On mobile so please forgive any formatting errors. I am not exactly sure where to post this either so I figured I'd start here, sorry if it's long but I feel like there is a lot of info to include. This is in Pennsylvania as well. TL;DR at bottom.
I have 3 dogs, a Rhodesian Ridgeback (8F) we will call P, a German Shepherd called J (1M) and a pit/Pyreneese mix who is S (16 weeks, male). All my dogs are generally well behaved and we are currently in training with the puppy. This story mainly focuses on J but it does bother all the dogs. J can get rambunctious at times but for the most part he is sweetest dog you'll meet, but he can be intimidating because he is over 100lbs and pretty tall for a German Shepherd. Our dogs do not bark at cars passing, the mailman, delivery drivers, or anyone really (other than my one neighbors geese , but that's another story. I am a stickler for exposing our dogs to all of the people they will see regularly and introducing them to the mailman, UPS or FedEx drivers). I am currently first trimester with my first pregnancy and morning sickness has firmly planted my butt on the couch for better parts of the day. J is always right by my side.
See, on top of loving his momma, he loves the outdoors and it's almost impossible to get him to come in. When we set up our new couch, we did so purposely that J could lay on the end of it with his nose in the window so he can enjoy the breeze and he likes to watch the cars drive by. We live in a rural area so there are usually no pedestrians on our road, mostly because it's a twisty dangerous road to walk on. That being said there is one advid walker who walks by our house 4 times a day (2 separate walks but passes by twice with each walk). None of the dogs bark at him and J couldn't care less when he passes.
Recently one of our neighbors and her three kids have begun walking on our road at weird hours. Like today they did it at 7:30pm when it was already dark, but sometimes they will do it as late as 9pm. All of her children seem between 7-13, but they live further down the road so I don't know them. They walk maybe four times a week and without fail they always point at J in the window and start barking or trying to work him up. It, of course, works and he begins barking and starts to whine and cry that he can't get out there to them. I'm writing this today because they continued to do it until my husband had to pull him away from the window because we were afraid he would try to go through the screen. The mother also does nothing to stop them and sometimes encourages them to antagonize my dog by laughing with them or pointing J out if they don't notice him.
I know they have definitely heard me complaining to my husband about it, but they continue to do it, and laugh when he starts to pace and get agitated. But when we come out to tell them to knock it off they start walking away and act like they can't hear us. I am worried about 2 things here. A) I don't want my screen or window broke and my dog potentially hurting himself. B) should he go through the window I am worried about him chasing them on the road or jumping on them because he is excited. He doesn't jump during play usually but you can never guarantee anything with an agitated dog and I don't know if he would want to play or see them as a threat because they are teasing him. His barks aren't his usual "I feel threatened" bark, but the chance is not one I am willing to take. Additionally if he jumps on them he will knock them over and hurt them because when he would jump on me his paws would reach my head and I am about 5'8".
We have lived here for about a year but this just become a problem in the last month or so. Also our house is over a 100 years old and there is only the one window in our living room though it is decent sized and why he likes it so much, so I can't just move the couch to another window that isn't facing the road. I should also mention that other than touching our hedges along the road they have not set foot onto our property. Considering where we live I do not think the police would take it seriously enough to come out (we live like 45 minutes from the Staties and our town is small enough that there is no town cop). But God forbid something happens I am worried about what would happen to my dog, like I said I do not know the woman and her kids and how they would react. If it was me, my mom would tell me I deserved any injury I got because you don't antagonize a dog, but I know not everyone thinks that way. Since they come at weird times we can't just shut the window when we know they are coming and by the time it starts it is almost impossible to pull him away. It has now gotten to the point that when he so much as hears these people he gets up from his spot ready to bark at them, but again the other guy is perfectly fine. Also it's not like he is outside so we can just bring him in to calm him down. He is very well socialized, we often take him to amusement parks, fairs or anywhere we can and he is used to children. My young nephew likes to climb all over him and because he is so calm we use him to teach my nephew the proper way to handle dogs (stay out of their face, no ear pulling, no tail pulling or hitting, etc.).
Is this something I can get the police involved with? Should I get them involved? I really don't want to be that person, but at this point I am worried for my dogs safety and the safety of the children. Also, I do not think we should have to change what he is allowed to do because he isn't doing anything wrong and it is his house/property.
Tl;DR woman and three children pass by my house four times a week and agitate my dog, who is inside, to the point where we have to drag him away from the window where he lays all the time. I am worried about him or the children potentially getting hurt. What can I do?
I have 3 dogs, a Rhodesian Ridgeback (8F) we will call P, a German Shepherd called J (1M) and a pit/Pyreneese mix who is S (16 weeks, male). All my dogs are generally well behaved and we are currently in training with the puppy. This story mainly focuses on J but it does bother all the dogs. J can get rambunctious at times but for the most part he is sweetest dog you'll meet, but he can be intimidating because he is over 100lbs and pretty tall for a German Shepherd. Our dogs do not bark at cars passing, the mailman, delivery drivers, or anyone really (other than my one neighbors geese , but that's another story. I am a stickler for exposing our dogs to all of the people they will see regularly and introducing them to the mailman, UPS or FedEx drivers). I am currently first trimester with my first pregnancy and morning sickness has firmly planted my butt on the couch for better parts of the day. J is always right by my side.
See, on top of loving his momma, he loves the outdoors and it's almost impossible to get him to come in. When we set up our new couch, we did so purposely that J could lay on the end of it with his nose in the window so he can enjoy the breeze and he likes to watch the cars drive by. We live in a rural area so there are usually no pedestrians on our road, mostly because it's a twisty dangerous road to walk on. That being said there is one advid walker who walks by our house 4 times a day (2 separate walks but passes by twice with each walk). None of the dogs bark at him and J couldn't care less when he passes.
Recently one of our neighbors and her three kids have begun walking on our road at weird hours. Like today they did it at 7:30pm when it was already dark, but sometimes they will do it as late as 9pm. All of her children seem between 7-13, but they live further down the road so I don't know them. They walk maybe four times a week and without fail they always point at J in the window and start barking or trying to work him up. It, of course, works and he begins barking and starts to whine and cry that he can't get out there to them. I'm writing this today because they continued to do it until my husband had to pull him away from the window because we were afraid he would try to go through the screen. The mother also does nothing to stop them and sometimes encourages them to antagonize my dog by laughing with them or pointing J out if they don't notice him.
I know they have definitely heard me complaining to my husband about it, but they continue to do it, and laugh when he starts to pace and get agitated. But when we come out to tell them to knock it off they start walking away and act like they can't hear us. I am worried about 2 things here. A) I don't want my screen or window broke and my dog potentially hurting himself. B) should he go through the window I am worried about him chasing them on the road or jumping on them because he is excited. He doesn't jump during play usually but you can never guarantee anything with an agitated dog and I don't know if he would want to play or see them as a threat because they are teasing him. His barks aren't his usual "I feel threatened" bark, but the chance is not one I am willing to take. Additionally if he jumps on them he will knock them over and hurt them because when he would jump on me his paws would reach my head and I am about 5'8".
We have lived here for about a year but this just become a problem in the last month or so. Also our house is over a 100 years old and there is only the one window in our living room though it is decent sized and why he likes it so much, so I can't just move the couch to another window that isn't facing the road. I should also mention that other than touching our hedges along the road they have not set foot onto our property. Considering where we live I do not think the police would take it seriously enough to come out (we live like 45 minutes from the Staties and our town is small enough that there is no town cop). But God forbid something happens I am worried about what would happen to my dog, like I said I do not know the woman and her kids and how they would react. If it was me, my mom would tell me I deserved any injury I got because you don't antagonize a dog, but I know not everyone thinks that way. Since they come at weird times we can't just shut the window when we know they are coming and by the time it starts it is almost impossible to pull him away. It has now gotten to the point that when he so much as hears these people he gets up from his spot ready to bark at them, but again the other guy is perfectly fine. Also it's not like he is outside so we can just bring him in to calm him down. He is very well socialized, we often take him to amusement parks, fairs or anywhere we can and he is used to children. My young nephew likes to climb all over him and because he is so calm we use him to teach my nephew the proper way to handle dogs (stay out of their face, no ear pulling, no tail pulling or hitting, etc.).
Is this something I can get the police involved with? Should I get them involved? I really don't want to be that person, but at this point I am worried for my dogs safety and the safety of the children. Also, I do not think we should have to change what he is allowed to do because he isn't doing anything wrong and it is his house/property.
Tl;DR woman and three children pass by my house four times a week and agitate my dog, who is inside, to the point where we have to drag him away from the window where he lays all the time. I am worried about him or the children potentially getting hurt. What can I do?