Dogs Are Social Creatures...

[Laurenbiz]

Hi all, I'm still trying to figure out our new neighbors. They moved in around Thanksgiving last year, and they let their Labradoodle 'doodle' in our front yard quite a few times. Now that they built a deck on their house, they let the dog outside in their backyard. So, the pooping in our yard has fortunately stopped!

 

Now that the dog is in their backyard for potty breaks, Bernie has seem him/her quite a few times while he's been out. Bernie always trots up to the fence toward the dog to try to say hi.

 

...The Labradoodle either sees him and bolts up the stairs on their deck to go back inside their house, or the dog sees him and slowly walks farther away in their yard as so he/she is not close to Bernie.

 

I just want to make sure with everyone else: I'm not crazy for calling this dog "anti social," am I? When I've brought this up with Justin, he always makes the comment, "Well, those neighbors are weird anyway." (I haven't had the chance to talk to them yet - Justin has tried to talk to the guy on a few occasions, and reports every time that he thinks the guy is weird!)

 

 

 

PS - I tried talking to the dog, too, from my side of the fence. The dog doesn't come up to me, and he/she goes the opposite way when Bernie approaches the fence!

[jetcitywoman]

Yep, antisocial. I think this is the result of selling a puppy into a new home before it's been socialized with momma or other dogs, and then the new owners keep it in the house and don't try to socialize it either.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Another vote for mental issues. Thats what you get with these new "trendy" breeds, weird dogs...

[kudzu]

Sounds like a poorly socialized dog to me. Give him time & he may come around. It's a shame though. This dog has been done an injustice.

[JAJ2010]

Poor pup! But be happy! It could be barking annoyingly every time anyone is in your yard.

[greysmom]

Sounds like the poor thing needs some good socialization and attention. Dogs do reflect their owner's so this shouldn't be a surprise. Be patient with him/her. I agree that barking non-stop would be a worse, and more difficulet behavior to deal with.

[Guest sheila]

The other dog clearly thinks Bernie is weird.

[Laurenbiz]

The other dog clearly thinks Bernie is weird.

 

:lol

[Fruitycake]

I hope the behavior doesn't switch like our neighbor's dog (across the street, not immediately next door) has. She started out shy, retiring, wary of anyone coming by...but something's changed and suddenly she's a fence fighter. She was adopted as an adult so maybe she finally figured out she's "home" and wants to protect it, I don't know. They've had her since early winter and she's just changed behavior over the past couple of weeks.

 

She never is taken on walks or anything, and they have no other pets, so maybe she is unsocialized as well. It makes me a little concerned for her. She's a pitt or pitt cross, and I'm not afraid that she's going to do anything because I can see that it's more of a fear thing but people might assume she's a "bad" dog because of it. Her tail is tucked and her ears are flat when she barks...oh, I wonder if Allie's Enemy* scared her one day and now she's convinced all dogs walking past are out to get her... AE does pass right by her back fence.

 

(*Allie's Enemy is a neighborhood boy dog, a Gordon Setter cross, who isn't at all dog friendly and lunged at us one day because her walker (the guy who usually doesn't walk him) came around a corner and we were all surprised. It was our (humans') fault, I know. The GordonX lunged and snarled at the end of his leash, and thank goodness his guy had a good grip on his leash! Allie was surprised for a moment, then told the Gordon to "eat those barks" in her own snarl. And she hates that dog to this day.)