Neighbor stopped me while I was walking my dog in the middle of our street, holding a rifle. Told me I better not do it again...can he do that ?

[kcsueb]

Hello all, I was looking for some advice on what to do in this situation.

I don't really have anyone in my life to talk to you about these things that knows very much, I really feel like you all will know more than anyone else I would be able to find lol so here goes!

 

I have a very 'fluffy 'non-aggressive Alaskan Malamute. For the past 3 years of her life I have ran her around this 3.5 mile loop that would be considered my neighborhood. We live very rural. I may pass a total of 15 residences on this entire loop. Most residences are quite far away from the road, horses,  cows, dogs, cats  etc 

Recently to the left of my home going down the road a lady has gotten more than she can handle with her dogs to where they will chase you down the street on foot on bike or in your vehicle. 

So I have opted not to walk my dogs past her property or anywhere near her because of that. She has a very fast very adamant sheep herding dog that will bite your tires and rip your bumper off if you don't get past him before he can get in front of you. She also has a massive livestock guardian dog that will chase you down the road and she is very scary lol

**(I really don't know what to do in this situation as well) 

I have now decided to start turning right down my driveway where there are two new houses built and a gentleman who has just moved into The farmhouse about a year and a half ago on the corner. He has always only had one Great Pyrenees named Aryan.

Recently in the last couple of months he has gotten another great Pyrenees. And now he is letting both of the dogs out all night long whereas he used to put Aryan up late at night.

In situations where Aryan would usually bark at me a couple of times and then run back to his house and ignore me he is now 10 times more aggressive, chasing me to the point where he ripped a hole in the fence to be able to chase me even further down the road, barking . ( He is behind a fence not able to get to the road, but tore through a secondary fence to go through their pasture alongside the road) 

I have a job where I work odd hours and sometimes I don't get home until 10:00 11:00 at night. I absolutely must walk my dog she has gained 30 lbs during the winter time and late at night I simply put her on the leash, and walk down my road.

*She does not chase things she has zero aggression.

I have a video of a small dog coming up to her in public biting on to the fur of her neck and hanging off of her neck and she's just standing there ignoring it until it's owner finally got to it. *

The last two nights I have walked down the road, these Pyrenees will bark at me the entire length of their fence. My dog does not bark back or even pay any attention to them. 

Tuesday I walked her at 8:30 p.m..

Wednesday I could not walk her until 11:00 p.m..

The man that owns the house on the corner waits for me to come back around with my dog .walks out of his yard, closes the gate behind him.. has a rifle in his hand over his shoulder.

He stops me in the middle of the road and tells me that for the past two nights I have woke him up with his dogs barking at me.

He tells me that I am not allowed to walk my dog at night anymore and that I better not do it again.

He is very aggressively speaking to me. He is angry that his dogs barking at me walking down the road has woke him up two nights in a row. To the point of waiting for me to pass by, catching me out in the street and stopping me, armed visibly... And telling me directly that i will not do it again. Kind of like how your dad would do it holding a belt when he found out you snuck candy...

 

I called the police to ask them if he was allowed to do that and they basically tell me not to walk my dog past his house anymore.

 

I feel that this is something absolutely crazy that has happened and that I feel just anxious about it..I feel he broke a law.

But trying to find Tennessee gun law specifics is very difficult for me I guess as I've been trying to find something somewhat relevant to what happened with no luck.

What should I do in this situation just stop walking her around my neighborhood? Was he within his rights to meet me on our public road, stop me in the street while holding a weapon and demand that I do not pass his house with my dog at night anymore?

Thank you all!

[Hozzie]

Keep going higher up the food chain at the police.  No way you can’t walk down a public road at any time of day walking your dog.  
 

Keep records of every time the confronts you.  Don’t antagonize but be firm.  Get a restraining order if necessary.  

[10-Ring]

35 minutes ago, Hozzie said:

Keep going higher up the food chain at the police.  No way you can’t walk down a public road at any time of day walking your dog.  
 

Keep records of every time the confronts you.  Don’t antagonize but be firm.  Get a restraining order if necessary.  

Agreed. Also file a noise complaint about the dog barking. 

[Darrell]

Assuming that you're walking on a public road, you have every right to do so. YOU are not waking the man, his uncontrolled dogs are.  I find it incredible that the police told you not to walk on the road. Whomever told you that just doesn't want to deal with the situation.

You might consider wearing a body cam and getting the neighbor on video. You might also consider speaking with an attorney. 

What a rotten situation! Good luck.

Added by edit:  My initial assumption was that your neighbor was carrying a rifle as a way to intimidate you, which is illegal. But it's possible that he was carrying his rifle because he didn't know what was riling his dogs, not as a means to intimidate you. When I go outside to investigate a noise or something, I am always armed, though not always visibly.

Edited March 15 by Darrell

[Alleycat72]

Sounds like bull ####.

[FUJIMO]

25 minutes ago, Alleycat72 said:

Sounds like bull ####.

Ditto

[monkeylizard]

+1 to what was said above.

You're doing nothing illegal by walking your dog on a public street any time of day or night.

Depending on what "armed visibly" means, what he did might be illegal. Simply open carrying a holstered firearm is not. If he's carrying his gun/rifle in his hands and actively threatening you with it, that's probably illegal like brandishing or maybe assault (I'm not a lawyer and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night).

It's possible the whole thing could be resolved by simply sharing with him what you've told us about your work schedule and that if his dogs barking at night is a problem, maybe taking them inside at night could solve his issue. Or maybe he's just a hotheaded jack-wagon who wants to stand in his yard and shake his fist at the clouds.

Edited March 16 by monkeylizard

[gregintenn]

I’ve never had much luck dealing with police. I’ve had mixed results dealing with neighbors. Was the guy threatening you with the gun, or did he just have it along in case there was an animal harassing his livestock?

You are certainly legal to walk your dog on a public road. Because you can doesn’t necessarily mean you should in the middle of the night, for several reasons. Pissing off your neighbors would be among these reasons.

 

As to the other dogs running loose and getting after your dog, a call to animal control would be in order, as dogs aren’t supposed to run loose, at least where I live anyway.

 

I am confused about this. You say you are in a very rural area, but your profile lists you living in Nashville. I guess both could be technically correct, but unlikely.

 

Good luck with t. Neighbors can be a challenge sometimes.

 

[hipower]

gregintenn...there are still some suprisingly open-to-rural areas withing the greater(LOL) Metro Davidson County/ Nashville landscape. Not many. And they are going fast!

Not knowing where the op actually is...but some beautiful country outside the "Brentwood" landscape. I used to travel it to get to a few customers. Liked it. But hated the time it took to get there and back when I had an average of 40 stops a day.

[Thearmededucator]

5 hours ago, kcsueb said:

Hello all, I was looking for some advice on what to do in this situation.

I don't really have anyone in my life to talk to you about these things that knows very much, I really feel like you all will know more than anyone else I would be able to find lol so here goes!

I’ve been in a somewhat similar situation before; and all I can say is that discretion is the better part of valor. People often lose the big picture perspective and get wrapped up in petty crap that had the potential to escalate. A fair amount of avoidable violence comes from disputes similar to this one. 
 

While he can’t use the weapon to intimidate, nor can he restrict your access to a public road; if this is the first interaction, subsequent ones will be worse. You might be able to sue under Section 39-17-307 - Obstructing highway or other passageway , but it’s likely going to be “he said, she said” and end up a wash. 
 

On the other hand, you swallow your pride and go the other way. It sucks, but it’s much better than the other worst case scenarios. 
 

A decent middle ground might be to set up an official meeting to discuss the issue together. I’d recommend having at least a neutral party in attendance and taking notes, at minimum 

[Tuffus]

Read this law. I know an 81 year old lady that was bitten by a Pitt Bull recently while bike riding, she now needs skin grafts over the next few months. Tennessee has leash laws and the dog's owners is probably going to be charged with a Class E felony accordingly to animal control. If any of these dogs are aggressive and loose you have a legitimate complaint to animal control.

https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-44-animals-and-animal-husbandry/tn-code-sect-44-8-408/

[Darrell]

It seems that a fairly large percentage of neighborhood disputes involve dogs, and trying to discuss barking or aggressive dogs often results in hard feelings. We live in a time where people have trouble taking responsibility.

[TNBuck2]

I would tell him that you are still going to walk your dog but that you will wear a red/green light or something else that allows him to know its you so when his dogs bark he doesn't come out with his rifle. You have every right to walk down the street without fear of being attacked by either dogs or neighbors. Also look up the leash laws for your county, I think the Montgomery county leash law (where I live) state that a dog generally must be leashed when NOT on the owners property. Might be easier going the other direction and addressing the situation with the lady, but man do I hate people like your neighbors that don't take accountability for stuff like this. Good luck.

[peejman]

Unfortunately you have both lazy neighbors and lazy cops.  Get video of all the interactions both people and dogs chasing you, cars, and/or bicycles. Get enough to show a pattern.  If the cops won't do anything, go to the media. Aggressive dogs have become something of a hot button recently. 

I'd avoid the guy with the gun and his dog named Aryan. Too many red flags there.  I'm guessing the cops may have been trying to do you a favor. I'll bet they know him. 

[pop pop]

If the dogs are fenced in and not on the roadway, he is within the law. If the dogs are out running loose he is wrong. If he was out at 11;00 PM he was probably thinking something was after his livestock, if he has any, most likely. You have a right to go down the roadway, then again you must live there. You must try to resolve this issue as best as you can. You and him need to have another face to face and try to resolve this issue. He has no right to restrict your movement up and down the roadway. He very well may be trying to intimidate you into doing what HE wants. You got a big problem K. Just may need to daytime run to solve this issue. When chest get pushed out between 2 people, it needs to be resolved. Pushing the issue "POSSIBLY" could lead to real trouble. 

[pop pop]

If you don't mind sharing K, are you armed when you do your running?  This is a personal question, and you don't need to answer if it bothers you. Just curious. I have something to share with you if you don't go armed in the country. Your choice completely to share. Will not offend me if you don't.

[Will Carry]

Throw those barking dogs a raw hot dog.  Soon they will be wagging their tails at you instead of barking.  It worked for me.  There was this German Shepard down the road I lived on and evey time I walked by he would bark furiously. I threw him a raw hotdog and he kept barking as I walked by. The next time I walked by at night, he came out wagging his tail and never bothered me again.

Edited March 16 by Will Carry

[Sleep profit]

Trolling 

[DJTC45]

Get a large can of bear spray and let him and his dogs get a big dose of it in the face, he'll probably never screw with you again, but that's just me.

[peejman]

1 hour ago, Will Carry said:

Throw those barking dogs a raw hot dog.  Soon they will be wagging their tails at you instead of barking.  It worked for me.  There was this German Shepard down the road I lived on and evey time I walked by he would bark furiously. I threw him a raw hotdog and he kept barking as I walked by. The next time I walked by at night, he came out wagging his tail and never bothered me again.

Rewarding their barking and aggressive behavior usually only reinforces it.  

We had a neighbor who rode around on a Segway. He had a pouch full of dog biscuits and would give one to every dog he came across. He'd tease the dog a bit to get it barking, then give it a treat.  It wasn't long before he had every dog in the neighborhood barking at him as he rode around. It was especially irritating when you've got a toddler and he comes around at nap time every day. 

It took a couple conversations, first polite then less so, to convince him that while his intentions were good, the result wasn't. 

Edited March 16 by peejman

[Will Carry]

Every dog in my neighborhood and back then there no leash laws, stopped barking at me, at night. I only did this one time and it worked for the rest of my stay there.  

[gregintenn]

3 hours ago, Sleep profit said:

Trolling 

I’m beginning to think you are correct.

[ArmyBrat61]

I guess the dogs finally ate the OP........no response to all the helpful tips........

[FUJIMO]

17 hours ago, gregintenn said:

I’m beginning to think you are correct.

Never had any doubt. More the norm anymore unfortunately

[NoBanStan]

On 3/16/2024 at 12:11 PM, Sleep profit said:

Trolling 

Yup, feels like someone hoping to fish out some outage responses.