how to deal with nuisance neighbours?

Question

our neighbours,have dogs that never stop barking we have tried all the legal routes,council police,speaking to them all we want to do is live in peace,our little boy is scared of the dogs and cant play on the garden,even though we have a 6 ft fence,the barking scares him,and we cant afford to move house prices are too exspensive,any ideas how we deal with this please,thank you.

Answer 1

Throw some meat over the fence with rat poison in it.

Answer 2

Do you have a code enforcement officer for your area. You are suppose to be able to enjoy your property in peace. This is something you can not let up on. If they are truly a nuisance it might take a lawyer to get some action on this. Sometimes police just don't want to bother. Contact your local SPCA and see what they can advise you to do. Get letters from your other neighbor's if possible stating their experience with these dogs. We went through the same thing here and it was over 2 years before it was ever resolved. The neighbors got rid of their dogs and after the court case was settled....what did they do.....get another dog. If they didn't ignore it, we probably wouldn't even hear it. Your peaceful use of your property should over ride any barking dog however with the right persistance on your part.

Answer 3

OK well i don't believe the Council wont do anything its just these things take time to be looked into as there are alot of legal channels the Council have to follow. The best thing you could do now is speak with Environmental Health within your local Council and log a noise complaint they will send your neighbor a generic letter saying someone has complained about the noise but it wont name you, You will also be given some diary sheets to keep track of the noise- this can be anything music, shouting, banging around anything. after you have filled in the diary sheets for a few weeks an Environmental officer will come and listen to the noise it could eventually lead to them ceasing music equipment or if it is a Council flat even eviction. Now the weed issue can only be resolved by the police if you tell them your suspicion they will raid there flat. Your furniture well if you call the police about that they will know it was you so sounds to me like it might be easier to ignore that for the time being.

Answer 4

the council can help make records of time date and how long the noise goes on for record the noise if possible, the council should send out a person with special equipment who will determine if the noise is over a certain legal decibal that then becomes a nucence, the other avenue is how long are the animals left in the open? do they have a suitable shelter against the weather?(they have to by law) what sort of dogs are they?(licences needed) would they attack a child if they escaped? phone the rspca

Answer 5

They make those anti-bark noise emitters that you can put on the outside of your house, so that when it picks up a dogs bark, it will emit the noise (either a high-pitch audible noise, or one that only dogs can hear). They get mixed reviews as to whether or not they work, but I would imagine your neighbors would get irritated when every time their dog barked, they had to listen to a high pitch noise. Might get them to get their dogs to be more quiet.

Also, keep an eye on the dogs water bowl - make note/take pictures if it is ever out of water as it can be a case of animal neglect in that case, which is a crime in most places.

Good luck, I am going through the same problem with my neighbors now.

Answer 6

Do you have a noise ordinance in your town? If so, make sure you document each time you hear the dog barking, and for how long. Submit your complaint in person and request that the ordinance be enforced (probably the neighbor will be ticketed). If the police refuse to enforce the ordinance, I would ask for time at the next town council meeting to complain about lack of ordinance enforcement.

If there is no noise ordinance, I would request time at the next town council meeting and present a proposal that one be adopted. A petition with signature of people in support of the ordinance may be helpful.

Answer 7

Get other neighbors involved then they will see that it is more than one person being a pain in the ***. Good luck with this I have a dog across the street who is always barking but I can't really hear it inside the house so it doesn't bug me but I bet it irritates the hell out of some other neighbors.

Answer 8

If you have tried all legal routes, police, talking to them, then you have done all you can do in terms of changing THEIR actions. Now, all that is left is to change yours and your son's. Teach your little boy to not be afraid of the barking noises. That's really all that you can do.

Answer 9

Suggest that they get shock collars for their dogs. They are inexpensive and they give the dogs a "reminder" to stop barking as soon as they start. I also live next to nuisance neighbors with a barking dog. We can't even enjoy our own backyard because of their neglect. We are about to move so I'm not pursuing it any further, but I completely understand what your going through.

Answer 10

Well you could alway try the non legal routes.

When I lived in South Manchester I had the same problem had tried the council, Police, and Environmental Health all with no luck.

One night I just get fed up with the noise it had been going on From Friday night right through the weekend it was around 3:30 on Sunday night Monday morning and will still couldnt sleep and our son was up and had be go school the next day so i battered him

After that we had no trouble other than getting arrested but with all the complaints i had made to the police i only got a caution for violent disorder

Answer 11

Keep on to the environmental health. Phone every day. They have an emergency number you can call after 11pm and they will come out. They can't do anything but monitor the noise but it will be evidence against them. Go and speak to someone at the CAB too.