Sorry to hear your neighbors are unresponsive to your requests. That sucks. Well, no more MIster nice guy, calling the poud should be your first response now. NOTE - It is a misnomer that a dog with a wagging tail and its ears up is going to be friendly. This could just mean an excited state. Not good. Chasing means the dog sees the child as prey, teach your child to stand stock still when near an unfamilar dog, tell them not to scream as this will excited a dog and may trigger prey drive in it. Teach your kid to say in a deep voice - calmly, STOP, LEAVE IT, GO HOME, BAD DOG. Teach your kid to stay still. No running jumping or sudden movements. NO MOVEMENT and NO SOUND unless they feel confident to say go home or leave it. It is hard to determine if the dog was tryig to be friendly or not - you may want to make certain your kids are out in a buddy system from now on and please document each incident in case. Take a photo of the dog if you can to give to the animal control officer later. They need to know what to look for.

Since you volunteered at an SPCA I'm sure you picked up lots of tips and information about not only animals but strays in particular. I understand your fear regarding the risks to your son and dog. It is possible that the dog's primary caregiver was the wife and with her gone the husband does not know how to properly care for his dog. That could be why you're seeing it, perhaps animals can associate a neighbouring female for their missing mother figure. With a change in the animals home it could be this poor animal is confused and fearful, especially if the breakup wasn't pleasant and there was a lot of fighting. This animal's world is falling apart and it doesn't understand why. Its mom and the kids are gone so it is probably lonely and feeling abandoned. I feel sorry for the poor thing. I would write a polite note of your concerns regarding the safety of your family and place it in an envelope and tape it to the neighbour's front door (tape it secure or on the inside door so you know if its gone that he took it and wasn't blown away). I am not great for writing letters and the whole situation is probably painful for him so focus on the concerns that you have regarding your son and dog who may not know how to handle the approach of his dog without your supervision. This man is also going through a tough time and for all we know his wife might have gotten the dog and he had no say in the matter but now is left with it. Try to make the note tactful (something I lack at times but know the necessity of) regarding your feelings and the possibility of his dog's emotions might make the the dog react in a way he normally wouldn't. No matter how many times we tell my dad not to leave the dogs outside, off a lease, he never listens. If he goes into the house because he's absent minded and forgets then they are not out for just a minute anymore and he won't know if they are in trouble. He refuses to listen to us and the possible dangers to the animals. Even though they won't run off another dog could attack them but he does not like to be told what to do. He will even do the opposite to spite people to prove he'll do what he wants. He does love his dogs but he thinks he knows what is best and won't be told by others that he's wrong. Even if something happened to prove his error in judgment, he would find ways to blame someone else. I think of my father as I think of how to approach this gentleman. That is why a note would be better than a face to face discussion unless you were friends and could approach him before. A note describing your concerns without sounding accusing or blaming is, IMO, the best approach. If the note and your message go unanswered and the problem continues then you should contact the authorities. I wouldn't offer any help as he is selling his house and will be moving and you have no idea of what will become of his dog then. Sadly he may leave it behind, especially if he rationalizes that you'll take it in since you offered help. If he asks for help do what you feel comfortable doing. The reality is this poor dog's future is uncertain. If this man is not caring for it properly now will he take it with him when he sells the house? If its a really big dog can he take it if he must move into an apartment? Will the wife take the dog when the house is sold? So many uncertainties for this poor animal. When a family breaks up its not just the people and kids who get hurt but also the pets.

Try to make note of when and where it happens. Time of day, circumstances, physical properties of the space where they blow up, anything can be helpful to your trainer. With my Casey, he initially went after Bina mostly in tight spaces. Later, he was usually guarding the room and did not want her to enter the family room or the space around me. Once you figure it out, you can watch for it and distract the dog before it happens. We used to yell with lots of Whoop! Whoop! loud noises to startle Casey out of his fixated trance, then get his attention on us, not Bina. But Casey had a brain tumor and we were fighting against whatever damage it was doing to his brain. Your situation may be completely different, so that is why you need an expert to help you figure out what is happening. We finally decided not to leave any chew toys out at all, since Casey could decide to guard them at any time, for instance. Things changed over the course of the three years he had his tumor. Toward the end, he could not follow his training and control his impulses. He was all ID, a psychologist would say. If he wanted to know what was on the counter, he jumped up and looked. If he wanted to eat something on a counter, he jumped up and took it. We had gates everywhere and had to be perfect about using them and leaving things in his reach. I have known others who had two dogs who were incompatible and could not be together. They managed the gates in their home to keep the dogs apart. They also arranged their lives to spend time in the spaces of both dogs, so neither was neglected. It can be done, but it is difficult! First, save your money, and find that trainer to come to your house and work with the dogs and figure out what the problem is.

Where I live dog attacks happen and often end badly. My town requires 3 reports before they get involved with citations, providing it didn't involve something very serious. My dog was attacked and required an emergency visit. I reported it. Unfortunately, the next 2 attacks didn't report. After the last one involved a child, the bad dog owners moved out in the middle of the night. No dummies there. If you have a humane officer or animal control department, see if you can get some assistance with ideas on how to proceed. They deal with this every day. These people work for you, the tax payer. You may need to take this farther to make safety changes. What if this was a kid? document the incident and keep a copy just for the future. You may not need it, I hope not. Notes on a calendar are fine. But, you need to protect your self. Is the dog outside all the time? Is it tied up when they aren't home? Some cities have strict tie up laws. Can you change your walk time? We had to do that. Some owners are oblivious to dogs moods and attitude. Other owners are down right scary. Some, like my neighbor, believes leash laws apply to everyone else but him. invisible fence requires a battery in the collar to zap the dog if they cross the line. Owners forget to change the batteries so the dog may not have gotten the zap. People not want to get involved. During my attack, I backed out into traffic hoping it would stop those dogs. Only when I started screaming "fire" did i hear the owner call the dogs. I know he heard the whole attack. No one helped. I walked home with my bleeding dog and trying to remain upright. I was terrified and 15 years later, still very anxious when i walk my dog. i used to love walking my dog 2 miles a day. No more. So be careful and realize the leash is an extension of your arm. Your fear runs down your arm and into the leash. Your dog feels the negative energy and in turn can project aggressive feelings you might not sense. I have found talking or singing to her when we approach a crazy dog behind a fence helps keep her brain focused on me and it calms me down, too. If its loose, I get the heck out of Dodge ASAP. No easy answers.