What can I do about my next door neighbours barking dogs?

Question

A new neighbour moved in next door 10 months ago. She has 3 silky terriors, and one in particular barks ALL the time. Sometimes it has barked for 3 hours straight. I have approached her and told her the dogs are causing a nuicence. I have rung the local council, who went to see her, but nothing has stopped the dog from barking. The dogs are fine when someone is home, but when she goes out, the barking starts and doesnt stop until she gets home. If she goes out at night, I can be woken at any time because of the barking. I cannot have my windows open because if I move around in my kitchen, the dog goes off. I am getting very angry and it is destroying my peace. I cannot afford to move, and apart from killing the dog, which I couldnt do.....what can I do? This is very serious for me and would appreciate some serious answers.

Answer 1

I would write your neighbor a letter. That way you have documentation of the attempts you have made to rectify this situation previously. Be sure to clearly review the things you have done previously -- and attach dates.

In that letter you also need to tell your neighbor the problems this is causing you -- in very clear and specific terms.

You need to tell your neighbor that she has two weeks to solve the problem. She has a number of things she can do -- from training the dog to actually having the dogs vocal chords snipped so it cannot make noise when it barks. That sounds inhumane -- but dog trainers of show dogs do this all the time....and it isn't that inexpensive. Lacking some choice that actually solves the problem, she will need to either move herself or get rid of the dog.

If she does nothing, you need to contact your local Humane Society. It is inhumane to you to keep you up at all hours while these dogs bark and keep you up. They will agree with you on this -- esepcially if you demonstrate that you have tried to work this out between you and the dog owner.

The local authorities -- police -- will cite her for disturbing the peace and then she will be looking at a fine and court costs.

I've got a feeling that if you write this letter nicely and simply ask that she understand the position you have been put in, I believe you'll see some positive results.

Good question.

Hope this helps.


Good luck.

Answer 2

This is a tricky situation. You can call her if you have her cell when she is out, and say -- Your dog must be injured, it won't stop barking. If it is the middle of the night, you still have to act concerned about the dog -- and if she says she is busy/sleeping/whatever, say -- yes, I was busy, too, but they dog is so distracting that I can no longer work/sleep/hear myself think. It must be really suffering. Should I call animal control?"

Document, document, document. Record it if possible, so that if it ends up a police matter, you can play the tape.

But remember: you are really concerned about the dog, and you are a good neighbor. Some other neighbor will be pissed off enough to poison the dog, but you can demonstrate it wasn't you, because you always called her to let her know that something is wrong.

Answer 3

Well I have several schools of thought on your delima. the first one is to call a dog catcher or the police when this is happening and after having to bail the dog out she will stop doing that.

The next one is to record the dog barking on video tape to show the time and date and noise level and to post her a registered copy of the tape and a note that says, "This is what i have to put up with". See if that helps. If not you can keep feeding the dog all day long and eventually it will be so full it can't bark or it will explode.

Answer 4

suggest to the owner that she get a bark collar for her dog. They have some that spray citronella in the dogs face rather than a shock collar. You can report her to the local animal control, and if there are at least 3 complains filed, you and the neighbor will be called in for a court trial to discuss what needs to be done about the dog. She could possibly have it taken away from her.

Answer 5

This is an annoying aspect of living in the city - I feel your pain. Maybe try recording the dog barking on tape or video & play it back loudly with the speakers pointed toward your neighbor. Or, just give them a copy. Be consistant, do this everytime it happens - annoy your neighbor as much as the dogs annoy you.

If nothing else, earplugs & soundproof walls (send the neighbor the bill).

Answer 6

You are going to have to tell the neighbor as nicely as possible what you have told us. You might suggest that you love animals and want them to be loved however you too deserve some peace. There are dog collars that deter barking as well as surgery in extreme cases. If the neighbor wants to be a good neighbor and responsible pet owner she needs to deal with the problem straight away.

Answer 7

Try to talk to the neighbor again. And tell her about some options if she doesn't stop the barking after that. And if they still bark, call somebody, or try to get the dogs to respect you so they will listen to you.

Answer 8

because, you have already spoken to your neighbor, and because I have gone through a dog disturbance issue myself, the only thing that I can think to do, is to call the police, when the incidents are occuring; each and every time, the incidents are occuring, and maybe they will get sick of you calling and do something about it. I also believe you can file a motion to stop the disturbance, or something similiar, within the courst system, but call your states legal aide to get free council about this issue. they are very helpful, and usually very understanding about such issues. good luck, peace, and many blessings

Answer 9

Every time the dog wakes you in the middle of the night call the law and report them for disturbing the piece and maybe that will get the owners attention.

Answer 10

When you get a good solution that works, let us know, have the same problem, on both sides of me, one neighbor has 3 dogs.