My nephew (6) always ended up kicking his footballs into his neighbour's garden as he wanted to kick the ball high as possible and didn't have much coordination. He knew he would have to ask the neighbour face to face for his ball back and apologise - luckily the neighbour on one side was was really understanding. The neighbour on the other had a similar situation with having a dog who loved nothing more than to attack and kill the invading football. My nephew learned very quickly not to kick the ball in that direction because he knew he wouldn't get the football back. No one ever got upset with the neighbour for not being able to return the balls so definitely NTA. Also it might be with looking into getting higher trellises for the fence or some way to prevent item from making it onto the lawn where a dog might mistake it for a tasty snack

That last one didn't bother to read the post. The balls aren't coming from the sports park at all, they're coming from the neighbour's yard.

Yeah yeah. We were all kids once. It's one thing to do something on accident a couple times but it's entirely something else when it's repeatedly being done over and over just to be an annoying little prick. I'd keep all the s**t he throws and kicks over and denie having ever seen any of it. I'd take it as far as forcing his parents to get law enforcement involved to get the stuff back. Yeah it's petty but being tortured by someone elses dumbass kid shouldn't be something anyone has to put up with on a daily basis.

If that puppy was a human infant it be a whole different turn out. smh

It seems funny how no one understands that there is a dog in distress involved... I personally would go with the ones suggesting using balls as some kind of trophies.

If the kid comes to collect the balls, tell him his father/mother needs to collect them. Then tell them there is a charge for returning the ball to them that will go up exponentially with each return. The parents will either get tired of doling out money to get them back or replace them. They'll get the kid to stop so it won't cost them so much. Then use the money you get on the puppy and donate the toys/balls to the local school or foster care office.

The ball is terrorizing the dog. Is the child old enough to kick a ball without surpervision but not old enough to show respect for other people? What happens when these errant balls break a window or damage property? Do you give the kid a free pass and have the OP keep paying the price? The excessive permissiveness shown by some commenters with 0 responsibility is exactly why we have juveniles running roughshod all over America. You reap what you sow.

"We were all kids once." Yrs, yes we were, but its the parents' job to turn their kids into functioning members of society. Kicking balls at puppies is not a way people function in this world as a whole. Use losing a ball as a teaching tool.

May be a little out of your budget but have you thought of installing a laser security system (Resident Evil style) along the fence line said neighbor is on?

NTA. Stab all the balls with a knife before tossing them back.

NTA, and to all of those people saying "Talk to the kid" "Explain directly to the kid" NOOOOO try to always avoid doing that, ALWAYS talk to an adult, Why? This is clearlly an entitle kid, he can easily lie about what you said when you approached him, and for what it seems Dad it's not very interesting in stoping his child behavior, so DAD it's MORE likely to believe him over you, which will definitely bring unnecessary problems with your neighbors.

Well if they came over my fence they would no longer be a ball. My Saint Bernard loves them. He grabs a ball in his mouth,closes it and it explodes no matter what kind of ball. (Soccer balls are his favorite)They are no longer a ball but after he pops them he loves to throw them in the air and run and chase them. When he's finished he chews them like gum and then drops them on the ground and walks away and I have to go pick them up and throw them away because he has no more interest in them. It didn't take my neighbors long to stop letting their kids toys end up in my yard. There is an 10' privacy fence so there really isn't an excuse to end up in my yard. The OP was nice in giving the balls and other toys back but she is NTA to be tired of doing so and her dog has the right to feel safe in it's own yard and so does she. Yes,we were all young once but any good parent would have made their child understand not to throw things into her yard.The child needs to learn a lesson.

He should keep the balls and toys, and when the kid comes to the door tell him to go get his father. Then, make it clear to both of them that this is the last time he's giving the stuff back. In the future, if it comes over the fence it belongs to him.

Do you know the scene in Billy Madison where he wails on the kids with a dodge ball? I just imagine it would be just deserts if this happened anytime they tried to use their backyard. Probably not the most legal thing to do, but I bet they'd get the point pretty fast.

The kid knows what he's doing and he's a real piece of. S**T

It amazes me that some people will dismiss bad behavior as "just being a kid." When your a kid is when your supposed to learn that some behaviors are not appropriate. But then I'm pretty sure some people NEVER learned that. I can see why.

You have politely spoken to the father and explained the problem with the ball being kicked against the fence and often landing in your yard traumatizing your puppy. If the situation were reversed I’m sure they would not be happy with you doing something to traumatize their child (They would be screaming about it). I would consider anything that ended up in my yard, whether on purpose or by accident, to be MINE. The balls would suddenly develop small holes in them and then disposed of. Cars and other such things would not be returned even if asked for (“I’m sorry, as soon as they landed in my yard, they became my property.”). Soon enough the kid will learn that actions have consequences. There is a sports park not far from where you live. Does the fence have only ONE side? You AND your pup have a reasonable expectation of being able to enjoy your own garden area without the noise of a ball being repetitively kicked against your adjoining fence or of being hit by flying objects.

Tbh it IS wrong to keep the balls. Just put a hole in them and toss them back over. That sends a very clear message.

You can't force other people to do things in a way that is more convenient for you. Suggesting the child plays somewhere else is presumptuous and over stepping. However, anything that comes into your yard you can choose to keep or destroy. This is how children learn to keep track of their things. The parents will soon tire of replacing them and help thier kid learn to manage their belongings better. Focus in creating a safe shelter area for your pet to enjoy the yard and fortify the area in question with plants and structures that mitigate the problem.

My neighbors used to do this, they played soccer, they would also destroy our fence by hitting it with the ball. We have a giant soccer/baseball field across the the road BTW, a giant PUBLIC FIELD. They could have used it instead. When the father asked my husband "When are you going to fix the broken fence?" Hubs said in a calm voice "When the judge tells me to, because Your kids did this, and you're Illegal subletters" The fence was fixed within a week, by Them. I despise parents that don't teach their kids to respect other people's boundaries. Now, I keep the balls I get, and give them to my co-worker's kids.

To the people who said OP was the a*****e, imagine if your 5 year old kid was constantly bothered by an older kid throwing s**t over your fence, so much so that he couldn't even relax or play properly in YOUR OWN backyard. Alright, the other person was just a kid so you tolerate it. But then one day, your kid gets hurt by one of the toys the other kid kept throwing over. Would you still tolerate it? Would you let the other kid harm YOUR OWN kid? Its not like OP didn't talk to the kid's parents about it. OP has every right to retaliate. Its already very patient of him to just keep those thrown over toys instead of destroying them. If it were me I would've retaliated in a much, much worse way. F**k that kid and his parents. At most I can understand the kid's actions, he's a kid after all, but the parents being unable to reign him in despite him causing a disturbance? Thats another deal.

Mount the stuff on your garage walls as trophy’s

I feel bad for OP's puppy. So they're NTA

The kid has traumatized a young puppy already. Unless you put a stop to this, the kid, as he grows older, will get stronger and kick/throw the ball harder and further. You are looking at several broken windows.

Maybe the idiots at the end didn't read the part that said it was not only balls, but toys too. That's definitely deliberate! Take them all, make them come and ask for them, then tell them next time, they may not be so lucky. The brat needs to know he could hurt a living animal, and it's not just about him (as so many children think the world is).

Keep the ball. Every ball that goes over the fence

There was a very spoilt kid in my old street who would deliberately kick balls into peoples yards and if they were home would want you to throw them back out. He also would kick them into yards where he knew no-body was home and then spend time trying to open their windows or steal stuff in the yard. He kicked his football into my yard a couple of times, then I warned him I would stab the ball if it came into my yard again, which of course he did. I attacked it with a sharp knife and threw it out into the street. His dad bitched about it, said I should pay for a new ball, I told him stiff, it's going to be butchered if any ball comes into my yard again. Never had another one 'accidently' come into my yard again.

Its one thing to kick a ball over occasionally, but toy trucks?! Those hurt. I would tell the parents they will be responsible for dr or vet bills if one of us gets hit. Then i would go to the local police station & give them a heads up just in case it continues, you have proof.

Everything about the OP's demeanor is ridiculous. Dogs don't sunbathe. They usually avoid direct sunlight, when possible. They sometimes lie in the sun, but not normally. They also don't develop anxiety from getting hit by a ball once. This is all in the OP's head. That said, the neighbors should put up a net to catch balls that could go over the fence.

I say NTA. I am the second of four boys. Our house was on a corner and both of our neighbors were completely understanding of us, one of our neighbors was even a married couple who were both lawyers and never had kids. As long as we were respectful we could get our toys, even going through the lawyers' gate.

I think all people involved ATA. Parent-actually raise your children and tell them to stop being annoying. Neighbor-its just a ball ffs. Kid-stop sucking at sports. Jaysus

Start throwing them back and hitting the neighbours house. Save up a bunch first, then slam them into the walls of the neighbours house at like 2 am.

Tell the neighbor that you're going to have to have netting installed over the fence to catch all the toys and they will be getting the bill for cost and installation

Once in daycare I accidentally tossed a frisbee over the fence into someone's backyard I felt extremely guilty and didn't touch the frisbees again. Does that child not feel a single ounce of guilt i mean like does he know he hit the puppy i bet if he knew that he would feel bad but if he doesn't feel bad and keeps doing it i would do what one person said and install a net above the fence

Take the balls and play dodgeball with the kids. Smack them in the face and nuts a few times and the b******t will stop. If daddy says something, punch him in the mouth.

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

This comment has been deleted.