Advice on neighbor''s barking dog

[gailrmv]

I'm hoping to call upon the smart and resourceful folks of pricescope to help me figure out what to do... the dog that lives behind me is driving me crazy with constant barking.

We moved to this house about a year ago. We live in a nice suburban neighborhood of single family homes on smallish lots, so people are reasonably close together. The neighborhood is generally very quiet, just the way we like it.

The neighbors behind us have a very large, very loud dog. I love nearly all dogs, but am not fond of this one because she has gotten free and attacked my dogs on several occasions.

We've met these neighbors only a few times. The woman seems fine; the man seems like kind of a jerk. We often hear him yelling at his children. We hope to preserve a neighborly relationship with them, but...

The problem is that the dog is left outside for long stretches and barks, loudly, nearly constantly, demanding to be let back into the house. Sometimes the owners are gone and may not realize the dog is barking constantly, but sometimes they are home and just let the dog bark. Now that the weather is warming up the dog is out most days, and it's really keeping DH and me from enjoying being at home. We hear barking really loudly from inside our house, and it's affecting our ability to sleep, concentrate on work (we both do some of our work from home), or just relax in our home, and that really doesn't seem right.

After listening to the dog bark the other day from the time we got home from work until after 10 pm, we called and had a friendly conversation with the wife. She was apologetic and said she would be more aware of the dog's barking. That lasted 1 day. The following day the dog was back outside, barking all day.

So, what do I do now? Call them again and be less nice about it? Enlist other neighbors to speak with them? Contact animal control?

We technically fall under different homeowners associations, but the man is high up within his - so I'm not sure there is any point in contacting the HOA. In fact, I have no idea who else is on that HOA to contact, besides this man himself!

Has anyone had any luck handling a similar situation?

From what I've read on the internet, most rules protect the pet owner, not the neighbors, and there is very little recourse for people in my situation unfortunately.

If something doesn't change, I WILL LOSE MY MIND!

 

[DivaDiamond007]

First, I''d try to bring it up, as nicely as possible, with the wife again. I suspect that they put "Barky" out because he barks indoors as well. If you don''t get anywhere with her then look into your city noise laws/nuisance laws. I''d also call animal control, although around here they don''t remove an animal unless it is a direct threat to others. Are you friendly with your other neighbors? Maybe ask them if they hear the dog or if they have said anything to the owners. If the owners don''t want to cooperate you could tape the dog barking and let them view it or contact their HOA and have them review the information. Extreme, but it may prompt the HOA or owners to do something about it. Good luck!

Jess

 

[gailrmv]

Thank you Jess, those are all GREAT ideas! I had not thought about a city noise ordinance or taping the barking. I will be seeing some of my other neighbors over the weekend so I will ask them if they are bothered by the barking. We are the closest by, so we probably hear them the most. I hope nobody thinks it is my dog barking!

I really do not want any bad consequences for the dog - calling animal control would be my last resort. I doubt they would do anything anyway. I love dogs and I think most dog behavior problems can be addressed by responsible owners.
I just wish these folks would keep Barky INSIDE! I don''t *think* she barks much indoors. One of my dogs has a similar problem if she is outdoors - she wants to be in with the family, so she barks til we let her in. But unlike my neighbors, we actually care, so we don''t leave ours outside!

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I don''t know how it works, but I do know that barking dogs can violate noise ordaninces. If it is reported, someone comes by with a decibal meter to record how load the dog is. If it is too load than the owner is ticketed. Atleast, that''s how its done where I am. A recording for proof isn''t a bad idea. It might also be a good idea to send them something in writting to prove you have tried talking to them. You might also talk to your HOA and they could talk to the other one. Good luck

 

[sumbride]

One of my friends taped his neighbor''s dogs because they woke him up every morning at 5 am with a rousing chorus. He made sure the recording had a time stamp on it. It helped in that the neighbors now wait until 6 am to put the dogs outside.

I would definitely give it a try though.

We contacted Animal Control because we had a neighbor who left his dog out for about 12 hours a day. The barking annoyed us, but what got attention was that he also didn''t pick up after his dog, so he ended up getting a ticket for "dog droppings". Seriously. (this is the city) So if there is anything else, like maybe the dog doesn''t have shelter??? then you should call Animal Control. Noise Ordinances don''t often kick in until late at night, so that won''t give you much recourse during the day.

I''m thinking the dog is obviously bored out of his mind. Maybe throw some toys over the fence??? good luck!

 

[bee*]

I''d definitely try and contact the wife again. That''s so annoying that it only lasted a day last time you spoke to them-this time maybe be a bit firmer. I''d maybe ask some of your neighbours also to see are they bothered by it as maybe you need some strength in numbers so that the dog''s owners actually realise what a problem this is for you.

 

[sumbride]

Bee''s post just reminded me... in my area, written complaints about barking dogs have to be signed by more than one resident so as to eliminate the "my neighbor is picking on me" thing. So definitely talk to your other neighbors about it and see if you''re not the only family bothered by it.

 

[surfgirl]

I feel your pain, really I do! We are surrounded by no less than FOUR awful dog owners. The people behind us used to let their two obnoxious Yorkies out at 6am and let them run around barking all over the place (not to mention crapping all over the place because they''re small so they dont think they need to clean up after them!). The other people across the street are the worst. The homeowner''s an alcoholic so depending on when you speak to her, she doesn''t remember what she says anyway. She has some weird people living with her and they now have about 5 little dogs and I hate them all (and I love dogs in general). They fenced in part of their driveway to make a "corral" for these dogs and they leave them there 24/7, they NEVER walk them, never play with them, never let them in the house. To me, they abuse their dogs but they''re not actually breaking any rules. The dogs bark ALOT. They bark less now but still it''s annoying as hell but unless we get two other neighbors to complain with us, we cant do anything. Her two neighbors on either side dont care enough to complain - one is passive and the other has her own barking dog. They say "that''s what dogs are supposed to do"....You cant argue with their misguided "logic".

Anyway, you need to look up online and see if your city has noise ordinances against dog barking, most do. If so, you usually call up and they send an initial letter to the offenders. Then, if they dont take appropriate action to correct the problem within X days, you call the city and let them know. Sadly, in my lame city, the laws protect the pet owner. In fact, people are actually allowed to have "up to SIX dogs" within city limits. To me, that''s insanity. But there''s nothing I can do about it.

Another thing you can try is to buy those dog barking machines that send out a high frequency noise when the dog barks, and the noise annoys the dog and stops only when the dog doesn''t bark. Some work, some dont. Look them up online. If you share an actual fence with this dog, you can put such a device quite close to your property line and maybe it will work for you.

 

[blushingbride]

One thing that works like a charm is that spray bark collar which won''t hurt the dog - it simple sprays a burst of citronella each time the dog barks and they just find it bothersome so they stop. My friend had a problem with her dog barking when she''s not home and the neighbors complained. She simply puts the collar on him when she leaves the house and she said it''s like whole new dog. I''m assumng they''d eventually learn not to bark in certain situations. My boss also got this for her dog after it was recommended in her puppy''s kindergarten class. She said it''s amazing. Could you politely bring this their attention and offer the collar as a possible solution?

 

[gailrmv]

Oh, thank you guys so much for the great ideas and general empathy.

Brazen Irish, with my luck the city would come by during the 5 minutes per day that Barky is inside. Still, might be worth looking into as a last resort. It is a good idea to keep it in writing. I will pursue the HOA angle too. That might work.

Sumbride, really, dog droppings?! That is a new one to me! You have a good point, this dog does NOT have shelter out there, I don’t think. So, that might help if I do have to call animal control. I think the dog is of similar temperament to one of my dogs – she just wants to be INSIDE with her people (both have the guard dog mentality). My dog could have every toy under the sun and she would still bark and bark outside. But, that’s why I don’t leave her out there unsupervised!

Bee, yep, I was so happy that 1 day. SO bummed the second day. DH talked to the wife and he was nice but I think he did get the point across. I guess next time a firmer tone is in order. I really hate confrontation, but it is probably the next step.

Surfgirl, sorry to hear that you have a similar situation. Sounds like a LOT of difficult dogs near you! I feel sorry for the dogs really. They are annoying because they are in a situation that is not good for them, not their fault. Nobody likes to be stuck outside all day without human contact or anything to do. Sucks that you and Mr Surfgirl have to listen to all the barking. That device is a great idea – I will look into that! We do share a fence!

Blushingbride, that is a great idea to suggest the spray collar. One thing funny, when DH talked to the wife, she said “oh, we have been trying a new bark collar – guess it didn’t work.” Like, NO, it didn’t, are you deaf??!! But maybe they could try the spray kind. Someone I know tried one that didn’t work that well, and she said her dog was “a barking air freshener”. I thought that was funny!

Well thanks again guys and keep those suggestions coming!

 

[sumbride]

Date: 3/14/2008 3:15:33 PM
Author: TanDogMom

Oh, thank you guys so much for the great ideas and general empathy.

Sumbride, really, dog droppings?! That is a new one to me! You have a good point, this dog does NOT have shelter out there, I don’t think. So, that might help if I do have to call animal control. I think the dog is of similar temperament to one of my dogs – she just wants to be INSIDE with her people (both have the guard dog mentality). My dog could have every toy under the sun and she would still bark and bark outside. But, that’s why I don’t leave her out there unsupervised!

Yep. Has to do with the rodent population that uses them as food.

Anyway, if you do end up calling, they may not do anything about the barking but will look for other violations. That''s what happened to us. In our situation, the owner was just not a caring owner and his dog eventually bit a child through the fence and was rumored to have been poisoned to death by the child''s parent. All just rumor, of course. I don''t expect that your situation would ever be this bad, but I know the barking must be driving you crazy. I think a barking collar sounds like a good plan.

 

[dendon]

We had this problem and called Animal Control. They came out and gave the neighbor a citation. Happened again and called back, came out and gave a fine. Hasn''t happened since. I think it may depend on where you live though on how responsive they are. I always feel bad for the poor dog, it''s not their fault that they have ignorant owners!!

 

[gailrmv]

Sumbride - rodent food? YUCK!
Dendon - it encourages me that you had success with animal control.

SO, good news, online I found out that my town has recently passed stricter animal noise regulations! If the animal is making noise for more than 15 out of 30 minutes that is considered a nuisance, and you can report it and they will contact the pet owner. The person gets a warning and later a fine (if they don''t comply), kind of like what you said Dendon!

Like I said, I really hope not to have to go this route, especially b/c the guy is kind of an a$$ - I hear him yelling at his kids a lot, and I really don''t want to get on his bad side.

So anyway, after listening to the dog ALL DAY I called just now and nobody answered. I left a message, and said basically, "I like dogs, but yours is driving me crazy with her constant barking. You might not realize but the sound carries and we hear it really loud inside our house. I work from home and I''m having trouble concentrating, I know my husband spoke with you about this earlier in the week, but we are still having a problem. Please give us a call back at this number xxxxxxx so that we can discuss it and hopefully come to a mutually agreeable solution."

I have no idea if they will call back and probably, I was too nice again with my tone, but HOPEFULLY they will get the message that we are annoyed. If I don''t hear anything, and the problem persists, I guess I''ll be filing a complaint.

BLAH!

 

[dianne]

Date: 3/14/2008 12:56:37 PM
Author:TanDogMom
We moved to this house about a year ago. We live in a nice suburban neighborhood of single family homes on smallish lots, so people are reasonably close together. The neighborhood is generally very quiet, just the way we like it.


The problem is that the dog is left outside for long stretches and barks, loudly, nearly constantly, demanding to be let back into the house. Sometimes the owners are gone and may not realize the dog is barking constantly, but sometimes they are home and just let the dog bark. Now that the weather is warming up the dog is out most days, and it''s really keeping DH and me from enjoying being at home. We hear barking really loudly from inside our house, and it''s affecting our ability to sleep, concentrate on work (we both do some of our work from home), or just relax in our home, and that really doesn''t seem right.

TanDogMom, Are you from NC because we MUST be living on the same street!! This is my situation, also. Well, things are a little better now the dog has gotten older but she''s still just over 2 yrs. Owners never did anything but feed and water her. She was always chained. She would bark for hours on end and I finally just started going over there and playing with her for about an hour every day. Trespassing, I know, but I just had to touch her and throw the ball....that''s all she wanted, just some attention.

She''s a Pitt Bull, very strong and it was hard to play with her and not get hurt. She was so loving and she would literally throw herself against you to try to knock you down so you wouldn''t leave her. I left in tears often. I would talk to her from my deck, which I was staining at the time, so it was a long process so I saw her every day, chained and lonely. When she came into her first heat I told the owner and I guess he didn''t understand the term "in heat" and when I finally said "She can have babies now" he asked me how I knew. I said "Have you looked at her? She''s swollen and bleeding." He said, "Oh, I could breed her and make a lot of money." I swear, in my own mind, I slapped him back in time....but, instead, I said, "Oh no, breeding costs a fortune and I hear you never make a dime." You know what? They left her out there, chained, in heat! I have no idea how another dog, a stray or anything, didn''t get to her.

Oh, some of her playtoys consisted of broken pottery, a carbon monoxide detector that I assume no longer worked, and scrap pieces of wood. The only way there were balls out there to play with was because they were the three year old''s and he just left them out there. Unbelievable! I actually picked up the pottery pieces once and stacked it on their back porch. They never said a word. I called the police and talked to someone but they said they would take the dog away if I filed a complaint...and I never knew what would happen to her. At least next door, I would see that she wasn''t too skinny and she had food and water. When it was so cold outside I took her an old throw and left them a note on the door. They didn''t say a word. I found her a hand-built wood and shingled dog house from someone whose dog had died and they wanted it to go to a dog that could use it (and she had no shelter except a small space under the porch). My hubby and I went by ourselves to pick it up! Barely got a thank you and then it was only from him...her? not a word.

Now, I have no idea why the change of heart, but they have been keeping her in the house....sometimes she''s outside but mostly in the house. I''m grateful but almost want to ask why. Now that it''s getting warm again I wonder what''s planned for this summer.

Sorry to rant...I haven''t offered anything to help you, just added a rant to your posting. I hope you don''t mind.

And another thing...regarding Surfgirl''s neighbors not picking up the poo of the small dogs...I don''t know how to get owners to understand it needs to be picked up...doesn''t matter if it''s the size of a raisinette---it all sticks to the shoes!!!

 

[Kaleigh]

Gosh I feel your pain. I''d try talking to the wife again, but this time more seriously. If that doesn''t do any good call animal control and ask them to step in. My neighbors live in a huge estate, backs up to our house. They have 2 yellow labs, I adore yellow labs. They need companionship, and attention. With that huge house, do they live in the house, nope. Instead they are housed in a garage apartment that is close to our house. The elderly father is housed there too. I hear him yelling and crying out. They have nurses that come and go. I don''t know who to save first the elderly man or the dogs. We have called the police, so they are aware of the situation.
It breaks my heart.