Ball etiquette

To all dog owners What is the ball etiquette when a neighbour accidentally throws the ball over the fence and the dog pops it? My neighbour lost his ball to my dog. This isn't the first time they've lost the ball to my garden but now the ball no longer is balling as the dog popped it. The neighbour didn't rach out to the get the ball back else I would have rescued it for them. I feel guilty that the dog popped the neighbours ball. Am I supposed to buy them a new ball or go on as if the ball was never in my garden? Do I go round and apologise for the loss of their balls? Or am I just other thinking this situation?

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Leave it until they ask, if they do then apologise that dog popped it and offer to buy another - but only once, and if it happens again that’s their fault!

First time I bought them one back, after that it's tough 😂

@Tierney thank you! I was starting to worry it was my fault and I needed to fix it 😅

If your neighbour didn’t come to collect the ball then no, I’m presuming they still haven’t if you are thinking of going around to apologise? If within a very short time period they came and it was already popped then I wouldn but a ball is a ball. We can’t tell our dogs not to play with something that lands on their garden, I know my two would be on it straight away thinking it was their birthday😂

I wouldn't bother. My neighbour used to annoy me a lot by chucking either balls or dog balls over the fence and I kept throwing them back - sometimes even when they didn't come around to ask for them. Then one day my friend's dog was visiting and spotted their ball and popped it. I had no idea how long it was in the garden but they never came for it and I never said anything - I just put it in the bin. Thankfully their son is now a grumpy teenager and clearly too old to play football with dad...

Thank you ladies. Usually they come round immediately if they spot that they're missing a ball but this time didn't. If I spot them and they ask I'll apologise about the dog getting it. Even if it wasn't my pup that got it if my mum brought her 2 down they definitely would have had it