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In a nice little neighborhood in northeast Olathe, where kids play in cul de sacs and moms try to be the first to plant flowers out front each spring, there are same pretty darn happy people this morning.
For the next three days -- count them, three -- they can walk their dogs in peace. Go to the mailbox without being assaulted by the bark of a little dark gray dog. They can walk their children past the corner house with the shady garden without the frightful screams people make before they think they’re going to be eaten alive.
You see, the people in the corner house (me and my lovely family) are vacationing. We’re not there, so that means lovely Rosco isn’t either. The dog, who in a nutshell, has made our neighbors hate us. I mean, really, some don’t even say hi. We’re the DOG PEOPLE.
He’s as cute as anything. A full-bred mini Schnauzer who’s really not that mini.
Santa brought him to oldest three Christmases ago and a family who didn’t think we were dog people fell crazy in love with the little guy. Only one problem. And it’s a big one.
The dog will not let anyone walk by our house without raising holy Hell. He runs from one end of the fence to the other barking some crazy bark like he’s trying to alert his beloved family the house is on fire.
He barks at children. Men taking an early morning jog. Especially kids walking to the bus stop which happens to be in front of our house.
And not only does he bark, but he’s taught our toddler to do the same. Just imagine, walking through a quaint and quiet little neighborhood, escaping the stresses of everyday life only to be accosted by some crazy gray dog and a barking toddler chasing his tail. Lovely, isn’t it?
We’ve had neighbors shield their children as they walk by our fence. Or teenagers yell at him to shut up with words I don’t think I uttered until college, or at least not out loud. We even had someone throw a glass of water on him because he was scaring a child.
Of course I overcompensate. I yell to the neighbors, "sorry," often offer some words about how he truly is a good dog (do I think anybody truly cares?) Nothing works. People scowl at us, usually don’t say a word or just scoot into the center of the street hoping we, and our crazy dog, just leave them alone.
Part of our problem is we live on the corner in one of those neighborhoods where people seem like they’re outside their home more than they're in it. That and I guess we haven’t watched our fair share of the Dog Whisperer. We can’t get poor Rosco to do really anything.
Except for, it seems, bark.
I’m getting to the point I think it’s a real problem. A few neighbors won’t even say hi. And my son, who is starting Junior High in two months is worried that when kids in the neighborhood discover he lives in the corner house with the crazy dog that they’ll take it out on him. Maybe even talk bad about it. He wants to ride his bike to school and I know it’s partly because he doesn’t want the kids at school to know where he lives. In elementary school, it was OK. We didn’t go to the neighborhood school, but one over.
Now, he can’t escape it.
Please tell me there’s something to do to get a lovely little dog to stop barking at anyone who moves within 100 feet in front of him. I think I’ll try just about anything.
I can only escape the neighborhood for so long. A trip to the Ozarks will only last so long.
Right now, little Rosco’s with Grandma and Grandpa with lots of rural acreage to run through. Not too many people to bark at.
But in just three short days we’re back to the nice little neighborhood in Olathe where a mini Schnauzer about has us ostracized.
Please tell me I don’t have to resort to a muzzle.
At least you have a fence!!! You would still be one of our favorite neighbors with that! Our old neighbors, yea they moved, had a dog that they would let run everywhere because they didn't have a fence around their yard!Obedience training. Seriously. There is no shortage of places offering training. Call your vet, your local community center, PetSmart, etc. Even an adult dog can be taught not to act like that! If Cesar can teach them, so can you. Good luck!I agree with the recommendation for training. I am currently in a class at Wayside Waifs with an excellent teacher who has volunteered there forever. He's seen everything, I'm sure! His name is Skip Daiger of Daiger Dog Training. We have 3 dogs. The dog in training is our 1yo hyper Papillon. Dogs are very smart, and they need direction. Start watching National Geo and Animal Planet dogs shows, we've learned a lot that way.They make a bark collar that shocks them when they bark. Sounds mean, but they only do it to themselves when they bark. Had a friend that has/had a barky dog, worked for him! Hi to the Fam!don't have any useful advice for you here. the worst thing our dog used to do was leave us poop presents on the back deckI feel for you. Our neighbors have 2 fence barkers and they live on the bus stop corner as well. My sister had a barker and used a citronella bark collar. She said it worked really well and doesn't give an electric shock. Will give your pocket book a shock though-- somewhere between $60-$100, I think. I do notice my neighbors are NEVER correcting their dogs when they bark, even if they are steps away from them. Might not help, but I'd sure appreciate it if I could see they cared about it. At least you apologize!
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