quote:

ORIGINAL: OsideGirl

Our backyard backs up to a main street and has chain link fence along the sidewalk. It's the main route for kids walking to school.

The boys are pretty good about everybody going by. Mac generally doesn't bark, he stands at the fence looking happy with his tail going in a circle. Raider will bark a few times, but not manically. Matter of fact, an older woman that speed walks by the yard started talking to him and he no longer barks at her at all. He just trots down the fence line with her.

There's a day care up the street. Two women walk by pushing strollers walking with eight children. They look to be between ages 6-8. When they come by the kids start screaming at the dogs, we've caught them off the side walk, shaking the fence and one time beating on the fence with a stick. The dogs go bonkers and start barking manically. The women do nothing.

We've asked three times that they not yell at the dogs. The first time, the women pulled the kids away from the fence, but did not tell them to stop. So, now they don't come up to the fence but still scream at the dogs.

I feel bad for the neighbors (the neighbors have been great) and after they come by the dogs are amped up for the rest of the morning barking at everything and anything.

I've started joking that I'm turning the sprinkler on when they come by, but honestly I'm at a loss at how to get through to these women to do something about the kids. Someday one of those kids is going to antagonize the wrong dog or a dog that is not contained. I really don't want to have to lock the dogs inside the house every morning. Eventually, we will replace the fence with a solid fence, but it's low on the list of repairs.

So what would you do?

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ORIGINAL: kiwisub12

Once you find out which childcare it is, if you know a friendly lawyer, have him/her write a formal letter demanding this behaviour stop. It never hurts to pull out the big guns.

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ORIGINAL: Sadist49

Shoot the buggers

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ORIGINAL: poise

I'm sorry your dogs are getting all riled up, and hope you can resolve this soon.
I'd suggest planting some nice inexpensive hedges along the fence, and then turn
the sprinkler on! There are many more generations to come that will be walking that
same path, and I would do what I could to minimize the opportunity for this to happen again.

quote:

ORIGINAL: OsideGirl

Our backyard backs up to a main street and has chain link fence along the sidewalk. It's the main route for kids walking to school.

The boys are pretty good about everybody going by. Mac generally doesn't bark, he stands at the fence looking happy with his tail going in a circle. Raider will bark a few times, but not manically. Matter of fact, an older woman that speed walks by the yard started talking to him and he no longer barks at her at all. He just trots down the fence line with her.

There's a day care up the street. Two women walk by pushing strollers walking with eight children. They look to be between ages 6-8. When they come by the kids start screaming at the dogs, we've caught them off the side walk, shaking the fence and one time beating on the fence with a stick. The dogs go bonkers and start barking manically. The women do nothing.

We've asked three times that they not yell at the dogs. The first time, the women pulled the kids away from the fence, but did not tell them to stop. So, now they don't come up to the fence but still scream at the dogs.

I feel bad for the neighbors (the neighbors have been great) and after they come by the dogs are amped up for the rest of the morning barking at everything and anything.

I've started joking that I'm turning the sprinkler on when they come by, but honestly I'm at a loss at how to get through to these women to do something about the kids. Someday one of those kids is going to antagonize the wrong dog or a dog that is not contained. I really don't want to have to lock the dogs inside the house every morning. Eventually, we will replace the fence with a solid fence, but it's low on the list of repairs.

So what would you do?

quote:

ORIGINAL: OsideGirl

I don't really wish to involve the Sheriffs Department. They cover Santee, Lakeside, parts of El Cajon and parts of Ramona...which is a large area and I don't wish to take them away from things that far more important.

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ORIGINAL: poise

I'd suggest planting some nice inexpensive hedges along the fence,

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ORIGINAL: LookieNoNookie
Trust me....sprinklers.

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ORIGINAL: blacksword404
Take the meanest-looking of your dogs. Put on one of those leashes with a long amount of line. And the next time they come by I'd take him out and walk him towards the front. Let him have enough leash to get close but not actually come close to them.

They look up and see a barking dog running towards them. That should cure them of that screaming at dogs.

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ORIGINAL: DarkSteven
Go to a Halloween store and buy a plastic skeleton. Smear it with raw hamburger. Give it to the dogs 15 minutes before the kids come by. When they do come by, they'll see the dogs nonchalantly gnawing what looks like human bones with meat attached.

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ORIGINAL: igor2003
While turning the sprinklers on would be fun and would feel "justified" I think I would have to go against the idea.

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ORIGINAL: Rule

quote:

ORIGINAL: blacksword404
Take the meanest-looking of your dogs. Put on one of those leashes with a long amount of line. And the next time they come by I'd take him out and walk him towards the front. Let him have enough leash to get close but not actually come close to them.

They look up and see a barking dog running towards them. That should cure them of that screaming at dogs.

I counsel to not do this.

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ORIGINAL: kdsub
If all else fails you may need to provide a different area outside for the dogs or if the neighbors are calling the police for loud barking you may try shock collars...as a last resort.

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You'd really put a shock collar on a dog that is otherwise quiet and well behaved when you are certain of what the provocation is? Really