Our new neighbors have been in the house for several weeks now and life is good. My "problem barking dog" doesn't any more. Now, he barks gently to let us know when somebody comes up the drive way and then stops. He lies on the deck and watches the kids play in the driveway.
Now that no one is hitting him with a barrage of hostility every day, my dog is a new creature. Friends coming over to visit notice the difference. I swear, you can see the poor baby stretching and relaxing to new deeper levels all the time.
We warned the new neighbors that he would bark. (Jo "talks" all the time to us -- he's the most verbal dog I've ever had) They replied that their shelty was known to bark a bit too.
Sure enough, their little dear sometimes barks for 2-3 hours without a letup. When does she take a breath?? Thankfully it's not loud or sharp and you can mostly keep it in the background. But it has pointed up one very important fact: our dog is NOT a problem barker. And he's incredibly well behaved! We now keep the dog door open all the time. He doesn't go out without asking permission. And he comes back in without a fuss. The only time I had to retrieve him from the backyard was when the little shelty got out of her yard and was trying to dig under our fence. (!!)
So, happy dog. Nice neighbors. Sweet voices of young kiddies playing outside. Funny little dog next door. Tension gone! People wave and say 'Hello' and mean it.
This is a happy story and I for one am glad to be living it.
Sunny (and yes, i'll post a pic of my finished quilt once the binding is on)