What to do about my neighbor's aggressive dog? (Long, please read first)

My neighbor’s Labrador is extremely aggressive toward me when I’m in my backyard. The dog keeps barking aggressively, snarling, and charging the fence trying to get at me whenever I’m outside. A slat has fallen down and she tries to get through it whenever she sees me. So far she has managed to get her head and shoulders through. The owners insist their dog is “friendly” and they refuse to fix their fence. So far we have done all these things with no good results:

*Repeatedly asked the owner to fix their fence. The county makes no requirements regarding the condition of fences between yards.

*Purchased or invented two dog “whistles” intended to curb barking and aggressive behavior. The louder one is from Sound Bible and is so loud it hurts your ears.

* Put up a mesh privacy screen (in an attempt to reduce visibility of our yard and increase safety). The dog has chewed a hole in it.

*Soaked rags with ammonia and pinned them to the privacy screen where she chews (dogs hate the smell of ammonia).

*Called Animal Control when their dog got loose while they were walking it, and it cornered me in my front yard, barking and snarling aggressively.

Animal control came out and told the owner they had to “control” their dog, meaning it had to stay inside their yard, and couldn’t get off the leash while on a walk. Big deal.

Animal Control also told me that they couldn’t do anything unless I actually find the dog in my own yard. Based on how things are going, it’s only a matter of time before that happens. I’m concerned that I could step out there one day and get bit before I have a chance to call Animal Control.

My last option is to call my landlord and force replacement of the fence The county says that property owners must share the cost of fence replacement, meaning that both my rent and my neighbor’s will go up. I’d like to avoid this if I can. Regardless, this will be a time consuming process, and may irritate both my neighbor as well as my landlord.

I’m also seriously thinking of creating a weapons belt for whenever I’m outside, to carry pepper spray, a retractable hiking stick (which can be used as a weapon) and a place for my cell phone in case I need to call for help. I don’t want to hurt the dog, but at this point I’m starting to dream of shooting it!