How to Stop a Dog From Fence Fighting
Fence fighting is so frustrating for both you and your dog. Yes, your dog too. You probably didn’t see that coming huh? Most pet owners assume dogs love fence fighting. While there may be a select few who do enjoy this type of exercise, for the most part, it’s extremely stressful for your dog.
If this happens in your backyard, I have a few tips that can curb this behavior so you and your dog can enjoy your backyard again.
Why Dogs Fence Fight
When dogs actually engage and fight with another dog through a fence, it’s called fence fighting. Both dogs go back and forth along the fence line and squabble. Usually, dogs are able to see their opponent, which starts a fence fighting session. And if you’ve ever tried to break this up, you know it’s pretty impossible–your dog runs past or around you and it can go on for a long time (sigh).
The cause of fence fighting usually begins with fear and frustration. Your dog learns to really dislike the neighbor dog. Trust me, the more your dog practices fence fighting, the worse it’ll get so it’s important to stop the behavior. Dogs can and will injure themselves too. Most dogs can reach each other and cause harm so it’s important to address it now.
Now, some dogs will run along a fence line when they’re overstimulated by people walking nearby, birds, walking dogs or any other type of distraction. Fence running is different than fence fighting, as they’re dealing with their frustration by running along a fence line.
RELATED: Preventing Dogs From Fence Fighting
Should My Dog Meet the Neighbor Dog?
Nope, they may fight or become friends outside of the fence. When a fence is in between them again and they’ve practiced this behavior for a while, it’ll start right back up.
Visual Barrier
A solid privacy fence is worth its weight in gold! If your dog can’t see a neighbor dog, then fence fighting is less likely to happen. If your privacy fence has holes, I recommend fixing them to prevent further fights. For chain link fences that your dog has learned to peek through the slits of, you’ll need to put up a visual barrier.
About 80 percent to 90 percent of the time, a visual barrier will halt fence fighting in its tracts. In the past, I’ve used and recommended rolled felt or carpet as a visual barrier. You just roll it along the bottom of the fence fight line and zip strip it in place. For larger dogs, I recommend four-foot high felt or outdoor carpet and roll it on the inside of the fence (your side), making sure the carpet touches the ground and not grass to prevent any peepholes. Every two feet, I zip strip it tightly into place.
Now, it’s not the prettiest thing ever, but it wears well and doesn’t smell with repeated exposure to sun and rain. After practicing good fence behaviors, I can remove it after six months or so.
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What is zip strip.
Zip strips are made of plastic and used to secure objects. One end has a plastic tail (narrower than the rest of the strip) and the other end has a buckle. When securing something, thread the narrow strip through fabric and then run the narrow end into the buckle, pull tight and voila! Zip strips can be purchased at any hardware place. 🙂 Hope this helps!
This sound like a bandaid to me. I want to fix it not treat the symptoms. Any other ideas?
Hi Marlene! Management is just as important as changing behavior. Management stops the behavior from happening, because if it’s practice over and over, it only becomes stronger. Now, it’s impossible to fix a behavior completely, dogs are just as complex as humans, and behavior can/ will pop up around certain triggers. With that said, follow these tips and involve a local professional dog trainer to help you along the way, so he or she can help you trouble shoot to find solutions as there may be other factors at bay. Thank you!
I’m renting and my fence is wooden. Any suggestions on what to do. The neighbors dog is primarily outside and my dog isn’t. I can’t even take him on potty breaks in the backyard without them going at it. I really want to enjoy my yard with my dog but it’s so difficult with them fighting all the time.
Hi Tisha! How frustrating, and I’ve been there. First thing, it’s best to bring your dog out to potty on leash for now. It’s a pain, but it prevents both dogs from practicing fence fighting, which only makes it worse. Check out this article for step by step tips, I’m limited on content in the comment box . Now, you can create a visual barrier separate that doesn’t attach to the fence, but it needs to be strong and sturdy, almost like a short second fence inside your fence. A visual barrier is just as important as changing behavior, it stops behavior from happening. Lastly, it’s time to walk over and talk to your neighbor. I know, it’s the last thing you want to do, but his or her dog is 50% of the issue. Tell them you’re unable to enjoy your yard due to fence fighting and barking, and ask if they can keep their dog indoors during certain times. Most people will understand and help out….. but there’s a small percent that will not. If your neighbor ignores your request, it’s time to document and report to Animal Control. This is an extremely frustrating situation, when we had this issue, it was a chain fence and our neighbor had multiple small dogs that would fence fight AND try to dig under our fence. After a complaint to AC, magically, the dogs were kept indoors. Good luck and scour your local home improvement store for a free standing fence that can easily be covered.:)
Opps! Here’s the article link: https://dogtrainingnation.com/dog-behavior-2/stop-your-dog-from-barking-at-your-neighbors-dog/
So these zip strips can be used on a wood privacy fence?? If not, what do you suggest? I have a beagle and a boxer and new neighbors with a fence fighting/biting Weinereimer. My beagle has never been “calm” when other animals are nearby but it’s not been an issue until these folks moved in with their own dog with issues. When the beagle gets stressed so follows the boxer….mass chaos. I’ve tried the Thundershirt along with treats for decent behavior but there are still incidents of craziness. Yes, it’s a wood privacy fence but there are gaps between each slat. Covering those gaps MIGHT help…
Hi Kristen!
You can try using a staple gun and staple a visual barrier into place along a wood fence. But putting a visual barrier in place is not a cure all, you’ll need to bring each dog outdoors alone, on a leash, and teach him or her how to react differently when craziness is going on across the fence. Walk on the opposite side of the “fence fighting” fence and reward your dog for looking away, looking at you, looking anywhere but at the crazy dog when he barks. It may take a couple of weeks, but you’ll soon notice your dog making an effort to ignore the other dog barking. A visual barrier and leash will keep your dog’s frustration level down so he or she can learn to ignore it. Find the best treats possible, I recommend fresh hot dogs, baked chicken and tuna fish! Good luck and let me know if you have further questions. 🙂
Hi we have 3 maltese shitzue and one cocker spaniel and they spend a lot of time fence fighting with the neighbours dog . How do we stop this behaviuor as there are 2 lots of neighbour s that do not have a dog yard so they are free to rome . They work on the cancel so when you ring . Nothing is done .How can we fix this problem,
Hi Fiona! I would create a visual barrier with wood, outdoor carpet or plastic along your fence line. A visual barrier will stop your dog (and your neighbor’s dog) from looking at each other and fighting. Always go outside with your dogs, and better yet, bring them potty on leash and then back indoors. Until your neighbor dogs stop roaming, it will be impossible to leave your dogs outside all day without fence fighting starting up….. it’s not fair to you and your dog, you should be able to enjoy your backyard. I would give your local animal control a call, there has to be something you can do, maybe even call the police in your area. Deterrences don’t really work, your neighbors’ dogs will just continue to fence fight at a distance away. So very frustrating, just please never punish your dogs, it’s not their fault…..it’s your neighbors fault.
Hello! I am at a loss. What am I to do if we have a privacy fence so the dogs already do not see each other. All I know about the other dog is that it is a black lab and is named Duke since our neighbor once left a note apologizing. Once we let our dog out, the neighbors dog will immediately run up and start causing a fight just by the sound of me letting my dog out. It is to the point that my dog will no longer come when called she is so worked up. I also have a 7 month old so when these start and we are all outside I feel I can’t stop it since the baby is out with us. Any advice?
Hi Sarah! Oh my gosh……. how FRUSTRATING!!! Okay, your question is pretty complex, and I would not do it justice by leaving a comment. Instead, I’ll write an article about it, you need lots of details and troubleshooting since your dog’s fence fighting is brought on by sound. We should have this article posted by next week, so keep an eye out for it. For now, you need to chat with your neighbor, this is the quickest way to stop this behavior from happening again and again. Ask your neighbor if you can coordinate specific times to let your dogs out to potty, so they don’t end up fence fighting. Even though you have a privacy fence, there are tiny horizontal cracks that dogs can still see movement through, I advise creating a visual barrier per this article. The few times I’ve shared my home with a fence fighting dog, it was through privacy fences, and the visual barrier did help. Lastly, when in doubt, bring your dog out to potty on leash, this prevents your dog from practicing the behavior. Oh, and one more thing, find your dog’s favorite treat, I mean your dog must try climbing up the kitchen counter to get to it…. cheese, baked chicken, tuna fish, or hot dogs. Stay tuned!
My husband and I just bought a house on an acre and the hoa requires wrought iron or see through fences on the lots. The neighbors have 2 large dogs and we have 2 large dogs. Both sets of dogs are fence fighting when our dogs go outside. My older guy will run up and down the fence several times without barking and then come when he is called. Our 5 year old neurotic and intense German Shepherd will not listen to me or will even run around me when I attempt to grab her. My husband travels for work and when I leave for work I’m gone almost 11 hours so they need to spend some time outside in the mornings but I cannot leave them out there. Right now, I’m walking our dogs on a leash in the front yard. Not my idea of fun with an acre lot. Other than coordinating when then neighbors put their dogs outside, do I have any other options?
On a side note….we rescued the GSD and did invest in on-site training for her with a well known trainer in our area. The trainer said that over 30 years, she was the most difficult dog he has ever worked with. Yay us!
Hi Laura! With HOA restrictions, it will be impossible to manage the situation, which is an important part of the learning process… basically, you’re working with both hands tied behind your back. This is difficult without meeting and seeing your dogs, so I would recommend working with a positive reinforcement dog trainer in your area, again. Ask the trainer to teach your dog to ignore the other dog, it’s possible but will take a lot of work. And I know you don’t want to hear this, but you’ll need to speak to your neighbor…it’s not fair that you can’t enjoy your yard too. Believe it or not, coordinating potty times work well. When you’re working long days, I would highly recommend investing in a pet sitter, he or she can walk your dogs around the neighborhood which is more tiring than running in the backyard (lots of sniffing for mental stimulation). And if your dog trainer is unable to help, ask him or her to recommend you to a veterinary animal behaviorist, they can certainly suggest additional protocols for your 5 year old GSD. I wish I had more answers….. let me know how it goes, and if you need to find a veterinary behaviorist or positive dog trainer in your area- that’s key!