[not_apathetic_anymore]

We don't have a fenced yard, and a new neighbor, who has told us "She is afraid of dogs" is moving in....anyone have any suggestions?

Invest in the fence.

I have 2 standard wirehair dachshunds. I got them each at 8/9 weeks from a reputable breeder - they've never been mistreated. One HATES fences. She'll bark at anything on the other side of a fence and charge at the fence. Take a neighbor in their backyard(across the fence) and she's nonstop obnoxious. Have that neighbor walk out the side gate into the front yard and she'll meet him there to smother him with kisses. The Chain/Fence thing has to be something territorial...and it can't always be caused by abuse...

A fence sounds like a good place to start with your scaredy cat neighbor though. Good LUck!

[Bobibutu]

"We don't have a fenced yard, and a new neighbor, who has told us "She is afraid of dogs" is moving in....anyone have any suggestions?"

Intro your neighbor to the dog - I assume your dog has been "socialized".

Put the dog on a down-stay. Let your neighbor move around the dog at a comfortable distance and experience no threat. Then closer at her own speed. May take several days. Finally your neighbor is able to command the dog to "down" whatever - confidence is built - etc.

She may have been frightened/bitten as a child. Find out.

I don't want to get into therapy here - but that may well be what you will be doing. May require a professional to keep the peace vs the $$$ fence.

[hershey]

I put up a two foot high chickenwire fence last year in an attempt to show my minidachsies where their property ended and the wild woods began. Okay, it was rather casual, but hey, they were small dogs and I thought we had a deal. Well they treated it as a visual aid, dug under, or walked around, or climbed over it. I chased them around the woods all summer. The littlest at the time, a longhaired male, Noodles, would follow the others after giving me an apologetic glance over his shoulder. He loved me, but he had to go with the gang. He'd come back first. I notice this year that my new little wirehaired puppy acts exactly the same. She follows them...Noodles is now leashed...but returns when you call her. Some friends have suggested I invest in a better fence, but...logistically, it seems daunting. They even sneak out the cat door when I don't have that blocked off.