O/T Neighbor bark issues
Too bitchy? Talk in person? Right them a note like below? Keep in mind they live next door and other then a nod we typically dont' talk. I've written about how weird they are before. They just got a dog a few weeks ago, likely from a family/friend or shelter. I LOVE dogs, we have a show/field dog ourselves, he can whine LOUDLY at times-but it's never time excessive, he has a very deep/vicious sounding bark also but it only comes out on rare occassion-he's not a 'barker'. Then comes in this dog, with neighbors that are bad owners. Leave him outside all the time, no attention, not sure how much they feed him, no toys, bones...he barks ALL the time. I mean ALLLLLLL the time. I'm about ready to LOSE IT and call animal control-but want to give them a chance first to fix the issue. They're not the type to invest in the animal though. It goes on for hours and hours, any time day/night, whether we are outside or not, whether our dog is outside or not. It doesn't lose it's voice either, no idea how.
Dear Neighbor,
I am writing to you today to address the issue we are having with your dog barking non-stop for extended periods of time at all times of day and night. It is really disturbing to hear this day after day. The barking is done early in the morning and at late hours of the evening and all times in between.
We are hoping that you can find a solution to this at is it causing great stress to ourselves and our pets. As we have a dog, we understand dogs bark and get loud, and we are totally understanding but this has been continuous and excessive. We don’t doubt your love for or the ability to care for the dog so we’re asking to invest in a solution.
Please let your dog in. Dogs can bark because of boredom, needing to be with their family, lack of attention, lack of exercise or hunger or simply need training and socialization. There are multiple products on the market to help, bark collars, whistles, also chewing bones help. There is a proper mechanisms like the dog silencer that works with frequencies very well. It will require an initial investment but will address the issue. Places like Amazon, Chewy, PetSmart or Walmart even will have options you can use.
In addition, we have noticed the fence is about to give. We will be trying to get this repaired as this will also help the dogs from seeing eachother in that one spot-though your dog will bark whether our dog is out or not. We will likely need access to your yard in order to repair properly and are requesting permission in advance. We will let you know when we have a set date for repairs.
Thank You in advance for your help!
Your Neighbors
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Comments
And this is why SS is not
And this is why SS is not getting a dog. He told me he is going to keep it a cage. Um, no, you either properly take care of a pet or don't get one.
I think it's a little bitchy but maybe that's what it takes.
We have a similar situation
We have a similar situation and we were always calling animal control, but because the guy is a firefighter they would just call him and tell him rather than come out and do an actual check.
Finally my DH flagged the guy down one day and told him if he saw the dog out wandering (they refused to fix their broken fence, on top of the incessant barking) he would just take the dog to a shelter that his buddies didn't work at, or take the dog and find it a new home where it would be taken care of. The guy was beyond shocked and said he didn't know that this was such an issue since nobody ever came and talked to him. He claims that when animal control would call him they would just tell him his dog had been barking a bit, not incessantly (they never knew they never came out and checked). My DH told him that aside from being a neglectful pet owner they weren't bad neighbors. After that the fence got fixed and we never hear a peep out of their dog. Only down side is now they send my DH videos of our dog when she is barking usually with some pithy comment like "just FYI"...so yeah beware the tit for tat.
This is always the risk when
This is always the risk when your neighbor knows who is complaining..or even IF you are complaining. Even if they know that they are in the wrong, people can still be upset to be confronted and shoot the messenger so to speak.
I guess there are two types of pet owners. The ones that leave their pet outside the majority of the time and those that keep them inside. Leaving your pet outside is not necessarily a bad thing, like if you have a large yard..or your dog is a livestock guardian etc... however, dogs are pack animals and a lone dog will be more likely to develop bad habits outside.
It sucks but because some people are so sensitive to confrontation it almost makes it easier to just call the authorities to begin with... that way (unless you are the only neighbor).. they don't know who is complaining.. so it's a general anger.. and not directed at any one person.
Pretty much what you said, we
Pretty much what you said, we weren't the only ones complaining, other people had been calling as well, my DH was just the one who finally said something. I wasn't happy when he told me and sure enough that's when he started getting the messages. Funny thing is we both have the same breed (lab) of dog. Difference is ours can go in and out all day using a doggy door, they leave theirs out and never let her in.
Oh man, we had this issue
Oh man, we had this issue when we moved into our house.
The neighbors, an elderly couple across the street, have two dogs. One a medium size younger dog and the other a small, vicious thing. They bark INCESSANTLY if left outside, at anything they don't recognize or is out of order. Of if another dog is barking somewhere.
All the neighbors are very, very aware of this.
They were talked to several times by other neighbors.
DH would try to sit out on our lovely front deck and they'd just bark at him/us constantly.
I can block it out (raised with animals, DH wasn't) but it was excessive.
The last straw was last 4th of July (2016).
Very early in the morning, the day after, at 7:00 am or something, the dogs were let out. And woke up the entire neighborhood. No one could go into the yard (the little one bites) and they weren't answering the phone (turns out the grandson was watching the place and left). Their front gate had at least 5+ nasty notes on it when they returned.
They've been much more careful since then and DH has no issues YELLING as loud as possible if the dogs are out an extended period barking.
From what I know, it's not a dog issue it's a people issue.
Oh I agree 100pct it's a
Oh I agree 100pct it's a people issue-but also a dog issue, as in the dog was never properly socialized or it would likely not bark like this. In other words, my dog doesn't respond to it's barking and rather just stares at the fence and looks back at me like "Why is she so angry mom?" lol
I agree, there IS a place for outside dog, if you have land, livestock, etc...but in suburban house? Nope...none. Time outside is fine, but it shouldn't be a 24/7 thing. Their kids don't even interact w/the dog. The interact more with ours when it was on check-cord out on front yard at times.
It's obvious these people have NO idea how to treat a dog. No bones, nothing to chew, nobody interacting with it-it's like they picked a dog and threw it in the backyard and feed it every once in a while
Of course it's miserable. I feel bad for it but the barking also makes we want to choke her out lol
I had this same problem where
I had this same problem where I used to live in town.
It eventually led to me having to keep a log of the times the dog was barking and it ended up in civil court as they would not care for the dog.
I won the case.
Later on they also had to be reported to spca as they would leave dogs out with no shade or water in the summer. Tied in the yard. Idiots.
Find out what your dog barking ordinance is and the steps needed to resolve the problem. Go ahead and file the complaint and let authorities deal with them. Clearly they do not care for the neighbor relations or they would not let the dog bark all the time. They could be real nut jobs and retaliate if you send your letter. In a civil case you may have to send a letter certified mail requesting they do something about the dog...but if so....leave out all the suggestions on products they can buy, just include the facts of when dog is barking and a copy of the nuisance ordinance.
Hopefully you will not have to go that far and the authorities will enforce the ordinance. Surely others are affected if you live in town.
As far as fixing the fence...probably best to address that separate either in person when you see them in passing or a phone call. Or just patch it up from your side. Is it your fence to repair or theirs?
Good luck with it. It definitely impacts your quality of life having to listen to a poor dog barking all the time.
This is what I would do, in
This is what I would do, in an effort to give them the benefit of doubt and to build good relations with them. Talk to them in person about the fence. Maybe mention the barking casually when you do, say you hope fixing it will help the dogs be calmer and bark less. Once the fence is fixed give it a couple of weeks and when the barking is still a problem hopefully you will have some sort of relationship with them to be able to approach them in person, plus you can say that you thought the fence would help but it hasn’t. Maybe you could ‘empathize’ and mention things that you have done to help your dog not bark so much (some of those things in your letter). If they still seem to do nothing to fix the problem and the barking issue does not improve then perhaps it is time to go the formal route that others have mentioned above.
I like this compassionate way
I like this compassionate way of approaching the issue. To add to this I would bring them a "pet warming" gift like a little basket of dog bones, chew toys, snacks, etc. Perhaps you can get to know each other a bit and meet at the dog park.
I really sense from how
I really sense from how you've written about this that you feel for the dog, and also for the owners - that you'd like to help them, as well as get some peace and quiet.
Given that motivation, I'd suggest trying a conversation first. For one thing, so often people focus on the 'agenda' and forget that they are dealing with people sometimes. Ask them to tea, ask them if they know their dog barks ALL.DAY.LONG. Tell them it's a real problem because not only is it noisy, you worry if the dog is ok, and you wonder if being a dog-owner is something they are enjoying. And offer to talk about ideas that might help.
You might hear all kinds of stuff about their personal lives, but that might help you help them keep their dog quiet - by helping them find ways to spend more time with their dog, etc etc. Or if they just don't really like being dog-owners, maybe you can help them re-home their dog.
It does take an investment on your part. You'd be opening yourself up a bit more than just sending a letter. But sometimes that offer to collaborate on a solution can disarm someone who might otherwise go on the defensive.
Good luck!
I'd be really ticked at the
I'd be really ticked at the letter - to me, it comes off as though you think the neighbor is ignorant, and you are trying to "educate" them.
Maybe you are, maybe you're not - but it comes across as condescending, to me. Hey neighbour... your dog barks too much, it's annoying - learn to be a good pet owner, here's a bunch of things you should do... oh and by the way we'll need access to your yard to fix the fence.
If it was me writing the note, I'd just bite the bullet and get the dog a couple cheap toys, toss 'em back there... and put a little note in the mailbox along with a few treats saying:
"got your dog a few toys, maybe he won't be so bored and will stop barking so much. Here are a few treats, maybe socializing at the dog park will make him less lonely
"
then I'd let it be.
If it continues after that... and the owners haven't done anything... call animal control. No amount of talking with the neighbour will make them change their ways, and it will put a veil of negativity between you. I have a great relationship with all my neighbors except one - and that is the one who is a thorn in my side. Even goes as far as shoveling snow onto my driveway, and putting the garbage on the "wrong side" so that when animals get to it, it spreads all over my yard - all because I asked them to come get their kids toys that were all over my front lawn and had been there for 3 days, and to please keep the kids out of my vegetable garden.
I really disagree here. I
I really disagree here. I don't see how a polite letter could possibly be 'worse' than a casual note saying the same exact idea, only with less information and by being more invasive (putting stuff in someone else's backyard).
Of course talking with people is a way to help them change their ways. I've noticed that most of the time people don't want to change, that's up to them. But if no one ever talks to each other, you can guarantee nothing will change.
But agreed, if it continues, you do have to call animal control. The dog needs to be looked after properly, and that's not your job.
I called my local police
I called my local police department and made an anonymous complaint...haven't heard the dog since. I imagine they had multiple complaints already because it was really bad.