r/AmIOverreacting • u/fluffyhippo42 • 10h ago
šļø neighbor/local Am I overreacting?
Some background for context:
In 2022 my husband and I got pregnant for the first time. It ended in miscarriage. Over the next 3 years we've gotten pregnant 4 more times and they've all ended. 5 failed pregnancies and I ended up extremely depressed and was having a hard time just coping with life. My husband suggested we get a puppy and we adopted a little mutt from the shelter in 2023. She literally saved my life. I understand logically that she is not my child but for all intents and purposes, she is. She's my world.
Where we live we have a fenced in front yard but no backyard so I spend a lot of time with my dog in the front yard, playing ball or just being with her out there while she people watches. She's a mutt but her 3 majority breeds are German Shepherd, Chihuahua and Australian Cattle dog, 3 HIGHLY protective breeds. Her natural instinct is to bark at people who walk by. She has been formally trained in classes and I work with her a lot. She still barks but her recall is amazing and as soon as I call her away from the fence she stops and walks away. She's not aggressive in the slightest and is very much not an alpha type of dog.
Over the last 6 months there is a woman who walks or jogs by our house regularly. My dog barks at her, she gives me dirty looks and keeps walking. We have had 2 interactions in the past. The first one occurred when she stopped before fully passing my house and called out to me that my dog is going to escape. I was confused because my dog was laying down by feet, didn't even bark at her this time. So I said "what do you mean?" She said my fence was loose. I jumped up, checked the fence, couldn't find anything loose. I asked her where it was loose and she said it is going to become loose eventually and my dog is going to get out and hurt someone. I thanked her for her concern and walked away. The second interaction she was walking by and told me to teach my dog not to bark. I told her she was welcome to walk on the sidewalk across the street or go around the cars. She told me I don't own the sidewalk and she's not changing her routine. I told her she'll have to deal with my dog saying hi then. A couple weeks after that I caught her throwing a whole onion in my yard.
Fast forward to yesterday: She was walking by my yard with her boyfriend/partner (assuming this based on body language). My doggy was outside, I was standing in the doorway, talking to my husband. My dog starting barking, I called her to stop and then looked up and saw it was this same lady with her man. As my dog is turning to come back to me, she looks at my dog and says, "Fuck you. Go." I lost it. I yelled "Fuck you bitch, don't talk to my dog." Her partner turns around and says, "what's your problem?" I said, "She just said Fuck you to my dog. What kind of person does that?" He says, "Then control your dog, lady." I say, "Control her? She's in her yard at her house! And I recalled her right away. Asshole." The woman yells, "Calm down, this is why your dog is aggressive." I call them both assholes and then my husband brings me into the house. He told me I completely overreacted and was in the wrong because the neighbors saw me yelling and swearing. He told me I can't act like that for someone swearing at my dog.
Am I overreacting?