Cheeky Neighbour With Annoying Barking Dog?

Question

My elderly mother in law got a letter from her new neighour:

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
I UNDERSTAND IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAINTAIN THE FENCE BETWEEN OUR TWO PROPERTIES. AS I HAVE A LARGE DOG AND OBVIOUSLY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO STOP HIM STRAYING ONTO YOUR PROPERTY WOULD YOU PLEASE SEE TO IT THAT A FENCE IS ERECTED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Poor mum. Her fence blew down a month or so before that curse moved in. The previous occupant promised to fix the fence for her.

Well mum erected the fence at a cost of about eight hundred pounds. Now I am visiting and neighbour is making my blood boil. Her German Shepherd pup (9 months) is barking the whole time anyone steps out of the house. I cannot take my (trained and quiet) Belgian Shepherd for a wee because of the disturbance.

Makes me so angry that this person should bully my mum into erecting a fence just to keep a dog THAT SHE CANNOT CONTROL AND SHOULD NOT OWN under control.

Dog is battering the fence with her jumping. Eventually i>>>

eventually the dog will knock the fence over as its strong, but not designed to withsrtand constant abuse. I warned the new neighbour about this but dog is still out there running wild and battering against the fence.

Grr..

What do I do? Her awful kids keep bugging my dog to when I am trying to keep up with his training. Obviously mother has no idea about parenting or dog ownership. I tell the kids to stop calling my dog (I dont want him getting caught up in the other dogs misbehaviour) and now I try to ignore them all next door.

Makes me thankful for our own home, which we return to in a week.

Sheesh. Irresponsible dog owners. Why the feck did she have to get a German Shepherd?

Annoys me so much that this trash should write such a rude letter to my mother demanding a fence be erected. If I lived here I'd get the police involved right away. I can't understand why everyone else here puts up with the constant barking.

Answer 1

Unfortunately it is your mums responsibility to maintain her side of the fence. (Depending on position of her house etc.. i would suggest as big a fence as possible, if (and when) dog breaks the fence then get legal (CAB) advice about damage to property

As for the dog we have had the same here, what we have done is been round when the dog is barking and asked them to keep it quiet do this a couple of times (Keeping a diary times, dates, what was said etc..) then if it persists contact the council (which we did - surprisingly the RSPCA didnt want to know anything!!) and they will have to take your complaint seriously, they in turn will get the environmental health people round to measure if Decibels the noise of the dog and act accordingly usually with some sort of noise abatement order and if that fails they will take the dog owner to court.
Unfortunately this process takes ages, i would strongly suggest discussing it with the neighbours, and remember keep a diary of EVERY barking session and communication between you, your mum and them!

Answer 2

If the other dog owners dog damages the fence then they are liable and have to put right the damage.

The barking comes under Environmental health (Noise pollution).

If the dog strays on to your mums property then the owner can be sued for damage that it causes in the garden.

I would suggest that your mum seeks legal advice and uses every department in the council that she can, that's why she pays council tax... So tell her not to be a softy.

Additional...

Does your mum know how to use a mobile phone? If so, a Sony ericsson k750i like mine with a nice short cut to the "Voice recorder" will record the sounds and conversations that she has with her neighbour so that ther will be no way that the neighbour can deny a thing...

Answer 3

Tell your mum to keep the note and make a note of the date it wasd rec'd. As she has now renewed the fence, take photos with a time/date on them, to prove it was in good order and that she's complied with the neighbours request,then when the fence gets damaged she will have a better case for getting the neighbour to pay to put it right. The neighbour however, will probably say that it was your dog that caused any damage unless it is visibly 'damaged on her side'chewed and broken, rather than being knocked down - had this problem with my ex neighbour, who called round to tell me HER kids had damaged the fence and that she would get it fixed - she never did! They've moved now - not before time either! I

Answer 4

Wish I had a neighbor like that....I could really let my b*tchy side show :) If that dog strays onto mum's property, I'd be calling animal control-or whatever it is in your country. As for the yapping, I'd probably let my dog chase it, guarantee it'll shut up the next time. I really am an animal lover, I just hate jerky people like that and really believe they need to be put in their place.

She most likely won't have that dog very long. Once it grows up, and doesn't have the proper training, it'll either end up running loose biting someone or it'll be too much of a handful for her and she'll get rid of it.

Answer 5

Buy some laxative chocolate and when the dog is in the garden lob it over the fence make sure the neighbour doesn't see you. Do it every so often the dog might get the message that when he barks he gets the shits and the neighbour has to clean it up

Answer 6

Perhaps a valium in a yummy bite of hot dog (or blood sausage if you're across the pond) might chill the dog a bit??? Or if you have over-the-counter Tylenol Nighttime or Nyquil, you can use that too. Or how about some cheap vodka? Not much, just enough for the dog to pass out and wake up with a bruising hangover.

Answer 7

chuck a juicy steak over full of sleepers...don't worry the dog wont die in pain and with any luck the owner will eat it as well as/instead of the dog
I'd take the fence down,your mum is not obliged to put up a fence,only a boundary.Her neighbour is obliged to keep her 'stock' off her land and an injunction could be taken out to control this animal(and their dog)
First try a civilised meeting to talk this problem over with next door(this will be a definite plus if and when things get worse)
Good luck

Answer 8

Does the German Shepherd ever get let out without accompaniement?

I would arrange for it to take a little car ride to somewhere at least 50 miles away - drop it in at the local dog rescue/police station & just mention you spotted it wandering.

As for the fence - damn cheek - if I were your mother I would have put up a little chain fence - if the miserable cow wants to keep monstrous pets she should be prepared to pay monstrous bills for keeping them safe!

Answer 9

I take it your mum owns her house so your mum is responsible for the right hand side of the fence.if it is on the left hand side she can send the bill for the fence to her neighbour.but I doubt if she will ever get the money back.
complain to your local authority about the dog I would'nt be supprised if the havent had a complaint all ready and the more complaints they get the better it will be for your mum I hope your mum kept the letter your neighour sent.

Answer 10

In any given situation, focus on what you do want your dog to do instead of on whatever he’s doing wrong. Learn how to train your dog https://tr.im/BIncI

For example, suppose that on many evenings, your young dog gets busy looking for trouble just as you’re digesting your dinner. He grabs a boot from the mat by the front door and gallops through the house with it. You yell at him and take it away. He grabs its mate. You yell and take it away. He heads for the kitchen and starts checking out the counters in case something tasty’s been left behind. You chase him away. And on and on, until you’ve lost your temper and torn out clumps of hair you can ill afford to lose.