and the winner is...

Clean out the garden shed (end of cantina) VERY well as it has rat poison in there. Make it the perfect doggie space. Eventually teach the dogs that that is their bed time place, (at the moment they are sleeping on the floor beside my bed) but keep in mind that it is also under the window of neighbour.

Fence the dogs off from where they can see the fountain, a little bit of a challenge if they are to have access to the garden but can be done. Friendly folk call and whistle to them and set them barking most days.

Let the dogs walk me twice a day.

Fire a water pistol at the barking for starters, and see how that goes. The yoghurt pottle of water from the studio window has been quite effective in the past.

Stage two, the citronella collar has the most votes from the soft-hearted Piccolina fans.


And...
Be extra nice to the neighbour and assure him that we are not the noisiest in the village. Put a rubber strip along the door that bangs when the wind blows so he knows we are not banging the main door (he thinks that I slam the main door, but it is the one at the top of my stairs that the wind sometimes slams shut).

Be a bit more invisible when he is home so he either thinks we are being super-neighbours or he misses seeing us around :-) and doesn't yell so much.

Today I am grateful for positive action.