My neighbour keeps making snide comments about my pup and I just want to tell him to f*** off
sierra1947
New member
@mickeyroe Well you have more self control than I do. What a nosy git. None of his business.
@sierra1947 Hahahaha I think it’s less of a self control and more of - every time he says something rude like this it’s almost like it catches me off guard and I never know what to respond 
biblicaleq
New member
@mickeyroe Like everyone else here I immediately assumed you're a young woman, haha.
There's a bloke that goes to the same park as me with a GSD who's constantly mansplaining to me about dog training. I have a BC.
My BC was born a little nuts (strong instincts) so every walk is also a training session and I'm interacting with her throughout, but she's allowed to stop and watch things she's interested in so long as she stays calm. She stopped to watch this GSD playing ball. If I'd have clocked out was this guy's dog I would have moved her on but unfortunately I didn't and he came over.
"How are you?" he calls over and I shout back "good"! which is my dog's marker word so she snaps her focus to me and gives me eye contact. I laugh and give her chicken.
He says, "what is that, chicken?" I tell him it is. He says "yeah that's ok" as if giving me permission then calls my dog over.
At first she jumps to greet him and he pushes her bum down to make her sit. She won't, she's just confused, obviously, so I say "lie down" and she does it. He says "oh that's quite good" then immediately goes "right..." and launches into about ten minutes of unsolicited, almost entirely incorrect, advice on training after I'd just demonstrated I know what I'm doing (and he doesn't). To be honest, I think he probably did that to try and get the "upper hand" again because I was clearly doing fine on my own.
Your neighbour is an insecure dickhead. Remember he's a little boy trying to impress you every time you see him and when you respond imagine you're patting him on the head and saying "there, there..."
There's a bloke that goes to the same park as me with a GSD who's constantly mansplaining to me about dog training. I have a BC.
My BC was born a little nuts (strong instincts) so every walk is also a training session and I'm interacting with her throughout, but she's allowed to stop and watch things she's interested in so long as she stays calm. She stopped to watch this GSD playing ball. If I'd have clocked out was this guy's dog I would have moved her on but unfortunately I didn't and he came over.
"How are you?" he calls over and I shout back "good"! which is my dog's marker word so she snaps her focus to me and gives me eye contact. I laugh and give her chicken.
He says, "what is that, chicken?" I tell him it is. He says "yeah that's ok" as if giving me permission then calls my dog over.
At first she jumps to greet him and he pushes her bum down to make her sit. She won't, she's just confused, obviously, so I say "lie down" and she does it. He says "oh that's quite good" then immediately goes "right..." and launches into about ten minutes of unsolicited, almost entirely incorrect, advice on training after I'd just demonstrated I know what I'm doing (and he doesn't). To be honest, I think he probably did that to try and get the "upper hand" again because I was clearly doing fine on my own.
Your neighbour is an insecure dickhead. Remember he's a little boy trying to impress you every time you see him and when you respond imagine you're patting him on the head and saying "there, there..."
@biblicaleq Hahahha thanks that made me laugh (there, there comment). I guess I also just need to learn to ignore these comments, I honestly wasn’t expecting all this attention ahahahha
@mickeyroe Whenever I used to see my neighbors outside they’d always yell “who’s walking who?” When I would walk my dog (we rescued so he was about 1 and about 70 pounds). I worked with him and he stopped pulling but I’d always reply “you know it’s him walking me!” Then one day my neighbor and his gf were outside, my dog decide THIS was the perfect time to pee on the curb instead of by the tree where he was a few seconds earlier and pee splashed from the curb on my neighbors gf. I died on the inside and he stopped yelling “who’s walking who?” After that.
@harryjone Hahahahahhahaha it probably wasn’t pleasant for you at the time but i hope it makes you chuckle now cause it definitely made me laugh! Finding the funny side is the way to push through this I guess!
@mickeyroe It definitely makes me chuckle now! Haha, Im only 5’ so my dog isn’t very tall but so many thought he was a Great Dane because of how short I am 
imagebeastmarkbeast
New member
@mickeyroe He sounds like an ass. Next time he gives unsolicited advice, ask him where he got his veterinary degree from if he is so full of knowledge. If he snarks back, just shrug as say you only take advice from experts, not harassers, and walk off with your pup.
Screw that guy and any like him.
Screw that guy and any like him.
@imagebeastmarkbeast Honestly just sharing this on Reddit and getting all the supportive comments back already made me feel so much better and more confident! Thank you!
@mickeyroe This dude is clueless. Sounds like this is who he is and you get to be his captive audience for his pontificating. Also sounds like some pickup artist bullshit about negging. Tell him the negs work better with a Mystery item. Lots to get into over only “getting” a stranger who is compelled to get your approval after a backhanded comment(s).
@mickeyroe Don't stop or break stride to speak to your neighbor, wave him off and say you are late when you see him on the street. Be civil. If he says anything really rude, (and he might,) say, 'Excuse me?'
Say it louder in volume than either of you have spoken in the current conversation. It shows you are willing to escalate if he gets too aggressive.
Open hostilities with neighbors is psychologically difficult; you are around your home, you should feel relaxed. So try showing your boundaries without an open fight.
Say it louder in volume than either of you have spoken in the current conversation. It shows you are willing to escalate if he gets too aggressive.
Open hostilities with neighbors is psychologically difficult; you are around your home, you should feel relaxed. So try showing your boundaries without an open fight.
@hurting16 This is such a good idea. I also heard a suggestion that when you kind of freeze and don’t know what to respond you can say - what do you mean by that? It is not confrontational but puts another person in a difficult position if they are being an asshole and need to explain what they mean by their shitty comments so I will definitely use it next time! Thank you 
@mickeyroe Exactly! Your neighbor is a human-sized flea or tick, easily waved off!
imagebeastmarkbeast
New member
@mickeyroe I made the mistake of mentioning to a neighbour in passing that I’ve booked my puppy in for leash/ obedience training. His immediate response was ‘it’s never the dog’s fault it’s always the owner’ in such a smarmy tone as though I’ve never heard that before.
No fucking shit dude, but I have a 9 month old teenage Labrador who knows every command and picks his moments when he wants to listen to them. The whole point of me booking in training is acknowledging things could be better and to tighten up my knowledge and abilities. But please feel free to drop more wise soundbites that will change my life (Thanks for letting me vent).
No fucking shit dude, but I have a 9 month old teenage Labrador who knows every command and picks his moments when he wants to listen to them. The whole point of me booking in training is acknowledging things could be better and to tighten up my knowledge and abilities. But please feel free to drop more wise soundbites that will change my life (Thanks for letting me vent).
@imagebeastmarkbeast Just make sure they're actually teaching you and your dog and not just using a tool to get the job done.
Loose leash walking is super hard for the dog to master, and a lot of people would rather correct their way into another problem (tool dependency) instead of teach their dog to walk on a loose leash.
Loose leash walking is super hard for the dog to master, and a lot of people would rather correct their way into another problem (tool dependency) instead of teach their dog to walk on a loose leash.
@imagebeastmarkbeast Pfffff that sucks, but good luck with the training!
@imagebeastmarkbeast OMG please don't tell me you let him get away with this comment. People are shockingly rude, WTF... Of course, it's hard to think of something to say on the spot as you wouldn't expect anyone to be so incredibly rude.
@mickeyroe I also have a neighbour like this, but she's an older woman. I used to think she behaved like this with me as my dog is what some would consider "Pitbull-type", and a lot of people seem to dislike them, but I've come to learn that she does this with all the neighbours, from Bichon Frisé to American Bulldog... I have no idea what would compel her to do this, as now nobody wants anything to do with her. It could have been a case where she was starved for attention, and too socially unintelligent to realise this is no way to make friends, or maybe just an a'hole, who knows. Maybe your neighbour doesn't mean any harm, but doesn't understand that he's being rude. Or maybe he's an a'hole, who knows. I'd maybe try to find a way of letting him know he's being rude if it persists, and/or try to avoid him. I know how frustrating it is, and personally I'm not putting up with it anymore.