What to Do When a Dog is Mean to the Neighbors

For this Los Angeles dog training session we worked with Koda and Charlie, sharing tips to help when a dog is mean to the neighbors.

Koda and Charlie are primarily outdoor dogs. Living in Los Angeles gives them the ability to hang out outside, but since the family has an ADU rental unit in the rear of the property, they cant have a dog who is mean to the neighbors.

I started working with the do’gs guardians inside the home to go over a number of dog behavior fundamentals. I always like to teach new things to dogs inside. Many people try to train dogs in places that are too exciting or busy. But these distracitons make things much, much harder than in if you practice inside where you can control the environment.

We introduced a marker, loaded it and then used hand targeting to help the humans practice their timing. A marker word is the universal building block that modern dog training is built upon. It is a way of bringing clarity to the communication with the dog so its always one of the first things I cover with new dog behavior clients.

Many dog behavior problems are result of miscommunication between humans and dogs. Making sure people are clearing communicating what they want can reduce or stop many problems, including a dog who is mean to the neighbors.

I would like to see the humans using the marker yes every time that the dogs do what they want. It’s important they refrain from saying any other words like “good boy,” etc. The more words we use, the harder it is for dogs to understand us. So one word cues and a single marker word are much better if you have a dog that barks at the neighbors.

If you’ve properly introduced a marker word, when you say it, you are telling the dog “good boy,” or “good girl” in a way that they comprehend as that message. The rest of the time, when we talk to dogs, they know that we’re engaging with them, but not necessarily what we mean.

Miscommunication is a very common reason for dog behavior problems like when your dog is not nice to the neighbors. Many people make the mistake of disagreeing or telling a dog not to growl because they think that a growl is aggressive.

But in fact, a growl is the opposite of aggression. Is the dog’s way of trying to avoid a conflict. If you tell your dog not to growl, eventually you’ll be successful. You will end up with a dog that gives no warning and goes straight to a bite. So while we dont like it if you have a dog that barks at the neighbors, don’t disagree with them.

If your dog is mean to the neighbors, the best thing to do when it growls is to move it away. This solves the dog’s problem and allows you to identify the dog is uncomfortable when you hear a growl. This is an important step if you have a dog that barks at the neighbors or nips them.

Of course the guardians would prefer to have their dog be nice to the neighbors instead. But in order for a dog to know what to do, you have to make sure that there’s clear communication and the dog understands what the humans want. To stop a dog from barking at the neighbors, we want to communicate clearly and also change how the dog feels about them.

I went over the celebrate lesson that I cover with all of my clients. This is one of the easiest lessons that I share and probably the most impactful, but only if people do it on the regular. I recommended that the guardians point at each other and say celebrate any time they notice either dog doing any behavior that they like.

Next, I went over dog body language and dog consent. Knowing what a dog is saying is crucially important if you’re trying to stop them from an unwanted behavior like when your dog is mean to the neighbors.

If a dog communicates it doesn’t like something or is uncomfortable, and the humans move away or stop, the dog’s problem is solved. This is a super easy way to immediately stop dog aggression, but you have to be mindful of what you’re doing and watching out for. That way you can spot the scary thing and move it away before your dog feels threatened.

I also recommended a few creative exercise tips like feeding the dogs out of a snuffle mat and not leaving food out all the time. Although leaving food out for dogs can be more convenient, dogs often adopt poor eating habits and also stop showing as much interest in treats because there’s food always available.

I shared the number of other dog behavior tips like cookie in the corner as nose work is a great way to drain energy by using a dog’s nose, and the importance of teaching your dog some impulse control.

Practicing simple exercises like leave it or waiting for permission to go through a door or get up on the couch can help a dog develop the skills needed to control themselves in other situations. It’s not a direct correlation, but developing impulse control can have a big impact on dogs who are reactive.

How to Help When A Dog is Mean to the Neighbors

Once we wrapped up the first portion of the session, we headed outside so that I could show the guardians how they can fix a dog who is mean to the neighbors. I think the dog’s issue is they looked at the backyard neighbors are tresspassers who walk through the dog’s area every day. I knew I needed to change the dog’s emotional response when the dog is mean to the neighbors so they look at them as a positive.

I pulled out some very high value treats as I wanted to make sure that the dogs were really motivated to listen to the humans that they had been nipping and build a strong positive association.

If you have a dog who is mean to the neighbors, you should check out the free positive dog training video below for some tips.

It was great to see how quickly these dogs transitioned from looking at the neighbors as trespassers to the gatekeepers of the delicious treats. Based on what I saw, it wont take long to fix this situaiton when a dog is mean to the neighbors.

By only giving the dog one opportunity to sit and earn the treat, and using some high value treats, the dogs quickly learned that sitting and laying down were rewarded with yummy treats – creating motivation to positively look forward to their presence.

Of course when a dog is mean to the neighbors, there is more to it than just telling them to sit to get the treat. It will be important for the neighbors to practice walking from the front gate to their front door giving treats every few steps. I also gave them some tips to do outside the fence before they came inside.

It would be great if the dog’s guardians could be present and help the neighbors practice this the first few times, maybe the first week. That way, they are there in case the neighbors require help. Additionally, their presence will help the neighbors feel more comfortable and confident when practicng this exercise to help a dog that barks at the neighbors or nips them.

With some practice, the dogs will start looking at the neighbors in a completely different light and actually look forward to their arrival. The goal is to create what we like to call a positive emotional response. This is a great things to do when a dog is mean to the neighbors or barks at them.

Based on how well the dogs performed while we shot the video and after, I’m guessing that it will take about a week or two of practice before the dogs are best friends with the neighbors. It will be important for all the neighbors to practice this exercise as dogs can and do compartmentalize.

I made sure to tell the guardians that they should not use the high value treats themselves. At least for the next two or three weeks, we want the neighbors to be the only ones with these super treats to help increase the status of the neighbors in the dog’s eyes.

By the end of the session, Koda and Charlie were worn out and needed a nap. That’s one way to stop a dog that barks at the neighbors, lol. While im obviously joking, getting the dogs more exercise is another thing Id like to see the humans do. A well exercised dog is less likely to engage in nussance behaviors. So going for a sniff walk, games of fetch or multiple short training sessions can make a big difference.

I wanted to make sure that the guardians could remember all of the positive dog training tips we shared in this LA dog training session. I pulled out my camera and handed it to one of the guardians so that I could record a roadmap to success summary video to make it easy for them to remember everything.

I’d like the guardians to watch both of these videos and share the link to this page with the neighbors in the back. Koda and Charlie are not aggressive dogs, I think they were just confused about the people who they didn’t live with who came on the property daily.

Now that the dogs have motivation to listen to the backyard neighbors, it shouldn’t take long before these dogs learn to stop nipping strangers hands and sit down in front of them instead. I think this is the beghining of a beautiful friendship!