My Neighbours Harass My Dog

I am a smoker, and I tend to have 5–10 cigarette breaks when working from home. During that time, I let my amazing dog go out for a wee (or poo) into the garden. While taking his time, he sometimes gets distracted by something suspicious, so he barks.

It’s common for dogs to bark.

Duh.

My neighbours have a dog as well, at least that’s what they told me. I’ve never seen him or heard him, though. They say he is an Alaskan Malamute….

Yeah right…

My dog is a Hovawart, and not many people know of this breed. In the UK, there are only 16 registered Hovwarats! That’s how my dog is special.

Hovawart is an old breed from Germany; Hovawarts were used and bred by the Barons of Germany as watchdogs and guardians of the flocks and castles. The Hovawart belongs to a very old group of working dogs found all over Europe and whose task was to guard his master’s family and property against human and animal aggressors.

Hovawart are quite large dogs, strong and resilient.

People who have never heard of Hovawart might mistake him for a Golden Retriever. Perhaps the magic of this breed — a burglar might assume the same, but then he would be confronted by a true “protector.”

We have a group chat with my neighbours where we post information concerning the neighbouring. Every now or then, my dog barks when outside the house. His deep bark irritates my neighbours.

On a few occasions, my neighbours have publicly accused me of not “training” my dog well enough, especially since they can hear him bark. Nonsense. My dog barks occasionally and only when he “believes” there is suspicious activity in the neighbourhood.

My neighbours complained to other neighbours about my dog. Not everyone shares their opinion on my dog, though — they share mine instead.

I rarely speak to my neighbours now as they have become quite hostile towards me.

Two weeks ago, they posted that a nearby house got burglarized. The owners of the house don’t have a dog, obviously. Last week another nearby house got broken into.

That evening my dog exceptionally barked when outside; my neighbours complained again. This time I explained to them that the translation of the “Hovawart” is “guardian of the property.”

They told me that I should teach him to be quiet and should be ashamed of myself. Back then, I didn’t tell my neighbours that I was moving. Why?

Because I’ve lived in one the most dangerous cities in the UK — Leeds.

Burglaries, offences, small and big crimes are common here, and since I’ve moved onto the property, someone has thrown a damn brick through my window. I have all reasons to have a dog titled “guardian of the property.”

The morning we were told about the second burglary, I was outside in the garden with my dog. My neighbours were in discussion with a bypasser who, too, had a dog. They spoke about “dogs barking,” and I’ve overheard the bypasser say:

“Sometimes my dog barks and I feel so ashamed of him. I feel as if I am not a good owner because I didn’t teach him manners”

The neighbours agreed with him.

I was furious.

Dogs have a right to bark.

That evening I wrote a letter to my neighbours explaining two primal things.

Why do dogs bark?

Dear neighbours, dogs do bark. They bark because of different reasons. My dog doesn’t bark just because he can and he was gifted, nor does he bark to annoy you. My dog is not spiteful.

My dog barks because he is a guardian. My dog barks when he wants to warn or alert his family. That’s his main reason for barking.

Reasons why it’s OKAY for my guardian dog to bark sometimes:

My dog is the “guardian of the property” it’s his task, his mission to guard this property, and that task involves barking sometimes.

My dog barks so he can alert me when I am not next to him of possible danger, the same thing he did when that house nearby got vandalized.

We aren’t living in the safest city, are we? I would rather be protected than sorry.

I have children; I want my dog to alert me if there is danger nearby.

Due to multiple criminal offences in the neighbourhood, I am encouraging my dog to bark and will continue to do so until we move.

We are moving because of the above reasons, and my dog will then cease barking because we will be moving to a much safer city.

If you have issues with my dog occasionally barking till then, please inform the authorities — I am sure they will agree with my dog and give him a treat.

I’ve received no response to my concise letter. But soon enough though, the neighbours posted an image of the CCTV camera: a suspicious van parked in front of their house around midnight.

I wonder if their Alaskan Malamute has alerted them of this van?

I’ve noticed that van 10 days earlier, parked at the same spot. Guess who pointed that van out? My guardian doggie.

Back then he woke me in the middle of the night to warn me about the suspicious van. I gave him a treat and a cuddle, and then I told him:

“Good boy, I will never be ashamed of you.”

Now we are happily relocated, and my new neighbours love my dog.

Thank you for reading.

This article was published originally here by me.