“Why is my dog being aggressive towards my neighbor?” That’s a frustrating question to have! What’s causing them to act this way? Why does your dog hate your neighbor? Does this mean you should keep your dog away from your neighbor? And how you should go about handling this anti-social behavior from your dog?

Today, we’re going to answer all of these questions, and most importantly, we’ll tell you how to stop your dog from being aggressive towards your neighbor. Soon, you’ll be able to let your dog meet the people next door and throughout the neighborhood without worrying! Won’t that be nice? So without any more delay, let’s get to our article “My Dog Is Aggressive Towards My Neighbor.”

Why is My Dog Being Aggressive Towards My Neighbor?

Your dog is being aggressive towards your neighbor because they’re displaying territorial aggression. Dogs have descended from wolves and retain many instincts from those days, including feeling like they need to protect their home and the space around it. Outsiders, especially those that are often nearby — like your neighbors — will provoke these feelings of defense the most.

Your dog acts aggressive towards your neighbor to protect what they perceive as their territory from them. This also includes protecting you and themselves. This is something serious that needs to be addressed immediately through behavioral training (which we’ll cover in the last section of this article). That’s because right now, your dog is just one small step from attacking.

If you notice your dog growling at your neighbor or staring intently at them, an attack could be imminent and you should remove them from the situation right away. Even if your dog hasn’t quite taken their aggression this far yet, you need to start working on things now because it’s very possible that they’ll skip these all together and just attack.

It’s not unusual when a dog is aggressive after moving, or to bark when someone knocks on the door, but that doesn’t mean the behaviors are okay. Allowing these types of actions could soon escalate into your dog biting people visiting, attacking your next-door neighbor, and going after just about anyone — so you need to act before something terrible happens.

Why Does My Dog Hate My Neighbor?

Your dog doesn’t hate your neighbor, they just don’t trust them because of territorial aggression. It’s natural for dogs to be protective of their homes and “their people,” but that doesn’t mean you should allow it to continue.

Aggression or hatred toward your neighbor is just one small step from attacking them. Continue to the last section where we’ll cover how to stop it.

Should I Keep My Dog Away From My Neighbor?

You should keep your dog away from your neighbor until you’ve learned to control their actions through behavioral training. If your dog is being aggressive towards your neighbor, they could soon attack. Signs that something is imminent include aggressive barking, staring with a rigid focus at them, and growling. Remove your dog from the situation immediately if you notice these.

How to Stop Dog Aggression Towards Neighbor

To stop dog aggression towards your neighbor, work on desensitizing them to less familiar people being nearby the home. Sit outside on your front porch for a while with a firm hold on your dog’s leash. If a neighbor goes by and they get aggressive, give your dog a calm but firm “no” then immediately take them back inside for a few minutes.

Once a little time has passed, try sitting out front with your dog again. Keep repeating these steps until your dog learns that barking and being aggressive towards your neighbor gets them negative results.

When someone goes by and your dog does well (being quiet, not growling, not standing and staring like they’re ready to bolt after your neighbor), immediately reward them with pets, praise, and a small treat.

It will take time and patience, but your dog should learn fairly quickly that behaving around neighbors and others gets them rewarded, while being negative and aggressive does not.

Still, you need to address the way that your dog responded so easily with aggression by getting down to the root cause, which is that they don’t respect your leadership. Let’s talk about what’s happening with that by quickly going over what makes dogs tick.

We mentioned earlier that dogs descended from wolves. One of the things they retain from those days is seeing themselves within a pack. In every pack, there is a leader whose main responsibility is to look over and protect the other members of the group.

But when your dog sees someone they don’t trust — like your neighbor — and reacts with aggression, then they are basically telling you that they don’t respect you as their pack leader (especially when they don’t listen to your commands to stop). They may see you in this role, but they don’t feel like you’re up to it.

Show your dog that not only are you their pack leader — but a capable and effective one — and your dog will stop being aggressive towards your neighbor. You’ll also be able to stop the many other related behavioral issues you’re likely experiencing (or will be soon).

Your dog will have all of that stress off their little shoulders, and you’ll have the loving, happy, and best of all — obedient — dog of your dreams. Sounds amazing, right?

“Of course, but how exactly do I do that?”

You should start by watching an excellent free video series that’s on how to be an effective pack leader by a renowned trainer named Dan. In his series, he explains everything you need to know in ways that are very easy to understand and teach to your own dog, and he gets right to the point so that you can start seeing these crucial changes in your dog in a hurry.

Start watching Dan’s free training series now by clicking here. And no, you’re not going to have to be mean to your dog. In fact, you won’t even have to raise your voice. Dan uses only 100% humane and loving training methods at all times. Not just because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it’s the only way to achieve fast and permanent changes with your dog.

I’m sure you’re ready to see these changes in your dog so you can trust them around your neighbors and others, so I’ll let you get started. Good luck with everything, and thank you for reading this article “My Dog Is Aggressive Towards My Neighbor.”