My neighbors taped a note to my door about my dog...?

Question

It says "Your dog is constantly barking all day long. It's really annoying the whole neighborhood. Please do something about it." My dog is a 2 1/2 yr old German shepherd with separation anxiety. I know he barks, but if I left him in the house, he'd tear the whole place to pieces. He is a watchdog, and I'm not going to start crate training him now. My husband and I both work full time, and the dog is outside from 8am-4pm every weekday, but when we get home, he's in the house with us all the time. What is the worst case scenario of what they can do, legally? I should add, the losers who are complaining are unemployed druggies who set their own house on fire back in May, and sleep all day long, then sit on their patio all night with their derelict friends, smoking dope and laughing like retards. Should I worry? What can I do?

Okay, alright I get it already! Jesus! We'll teach him to stay in the house for his own safety. I'll walk him more to help him get balanced. And those of you who made personal attacks against me, go to hell! You don't have to be rude to get your point across.

Answer 1

i would tell the whole neighborhood to go to hell until they pay my vet bill buy my dogs food then they have no rite to say anything about my dog. You dont see me comeing over to your house late at nite when you are smoking ur dope and what have you so stay the hell out of my yard and dont worry about my dog.

P.S.
I also have a GS she is the same way

Answer 2

Well, I used to live next door to a German Shepherd who was left outside all day, barking non stop, and it WAS very annoying. I work too, but my hours were different than theirs. It wasn't the barking that bothered me so much, but it was that the dog was BORED out of his mind!! He didn't have any toys, he knocked over his water bowl Every Day! I just hated watching him pace back and forth waiting for someone to come home. And they were probably thinking the same thing as you, they kept him outside for protection purposes. But I would go over there and talk to him, and pet him through the fence, and he was really friendly towards me. And I just don't see how a dog kept outside in a fenced in backyard can protect your home if someone breaks IN. And it is not like he can alarm your neighbors by barking, because he is doing that all day anyways. They wouldn't think anything of it.

If your dog has separation anxiety you need to talk to an animal behaviorist/trainer. Your dog is suffering from being anxious ALL day long while you are not home. He is only 2 and 1/2. He has MANY more years left, you want to make him more comfortable while you are not home during those years. An animal behaviorist can help you with this. They will help with the anxiety so your dog is more comfortable. You will be able to leave him inside without worrying about things getting chewed up, and your neighbors will quit complaining. Spending the time and energy to train your dog now will ensure that you will have a better relationship with your dog And your neighbors for the years to come.

Answer 3

I don't get it... What exactly are you doing for his separation anxiety? Is he currently going to obedience classes with a behaviourist? Are you rehabilitating him? Your dog is probably going to live for another decade...were you ever planning to get his behavioural problems fixed or were you just planning to keep him outside when he was home alone for the rest of his life? You're only making the problem worse by ignoring it or trying to solve it. There's no way around this.

You sound like one of those owners who say "I can't bring my dog inside, she pees all over the place". Your dog is a smart dog and perfectly trainable. Get a behaviourist to look at his separation anxiety, and start crate training. Your dog should never be left outside when you guys are out of the house. It's way too dangerous - someone could come and kidnap him (and people do that), someone could poison him, abuse him - and the likelihood of this is even higher given that he's a nuisance barker.

About the "losers" - yes, I would be worried. I can't believe they were nice enough to leave you a note. I also can't believe you think THEY are the losers here - how about the woman who leaves an untrained young adult dog outside to disturb the entire neighbourhood, without any steps at all to resolve his behavioural problems? How can you even think you are in the right?

Your neighbours can call animal control on you or report you to the police for disturbing the peace. I have no doubt that will be their next step - if it is, you should just be glad they didn't open your gate and let your dog run away.

Answer 4

I'm pretty sure they could take the dog from you if you don't try to corect the problem. Maybe you should try putting him in doggy daycare during the time you are at work. I'd also put up a video camera somewhere and record certain times of the day to see if your dog really is barking all day long. It could be that someone is harrassing your dog to get it to bark. Maybe a quick trip home at different hours of the day to see what he is doing would be a good idea too. A friend who you can trust could check on him and see what going on too. The dog may not be barking all day, so further investigation might be worth the trouble. It's better then losing your dog. Good luck.

Answer 5

Actually despite what everyone said, most towns only have noise ordinance during certain hours. Usually those hours are from dusk to dawn, so there might not be much they CAN do legally.

However, just to be a nice neighbor you might want to take care of the problem.

I know I'll get a ton of thumbs down here, but they make a collar that automatically gives the dog a little shock if he barks more than two times in a row. It often teaches them very quickly. Otherwise, the vet could give you meds to calm him down, severe separation anxiety is hard to get rid of with training alone.

Oh yes, please don't use my Lord's name as a curse word, its disrespectful.

Answer 6

Legally they can do nothing about it. Quiet hours are from 10p.m. to 6 or 7 a.m. in most cities. So if the dog were left out all night to bark and annoy others it would be a matter for animal control and the police to deal with.
But for your dogs safety I would not leave him outside while these people live next to you or one day you'll come home to a dead dog. Have you maybe got a garage you can house him in while you're gone? Ideally if you could put a kennel next to the garage and cut a hole so he could go from gagrage to kennel he'll probably stop barking because he'll feel more comfortable inside with toys and such to keep him occupied while he can let himself out to potty.
Put up surveillance camers and aim them so you can see everywhere on your property for your own safety and next time you see them smoking dope call the police.

Answer 7

What did you get a dog for if you and your husband are gone long hours?! You were thinking of yourself, not what was in the best interest of the dog.

What could they do? You said yourself that they are low-life people. Normal people could just call the cops on you as well as Animal Control. But these people could: throw poisonous food to your dog causing him to writhe in agony until he dies, take the dog and dump him miles away, take the dog and kill him and dispose of his body where you won't find it, vandalize your vehicles, vandalize your home, harass you constantly at night so you cannot sleep thus endangering your jobs, steal things, smash things, etc. This can go on for YEARS. Is your fusebox on the outside of your house? If so, they could re-wire it while you are gone or completely mess it up. There are hundreds of horrible things they could do. Do you really want to find out?!

The dog is YOUR responsbility. I love animals but if he is making noise like that all day long I would be complaining too. The dog is lonely! And just because you and your husband are home at night doesn't mean much. Are you focused on getting dinner ready and/or watching TV? Or are you focusing your attention on the dog? You can't treat him like a vase that sits in the room. Do you take him for walks at night? Do you take him to a Dog Park? There are a number of alternatives. Take him to a Doggie Daycare. Have a pet walker come by and walk him once a day. Hire a petsitter. This is YOUR problem and YOU need to deal with it and yes, you need to pay for it! You've denied the problem too long already. That's why the poor dog is going out of his mind. Happy dogs don't act like that. Whether your neighbors are the cream of society or not is immaterial. YOU have a problem. I'm sure there are other neighbors who are just as perturbed only they haven't mentioned it because they feared retaliation by you and your husband! After all, how could they know? All they know is how you treat your dog. And if you treat your dog so badly, which you are supposed to love, they can only imagine how you would react to strangers.

Answer 8

I am a lot more worried about your poor dog than your legal issues. Your dog is outside, obviously terrified and alone and you have done nothing to help him.
You should take him to an obedience group class, socialize him, and reassure him so he can get over his issues. This is your dog and your repsonsibility - to leave him outside all day is cruel in the extreme.

Put him inside in a room where he cannot do damage, give him toys like kongs, a nice soft bed - in short, take care of him, don't just throw him out and expect your neighbors to listen to him all day long.

Doesn't matter whether your neighbors are sterling examples of humanity or street people - you are responsible for your dog and you are very definitely NOT acting responsibly.

Leave that dog in the house, get him some help to overcome his fears, and do the right thing by him instead of complaining about neighbors who, very rightly, object to what you are doing with the poor pooch.

You are being incredibly self centered here and blaming it on the neighbors and the dog.

Answer 9

It is legally your responsibility to keep your dog's noise level down. Crating your dog while you're away may train him to be calmer and sleep while you're away. Get a hollow beef bone and fill it with cheese or peanut butter and put it in the crate with him to keep him occupied. My dog hated his crate at first but now it is "his place" and he really likes it. He sleeps the whole time he's in there. Draping a blanket over the crate makes it seem more cozy and den-like.
There are also citronella collars you can get for dogs that bark. They release a scent that dogs don't like whenever the dog barks but I don't know whether they work well or not.
I don't reccomend a shock collar because the dog would probably panic if he's already anxious when you're away. This would likely only make his fear worse, you're gone and he's getting shocks now.

Answer 10

Worst case scenario depends on the laws where you live... and the quality of your neighbors.

I once lived in a city that offered 1 free warning, 2nd warning was $500 and third warning was $500 and they confiscated the dog. After the 2nd warning I debarked the dog.

If your neighbors are druggies, I'd really worry about whether your dog annoys them enough by keeping them awake during the day when they want to be sleeping to poison or shoot him.

Really, all in all, its your responsibility to make sure your dog does not bark all day and annoy ANYONE. This is true no matter what neighborhood you live in. Frankly, they've been nice in warning you in writing rather than turning you in to animal control

Answer 11

Unfortunately, you can end up with a ticket from the police for disturbing the peace. Even in daylight hours, some people work different shifts and sleep during that time (not just the stoners.) Depending on your area or if you are part of a community...they may require that you muzzle your dog.

I know you don't want to crate your dog, but this really may be your best option. Since he has seperation anxiety, the crate will serve as a protective den to keep him "safe" when you aren't home with him. Since he is house trained (I'm assuming,) it's okay if the crate is a bit big so he has elbow room (my lab has a fairly large one...plenty of room to stretch out.)

*Also, I want to remind you that there are some cruel people out there. While the stoners left a note on your door, another neighbor may take it upon themselves to poison your dog, open a gate and let them loose, or worse. For your dog's safety, rethink the crate idea....trust me, most dogs LOVE their crates!