Need Help: Neighbor Dog Problem

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katsmeow So sometimes you have to be a little patient and allow the homeowner/tenant time to figure out and solve the problem.

I think most of the problems being discussed here involve dogs that bark incessantly owned by peopole who fail to take complaints seriously. In my case, the dog came to the back fence and barked at us whenever we were enjoying our patio or screenhouse. It could go on for hours. The dog was only about 70 ft from us and was LOUD.

If it had been a matter of the dog coming to the fence and barking for 5 - 10 mins when we first came outside, we could have easily tolerated the annoyance. But this dog had great stamina and went on endlessly.

I recall one otherwise quiet summer evening when we were playing bridge with another couple at the table in the screenhouse. The barking eventually caused us to give up and move inside. It was just over the top annoying........

I've never regretted the actions I took.

[wildcat]

Personally, I see a lot of good dogs that don't get needed exercise and that makes them act up a lot. Unfortunately, getting the dog exercise is the owner's solution (and they seem ok with the constant barking ) unless you can rig a walker device to you and the DW's bike. A tired dog is a well behaved dog.

[Martha]

Our wiener dogs were barkers, unlike my previous dogs. I reduced their barking considerably with two strategies. One was to teach the dog to bark on command ("speak" or "bark"). You then taught it to stop on command ("quiet") by rewarding the dog when the dog stopped barking. You can't really teach this while the dog's arousal level is too high, like it is barking at a stranger. You have to teach it by stimulating the bark yourself, maybe by teasing the dog with a toy that the dog can't get.

The other thing I did with my female who really barked a lot as a pup is that I taught her to make other vocalizations in lieu of barking when she wanted something. I listened for alternative vocalizations (with her, it was sort of a harrumpth noise) are rewarded them. I also put it on a command ("talk to me"). It allowed her to use her voice but have it be much quieter. For most of her life she would then harrumph when she wanted to go outside or get fed or whatever.

Oddly, now that she is deaf she is barking more again.

FWIW. Frankly, these were not easy to teach and had to be periodically retaught. But these dogs were not the brightest bulbs. I am sure that a smart dog could be taught these behaviors relatively quickly.

[TromboneAl]

Barking woke me at 1 AM, awake until 2:30, awakened by more barking and car leaving house at 3 AM, asleep at 4, more barking at 5:15, awake for good. Had windows closed and earplugs in.

Until this is resolved, we'll move from our nice remodeled master bedroom with cross ventilation to our small guest room that is close to the street.

The woman is an obese chain smoker who still has her bathrobe on at 4 PM (observations, not judgment). I'm guessing that dog training is not within her abilities (this is judgment).

[calmloki]

You've notified the property owner - as landlords they are not going to like having tenants that flout the rental regs. They are not going to like the smoke damage in the house either. You have the right to the peaceful enjoyment of your property. Time to start calling the cops when the dogs are bugging you. A few cop visits after dark will have an effect. Will also give the landlord a bit of ammunition (police record of dog visit - dogs not allowed by rental contract). Police report attached to an eviction notice is handy - or I always thought so. Not going to be a comfortable couple months. Maybe you could go with the "incite the eviction in May and go away" plan.

[Pete]

I always like knowing I have the law on my side. Example-My town has a muni code that states all dogs must be inside a closed structure like a house or garage from 10 pm to 7 am. with a hefty fine for violation. I like making copies and mailing them anonomously to those involved. A citation from the police or code enforcement usually works pretty good.

[Katsmeow]

Quote:

My town has a muni code that states all dogs must be inside a closed structure like a house or garage from 10 pm to 7 am. with a hefty fine for violation.

So if my dog needed to go potty during those hours I couldn't take him outside to do it? Yikes!

[freebird5825]

I have 2 dogs, and yes they bark. However, the instant I hear them barking when I let them out for a break, I call them back into the house and give the "No Speak" command. They are NEVER left unattended in my fenced in yard.

My neighbor, OTOH, has a mini type dog that yaps constantly. I have never heard them correct the dog for barking. I know they have heard me call back and correct mine because I see the neighbors out in their yard, with their dog still yapping like crazy.

Soooooo...if my dogs bark at their dog, I let it go on for just about 10 minutes (strength in numbers on my side) and lo and behold, they call their dog in. Amazing!

My advice is to fight fire with fire. Got any opera music* and a well placed outdoor speaker on hand?

* I love opera music personally.

[Tesaje]

Then there's my neighbor who has yappy small dogs they don't correct but complain constantly about another neighbor's bigger dogs who bark occasionally but never for any length of time or at night. And we each have at least an acre. Some people are just obnoxious and go out of their way to be nasty. But they can do what they like and the rest of us are supposed to kowtow to them. Not!

[TromboneAl]

Two problems that I have is that I'm in the country -- an unincorporated area of the county. I doubt that there are any noise ordinances, but I'll look into it. Second, the dogs don't bark for a long time. They just bark furiously for a few minutes, and then stop. I don't know whether they bark when she lets them out or what. If I could go right back to sleep, I'd almost tolerate it.

[TromboneAl]

Just talked with the landlord again. He'd called but the tenant hadn't called back. So he's going to pay her a visit today. I explained that I'll go to any lengths to get it solved.

He said he'd take care of it, and "they just can't have the dogs."

[haha]

I think it is hilarious that some people here complain about condo living, where very occasionally one might hear another human make some small or at times even pleasant noise.

I think the dog and dog-owner behavior described in the two current threads is abominable and the dogs belong euthanized by animal control. I say this as a former dog owner from childhood until only a few years ago.

People get very seriously injured or even killed by dogs, as well as having their lives disrupted by threatening or nerve wracking behavors.

As to becoming a dog psychologist, I don't think that is part of the human compact to live in civilized society. Should we also become crocodile psychologists, ocelot psychologists, boa constrictor psychologists? Should people's saddle horses be allowed to run around in the suburbs?

Ha

[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete I always like knowing I have the law on my side. Example-My town has a muni code that states all dogs must be inside a closed structure like a house or garage from 10 pm to 7 am. with a hefty fine for violation.

That's pretty draconian. I hope it's only intended to prevent someone from leaving their dog out unattended all night, and not (say) someone who needs to take their dogs out at 1 AM for "bodily business" or someone who goes outside with their dog for a period of time in those hours. Many dogs don't bark outside when "their people" are out with them.

[Tesaje]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl Two problems that I have is that I'm in the country -- an unincorporated area of the county. I doubt that there are any noise ordinances, but I'll look into it. Second, the dogs don't bark for a long time. They just bark furiously for a few minutes, and then stop. I don't know whether they bark when she lets them out or what. If I could go right back to sleep, I'd almost tolerate it. Do you think that zoning would not allow the landlord to rent a house that was built without a permit? Would they allow him to rent the main house even with the illegal MIL unit?

That stuff varies widely from place to place so you just have to see what your county laws are. You can keep complaining to the landlord and/or to the county. Some places grandfather that stuff, others might condemn the property.

They probably are barking when they go out. Typical dog thing to announce to the world that they are entering the territory and on duty. It's hard to change a neighbor's dog. I train my animals (including cats) to be quiet & leave me alone when I'm in bed. I never let them get a payoff for that behavior so they quickly learn to control themselves. Hard to someone else to train their dogs - like trying to get them to not raise brats.

If my sleep is compromised by noise, the ultimate solution is sound deadening my bedrooms. Triple pane windows, double wallboard & the like. We live in a noisy world.

[kyounge1956]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha I think it is hilarious that some people here complain about condo living, where very occasionally one might hear another human make some small or at times even pleasant noise.

It is not only small or pleasant noises. I have in the past shared a common wall with people who play music with loud thudding bass late at night. Nothing I could do on my side of the wall could get rid of the monotonous thump thump thump. Once when I lived in a small house in dense urban area I was actually driven out of my house by neighbors having a party that went on and on when I needed to get some sleep and be up and about early the next morning. I think I finally called the police about 2 AM but the music was back to the same volume before the police got to the end of the block on their way out. They should have confiscated the stereo as evidence IMO. I finally went to my parents' house and slept on their sofa.

Quote:

I think the dog and dog-owner behavior described in the two current threads is abominable and the dogs belong euthanized by animal control. I say this as a former dog owner from childhood until only a few years ago. People get very seriously injured or even killed by dogs, as well as having their lives disrupted by threatening or nerve wracking behavors. As to becoming a dog psychologist, I don't think that is part of the human compact to live in civilized society. Should we also become crocodile psychologists, ocelot psychologists, boa constrictor psychologists? Should people's saddle horses be allowed to run around in the suburbs? Ha

The problem is the dog can be disruptive while still on its owner's property. I would have no qualms whatsoever about asking animal control to pick up a dog that was threatening me on my own property or a public roadway. I don't know what to suggest to T-Al. It seems draconian to punish the dog when it's the owner who is irresponsible. In this case, engineering an eviction seems like a proportionate response to me, and hopefully the next time the dogs and their owners will end up next to someone who either doesn't mind the barking or has an adequate sound buffer. And that brings me to my question, which I hope isn't too far OT—how much of a buffer distance is needed between houses so noises on the adjoining property don't reach one's own dwelling? I'm going to be looking for a piece of rural or small-town property when I retire and I don't want to be vulnerable to being driven out by obnoxious noisy neighbors moving in next door when I'm 75!

[TromboneAl]

Quote:

how much of a buffer distance is needed between houses

I'd say "more than you think." There's a house that is seven houses away that used to have a barking dog. That was a dog that would bark for hours on end, and it was a problem. The sound was somehow funneled right down to our house.

My sister lives on 30 acres. After she'd lived there a while, someone put in a rodeo arena with amplified sound that destroys the peacefulness on some days.

[Sue J]

Al, that's awful that you're being kept up during the night.

We had cranky elderly neighbors who died off a few years ago. They had a tiny, yappy dog that they always kept indoors. Poor thing had to go on paper in the hallway because they didn't want their lawn to get dirty. I'm not kidding.

After they died another elderly woman bought the house and she rents it to her granddaughter and her boyfriend. They can't really afford the rent so they have another couple sharing the house with them. Plenty of activity with cars coming and going, parties in the summer, stuff left out in the backyard. Typical 20-something renters. The extra couple have a beautiful dog and for all the stuff they have going on over there they are very responsible about the dog. The yard is fenced and they let the dog out to play and the dog is not a problem at all. I enjoy watching her as she seems very intelligent, curious and well behaved. If someone isn't outside with her they are inside near a window and check on her often.

This neighbor is on the side of the house next to our garage. I'd hear it if the dog was barking but it's on the opposite side from our bedrooms.

I hope you can get this resolved. And SOON. Going through the landlord seems to be the way to go since dogs are not allowed.

[thefed]

any updates on the landlord visit?

[Pete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ziggy29 That's pretty draconian. I hope it's only intended to prevent someone from leaving their dog out unattended all night, and not (say) someone who needs to take their dogs out at 1 AM for "bodily business" or someone who goes outside with their dog for a period of time in those hours. Many dogs don't bark outside when "their people" are out with them.

It basically goes unenforced unless there is a complaint about dog noise. I must say I love this "draconian" stuff. We have a Nazi like code enforcement team that keep my city clean, orderly, peaceful and high priced in the sea of overcrowding that is Southern California.

[TromboneAl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thefed any updates on the landlord visit?

Not yet. We've been sleeping in the small guest room on the other side of the house with windows closed and earplugs in, so I don't know if things have changed. I'll keep you posted.