What is your pet peeve of the day? -- 2021

[Jerry1]

DW tells a story of how her dad had dogs and when they’d bark at night, they sprayed them with water. Apparently, they rigged up a hose pointed at the dog lot and since the middle sister slept near the window, she had the job of opening the window, reaching out and turning on the faucet. No sound or motion activated valves back then. Either way, the dogs were not allowed to bark at night.

Re: the comments about talking to the neighbors directly. I wish that was a viable option, but in today’s world, I just don’t see any upside to doing that. I guess if you have some prior relationship with the neighbor and there’s a way to discuss it during a normal get together then there might be a chance. Unfortunately, inconsiderate dog owners are inconsiderate people. I can’t imagine what would happen if you knock on someone’s door, introduce yourself and commence to complaining about their dog. Has anyone ever seen that end well? To top it off, if you then have to take stronger measures you have no chance of being anonymous.

 

[folivier]

What about a different tactic? Go over to visit with the neighbor with doggie treats in your pocket. While visiting pet and play with the dogs and give them treats. Get to be their friends. Then possibly offer to walk the dogs or visit them with treats so they won't bark at you?
Of course this all depends on the neighbor being a reasonable person. Maybe he'll feel guilty if you come across as a nice guy?

 

[Aerides]

If you treat that first meet&greet as a pleasant non-confrontation, it can't hurt.

"Hi, I hate to bother, and you might not even be aware, but if maybe..." and perhaps ask to meet the dogs so you can at least greet them thru the fence and that would quiet them down when you are outside (or it won't, but if someone asked to meet my pet that would go a long way to making a relationship).

If that doesn't work, then you've tried! I see no point in jumping over a good faith attempt and going straight to official or punitive measures.

 

[ERD50]

If you treat that first meet&greet as a pleasant non-confrontation, it can't hurt. ...

I wouldn't be so certain. There are some weird people out there.

If you treat that first meet&greet as a pleasant non-confrontation, it can't hurt.

"Hi, I hate to bother, and you might not even be aware, but if maybe..." ...

That's almost the exact words I used when I approached a neighbor years ago about a similar noise/nuisance problem. I left it open like that, "you probably don't realize how that sound carries over to my yard and house...", so I wasn't directly attacking him or accusing or anything. It gave him an out. And it worked, the noise ended (I was still surprised!).

I (and other neighbors) knew this guy to be a bit of a PITA, but I also knew him well enough to not be worried about any retaliation. He may be a bit of a PITA, but he wasn't (too) crazy or aggressive.

You don't know that about this neighbor, I'd still be worried that even the friendliest approach could lead to retaliation.

Just the other day, we had our first incident after 3 months in our new home. We are adjacent to a public walkway. I was concerned, but so far everything was fine. People are courteous and friendly if you happen to be out near the edge of your property, otherwise they ignore you and focus on their walk/run, leashed dog-walk, or bike ride. Even the kids are no problem (and it's not that heavily used anyhow).

So yesterday some nasty woman and her friend have an unleashed dog (first I've seen), and they are encouraging it to run into people's yards and attack the rabbits, and I could hear a rabbit scream (that's an ugly sound), and they are cheering.

I told DW, DO NOT APPROACH them, I don't want an altercation with people like that and they would know where we live. That could turn ugly.

I'm hoping it's a one-off situation. Not sure what to do otherwise, I don't want to post to the local forums, people can figure out it's me. Not sure I can complain to police w/o having a record for these nasty people. Not sure if police would respond to an anonymous unleashed dog complaint (I checked, we do have leash laws).

-ERD50

 

[mountainsoft]

If you treat that first meet & greet as a pleasant non-confrontation, it can't hurt.

We live in a rural area and are unlikely to meet our neighbor in person. They live in a gated community that just happens to back up to our property on the other side. They were the last property to be sold and despite having 5 acres to build on, setback rules meant they had to build their house practically right on our property line.

We have a forested buffer between us, albeit much smaller now thanks to their home location. The trees hide most of their place (at least in summer), and we built a fence to regain our privacy visually. Unfortunately, their dog lives in their back yard which, of course, backs up to our property. It's still probably 30 feet from the property line and another 50-75 feet to our house, but the sound really carries. It would take an adventurous scramble through the brush just to get down to the property line. And thanks to the gated community, I can't visit at the official front door.

The whole reason most people live up here is for the privacy, peace, and quiet. In 30 years I've only met two neighbors from the surrounding area and we rarely have contact.

My fear is that I would contact them and they would either respond with attitude or do something to make it worse. Then if I called animal control they would know it was me who complained. They contacted me when they were first moving in and seemed nice enough. I welcomed them to the mountain. But you just never know how people will respond.

To complicate matters the barking is inconsistent. The dog will bark for days on end, then nothing for 2-3 days. Then it will start up again. I just know if I made an official complaint it would be followed with a silent stretch. The county web site says the noise has to be consistent for 10 minutes, or intermittent more than 30 minutes. Both are true... Depending on the day...

 

[folivier]

Well you could always take up playing a tuba. Or other obnoxious noise, played during the late night or early morning hours while they're sleeping. If they call you out on it just tell them it's to drown out their dog's barking. Plenty of ways to play the game if you want to.

 

[REWahoo]

Well you could always take up playing a tuba.

Maybe go with amplified bagpipes, with an outdoor speaker positioned on your back fence pointed towards their property.

Just a suggestion.

Edit: I wonder how long it would take you to learn to play "Amazing Grace"?

 

[GalaxyBoy]

To complicate matters the barking is inconsistent. The dog will bark for days on end, then nothing for 2-3 days. Then it will start up again. I just know if I made an official complaint it would be followed with a silent stretch. The county web site says the noise has to be consistent for 10 minutes, or intermittent more than 30 minutes. Both are true... Depending on the day...

This has been my experience as well. The county sends someone out, he listens for ten seconds, hears nothing and drives off. Can’t really blame them, I suppose. Whenever I’ve complained directly to an owner I’m always told I’m the jerk, and “dawgs just bark.”

We bought a house years ago and were extremely careful about evidence of outdoor dogs next door. We had peace and quiet but within a year the neighbor on each side sold to dog owners.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Maybe go with amplified bagpipes, with an outdoor speaker positioned on your back fence pointed towards their property.

Just a suggestion.

Edit: I wonder how long it would take you to learn to play "Amazing Grace"?

OMG that’s awesome! I should have it in the truck to blast back at cars blasting crap at stoplights.

 

[Winemaker]

You are dog gone right that people are weird. Last year I had a vacancy at one of my 2 story townhouse style apartments. I have a no pet policy especially if the unit has brand new carpet and fresh paint. An older women called and asked about my pet policy and after discussing it over the phone, she told me hers was a therapy dog to keep her calm, and she was willing to pay 25% more in rent. So after I agree to show it to her and a friend, she showed up with no dog. She wanted the unit badly, as it was in tip top shape. When I asked about her precious therapy dog, she had said that as soon as she signed the lease, she was going to go to the PetSmart nearby, to buy one.

I politely declined her on the spot.

 

[mountainsoft]

Maybe go with amplified bagpipes

Actually, we used to have another neighbor behind us who would occasionally play a bagpipe outside. It was only a few evenings each summer, but we would often sit outside and listen to the free concert. It actually sounded amazing echoing across the hill. This went on for a couple of years.

Eventually they moved indoors and it was a lot harder to hear. Then at some point they just quit playing. We never knew who was playing, or why they stopped. We actually miss hearing them...

Then there was the neighbor to the east of us who used to enjoy detonating explosives. Multiple times I would see a flash and the boom would shake the house. Thankfully, they divorced and he no longer lives there.

Unfortunately, we also have a rock quarry on the other side of the hill that occasionally blasts for rock. We can't hear the explosion, but it shakes our house. Kind of like a mini earthquake.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Contractors who come to your house to evaluate the work, promise a quote by the end of the week, and are never heard from again. I’ve had this happen twice in the last month - one for carpeting and luxury vinyl flooring, and another for repairing some erosion where the gutter clogged up. I called the carpet guy two weeks ago and he said “he’s been busy.” The landscaper just ignored my attempts to contact him. Why do these people bother to spend time looking at a job then ignore me? At least send me a text telling me to forget it.

Grrr…

 

[freedomatlast]

So yesterday some nasty woman and her friend have an unleashed dog (first I've seen), and they are encouraging it to run into people's yards and attack the rabbits, and I could hear a rabbit scream (that's an ugly sound), and they are cheering.

Not sure what to do otherwise, I don't want to post to the local forums, people can figure out it's me. Not sure I can complain to police w/o having a record for these nasty people. Not sure if police would respond to an anonymous unleashed dog complaint (I checked, we do have leash laws).

-ERD50

I'd pretend I'm checking email on my phone and snap a picture of them to document the incident. If it happens again and again, submit the pictures to the proper authorities and see if anything happens.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Contractors who come to your house to evaluate the work, promise a quote by the end of the week, and are never heard from again. I’ve had this happen twice in the last month - one for carpeting and luxury vinyl flooring, and another for repairing some erosion where the gutter clogged up. I called the carpet guy two weeks ago and he said “he’s been busy.” The landscaper just ignored my attempts to contact him. Why do these people bother to spend time looking at a job then ignore me? At least send me a text telling me to forget it.

Grrr…

I am with you on this. I am looking for a contractor to do some yardwork and it's almost impossible to actually get someone to come out. As soon as I see someone on the local FB page offer their services, I will reach out but only about 25% of them respond and NONE of them actually come out. It's really annoying.

 

[travelover]

........Why do these people bother to spend time looking at a job then ignore me? At least send me a text telling me to forget it.

Grrr…

My theory is that a lot of people are in business for themselves because they got tired of being fired for non-performance.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Not really a peeve…

Went to Barnes & Noble today just to get out of the house and found a magazine. At checkout the clerk asked if I would help them go paperless and forego a bag. “Sure!” I said, thinking that they would email the receipt or I would just decline one, as he slipped a foot-long receipt, a coupon and a sales flyer between the pages and handed it to me with a smile. “Thanks, but so much for paperless” I replied.

 

[Aerides]

Not really a peeve…

Went to Barnes & Noble today just to get out of the house and found a magazine. At checkout the clerk asked if I would help them go paperless and forego a bag....

You missed an opportunity to say: "Sir, can I tell you what books are made of?"

 

[youbet]

Barking Dogs!

Our new neighbor has a dog that barks all freaking day. If we have our windows open at night it wakes me up in the morning. If I go out in the yard, the stupid thing barks every time I make a sound. We used to have deer in our yard frequently but they hardly come around anymore since the barking dog moved in. We even have to turn up the TV when watching a movie to drown out the barking dog.

A barking dog would have to drive the owners crazy too, so I'm guessing it's their idea of security when they are gone. Every time I hear the dog barking I think "Oh, I guess the neighbors aren't home".

We built a fence to block their house from our view, but there's not much we can do to block the noise. So much for peace and quiet living in the country.

Several of our neighbors also have dogs but we rarely hear them. Sure there's an occasional bark, but not all day long like the new neighbors.

I related this incident here on the forum many years ago, but I'll repeat since it ties into your woes well.

We own the fence that separates our yard from the neighbors behind us. There is a gate because the neighbor at the time we had the fence installed had kids our son's age and that allowed them to get together to play without climbing a fence, etc.

Then we got new neighbors who had no kids, only a barking dog, so I locked the gate. The dog barked and barked and barked and barked and then barked some more. One evening I went down and unlocked the gate and opened it. When the neighbors let Mr. Undisciplined Barking Dog (or whatever its name was) out to do his duty the next morning, he ran through the open gate. Other than "lost dog posters" hanging around the neighborhood, no hint of the dog after that.

Now we have another set of new neighbors and they have several dogs including a beagle, a boxer and a mutt. They are kept relatively quiet in the now well kept yard. It can be done.

 

[crule42]

How everything these days is "unprecedented". As if bad things haven't happened before.


Sheesh...

 

[Gumby]

How everything these days is "unprecedented". As if bad things haven't happened before.


Sheesh...

Sometimes it is an apt descriptor. Your posting on the "pet peeves" thread is unprecedented, as you've never done it before.

 

[John Galt III]

Annoying advertising. I was at my usual free outdoor concert, and noticed they had a big TV screen ( about 9 feet wide and 8 feet tall) right next to the stage, blasting silent commercials all the time the band and singer were trying to get everyone concentrating on the music. I complained to an usher about it, noting that I thought it was disrespectful of the performer mostly, and secondarily to the audience. The usher acted as though I were in the wrong. "We need our sponsors", she said. The ushers walk around taking up a collection during every show. I'm not sure who is funding the free concerts. Maybe some tax money is used. Maybe all private. Yes, it is a free concert, and I appreciate it being free, but I just think the glaring ads for Hospital X Health Center flashing at you really wrecks the atmosphere of what otherwise would be a great show by talented artists. Are we just supposed to block out the ads from our consciousness somehow?

 

[youbet]

Annoying advertising. I was at my usual free outdoor concert, and noticed they had a big TV screen ( about 9 feet wide and 8 feet tall) right next to the stage, blasting silent commercials all the time the band and singer were trying to get everyone concentrating on the music. I complained to an usher about it, noting that I thought it was disrespectful of the performer mostly, and secondarily to the audience. The usher acted as though I were in the wrong. "We need our sponsors", she said. The ushers walk around taking up a collection during every show. I'm not sure who is funding the free concerts. Maybe some tax money is used. Maybe all private. Yes, it is a free concert, and I appreciate it being free, but I just think the glaring ads for Hospital X Health Center flashing at you really wrecks the atmosphere of what otherwise would be a great show by talented artists. Are we just supposed to block out the ads from our consciousness somehow?

The fix here is pretty simple. Offer to buy the advertising time yourself (or team up with a few other fans) and just leave the TV monitor off.

 

[RunningBum]

Like lunch, maybe there's no such thing as a free concert?

 

[tmm99]

I called a nearby vitamin shop to confirm the price of an item. There was a sale going on for at least some of the products on this product line (per their online flyer) but I couldn't tell from the ad if the sale prices applied to the whole product line or just the selected items that were listed on the flyer. And the conversation went like this.

Me "Do you carry ABC?
Store "Yes."
Me "How much is it?"
Store "It is $39."
Me "I saw an ad for this product line, but the sale doesn't apply to this particular supplement then?"
Store "Oh, you didn't tell me you were coming right now to buy. If you buy by September 15th, it's $35."

I was thinking, "Wait, so if I told you I was coming right away, you would have told me the sale price??" Mind you, the sale won't end for another 2 weeks.

I actually told her how to answer a question like mine, which made me a pain-in-the-a*s customer, but I just couldn't help myself...

 

[John Galt III]

The fix here is pretty simple. Offer to buy the advertising time yourself (or team up with a few other fans) and just leave the TV monitor off.

Not exactly a free concert at that point, though, is it?