Today we have a problem. We have lived here 7.5 years. We have owned our current dog for 1.5, but always had a dog here. Our dogs have always been allowed to run loose to protect the farm. They do, on occasion, "visit" the farms next door (.25miles) but never stick around and always come home rather quickly. They have never chased cattle, torn out garbage, acted aggressively, chased cats, etc. Just friendly visits on their patrol of our farm. Yesterday, our neighbor came down and asked if our dog was fixed because the stray she was feeding was a female. We assured her he was taken care of and up to date on all shots. She left appeased, sure she would not end up with puppies and happy she wouldn't have to fix her dog (as if ours was the only male in the area). Today we came home to her dog in our yard, playing with ours. She came by later to pick up her stray and all but yelled at our kids to get our dog tied up and keep him off her property. I went, when I heard about this, down to her house and asked what was up. She said, "I don't want my dog running away or down at your house, so you need to tie up your dog. He doesn't need to be down at my house." I made sure the only problem she had was the doggie friendship and not cattle, garbage, etc, assured her I would tie him for two days to try and break the habit as long as she would, too. BUT, and here is where I need honest opinions, I believe a farm dog should be allowed to run because he needs to protect our farm and because I love seeing him do what makes dogs feel happy and useful–sniff, bark, patrol, run, guard, chase etc. If he is not bothering any animals or property, how much should I worry about her anger? I am home ALL the time and know how long he is home. He doesn't stay away from home for more than 1/2 hour at most. We would have no problem with her telling him to go home, chasing him off the property, or even using a pellet gun to sting his backside. I don't think he'd have to be told more than once.

I can only see this from my–my dog isn't hurting anything, your dog is the problem, don't yell at my kids, leave me alone viewpoint.

How wrong am I? I believe she has the right to keep her stray tied up, yell at our dog, chase him off, etc. Am I wrong to tell her (already did) that I will only keep him tied for 2 days and then let him off to run free?

Wow.  This one is tough.  Reminds me of the old saying about good fences making good neighbors.

Personally, I don't want other people's animals running on my property and have my yard fenced to prevent mine from getting onto theirs.  I know farmland  is different from a yard, though.

I hope you can work it out.  By the way – I'd be concerned about this stray as well.  How do you know that she is healthy, etc.?  I'd be tempted to throw that question back at your neighbor.

Thanks, ladies for your honesty.

 After cooling down a bit, I decided to go back down tomorrow with one of our bb guns and ask if she would be willing to use it on him if he returns. I also want to explain how we really need him to be loose so he can protect our hens and the rest of the farm.

I thought this was the reason I moved from town to the country–to not have to deal with neighbors. I really could be a hermit and live far away from people and be perfectly happy.  Of course, I'd still need a computer so I could talk to you guys!

Thanks again.

Just an update. We kept Buddy inside with us for a day. Then we started letting him out at specific times. He seemed most likely to go patrolling in the evening when we were inside, before bed/ dark and in the morning when my husband left for work. So now we just let him inside at those times or at least watch him. He hasn't left the yard yet, backing up my argument that he doesn't go down there and spend all day everyday like she said. I also went back down to her house the other day. Her dog is back off-leash and staying home. I asked her how we were doing and she said Buddy hadn't been back down since and thanked me. I told her we would be picking pears that evening across the road and he would be down with us, but we would make sure he came back home without stopping at her place. She said she didn't mind him visiting. She was just upset that her dog came down to our place. I told her to feel free to yell at him and tell him to go home if he came down again. She sounded surprised that I would ask her to yell at my dog. I'd rather her do that than to keep him tied up. I also tried to talk her into getting her dog spayed. I told her my dog wouldn't be her only problem if she didn't. She half-heartedly agreed. We'll see, I guess. Just wanted to let you know how things have progressed. Thanks for your opinions.