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Neighbour Issues

RootinTootinJess

RootinTootinJess

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So I used to have a lovely neighbour, that was until i brought Jesse home! For over 8 years now my neighbour has been removing the existing hedging in the back garden to be replaced by his own, hand made wooden fence. I will be honest and say the completed sections look lovely. However there is a massive gap in between our two gardens only separated by a mesh wire garden fence.
We've always had dogs, and when they were out in the garden, they would often bark at him or his wife. Unfortunately my two dogs passed away and I decided to get Jesse a delightful, energetic Heinz Variety bean. Last October while his wife was hanging out washing, Jesse stood on her back legs, with front paws on the fence barking and growling at her. I came home and was confronted with an angry neighbour, understandably and I was mortified. However when he threatened Jesse's life, that's when my attitude changed. I began by reminding him that he was informed i was getting another dog, where he agreed the fence would be finished. I also reminded him that the fence has been a work in progress for over 8 years, but being good neighbours, we never pushed the issue. I ended the argument with one question "had the fence been finished, would the incident have happened?" He couldn't answer, because he knew i was right.

My question is.......am I?

As a result of this, my Jesse (who is a collie cross) cannot have full use of the garden in the property i purchased. She only access the back garden now on a lead.
Jesse.jpg
Fence.png
 
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Wow, that's a difficult one. On the one hand, you're right that the fence has taken far too long to be completed but on the other hand, and this is big but, someone only has to believe that a dog is dangerous for their complaint to be deemed valid, as I understand it. I would be livid if someone threatened the well-being of my dog for no good reason. So, on to solutions. Is it practical for you to finish the fence? Can you talk to your neighbour to see if you can reach a resolution, or is it past that now? If your dog is anything like mine, he would have been showing is displeasure at something that he perceived to be invading his/your space (mine gets a bit grumpy when our neighbours are in their garden, even if he can't see them!). Short of that I'm not sure what else you could do really.
 
I'm assuming he's responsible for this side of the boundary? Regardless, and regardless of the rights and wrongs, you are entitled to put up a fence (unless there's any local restrictions) within your boundary, so this is what I would do - just put up one fence panel or anything else that would block the gap. In the long term, it's much better if you can keep your neighbour happy, and it shouldn't be his responsibility to deal with a dog barking and growling at him.
 
Exactly what I would do ! Would help keep the peace with your neighbour saving long term animosity which you don’t need ! Might encourage him to get his fence finished if he sees you making an effort ;)
 
arealhuman said:
Wow, that's a difficult one. On the one hand, you're right that the fence has taken far too long to be completed but on the other hand, and this is big but, someone only has to believe that a dog is dangerous for their complaint to be deemed valid, as I understand it. I would be livid if someone threatened the well-being of my dog for no good reason. So, on to solutions. Is it practical for you to finish the fence? Can you talk to your neighbour to see if you can reach a resolution, or is it past that now? If your dog is anything like mine, he would have been showing is displeasure at something that he perceived to be invading his/your space (mine gets a bit grumpy when our neighbours are in their garden, even if he can't see them!). Short of that I'm not sure what else you could do really.
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If I could finish the fence to the quality he has, I would do it. I even offered to pay a company to finish the remaining sections.......it wasn't what he wanted. My house is a do-er upper so this year it's the gardens turn for a makeover, unfortunately i think my only solution is something like tarpaulin to cover up the gap at this stage.
 
The tarp might be a good stop-gap measure. Let us know how it goes. Good luck.
 
You could buy a tall dog pen - the sort where you can unhinge the sections - and stand it across the gap, with the sections angled so it's free-standing (does that make sense?). Then you can hang the tarpaulin over that to block the view.

We did that when we had some large shrubs taken down and the fence below was a bit too low for safety until the shrubs grew back a bit (though we didn't need the tarpaulin). It worked really well.
 
After looking at the pics I’d be inclined to buy a cheap 6’ fence panel and secure it as best you can and job done! Jesse won’t be able to see into your neighbours garden so no jumping up to bark, you’ll have some privacy and it won’t cost you a fortune ;)
 
Yes, I'd agree with blocking the view.
Do you think your neighbours were genuinely frightened or are they just enjoying a little power trip? It's a shame you can't get the use of your garden, but if the dog and the neighbour can't see each other it might help the situation.
 
poptart said:
Yes, I'd agree with blocking the view.
Do you think your neighbours were genuinely frightened or are they just enjoying a little power trip? It's a shame you can't get the use of your garden, but if the dog and the neighbour can't see each other it might help the situation.
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I know the wife is not a fan of dogs - but that didn't stop either of them during the summer feeding Jesse treats and trying to get to know her!! There's no excuse for Jesse's behaviour, but if Jesse couldn't see through/over/under what little fence remains, then this whole farce wouldn't have happened to begin with. This particular neighbour is a bully, Jesse barking at the fence once is an excuse for him not to finish the fence in my eyes. He knows me and my dad want to do up our house and move. I'm the 4th resident in the street to start feeling harassed by this neighbour. I just feel so sorry for my Jesse. She's so energetic and loves playing fetch. I have to bring her to a friends house to do this!
 
You have a very important reason to keep on the right side of the neighbour - when you move, you'll have to declare whether there have been any issues with neighbours and this could affect your ability to sell. You might already be in a position where you'd be legally bound to declare the situation, but damage limitation always helps, even if it means bending over backwards to keep them happy.
 
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