I sometimes feel that the peace between us and two of our closest neighbors is a bit strained, dogwise.  There is one dog in each of their households, and the most charitable description I can give either–dog, not neighbor–is “unpleasant.”  The one I like less is an ugly white boxer who, I swear it, gives me rude looks and mutters nasty comments under his breath whenever he sees me.  He’s bad-tempered and aggressive and given to accosting passersby, whether they be children, little old ladies, or unassuming housewives walking their own dogs.  He is, inexplicably, frequently left out in the unfenced yard unattended and unrestrained.  Needless to say, I don’t often walk down that way, even though it is the best way to get to the park next-door without having to walk on or cross a busy-ish street.

Last night Petra and I headed out for a little stroll with Lucy, and I saw no evidence of the boxer when I looked down the street, so I decided to go that way.  When we got a hundred yards or so away from our house, I noticed that the lesser-of-two-evils neighbor dog, a little black-and-white Spitz-type mix, was out in her yard–also unattended and unrestrained, as is often the case.  Her manner of unpleasantness tends more to the side of posturing and is directed only toward other dogs, and she seems otherwise well enough behaved, so I carried on, just keeping an eye on her.

When we came even with her, she started approaching us in that stiff-legged way dominant dogs do.  I admonished her sternly to go home, but she didn’t stop, so I figured it might just be easier to let her and Lucy do a bit of sniffing before we continued on our way.  Lucy, good submissive that she is, kept to that bargain, but after only the most perfunctory of sniffs, the neighbor dog attacked.

I confess, my first impulse was along the lines of “Bitch, bring it.”  Lucy outweighs her by a good thirty pounds at least, and could take her easily, even leashed.  In the interest of good neighbor relations (and of not traumatizing my pre-schooler), however, I pulled Lucy away and brought her to heel.  Alerted by the commotion, the neighbors called out to their own dog (they didn’t bother to come outside and see what was happening, but whatever), and she trotted away, apparently satisfied that her claim on the street was staked.

I’m still a little agitated about the whole affair, but I guess there’s really nothing to do about it other than avoid these two dogs.  We have amiable relationships with the neighbors otherwise, and, in the spirit of full disclosure, I admit that my own dogs can be something of a nuisance now and then.  While they’re not allowed out unrestrained, they have escaped a time or two and run around the neighborhood for a little while before we caught them.  Also, they bark quite a bit (mostly indoors, true, but they are loud).  Still, they’re not aggressive, either one of them, and in my mind that counts for a lot, particularly in a neighborhood like ours, with lots of kids and other dogs.