What workarounds did people try for "How to stop one dog from constantly harassing the other"?

Community members documented 38 workarounds: 1. Trying to separate them during a fight 2. Considering rehoming the harassing dog 3. Using noise-canceling headphones 4. Running white noise machines 5. Moving the desk to the other side of the house 6. Talking politely to the neighbor once 7. ignoring the dog 8. leaving the room 9. using puzzle toys and chew toys 10. enforced naps and crate training 11. training the dog to relax and lay down 12. keeping the puppy on a lead 13. avoiding owners who let their dogs approach 14. getting a FOB activated cat flap 15. talking to the neighbour and asking her to pay for vet bills 16. asking the neighbor to keep her violent cat indoors or get a catio 17. calling animal control and reporting the aggressive cat 18. taking pictures of any injuries that occurred 19. cat proofing the garden 20. keeping cats indoors 21. installing a gate around the home and keeping it closed 24/7 22. calling the police and animal control 23. carrying self-defense tools like bear mace, pepper spray, or a firearm 24. contacting the landlord or dog warden 25. Avoiding or going the opposite direction when outside 26. Trying to be as polite as possible 27. calling the humane society 28. filing a court case 29. waiting at the pet emergency hospital 30. Using a sound machine to drown out noises while wearing headphones for meetings 31. Acknowledging the barking quickly and redirecting the dog to another action like sitting for a treat 32. Training a quiet command and consistently enforcing a no bark rule 33. Giving high value treats to the visitor to give to the dog 34. Standing next to the visitor and talking for extended periods 35. Hugging the visitor to show the dog they are safe 36. Picking the dog up and physically handing her to the visitor 37. Opening the fence around the pool to remove barriers 38. Having the worker adjust their schedule

How to stop one dog from constantly harassing the other

Unrelenting pestering between household dogs triggers aggressive fights the moment anyone tries to intervene, turning the home into a source of constant dread. This relentless tension leaves owners trapped, exhausted, and seriously questioning whether they have to re-home a pet.

Overview

Last updated Sep 26, 2026

People affected10 accounts across 5 forums

Workarounds found38 items attempted

Community agreement280 total upvotes

What the numbers show

Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count

This comes up 14.6× more often in r/puppy101 than across the site as a whole.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

38 items+ Contribute

Found another way around this?

Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.

1
Trying to separate them during a fight
Did this help you?
2
Considering rehoming the harassing dog
Did this help you?
3
Using noise-canceling headphones
Did this help you?
4
Running white noise machines
Did this help you?
5
Moving the desk to the other side of the house
Did this help you?
6
Talking politely to the neighbor once
Did this help you?
7
ignoring the dog
Did this help you?
8
leaving the room
Did this help you?
9
using puzzle toys and chew toys
Did this help you?
10
enforced naps and crate training
Did this help you?
11
training the dog to relax and lay down
Did this help you?
12
keeping the puppy on a lead
Did this help you?
13
avoiding owners who let their dogs approach
Did this help you?
14
getting a FOB activated cat flap
Did this help you?
15
talking to the neighbour and asking her to pay for vet bills
Did this help you?
16
asking the neighbor to keep her violent cat indoors or get a catio
Did this help you?
17
calling animal control and reporting the aggressive cat
Did this help you?
18
taking pictures of any injuries that occurred
Did this help you?
19
cat proofing the garden
Did this help you?
20
keeping cats indoors
Did this help you?
21
installing a gate around the home and keeping it closed 24/7
Did this help you?
22
calling the police and animal control
Did this help you?
23
carrying self-defense tools like bear mace, pepper spray, or a firearm
Did this help you?
24
contacting the landlord or dog warden
Did this help you?
25
Avoiding or going the opposite direction when outside
Did this help you?
26
Trying to be as polite as possible
Did this help you?
27
calling the humane society
Did this help you?
28
filing a court case
Did this help you?
29
waiting at the pet emergency hospital
Did this help you?
30
Using a sound machine to drown out noises while wearing headphones for meetings
Did this help you?
31
Acknowledging the barking quickly and redirecting the dog to another action like sitting for a treat
Did this help you?
32
Training a quiet command and consistently enforcing a no bark rule
Did this help you?
33
Giving high value treats to the visitor to give to the dog
Did this help you?
34
Standing next to the visitor and talking for extended periods
Did this help you?
35
Hugging the visitor to show the dog they are safe
Did this help you?
36
Picking the dog up and physically handing her to the visitor
Did this help you?
37
Opening the fence around the pool to remove barriers
Did this help you?
38
Having the worker adjust their schedule
Did this help you?

Tried another approach not listed above?+ Share your workaround ↑

In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.

r/homeowners1 person · September 2026

“Over the last about six months they dogs have escaped 5 times.”source ↗

“They’ve gotten out and almost attacked me and my kids 4 times since the first incident.”source ↗

“For now we are prisoners of our home.”source ↗

Aug_Mag2926 · r/homeowners · 210 upvotes

r/cats2 people · September 2026

“today, he yanked my cat off the fence at MY house in MY yard and attacked her.”source ↗

“he is NEVER on a leash. he came to my backyard multiple times and left a mess in my yard.”source ↗

mycat-isbetter · r/cats · 32 upvotes

“Last night, i heard muddy screaming downstairs, i went downstairs to see that the bengal had come into our house and had attacked muddy while she was sleeping.”source ↗

“muddy now doesn’t feel safe in her own home, What’s to stop the bengal simply following muddy close behind into the FOB cat flap, and the neighbour has not historically been a reasonable person, i doubt she will be reasonable in this situation- what can i say to her?”source ↗

“i do not feel they are safe now that the bengal knows to get into my garden- of course they are locked up at night but they roam in the day.”source ↗

Medical_Possession81 · r/cats

r/dogs2 people · September 2026

“Every time he shows up, she barks the ENTIRE time he’s here, and I’ve tried everything I can to try to make her stop.”source ↗

Avilola · r/dogs · 25 upvotes

“We have a terrier chihuahua mix and a regular chihuahua and the mix WILL NOT leave our other alone. Ever.”source ↗

“If I try to separate them, they start rolling and tumbling growling and attacking each other.”source ↗

“I don't know if I should get rid/re-home of her at this point.”source ↗

TokenOfWorship · r/dogs · 4 upvotes

r/HomeImprovement1 person · September 2026

“Neighbor's dog won't stop barking and I'm losing my mind. What are my options that won't start a war?”source ↗

“I work from home and I've had to apologize on three separate client calls because the dog was going nuts in the background.”source ↗

“I'm running out of patience and I'm starting to dread being home, which feels insane to even type out.”source ↗

Sea-Television-9210 · r/HomeImprovement · 17 upvotes

r/puppy1014 people · September 2026

“his barking is truly making me lose my mind.”source ↗

“He will just bark and bark at me for no apparent reason.”source ↗

“It’s really impacting my mental health. I live in a large apartment, too, so I’m worried it’ll impact my standing with my landlord.”source ↗

Immediate-Fact-4561 · r/puppy101 · 4 upvotes

“There are aggressive dogs off the leads in the parks and they have attacked my puppy 3 times already.”source ↗

“Now I am afraid that my dog will develop fear and aggression and I myself am now scared of any dogs”source ↗

“Sorry, this is more of a rant, but I am simply desperate at how things are here.”source ↗

cinnamon-kot · r/puppy101 · 4 upvotes

“How do ya'll deal with other dog owners? Particularly the ones that don't respect boundaries, safety, space, etc.?”source ↗

“I'm super frustrated lately as the other dog owners want to get offended when I avoid or go the opposite direction when we are outside.”source ↗

“I'm losing my patience and hate explaining myself.”source ↗

Sad_Requirement_5791 · r/puppy101 · 4 upvotes

“Today I was in a meeting (2x) and between her chewing on the wicker basket and her non stop barking.. I lost it and yelled at her to stop”source ↗

“I feel like this has only happened when I’m busy trying to get stuff done for work/in meetings but I feel so so bad.”source ↗

PropertyOk6802 · r/puppy101 · 1 upvotes