TIFU by thinking my neighbor’s dog was a stray

We have 5 neighbors bordering my large yard. 3 of them have dogs (so do I) and I know these dogs. I did not think the other 2 neighbors had dogs, as none of us have fences and I had only ever seen the dogs I knew.

I was out with my pup this morning doing yard work. He was hanging out on the porch while I was brining a wheelbarrow of stuff down to the compost pile. I was daydreaming and not paying attention - until I heard growling.

I looked up and in the middle of our yard was a large breed copper-and-white dog. We have 4 acres, so while the yard isn’t gigantic, he was solidly within our property. His long fur was well-groomed and he had a collar, so I knew he hadn’t been a wandering for long. Since I “knew” he wasn’t one of the neighbor’s dogs, I assumed his owners lived in the general vicinity, but not right next door, and that he had recently escaped.

He stood his ground, barking warning barks at me. My pup came running to investigate the noise (he thinks every dog is friendly); I’m so thankful the stranger dog stayed put as I told mine to stop approaching.

I brought my pup inside and by the time I returned, the stranger dog had wandered onto one of the neighbor’s properties. We have a 50mph road a couple houses away that most people go 60mph on. I was worried and wanted to help return the dog if I could. But I didn’t want to trespass. So I started calling key words from the corner of my yard: “wanna EAT?” “do you want FOOD?” “want a COOKIE?” “how about TREATS?”.

I did ask the dog a couple times if that was his house, not because I expected an answer (lol) but because I was trying to make friendly-toned small talk with him. So it crossed my mind, but nobody was visibly around, and I didn’t really believe it.

Then an older gentleman shuffles out of the house, clearly trying to discern what’s going on. I call out asking if the dog is his, he says yes. I say “Oh, okay, he was in my yard and I wanted to make sure he was safe”. He asked if the dog had been bothering me and I said no (I should’ve said yes since I still don’t know how the dog will get along with mine). But he was incredibly unimpressed with me.

I’m so embarrassed now! Obviously I know my heart was in the right place but if I left my house to find someone trying to lure my dog away, I’d be pissed too lol.

—— TL;DR: Thought my neighbor didn’t have a dog and that the random dog in my yard had escaped from elsewhere. Got caught trying to lure him over with promises of food, and now my neighbor probably thinks I was trying to steal his dog.