[Tusk]

Hello all,

I'm happy to be part of this forum, I'm a longtime Rott owner. My boy, Gage, is 5 years old, and a fantastic dog. Perfect combo of protector and friend. Can count on him to bark and growl at anyone he doesn't know, or to put my 5 year old neice back there with him, and have him play fetch with her. (she'll put her hand in his mouth.) He's really just a great dog, and of course, my best buddy.

Here's my problem. I'm newly married, and now living in a townehome with my wife, (her place for 4 years, I moved from a big home with a sibling. )

We're currently house hunting, but in the meantime, he's in a small yard, (very small) but doing fine. I take him walking every day, sit back there and play with him, you name it. In fact, he gets more attention now than he did when I had him in a huge yard.
BUT.... he barks at ONE neighbor. He won't bark at a nice, elderly couple on one side, but on the other? He HATES this guy. I feel bad for the guy, but, I also think he's an ass. I politely told him I was sorry, and if I could bring Gage over to meet him, to see if that would change things. He said, "no thanks, not interested.." and was very short with me about it. At that point, I was pissed, and said "fine."
Well, I don't want this to remain an issue. It could be months before we move, and I feel awkward from the minute I get home, waiting for this guy to go into his backyard and have my dog go nuts. I don't feel it's proper for me to punish Gage either, he's doing his job, right? And he only barks at this guy, and he's not the nicest person, so maybe Gage knows something the rest of us don't?

With that all said, does anyone have any suggestions? Do any of those barking collars work, and is it worth the money? I thought about giving the guy a box of dog treats, and throwing one over the fence whenever he got home, but not sure if that would be "rewarding" Gage if he barked at him.

I'm open to suggestions and comments, and I'd like to thank everyone in advance! I'm happy I found this forum, I'm very eager to discuss with others one of the best, yet misunderstood, breeds of dog.

Thanks again.