Dog Owner Wants Neighbor To Keep a Strict Yard Schedule For Her Dog. Says, “My Dog Needs Yard Time Too”. Is This Fair?

Whether or not you should insist your neighbor keep a yard schedule is a complex question with no easy answer. There are several factors to consider, such as the severity of the problem, the relationship you have with your neighbor, and the laws in your area.

A user asked, Will I be the jerk to insist my neighbor keep a yard schedule?

Backstory

The Original Poster (OP) has a severely reactive rescue dog. She fears other dogs and freaks out when she sees or hears them.

OP’s partner and OP have been working with their vet and a behavioral trainer, and they’ve made some progress, but the dog is still not genuinely comfortable anywhere but in her yard.

What Happened With The Neighbor

A new lady just moved in next door, and she has two big dogs. They seem like nice dogs, they are quiet, and she works with them a lot.

What’s The Problem

The problem is that she works from home full-time, and her dogs are always outside.

She doesn’t leave them there for hours or anything, but OP never knows when she’s going to let them out or for how long. She also spends much time out there with them after work and on weekends.

OP Can Hear Her Training and Playing Fetch

OP can hear her training and playing fetch, or she’ll have them out while doing yard work.

To be fair to her, she trains them and doesn’t let them run up on the fence; if they do bark, she makes them go inside. They’re still out on the other side of the fence, though, and OP’s dog is now scared and reacting in her own backyard.

What Is The Problem

OP says, “When my dog starts carrying on, she is the one who has to go inside. She already can’t enjoy walks, and now she can’t even enjoy being outside.”

OP asked his neighbor if she’d consider a schedule for the dogs so that OP’s dog can enjoy her yard, too, without the neighbor’s dogs freaking her out on the other side of the fence.

What Did She Say

She was polite about it but said no, she bought the house with the yard for her dogs, and they use it. She said she’d be glad to tell me when she’s leaving within a period of hours, but otherwise, she won’t change what she’s doing daily.

What Happened Next?

So nothing changed, and her dogs get plenty of outdoor time, and OP’s gets none except for the stray times when she takes one of her dogs to a training class or takes both of them for a hike.

What Does OP Say

OP says, “I’m really upset and want to insist that we adopt a schedule so my dog can have some outside time too. Will I be a jerk if I insist she works with me to adopt a schedule fair to all the dogs?”

What Else You Need To Know

OP says, “My dog does not get the same opportunity as her dogs, not even close. Her dogs have free access five days a week, on weeknights and weekends.

My dog only gets outside time now when she says she is leaving for a class or a hike. If I let my dog out to sun herself at 10:30 on a Tuesday, sure enough, it won’t be five minutes before she’s letting her dogs out, and then my dog freaks out and has to come in. She is not getting anywhere close to what they are getting.”

What About Fence

OP says, “Edit again the fence is a privacy fence. My dog freaks out when she can hear and smell the other dogs as well as see them. She can’t see these dogs but knows they’re there.”

She Can Do What She Wants On Her Property

“You will be a jerk. You asked. Accept her response. You don’t get to police what people do on their property.”

There Is NO Problem

You Are A Jerk

Your Neighbor Came With A Valid Solution

“You are wrong – your neighbor came up with a valid solution.

But ultimately, it is her property, and there is no reason she has to comply with anything you ask for. If you push this, she will have no reason to be polite going forward.”

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