To Become A Good Neighbor: The Journey of A Dog Owner.

As dog owners our little companions are an integral part of society and with that bears a serious responsibility. Develop a good neighbor repertoire - not one of a nuisance or menace. You dog, think Retriever, may naturally enjoy digging up someone's Chem-Lawn© treated yard, chasing other's pets or having a loud dialogue with the midnight moon. These behaviors although enjoyable for your doggy the neighbors, of course, may not agree. Oh, did I mention your overprotective responses to those same neighbors, "Dogs do, um...bark" " The grass'll grow back" "Get a bigger, manlier dog than" all of these sarcastically of course.

However the responsibility is yours to have you dog properly trained. Certainly you don't want your dog's behavior to become a point of contention between otherwise compatible neighbors or do you?

Your dog should never be allowed to roam indiscriminately. Confronting the owner of an offending dog can be hard for some, either by fear or not wanting to upset the perpetrator. Lets be honest, no one appreciates canine trespassing. Granted your a dog lover but I'm sure you agree. Don't allow bad feelings to develop because you have given your dog a free rein. Keep him in "check", it was your duty to do so. When he was a puppy you subconsciously agreed to those terms and that responsibility still holds true in his adult years.

Truthfully look at the negatives: 1. You put your dog's life and health at risk every time you allow it a roaming pass. Your pet may attack or be attacked by other animals - wild (think about rabies) or domesticated. Also, the risk of contracting a parasitic disease or eating something you do not approve of actually happening. 2. Chances increase that your dog may be hit or even killed by a car. 3. Or she may simply disappear one day, leaving you to wonder whether it has been abducted, killed or simply feeling unloved thus running away. Sadly, these are common occurrences.

Listened it's O.K. to keep your dog outdoors, just consider a fence around your yard as mandatory for his safety and the peaceful ambiance of your neighborhood. Hopefully, if your dog is a barker, your neighbors live a good distance away or a sound proofed home otherwise you're going to have extremely unhappy neighbors. Breaking the barking habit can be a real problem; consult a trainer to help develop a solution, or the other option is to keep your dog indoors. Certainly, it is unfair to make other people suffer from your overzealous companion.

Remember, barking is both natural for dogs and a learned behavior in certain situations. To correct unwanted barking, you must catch the dog in the act and administer a stern, forceful correction. You cannot correct undesirable behavior unless the dog is actually caught in the act of performing it.

Love your dog as one of your own but keep the peace where you live.