Got a nasty letter in our mailbox yesterday from neighbor next to us. We live on 10 acres, but the neighbor is separated from us by only a fence and a small creek. Our LGD is young, will be 2yo in August, we got her as basically a rescue from a family that had her as a pet. We got her in July of last year and got our first livestock (St. Croix sheep) that same month but because our perimter fencing wasn't up to snuff, the dog couldn't go with the sheep to start any kind of training until December when we got our fencing improved. That fencing upgrade set me back $4500 btw.

Anyhow, the dog is a female St. Pyr/Anatolian Shepherd mix and we let her out with the sheep in the morning at morning chores and we bring her in at nigh bc neighbors and all are pretty close. I know, I know- night time is when LGD's are really needed but the dog is still learning.

Point being, I just got this note that the neighbors ''can't enjoy their time outside bc of the dog barking''. I haven't ever spoken to these folks other than a passing nod. I don't know if they realize she is a LGD and not a family pet.

Their property (~3 acres)i s zoned residential and is part of an HOA/development according to the county website while mine is zoned Suburban Reserve and zoned for farming/agricultural and that's the reason we bought it.

Any advice here? On LGD's, training, how to handle this, etc?

I had to Google LGD.  =Livestock guardian dog

Write a polite letter back explaining you are still training the dog.  Explain it is a LGD, so some barking is expected, but offer to meet with them to acclimate the dog so it doesn't bark at them so much.  Might work, and at least shows you respect their concerns.

I hate neighbors with a passion, its a huge reason I bought acreage in rural OK.

Write them back or go visit in person and say you have a Livestock guardian dog, dogs bark, its what they do.  Tell them your land is zoned agriculture and if they don't want to hear your dog, maybe they should move to the city.

I like your idea.

You can fall back on your ag-zone technicality, but don't count on the neighbors giving a shit. They may just retort with "if you want to let your dog roam freely without issue, you should move to a real farm, not just ag-zoned suburbs."

If your dog is a nuisance to others, then you need to get it under control, or the neighbors might just do it for you.

Strongly recommend going with cookies or beer to discuss the issue.  A very nice letter if a visit is not possible.  It's unfortunate that they started with a nasty letter instead of a nice letter or visit, but it may have been a moment of frustration.  No harm has been done to you yet, so try for the best relations possible.

Are you sure your dog is barking at all?  We moved from a townhome because my neighbor was a junky psycho that was convinced by service dog was barking all the time and she couldn’t sleep. So bad my landlord got involved because he was getting calls from her. I had video proof from cameras that he wasn’t. I ended the stress by just saying we’re gone dogg.

I agree.

You really should run a camera while you're away during the day so you can truly know for yourself how much the dog is barking, and hopefully why/at what.  I've had difficulties more than once in the past with neighbors whose dogs were well behaved and happy right up until the minute the homeowners left for work, then the dog would bark NONSTOP until they returned home at the end of the day.  This is not only a nuisance, but also a sign of a miserable dog, and needs to be fixed.

The worst example was a livestock dog by the way, Australian shepherd or the like.

yes, she does bark and anything that moves.

They should only bark at threats not the neighbors.

My neighbor has a Great Pyrenees and he only barks at actual threats .   What are the rules in your county ? Mine has no animal control. Yes zero. I have dogs and cats and coyotes on my game cameras that get addressed as needed. I am on 40 acres.  Tiny the GP never barks at me and I give him belly rubs and treats. He is super sweet.