What Would You Do? Barking Dog

Bobw235

Bobw235

Senior Member
Location
Massachusetts
Looking for some advice now that we're into the nicer weather here in the Northeast. We live on a small street and one of the neighbors has a miniature dachshund. They leave it on a rope outside the house and seemingly are oblivious to the dog's frequent fits of barking. This dog barks at everything and everyone! The sound of the mail truck sends it into a fit of barking. Now, they take it in during the evening, but during the day when you'd like to have the windows open, this thing barks it's fool head off. If they go off for the day they leave the dog inside, but they leave the windows open so you can still hear the annoying sound.

We're not on good terms with these neighbors, not that we've ever had any fights or disagreements, but they're not folks that we deal with at all.

So, my wife wants to call the police to complain. Or, I could purchase one of those devices that are supposed to send a high pitched sound in the dog's direction. It won't hurt the dog, but it should (in theory) come to associate barking with discomfort since the neighbors clearly don't give a damn.

What have others done about such issues? Any suggestions? I could just confront the guy next time I see him outside, but don't want to start a neighborhood battle. I just find it hard to believe that they (and their grown kids) don't think this is bothersome to other neighbors. I like loud rock & roll, but I'm pretty sure if I blasted it during the day with the windows open, I'd get a complaint from someone on the street or a visit from the police.

I know a number of you are pet owners, as was I at one time. Curious for your thoughts and any ideas.
 

I feel for you, Bob. I've had to put up with dogs barking many times. They usually only bark when the owner is gone, so the owner sometimes has no clue. If you live in the city you might check if there are ordinances. For example, here you have to come equipped with an audio proving continuous barking (non-provoked by you :)) for at least 30 minutes in order to complain.
 
NancyNGA said:
I feel for you, Bob. I've had to put up with dogs barking many times. They usually only bark when the owner is gone, so the owner sometimes has no clue. If you live in the city you might check if there are ordinances. For example, here you have to come equipped with an audio proving continuous barking (non-provoked by you :)) for at least 30 minutes in order to complain.
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That's what we've heard, it's 30 minutes of continuous barking before they'll do anything.
 

I hate talking to neighbors about stuff like that, too. But that's probably what you should do. Maybe you'll be surprised and they will take it well if you are tactful. Otherwise, I'd try the device.;)
 
Well, Bob.
Since the dog barks when your neighbors are away, they may not be aware of how the dog behaves. Yeah, barking dogs are damn annoying. And I dunno-siccing the cops on them isn't going to be deemed very "neighborly" by them. And what can your neighbors realistically do? You either get to know your neighbors, so you can approach the problem with them, averting WWIII; or just ignore the dog.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
Well, Bob.
Since the dog barks when your neighbors are away, they may not be aware of how the dog behaves. Yeah, barking dogs are damn annoying. And I dunno-siccing the cops on them isn't going to be deemed very "neighborly" by them. And what can your neighbors realistically do? You either get to know your neighbors, so you can approach the problem with them, averting WWIII; or just ignore the dog.
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Yeah, I'm thinking we'll probably go over to talk to him directly. That's the thing though, the dog barks when they're in the house! Never do they think of coming outside to bring the dog inside or tell it to shut up. In my mind, this is a potential issue with me selling my home down the road. If he balks or it doesn't get better, then I'll consider other options. The device seems like it should work from here. Found one that works up to 300 feet away and it comes with a remote so I can just mount it towards his house and press the remote every time the little yapper starts up.
 
I think that leaving a dog tied up outside is considered neglect, if not cruelty, and they could be breaking the law. At the very least it's a public nuisance. Try calling the police or animal control and see if they will come and rescue the dog and/or arrest the neighbors. I have absolutely no sympathy for people who tie dogs up and go and leave them. So yeah. Call the cops or animal control. Just do it anonymously so the crazy neighbors won't retaliate.

My parents got new neighbors who used to turn their dog out early every morning and the dog barked nonstop the whole time he was outside. But he wasn't tied up.
 
I had the same problem about 15 years ago. I couldn't stand it any more. I called animal control and they went to the people's house and gave them ideas on how to treat the dog so it isn't barking all the time. So, calling them was successful. They are obviously neglecting this dog.
 
Ruthanne said:
I had the same problem about 15 years ago. I couldn't stand it any more. I called animal control and they went to the people's house and gave them ideas on how to treat the dog so it isn't barking all the time. So, calling them was successful. They are obviously neglecting this dog.
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I don't think they neglect it as much as ignore it when they're home. They don't care that it barks and that's the problem. They're inconsiderate neighbors.
 
I'm with Guitarist and Ruthanne....I would call animal control. I had a problem with a neighbor's several cats roaming the streets (cat lovers, don't get angry; if it was a dog, I would have done the same thing). The cats would come into our yard and taunt our indoor dogs...which started them barking and scratching at the window. Called animal control. The first call and warning from animal control didn't do any good...but the second one did. They fined the family. Never saw the cats again. I have no tolerance for irresponsible pet owners.
 
That's just plain irresponsible on their part. My dogs rarely bark at all inside or out. The only time they do is when neighbors put their Border Collie out for the day. He barks, they bark...I tell them to shut the &%$@ up and come inside and they do.
 
fureverywhere said:
That's just plain irresponsible on their part. My dogs rarely bark at all inside or out. The only time they do is when neighbors put their Border Collie out for the day. He barks, they bark...I tell them to shut the &%$@ up and come inside and they do.
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I think it's not only irresponsible, but also lazy and inconsiderate. The dog has an irritating bark that makes you crazy the longer it goes on. They could have put an end to this years ago with better discipline.
 
My son had barking dogs either side and to the back of him. He bought one of those ultra sonic bark avoider things - it didn't really work.

I have had a problem with a new neighbour who has two absolute yappers. If a leaf moved it would set them off.

I have a dog too, and each time we went out into the yard, the dogs would be at the fence - yapping.

My dog barked in reply and I told her to hush and come away.

After many months, my neighbours obviously heard me hushing my dog and almost started to do something themselves. Only while my dog and I were in the yard though. That consisted of yelling "shudup" at their dogs, which wasn't real effective.

The rest of the time they were totally oblivious. They yapped at 3am this morning, it went on for a good half hour and they did nothing - maybe they're deaf?

We have to have many complaints from many neighbours, who are required to keep "bark" diaries for a couple of months before our local inspectors will become involved.

Not easy to solve the problem, as many neighbours don't want to make bad relationships with other neighbours.
 
I had a neighbor with a retriever that barked day and night for no reason, very annoying. I never did complain to him though or call animal control. However, the neighbor on my other side was bothered by this dog, heard it beyond my yard and went there to complain. It didn't seem to make a difference.

The neighbor on the other side said she was going to call animal control and make a complaint, I think she did and he received a notice, but the barking never stopped. Luckily it didn't set my dogs off, they remained quiet. In my case I just tried to block it out.

I always corrected my dogs if they started to bark for no reason, and usually brought them inside. I actually used to set a recorder on sound activate when they were pups, so I could see if they were barking whether I left them in the house or yard when I was gone. Never chained or roped them, I can see why dogs bark when they're tethered like that.
 
Bobw235 said:
I don't think they neglect it as much as ignore it when they're home. They don't care that it barks and that's the problem. They're inconsiderate neighbors.
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Well, Bob, tying the dog outside and ignoring it IS neglecting it. The dog is barking for a reason, probably because it is ignored all the time. I would call Animal Control and let them take care of it; or, if you don't want to make a formal complaint, ask Animal Control for suggestions. A dog that barks all the time is a very unhappy dog -- probably starved for attention.
 
Is there anyone else on the street that is bothered by the barking? Having more than one person in on a complaint helps a lot I believe.

When I owned that house the people would allow their dog to bark at me whenever I went out in the yard. If the dog was barking at the other neighbor, they brought it in.
 
I have a neighbor with five big dogs that never shut up. I never talked to them about the dogs. They are always penned up in their backyard. I guess I have just gotten so use to it that unless I'm paying attention for some reason I don't even hear them anymore. This has been going on for about eight years now. Other neighbors have called the police but the dogs are barking as I type this.
 
I agree this is neglect and also cruelty. They are also very inconsiderate neighbors.

First, try talking to them. If they get defensive or if the problem persists, make a recording and call the police to make a formal complaint.

By the way, there is no anonymity, per se, regarding police calls. Police calls are recorded and they have sophisticated caller ID.
 
reflection4 said:
I agree this is neglect and also cruelty. They are also very inconsiderate neighbors.

First, try talking to them. If they get defensive or if the problem persists, make a recording and call the police to make a formal complaint.

By the way, there is no anonymity, per se, regarding police calls. Police calls are recorded and they have sophisticated caller ID.
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I think this makes sense. I'll start recording each episode so I have evidence to present if it comes to that. I don't want a problem with these folks, but like I said, it's to the point where we can't open our windows if the dog is outside.
 
Here we have an Animal Control officer who will take your report and talk to the dog owners. They do not tell them who/which neighbor called in the complaint. I have a neighbor with dogs who is still upset with the guy across the street who she thinks called in a complaint on her several years ago.
 
Bob, be sure you're calling the right entity. Here, it wouldn't do any good to call the police. You'd have to call animal control. I'd check with them informally before I went to a lot of trouble recording the barking. I don't know how you'd ever prove it was that particular dog barking, anyway, so I don't know how that barking tape would "stand up". Call Animal Control and ask them what they need.
 
Butterfly said:
Bob, be sure you're calling the right entity. Here, it wouldn't do any good to call the police. You'd have to call animal control. I'd check with them informally before I went to a lot of trouble recording the barking. I don't know how you'd ever prove it was that particular dog barking, anyway, so I don't know how that barking tape would "stand up". Call Animal Control and ask them what they need.
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Yes, I think you're right about that. I'll call them first just to inquire.
 
Bobw235 said:
I don't think they neglect it as much as ignore it when they're home. They don't care that it barks and that's the problem. They're inconsiderate neighbors.
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Ignoring the dog is a way of neglecting it. The dog may want to go inside and they keep it outside. They are inconsiderate of neighbors and the dog.
 
Hi, Bob;
I looked up the breed, miniature dachshund. They are extremely aggressive little dogs, known for their loud barking. But I guess you know that already.
 

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