My neighbor is calling the cops for our dogs barking.?

Question

My neighbor is calling the cops on us for our dogs barking. They only bark at people they don't know.Thats not very often. They also bark at other dogs in the nieghborhood that bark constant. I will admit sometimes they get to barking to mutch so we calm them down immediatly. But he never calls the cops on any of the others around. Can we take legal action for harrasing my wife? You see i'm in the military and my wife is home with our daughter alot by them selves, like now. I am currently in Iraq/ Kuwait. We have the dogs for their protection, and companionship.

Answer 1

The police can not do anything except issue a ticket and fine but usually they do not. The barking must be incessant and must exceed 20 minutes (this varies by state). If your wife goes outside with the dogs it may keep them quieter. There must be some problem with the neighbor perhaps having a polite conversation with him and coming to some sort of compromise may help resolve the situation.

Answer 2

This might seem silly to you but WHY are the dogs left outside so long? If people are complaining it has to be because the dogs bark a lot. Why don't the dogs go outside to go to the bathroom, play, etc. and then go back in the house?

How do you know the guy has not called the cops on anyone else. How do you know the dogs are calmed down or whatever if you are not there to witness it? The guy cannot be charged with harassing your wife if your dogs are causing a disturbance.
Every town, city, whatever has laws regarding barking dogs. It is disturbing the peace.

You are not getting the whole story and if the dogs are outside that much, they should not be. Dogs are pets not a cow you put out in the pasture...

Answer 3

I'd work on training the dogs before I'd work on legal action against a neighbor. Often the SPCA has a free behaviorist you can call for help on dog training. You'll be happier (and your neighbor will be happier) if your dogs only bark when there is "real" threat... A great start is to not keep "yard dogs".. dogs kept in the yard bark out of boredom. If the dog is outside (even in a fenced in area) they should be supervised. If they're supervised, they likely won't be constantly barking as you can intervene if/when they start and train them.

You wife and daughter and the dog might find dog training classes to be a great bonding experience for the lot of them. A well trained dog is a joy - not only for campanionship but also for protection. Perhaps chanel some of the anxiety that's causing the dog to bark into agility training and/or fly ball training - something the family can do together. At the end of the day the neighbor might find him/herself impressed and not agitated by a barking dog!

Answer 4

If the dogs are for protection and companionship what are they doing outside?
Seriously.How are the dogs to protect your wife and child from a burglar who comes thru the front door when the dogs are stuck in the yard out back?And don't tell me they're either in a kennel or on a chain.
The dogs barking so much has desensitized your wifes ears by now so if they WERE barking at an intruder she'd ignore them anyway.
Dogs are social creatures.They belong in the house with the family where they can do their job instead of outside annoying your neighbors.

Answer 5

I'm not sure about the legal stuff, but if the barking is bothering both them and you, perhaps an electronic bark collar is the way for you to go. I had to dogs that barked for the fun of it quite often, once they are trained on the collars they will still bark if neessary, but not with reckless abandon as they had in the past. it might be worth looking into if your neighbor is ready to call the authorities, better a bark collar on a dog than no dog at all.

Answer 6

Its obviously enough barking for them to be upset. My dogs will bark if someone walks by the yard and after one bark i tell them to be quiet immediatly. I hate when the neighbors dogs bark but I understand they are dogs. Ask your wife since she is home all the time to tell them to stop right away.

Answer 7

I would keep the dogs in as much as possible, i went through this with my dogs, i hate to tell you this but your neighbor has the upper hand here, They could fine you or take you dogs if the problem isn't revoved. The best thing to do is talk to your neighbor and agree on times of the day that won"t bother your neighbor to let the dogs out.

Answer 8

I think the authorities will understand unless the barking is going on during the night when people are sleeping. I hope your neighbors aren't really cruel, and the dogs are getting on their nerves so bad that they would do something stupid, like poison your dogs. Some people are ignorant like that you know!!

Answer 9

Sounds like you have horrible neighbours... I believe there is a collar of some sort that has a box on it, when the dog barks it gives out an uncomfortable feeling. Dogs are smart and can soon learn to relate it to not barking. The other options are - Move house or shoot him, (Just kidding on the shooting but some people are so mean)

Answer 10

This is actually going to be a civil issue between you and your neighbors. There is nothing criminal going on here. You may need to check with all of your local ordinances ref. Public Nusance and Noise. As far as harassment, there isn't any harassment going on unless they have contacted her directly and made some sort or threats.