!!!!!!!! I was standing there talking on the phone!!!!!!!!!!!sheesh! So i really do not appreciate you projecting YOUR problems onto ME and making assumptions about my behavior. You do NOT KNOW ME as others on here do, so I really wasn't asking for YOUR opinion!

[corgilady]

And another thing:

eric said:

You can't expect your neighbors to know something is annoying you if you don't talk to them.

excuse me? I cannot expect them to know not to spread their germy garbage all over the neighborhood? What about the leaves, is the fact that everyone else rakes them to the curb for pick-up not enough of a clue to clean them up????

OK so I should automatically know that a dog should not bark, but they should not know to be clean. Got it! :roll: Thanks for the info!

[bullygirl29532]

I agree w/ eric find out about your areas laws and while your researching the dog laws take them to small claims court for the fence. Can we say Judge Judy? and with the money you get for the property damage erect a nice big stockade privacy fence. Hopefully it would help to protect your dog from the assisination attempts. i've dealt w/ unhappy people before and here's the deal nothing you do will make them happy. That's what makes them happy being miserable. i once had a neighbor in the building behind me that complained she could hear my alarm going off @ 7: 30 am and it made her mad cause she had a hang over...well sorry some of us have to work.

[corgilady]

:o Good grief!

I always thought that if you chose to live close, you expected a little noise from time to time. Neighbors wake me up sometimes doing different things, and I would never dream of telling them!

[Bensam]

It's a big problem when you have 'nutty' neighbours. I have no solution to this problem. I have a 'fruitcake' living next to me. There is a house block (mine) between his house and my house and yard where the dogs are. He moved in about 5 years ago, has a dog too, so I thought we would have no problems. Things were fine for about 3 years, then he started yelling over the fence whenever mine let out a peep. They are small dogs, mainly inside, but with free access to the yard. One is a great watchdog, so would bark if anyone was around. I would bring them in every time they made a noise, which would be, maybe, once or twice a day. He threatened to poison them at one time, so I never left them home alone, even to quick trip to the shop. One night I got home at 1.30am, dogs in the car, walked in the door, phone rings, 'fruitcake' yelling with abusive language" that dogs barked all night, he was going to shoot them!". Since that time I have let my dogs live a normal life, queried others around and they said they didn't even hear my dogs. Still get occasional phone calls and promptly hang up.
BTW- He is a great dog owner, his bitch has puppies to whatever is around. He had to shoot one of the pups after injuring it with a stockwhip, last lot just vanished, heard them crying in the shed for a couple of days, then nothing. Leaves her locked in a small tin yard for a couple of days at a time when he goes somewhere, then guess who barks?

[corgilady]

:x wonder why it's these "great dog owners" who make all the noise? and those of us who really try are not the comlainers? :evil:

[Bensam]

:lol: Because we are kind :wink: considerate :lol: good neighbours :) love our dogs (and most people) 8) think of others :D etc. etc.

Enough, enough!!!

One more thing----------

WE ARE ALL ON DOGO!!!!!!!!

[corgilady]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[bullygirl29532]

BenSam as for your neighbor :o :o :o :o :o :o thats all i can fathom right now.

[Bensam]

As I said "FRUITCAKE", and that's me being polite. Before he decided to go off the planet, we had a few doggy discussions, ------------

Wont spey---"it's cruel"
Disciplines with a stock whip.
Not allowed to pat his dog - "Bad for discipline"
Only feeds dry food and 'road kill' (brings home dead 'roos, they stink)
Dog must heel at all times, never seen her run anywhere.
Vaccination, worming, "Waste of Money".

Earlier discussions with him were in friendly manner, but he doesn't want to hear anything but his own way. So no contact on my part is a relief as I hate to see a dog treated like that. Still he used to say he loved her and wouldn't part with her. What can you do except :2gunfire:

[Guest Anonymous]

Sheesh Bensam, that just makes me want to hurl.....I wish people could experince for one moment how their dogs feel.....perhaps then they would change their ways. I say "Perhaps" because people (generally speaking) are idiots.

Later,
Trinity
See my girls at www.geocities.com/trinityess

[eric]

Jacsmom,

I think that what is in the bowl and how it got there is pretty much just speculation. I don't know that much about Magnolias, but nature in general encourages trees to spread their seeds as far as possible. Whether it be by wind or by animals.

Having said that, maybe these are crazy neighbors who actually want to harm the dog.

To answer your question, however, I would simply keep the dog's food and/or water bowl inside.

Jacsmom napisał(a):

Eric I am just curious as to what you would do about the seeds in the dog bowl?

[bk_blue]

People are so sick. Fair enough a dog that barks all night would be annoying but you keep Koda inside 99% of the time. I don't what they're complaining about. I would keep a written record of everything just in case you ever need legal representation (would it help?) and you could go to the cops, don't know if they would care too much though, cops can be so helpful with some things and useless with others. Sounds like you have the neighbours from hell!!! I wouldn't put anything past people like that. And yours Bensam. Yuck. I would use that stockwhip on him a few times and see how he likes it. :evil:

[eric]

Ok, wow.

You do NOT KNOW ME as others on here do, so I really wasn't asking for YOUR opinion!

I guess I mistook this for a public forum. My sincerest apologies for offering a differing view point.

I assume you are an adult, and as such you are certainly completely free to do whatever you wish regarding this situation.

ERIC I DID NOT PLAN to use this as an excuse to let the dog bark! If you read what I wrote, it should be clear that I have made every effort to KEEP HIM QUIET. I cannot believe that you are accusing me of such a thing when I think I made it clear that I have bent over backwards to help them, and been completely kind and considerate although they have been very poor (rude) neighbors.

There is no accusation, implied or otherwise, in what I wrote. The paragraph merely states that you should refrain from being tempted of using this litany of complaints against your neighbors as an excuse to leave Koda outside barking. As I said, this will only serve to escalate the situation further, moving you away from resolution. Having dealt with bad neighbors myself, I know that there is often a strong desire to "get them back", drag out the stereo and crank it up full, rattle the windows, etc. In the long run it just tempts your neighbor to retaliate and makes it more difficult to talk.

He barks MUCH less if I shut him all the way in the back. He also is beginning to respond to the "no bark" command. Just a little.

There is improvement.

I started keeping him inside a LOT more at that time, about one month ago. I feel though that if he were outside about 4 hours a day, that's enough to run off his energy. But since they complained , he is in like 22 or 23 hours out of the day. Many days I only leash walk him and don't even let him out alone at all.

So i really do not appreciate you projecting YOUR problems onto ME and making assumptions about my behavior.

By your own admission, Koda used to spend 4 hours a day outside, unsupervised. Even now, he is spending 1 to 2 hours a day outside. Whether he is barking or not, I don't know. I only have your side of the story. Maybe your neighbors are completely wacko and come running over every time Koda utters a single bark. Maybe reality is somewhere in between.

I do know that there are two sides to every coin. I was not projecting my (past) problems onto you, but having been on the other side of a similar dispute (dog barking only, not the other stuff) I erroneously thought that perhaps there was some value in your seeing the other side. As they say, before you judge a man (or a neighbor) walk a mile in his shoes. As dog owners, we are sometimes "deaf" to the barking of our dogs and fail to understand the frustration it can cause in others, especially non-dog owners.

I still stand by my statement that someone who leaves their dog outside barking continuously is rude and disrespectful to the neighbors. I agree that neighbors do need to be tolerant of the occasional barking, as all dogs bark (except for that one breed, can't remember the name). I occasionally have deer in the back and my GSD takes off after them barking. But that lasts less than 30 seconds.

Leaving a dog barking outside for more than 5 minutes on an on-going basis is just plain rude. I think it is the equivalent of going out with a boom-box and enlightening your neighbors on the nuances of Gangsta' rap. It simply cannot lead to a good relationship with your neighbors.

If Koda is quiet as a mouse a only barks few times here and there, then I 100% COMPLETELY AGREE with you that your neighbors are being totally unreasonable. Kids laugh and scream. Dogs occasionally bark. Its a fact of life.

However, if it is 5 or 10 minutes of continuous barking then in my opinion your neighbors have a legitimate complaint regarding Koda's barking. They have a right to enjoy their home and property without being subjected to dog barking.

And *IF* Koda was previously barking outside in a more or less continuous manner for periods of up to 4 hours, your neighbor may be very sensitized to Koda's barking. This *does not mean* that your complaints against them are any less valid because Koda was barking and I think you should address the others issues with the neighbors.

Again, if Koda was quiet during this period than your neighbors are over-reacting.

Do you keep all your dogs in the house, all the time?????Well it doesn't even matter whether you do or don't because you haven't had them very long.You have no idea, I am sure, what it is like to do all the things I do and still keep the dog INSIDE ALL THE TIME. I feel as if I can't even walk him, on a leash, into the back yard for a second.

My dogs do not go outside unsupervised with the exception of being let out for 3 to 5 minutes at a time to go to the bathroom. If they start barking we immediately bring them in.

We all go for daily walks around the property, for about an hour each evening. During the summer, we usually spend most of the day outside on the weekends, but we still manage to spend 2 or 3 hours outside during the winter.

We have had Sam for 4 years, Travis for 3 and Zeke for a week and a half. I think I have owned dogs long enough to have formed an opinion regarding the topic of keeping them indoors.

You are correct that I really don't have any idea what its like to do all the things you do and keep your dog inside all the time because I don't know what it is you do. Nor was I suggesting that you keep you dog inside all the time either. What I was suggesting is that you bring Koda in when he starts to bark.

I'm taking a guess here, but I don't think your neighbor has a problem with Koda being outside, he has a problem with him being outside barking.

[Carolk9s]

Corgilady, I'm so sorry to hear of your neighbor troubles. I agree with YOU, sounds like you are trying very hard indeed to be a good responsible dog owner and your neighbor simply would not be happy if they did not have SOMETHING to complain about.
I firmly believe that dogs MUST bark a little and should have the right to. Hold on before anyone gets their dander up, by a little I mean a LITTLE! Not 5 minutes straight, not throughout the day, certainly not at night. My dogs go racing out the door because they heard (or imagined they heard) something worth checking out. If they start barking, I go to see if there is anything I should be concerned with. If the barking is light and stopping on its own, I say nothing. If they continue to holler, I tell them to knock it off. Brittany RARELY barks so when I hear her I hotfoot it outside to see what has gotten her fired up.
Noise pollution is a fact of life no matter where we live. Cars driving down my street with radio blaring, the neighbors leaf blower, lawn mower, chainsaw, power tools, etc. Neighbor behind me has frequent parties in the summer, music playing all day in their backyard. It bothers me but they have a right to enjoy their yard and their friends.
Kids playing down the street yelling and screaming in fun, that too grates on my ears but hey, they are kids right?
I too try very hard to be responsible especially regarding my dogs, I know that not everyone shares the love and joy I feel for them.
I miss the neighbor I used to have, when we first moved in, Jesse barked at him EVERY SINGLE TIME the guy walked out into his back yard. Acted like he wanted to tear him up. I fussed at Jesse to no avail. This man had good sense, he talked to Jesse. Each time he came out, Jesse would hit the fence hollering. The man would say 'Hello Jesse, how are you today'. He kept this up. Jesse started calming down and looking forward to seeing his new friend. Finally got to the point that Jesse would give a single bark, stay reared up on the fence with his tail wagging. My neighbor would say hello to him and goodbye. If the man was out front and Jesse was out front, Jesse would run to visit his new buddy. Too bad Corgilady's neighbor is not interested in 'making pals' with Koda tho it does not sound to me like Koda is that extreme of a barker.
Now I also tell my neighbors to feel free to tell my dogs to shut up if I am not right there to stop them from barking too long.
Corgilady, wish I had some ideas to help, I can just offer my sympathy and understanding.

[eric]

Corgilady,

I think if you spend some time reading any number of books or websites on conflict resolution with neighbors you will find that one of the first things they tell you is: "Don't assume your neighbor is aware of the issue (or issues)".

It may glaringly obvious to yourself and to others, but these neighbors may be blissfully unaware that you are upset by these things. As an example, they may have no idea that they are waking you up when they come home every night.

If you convince yourself that they are aware of the problem and the irration it causes you, then you convince yourself that they are doing it on purpose just to irritate you. Your internal dialogue switches from: "I think I should go over and ask them to please be a little more quiet when they come home" to "Go*^$^ f@%@^g dumb!^#ss neighbors!!!!!!!!!!! I'm gonna go over there and give them a piece of my mind!!!!!".

And if the first thing you say to them "Why don't you clean up your F(*$+$G GARBAGE that's strewn all over my front lawn!!!" you will most likely have taken a step back away from resolution and a step towards an escalating feud.

If this happens, no one wins because you become a prisoner in your own home, too uncomfortable to be out when you neighbor is out, stuck inside seething at every little occurence.

Better to assume they simply don't know and, knowing that the by-laws support your position, go over and ask nicely. Chances are you will get what you want and not poison the atmosphere.

I speak from experience and I have done quite a bit of research on dealing with neighbors. Last summer, at our new home, my neighbor partially dismantled a fence and drove a bulldozer across the corner of my property without my permission to demolish on old barn on her property.

The bulldozer did substantial damage to the turf, as he had to make a turn while on my property, and I was livid at the arrogance of my neighbor. I could of called the cops and went out screaming at my neighbor, but we like our new home and want to be able to enjoy it.

So instead, I talked to my by-law officer and found out what the local laws stated. I then printed of a copy of the "Trespass to Property Act", made a copy of the property survey, and went over and calmly talked to my neighbor. I explained that I wanted to show her the survey in case there was any confusion as to where the property lines are, showed here where the markers are located and showed her that the bulldozer was clearly brought on my property. I then showed her the "Trespass to property" act and made her aware of what remedies existed for me under that act, but said I wanted to keep a good relationship with her and wanted to work this out.

In the end, she gladly agreed to pay for a landscaper to come in and fix the damage and promised to never trespass on my property again. The next day we had a very nice conversation at the fence, and we are still on good terms.

Again, you are free to do whatever you wish and dismiss me out of hand. But I can almost guarantee you where the road of escalation leads to.

[quote name='corgilady']And another thing:

eric said:

You can't expect your neighbors to know something is annoying you if you don't talk to them.

excuse me? I cannot expect them to know not to spread their germy garbage all over the neighborhood? What about the leaves, is the fact that everyone else rakes them to the curb for pick-up not enough of a clue to clean them up????

OK so I should automatically know that a dog should not bark, but they should not know to be clean. Got it! :roll: Thanks for the info!

[corgilady]

Carol, you had a great neighbor! I had a neighbor in another state who came over the day I moved in and asked if I minded if he fed my dog steak. EVERY SINGLE NIGHT that man had steak for dinner, and every night he cooked one for my dog!!!! The dog barked at him the first time they met, but within a week or two he was wagging before the man even came out his door! Thanks for your sympathies... I am not sure where I will go from here... I have been working with the dog on not barking, and probably will continue to do so. Yesterday was our first day of going out at 10 a.m. and back in by noon in case their kids took a nap. I also took him out at 6 (stood with him, as their windows were dark which might mean somebody is asleep) for about 15 min. Frankly I think this is no life for a dog.

Eric, I dont think you have good reading comprehension skills, but I will try to bear with you. I do not use curse words or shout at people, so there is not really a chance I will scream at anyone over their garbage. The other neighbors have confronted them, and have called the city on them, and it didn't do any good. :roll: I am not "upset", just annoyed by their behavoir, so I cannot forsee any "escalation". I am glad for you that you were able to resolve your problem, but I believe that your situation with a bulldozer is a little more concrete than my situation with a dog that "might bark" at "any time of day we might choose to put our kids in bed" in a town that DOES NOT HAVE A NOISE ORDINANCE. I am not the sort of person who would use revenge, that is exactly my point, that I have tried to be as kind as possible... when the city worker came to me and asked if I had a problem with their hedges being overgrown (yet another complaint that got called in) I even took their side. I talked to them about it, and assured them it was NOT ME who kept complaining (they may think it is, but it isn't), and that I thought their hedges were fine, and that the most important thing was for everyone to get along.


As far as the dog being outside "unsupervised", as you call it, he is allowed in the back yard, which is fenced, or walked on a leash. When I say "he is out for one hour", that is one hour TOTAL in a day ( a24 hour period) which could mean a few 15 minute visits or even less than that, depending. AS it has been raining for months, and the ground is very soggy, it is usuallly quite a bit less than that. HOWEVER, may I say that I feel the dog has as much right to live here as anyone else! and he should not have to be inside all the time because... he "might" bark!
There are 3 dogs immediately behind us, which would be within 60 feet of the back of my house and the one beside me, that start barking at 5:30 a.m. and are often still going at 11. I also have 2 other dogs, who occasionally bark, and these people have not said a word about them. That is why I am so curious about this one complaint. Also, each day between 6 and 14 times ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars roar down the street... These "babies" who need all this sleep SURELY would wake up to that! ....kids come to the front of our houses to use the crosswalk, screaming up & down the street to each other... Also there is lots of other loud traffic, and a factory whistle that blows, and a train. So I feel that the barking pales by comparison!

Bullygirl probably has the gist of the problem in a nutshell:

i've dealt w/ unhappy people before and here's the deal nothing you do will make them happy. That's what makes them happy being miserable

[Mary's Mama]

I understand I am new and I may not understand the entire situation but from what I have read it doesn't seem to be about the dog at all. Just like bullygirl said, this man craves chaos. So I would kill them with kindness. By their kids an inexpensive christmas gift. As for your dog, do what you feel best, if you know he doesn't bark than ignore your neighbor. It seems as though he is feeding off of the situation.