Some people are fortunate to get on well with their neighbours, but others find it much harder to bond with the house next-door.
One woman has been criticised online for the way she reacted to her confrontational neighbour, after they argued about her barking dog.
She took to Mumsnet to rant about the lady over the fence and her loud pet - but received backlash for her actions.
In the post, she explained: "[My] neighbour has a yappy dog that never stops, it comes right up to the fence and barks incessantly whenever any of us go into the garden.
"It also barks at passers-by on the street - it literally follows them along the fence yapping incessantly as they walk down."
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Her neighbour does "very little to address this" and on occasion says "stop that" half-heartedly.
She continued: "Last year, I had a word with the neighbour about this through the fence - the barking was so bad it was upsetting my then newborn baby.
"She argued back with me and was generally unpleasant, so I threatened to report her if it didn't stop.
"This was around 12 months ago and I've had no interactions with her since. The dog has done its usual nuisance barking at the fence... but I've largely tried to ignore it."
Recently, the woman took her 15-month-old daughter outside to play in the garden, when her neighbour asked to have a chat.
She explained: "[The neighbour] said: 'I'm sorry my dog barks and annoys you'. I replied: 'That's OK.' She continued: 'If you made friends with her she wouldn't bark and then you wouldn't complain, would you?'
"I replied: 'I don't want to have to make friends with a dog through the fence. If your dog is barking constantly it's because you aren't training her properly, and that's up to you to address. It's not down to other people to make friends with your dog."
Afterwards, the neighbour tried to change the conversation and ask about her daughter in a bid to "make friends" - but the woman was having none of it.
The Mumsnet user asked fellow parents if she was being unreasonable for not wanting to build a friendship with the neighbour or her dog.
Users were quick to call her "rude" and said she needed to "grow up" and accept her "peace offering".
One person said: "You are making your own life harder than it needs to be by being so aggressive. Your reaction is completely over the top."
A second commented: "She sounds lonely. Reach out to her. It might stop the barking, or at least part of it if dog feels happier with her neighbours."
A third said: "You were rude and unkind when she was trying to make peace. It is absolutely her responsibility to train the dog but you have not done yourself any favours being hostile."
However, other users praised the woman's actions and told her to ignore the "irritating" neighbour.
A user wrote: "Both her and her dog come across as really annoying," whilst another said: "Incessant barking is one of the most antisocial things ever."
"You don't have to make friends with the dog. Suggest that she gets a trainer that deals with reactive dogs, because she's spouting nonsense," a Mumsnet user agreed.
What would you do in this situation? Let us know in the comments.
