When you have a dog as a pet, it is important to ensure that they get enough exercise and stimulation to keep them happy and well-behaved.

What would you do if you had a neighbor in your apartment building who had a yappy little dog, but then you overheard her criticizing you for having a large dog in your apartment, even though you always ensured it got plenty of activity?

That is what happened to the young woman in this story, so now she wants to come back and confront her neighbor and put her in her place.

Personally, I think escalating this conflict is a bad idea. Read through the full story and see if you agree.

“They need room and a yard to run around” — says the queen of puppy pad palace

For context, I’m a college student living at a crappy apartment complex in a 1b1b.

People who let their dogs bark all day are the worst.

I have a giant dog: A male English Mastiff, 18 months old, 195 lbs. Big boy, but really a little angel. My building has balconies, and it’s not uncommon for people around here to have smaller, yappy dogs they just let out onto their balconies to bark incessantly and even use the bathroom.

The lovely lady from today is one such resident, at least in terms of the barking. She spends a lot of time smoking on her balcony while her dog barks, but she put up some lattice and stuff, so sometimes you can’t tell she’s out there until she blows a fat cloud.

Ok, prior to this, there were no real issues with the neighbor.

I would also like to note that I’ve never once run into or even seen her taking her dog outside, much less for a walk. But if you’d asked me about her before today, all I would’ve had to say is that her balcony looks cozy, her dog seems cute even with the barking, and I don’t understand the multicolored strobing light strips, but it’s cool she’s making the place her own.

She’s in a lower-level corner apartment I walk by multiple times a day, which is the only reason I know any of this. I’m not keeping tabs on everyone around here.

Well, people have a right to their opinions, I suppose. And big dogs do need room to run.

Onto today: My boyfriend and I were taking him out earlier today, just walking in the grass along the side of the building. As we get closer to her balcony, her dog starts barking persistently. Big boy is pretty used to this, and we keep it moving, slowly but surely.

Once we’re close enough, I can hear her out there on the phone. She must’ve peeked through the lattice to see what set off her dog because she starts talking about “these people with a giant Bullmastiff, Great Dane, whatever… in this tiny little place! How could someone do that? That’s so horrible. I can’t believe some people. They need room and a yard to run around…” and kept talking that nonsense about how terrible I am.

Her response is a little bit passive-aggressive.

I can’t remember all of what exactly was said because I was so taken aback, caught in this weird mean-girl alternate reality where we talk badly about people in front of them instead of putting on our big-girl panties and having an adult conversation.

I just said, hopefully loud enough to be heard, “Huh, I guess some random lady knows and cares more about my dog than I do. Weird!” before turning the corner and talking a lot more trash with my boyfriend that she probably couldn’t hear, but I was heated.

She clearly knows her dogs quite well.

I’m pretty sensitive about my dog. He’s my family’s fourth (and probably last) Mastiff. I’ve been the main caregiver to these dogs for what feels like most of my life. I’ve always done everything I could, researched as much as I could, and been as responsible as I could.

Even as a teen/young adult, I have wound up as the caregiver to these family dogs I didn’t ask for but love immensely. Even so, due to a likely brain deformity, we had to behaviorally euthanize one a few years ago, which absolutely crushed me. He wasn’t even three yet.

What a heartbreaking situation.

This was despite early socialization and training, eventually leading me to intense isolation to look after him in the safety of our home. I was ready to pack him up, drop out of college, flee the state, and avoid people for the rest of his life.

That is, until I realized ruining my life wouldn’t save him from his own brain and could end with me being mauled to death with no one knowing where to find me. So yeah, I pride myself on being good to my animals.

The dog gets plenty of activity.

In that vein, as a good dog owner, I know that where you live isn’t what matters. It’s what you do to give your dog what they need. I take him out frequently. I walk him as much as I can. He goes to a dog park with a pond he wades in with his little friends.

We go home to my dad’s every weekend, where he runs free in the yard and plays with his brother. He has entirely too many toys in the apartment.

None of this is any of the neighbor’s business either.

It’s like she honestly thinks little dogs are perfectly happy to never leave a tiny apartment, despite having so much more energy than a giant breed. This woman is throwing stones from her puppy pad palace, I swear.

And not that it’s any of her business, but we’re in the process of renting a two-story house with a yard for him and the cat I have to take from my dad. The reason I have to take the cat is the same reason I couldn’t move to a bigger place over the summer: my dad was hospitalized for over three weeks for a clinical trial to treat his metastatic cancer.

Is it really wise to escalate the conflict with her neighbor?

So, I’m so terribly sorry I haven’t been able to get a house to lock my dog up in, and you have to be so bothered by us quietly walking by you and the dog you’re driving stir-crazy.

I already know I’m going to walk by again at some point, and if she’s out there, I’m gonna put on my own big-girl panties and have a chat about exactly why I think she’s incredibly ignorant.

Yelling at the neighbor would be very satisfying, no doubt about that.

I’m still too upset to think of something cohesive and not outright nasty to say. Any thoughts are appreciated!!

I obviously shouldn’t go into it with the goal of calling her completely clueless. I don’t want it to turn into a screaming match or feud, but I want her to know she’s wrong and has a loud mouth.

Honestly, if she is moving out anyway, just ignoring her is likely the best move. Why cause more problems?

Let’s see what the people in the comments have to say about it.

Here is someone with three large dogs.

How much activity a dog gets is much more important.

This commenter says to just ignore her.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an artist who made sure to leave the walls of her home blank and boring before moving out, even though they were covered with gorgeous murals before then.

Here is someone who knows a lot about mastiffs.

This person says large dogs can be great in an apartment, though.

Her neighbor should mind her own business, but there is no reason to start a feud. Ignoring idiots is an important skill in life, but it isn’t much fun.

The post Her Neighbor’s Tiny Dog Barks Constantly, But She Had The Nerve To Criticize Her Neighbor’s Well-Behaved Large Dog appeared first on TwistedSifter.