The Other Side of the Fence is not Greener...

...It's Mine!

Which is essentially the "rock bottom" reason your dog goes nuts when the neighbor dogs are out.  When you have a lovely fence separating two spaces, it is sometimes very natural for a dog to feel as though they must protect that space from invaders.  What started out as an investigation (*sniff, sniff who is that over there...) may have now become "I can't let him out while those other dogs are out, 'cuz he goes nuts!"

We could get in to the nitty-gritty of certain personality triggers, or what your dog vs. their dog may be doing to make this worse, but that's not why you're here, is it?  You would like some peace and quiet when the dogs go outside.  So how do we get that?

Dogs bark.  It's what they do.  They are communicating all sorts of things with these vocalizations, and realizing this, can help us relax a little.  I do not expect my dogs to be silent weirdos who never acknowledge a possible threat, but I do expect them to shut their yap when asked.  'Asked' being the key there.  Yelling at your dog will not make them be quiet--there is a guy in my neighborhood with almost comic levels of anger at the barker in his backyard; "Barrar Arr! Barrar Arr!" says his dog.  "SHUUUUUT UUUUP!" says perfectly controlled man, screaming loud enough to be heard two blocks over (really, his range is impressive).  Over and over this is repeated.  For hours.  Obviously this is an unhealthy relationship, and no one is learning anything.

But I got side-tracked, we are talking directly to Fence Fighting.  Your dog is telling the neighbor's to 'get off my lawn.' The neighbor's dogs are saying 'no, you get off mine! And I hate your face!' To which your dog escalates, 'OH YEAH?! I HATE YOUR FACE TOO!' and so on...Cease and desist, shall we...?

First of all, does your dog have the slightest idea of what Leave It means? 

Does your dog hear it as something ineffectively shouted, or threatened in their general direction when they are freaking out?  Or is this a cue that invokes a tail wag and a "Sweet! They said my favorite thing, they've got snacks!" ?

Teaching your dog to Leave It, in a non-exciting environment, like your living room, and then proofing it in different areas can lay the groundwork for a dog who comes away from something tense, like a fence-fight.

Speaking of "fighting"...
If you have multiple dogs, who are so upset at the dogs on the other side, that they are turning on each other, you have a situation we call Redirected Aggression.  I prefer to think of it as Redirected Over-Stimulation, because that's exactly what is happening.  Your dog (or dogs) are so amped up about something, that they 'gotta put it somewhere, and it just happens to be the dog barking and freaking out right next to him.  In this case, for the safety of all involved, please stop allowing them out together.  Someone is bound to wind up heading to the ER.

It is not recommended to use deterrent methods to stop this sort of explosion.  Things such as 'shock collars' can be a disaster, if your timing is not precise.  When a dog is in a heightened state of arousal, i.e. his adrenaline is pumping and he is just a maniac, his response to discomfort or pain is diminished.  You may be adding fuel to the fire, in other words.

First of all, close your dog door, or remove it.  You cannot successfully control your dogs actions, if he has access to that space when you are not around to do something about it.

Put a leash on your dog when he goes outside.

A nice long one works, or even a retractable (it's one of the few applications I actually approve of using those things for).  I know, I am asking SOoooo much of you here; to put on shoes, maybe a light jacket, to clip a leash to your pup, and to go (gasp) Outdoors every time you want to let the dog out to pee, but it works.  If you cannot physically pull your dog off the fence, or prevent him from wanting to go over there in the first place--*dog tenses..."Leave it"...dog wags tail, looks up at you..."Good dog!" dog enjoys reward, and you move to a different part of yard...*--you are fighting a losing battle.

Yes, this way takes longer, but the end result is that you eventually Will be able to just send him outside.  Keeping an eye on him and calling "leave it" should you notice the slightest bit of tension towards those fools next door....yes, you should keep the rewards coming for leaving that situation alone.

Just because he learns not to do it, does not mean he is "cured" of the natural reaction he may feel when another dog is yelling at him through the fence-boards.  Over time, he will begin to feel differently about it, and may even stop caring altogether, but that sort of excitement holds a certain appeal for dogs; it's exciting--You have to be more so.

Instead of quashing the behavior with a heavy punishment, you are literally reprogramming the way he thinks, and feels about the dogs next door.  You are teaching him that their lack of control, means good stuff for him.

There are "lazy man" ways to help this too.  I call them lazy, but in reality, if your situation really does dictate that you have no time to work on a good and proper "leave it," you might consider some of the following:

Install Automatic Sprinklers along your fenceline.

  Point them where you choose, but the idea is to keep both your dog, and the neighbor's dogs out of that space.

Look into a Sonic Critter Chaser.  Not a sonic bark corrector, but a critter chaser--these are designed to chase wildlife, such as rabbits, deer, and coyote out of gardens, but you'd be surprised at how well they work to deter canines from entering a zone as well.

Use a squirt-bottle or super-soaker (should you want some range).  If your dog has an aversion to being squirted, go ahead and do it.  You need to try and catch it before it blows up, and you should probably follow it up with some rewards when the dog does the right thing.  If you squirt him, and he moves away from the fence, you should tell him he is Good, and give him a snack, and play with him.  Choices are important.

Install a secondary barrier.  The trouble is that your dog sees that dog as right up against his property line...so back the line up. 

Installing another fence, even a simple post and wire number, and placing it at least 3 feet (1 meter) away from the existing fence, can greatly increase your odds of success.  You'll cut the amount of time it takes for your dog to understand the Leave It training too.  In other words, you can bring down the excitement level by not having the other dogs two inches from your upset dogs face.

Plant annoying, thick growing bushes along the fence.  Again, the idea is to create a barrier that helps your dog not be right up the nose of the neighbor's dogs.  Be careful to choose plants that are non-toxic, and without thorns.  You will need to put temporary fence around these until they are mature, and keep your dog off them, otherwise they won't grow and you'll have wasted time and money.

Talking to your neighbors about the trouble can also be helpful.  Some people are happy to help on their side of the fence too. 

Find out if you are allowed to toss treats to their dogs; sometimes, all it takes is for both sides to realize we are friends.

I guess the short answer after all that, is to say that unless you do something to change the situation, it will only grow worse.  The dogs will get more and more frustrated, and begin to take it out on other situations.  You may notice increasing leash reactivity towards other dogs, or people.  When your dog lives in a constant state of stress (arousal, aggression, over-stimulation) they cannot enjoy life.

Once your dog has learned to Leave It, and you feel as though your dog has begun to see the dogs next door differently, move on to other behaviors.  Play with your dog more, in the space you have created for them by calming the situation.  Teach them other behaviors in the back yard...a new trick being learned while the neighbor's freak out may seem like a long way off, but you gotta start somewhere....