Naked children in the yard

[Harlow]

Your dog is upset because the kid is naked?? Now I've heard everything, LOL! Too funny.

Ed.

You'd be surprised by how weird dogs can get about things like that.

One of my mom's dogs absolutely hates it when DF wears a beanie. He will bark, growl, and go nuts until DF removes the beanie. Another dog she used to have freaked out when I came over wearing a dress one day. I'd always worn jeans or shorts, so I guess the unfamiliar clothing startled it.

So I can see a dog being upset by something being "different" about a person like being naked.

I'm wondering if it's not the act of the child's naked body but the fact he's shaking the chain link fence.

[mj]

Your dog is upset because the kid is naked?? Now I've heard everything, LOL! Too funny.

Ed.

You'd be surprised by how weird dogs can get about things like that.

One of my mom's dogs absolutely hates it when DF wears a beanie. He will bark, growl, and go nuts until DF removes the beanie. Another dog she used to have freaked out when I came over wearing a dress one day. I'd always worn jeans or shorts, so I guess the unfamiliar clothing startled it.

So I can see a dog being upset by something being "different" about a person like being naked.

One of my dogs is very particular about purses.  He doesn't like any purse that has a pattern or sparkes/decorations.  If it's all one color purse, he's fine. 

[Suze]

lets see he is holding on to the fence and shaking it

sounds like a little dog - or any dog would see this as an aggesive act

clothing or no clothing

[Master_Edward]

I agree Suze, that would be my guess.

Ed.

[Wendy Moira Angela Pan]

But it really is the nudity that seems to upset the dog.  The kid shakes the fence all the time and is one of the few people that the dog DOESN'T tend to bark at when they are next to the fence.  In fact, I think the kid is particularly good with my dog (who is very, very shy)--they have only met through the fence but seem to be on better terms than she is with most people.  It's only when he's naked that she gets so upset  

LadyPekoe has already refuted the idea that it's just the kid shaking the fence that upsets the dog.

I think I would ask the parents if they could send the boy out in trunks or undies or something when I was using my yard as well. If they refused. I might get some large potted plants to arrange against my fence and block the view.

[Suze]

Hey Cuz -- would Josh - Jake and Jessie put up with fence rattleing like that when they were still here? (three Rots)

let alone the ding dongs you have now?

but on the whole I really think the kid should have some sort of pants on

[Wulfie]

I just created a S/O thread for these "things that drive your pets nuts" stories. I can see them being really fun to read!

[DoubleTrouble]

But it really is the nudity that seems to upset the dog.  The kid shakes the fence all the time and is one of the few people that the dog DOESN'T tend to bark at when they are next to the fence.  In fact, I think the kid is particularly good with my dog (who is very, very shy)--they have only met through the fence but seem to be on better terms than she is with most people.  It's only when he's naked that she gets so upset  

If it really is the nudity that bothers the dog could go with something along the lines that the dog could get to the sensitive parts while the child is nude? Especially since it's a chain link fence, sensitive parts could be snapped at quite easily. Just a thought.

[alegria]

There's a whole bunch of issues, which boil down to "your right to enjoy your property doesn't trump my right to enjoy mine."  The naked child is causing a multitude of issues for the OP:
(1) being uncomfortable with an unrelated naked child in her sight, due to societal issues about pedophilia and assigning blame
(2) her husband not doing the yardwork due to (1)
(3) her dog being stressed out by the child climbing/shaking the fence
(4) worry about her dog snapping at the child due to (3) and causing disproportionate damage due to the child being naked
(5) worry about (5) causing her dog to be picked up by animal control or put down
(6) worry about (5) or (1) causing her to be accused or sued

So she doesn't use her yard at all in order to avoid all of these issues, which stem from the neighbors allowing their child to run around naked in public, which is not a societal norm.  Even completely ignoring the legal/societal aspects of noticing a blatantly naked child, there are plenty of other issues that would be solved by the child wearing underpants.

By etiquette, she should speak to her neighbor first and let her know that the child is quite visible, and perhaps she should have him wear underpants.  Next would be talking to her landlord about restriction of enjoyment of the property.  Anything beyond that would be into legal territory, IMO, which is not our territory.

[demarco]

If it really is the nudity that bothers the dog could go with something along the lines that the dog could get to the sensitive parts while the child is nude? Especially since it's a chain link fence, sensitive parts could be snapped at quite easily. Just a thought.

I was thinking the exact same thing but I couldn't think of a way to put it as delicately as you did. 

[MovieLover]

I would probably file a police complaint.  Myself and my guests should not have to subjected to a child's nudity just because the parents are OK with it.  I also don't think I should have to think up a clever ruse such as faux concern that the child get sunburned or bit as a basis for asking the parents to please clothe their child.  It's just not cool with me and I think the parents are entitled for foisting this situation off on their neighbors.

If the parents want to let their kids do this then they need to install a privacy fence.

[ChristiKayAnn]

I keep having the thought that if the back yards are visible to the whole block it just isn't safe for this little one to be outside naked.  We can never know for sure who are neighbors are and I would be afraid of making a child a target to a predator by letting him (or her) run around unclothed where they could be seen. Perhaps this might be something that could be mentioned to the neighbor.

No matter how innocent it is for the parents and child all it would take would be one person with a sick mind and this child could be scarred for life.

[Virg]

Twinwithtwins wrote:

"If it really is the nudity that bothers the dog could go with something along the lines that the dog could get to the sensitive parts while the child is nude?"

Honestly I don't think you even need to go that far, and such a discussion is overextension because it would be just as bad for the child to get a hand bitten as his boy bits.  If your dog goes crazy when he's naked but doesn't when he's clothed, it's an easy sell to tell his parents exactly that, and ask that they dress him because of that.  If that request doesn't work, then putting up a privacy barrier is the best bet.  Heck, if you're on a budget a sheet of cloth or plywood applied to the fence will solve the problem.

ChristiKayAnn wrote:

"I keep having the thought that if the back yards are visible to the whole block it just isn't safe for this little one to be outside naked.  We can never know for sure who are neighbors are and I would be afraid of making a child a target to a predator by letting him (or her) run around unclothed where they could be seen."

Honestly, the presence or absence of clothing isn't likely to have much effect on his level of risk.  Anyone who's likely to try to do anything to him in a fenced-in backyard (or abduct him from such a yard) isn't going to be put off by the fact that he's in clothes.  It's the lack of supervision that matters here, and that's an entirely different discussion.

Virg

[JoieGirl7]

If the parents want their child to go about undressed, they need to create a private space for that.  At present, the chain link fence does not make the space private.

In the case of the nude sunbather, that person could not be seen by others unless they unlocked her gate and entered her yard and violated that privacy.
 
I think its fine to say "Would you please not let your child run around naked, it makes me uncomfortable and unable to enjoy my yard.  And please keep him off the fence too. I have a dog and I would hate for either him or my dog to be injured by your son shaking the fence."

[squeakers]

I am so glad that in my neighborhood no one batted an eye at my boys who all ran naked in the yard as toddlers.  No fences to shake, I guess.  And we were on a corner so were visible no matter which way you came.

Maybe they all figured "private property" and just averted their eyes?  Maybe naked toddlers was not a big deal?

Now the fence shaking should be addressed.  That definitely aggravates dogs.