Can someone out there offer me some good advice? Several months ago I had to go personally(and kindly)speak to the neighbor behind my house because his dog was left barking relentlessly for hours(at night)over Memorial Day weekend. My husband and I lost a lot of sleep because of it. He explained that he had been away and the battery on the dog collar had run out. Well, it was all good for a few months until 2 weeks ago. Now his dog barks in the morning to be let back into the house, sometimes at 6am sometimes at 8:30 am (weekends too)and it feels like he just may as well be in my room when he barks-he is literally in my backyard and my bedroom faces their backyard). I am soo frustrated and annoyed this this gentleman cannot be more considerate. BTW the young lady next door to him was also upset with the whole situation over the holiday because she has newborn twins that were kept awake during this whole spiel. I don't want to seem so petty, but I'm a mom with 3 kids and a very active life and I need all the sleep I can get. I've even thought of purchasing a sound muffling system to improve the situation but at the same time I feel like I shouldn't have to do this. What should I do?
Thanks everyone for your support. I am in Gwinnett and will pursue what those restrictions are.I will also be purchasing either the foam plugs or something such as a fan or humidifier to create the "white noise".
You can always post it on www.rottenneighbor.com.
Just a thought.
The other posts will probably do you more good.
I hate to say it but I would call animal control. Or you could just lace some doggie treats with sleeping pills (LOL!!! just kidding).
Hi M.,
I actually have a noisy dog, a bloodhound who is a year old, and annoys me with her barking! I purchased a bark control machine by PetEdge, that beeps when she barks, and works like a charm. Maybe you could talk to your neighbor about that. It is even something you could put in your yard if you are close enough to your neighbors house.
I am a real estate agent in McDonough,Ga so of course with a smile on my face, I would love to tell you the easiest thing to do is move. :) My website is ashleymullinax.com and I would love to get you into a quieter neighborhood, however if you are not ready for that route, I would suggest knocking on the door again or letting your husband do it this time and really be a little more direct(not threatning) about it and explain the situation, or mail an anonymous letter from the neighbors and see if that makes a difference. Good Luck. A. M
Southern Crescent Realty
Hi M.,
If you are in Gwinnett County you can go to this website - www.cleanupgwinnett.com and there is a link on there I believe for noise complaints and neighborhood complaints and they will investigate the situation for you.
Take care,
K.
Check with the local authorities, there is usually a noise ordinance . He could be fined if he does not stop the barking. Around my home it is a violation to have a dog bark for more that 15 min at any given time of day. you will have to call them (the authorities) every time the dog barks but I am sure that once your neighbor is fined he will find a way to stop the barking.
We had the exact same situation happen to us. We couldn't go out on our back deck without the dogs barking at every move or sound we made. And they were digging under the fence into our back yard.
My husband took drastic measures. He took part of our fence down and the two dogs got out and were roaming the neighborhood. The neighbor came home and went all over the neighborhood getting his dogs. We had tried talking to them about it but the situation was ignored by the dog owner. The city animal control was called by ALL the surrounding neighbors but they couldn't find the dogs each time they arrived because the owner would watch for animal control and bring them in the back door pretty quick when he saw them coming.
So after my husband and the young owner talked the matter over (after the neighbor found his dogs), it was taken care of to the point now where we're all friendly with each other and the whole neighborhood feels better about things. The dogs don't bark anymore and the owner takes up a lot of time with them.
I know this was a drastic measure on the part of my husband but being General Patton (ex-tank commander in the Army), it was the only way he could get the young owner's attention after the owner basically ignored all talks with all the neighbors over his dogs. Dog collars will work but the owner has to be responsible enough to work with the dog to train him NOT to bark when the collar is taken off. It's a training device - not a muting device and it shouldn't stay on the animal forever.
Call Animal Control and continue your talks with the neighbor. Band together and go over as a group but try not to let the emotions escalate. Remember, the owner will be extremely defensive. If all else fails, call your local police and ask about the noise ordinances for your area. If your neighbor is in violation of a noise ordinance because of his pet, he could get a fine for it.
Are you in an HOA? If so, maybe they can offer some advice. You can also check w/ your local government to see if there is any advice they can offer. That is very annoying and you shouldn't have to put up w/ that. I have had many dogs and they never barked and barked like that. IF they did bark, I quietened them quickly! good luck. L. :-)
First, I suggest doing some calming and try to work through this (understandable) angry charge of emotion that will only create more tension with the neighbor. Then, go speak to him again just as kindly as you did the first time. Don't assume he's doing this on purpose or is even aware! Approach him kindly and you will get better results. Third, go buy some of those foam earplugs that you squish to get in your ears and then they expand to fit your ear canals... seals off all noise... you will sleep like a baby. If you put the baby monitor next to your bed and turn it up you will still hear if the children are crying enough to need you but you won't hear every little noise. Works like a charm.
I have a friend who had this same situation. If you contact animal control in your county, they will come out and issue a citation to the owner and will warn him that it is ultimately the responsibility of the pet owner to keep the pet from disturbing neighbors. The officer most likely will not give the owner your name. I'm sure it vaires by county, but after three citations in certain counties, the owner will be fined.
It sounds harsh to call authorities, but it may be your only option. Good luck with the noise.
There is a reason why this dog requires a collar with a battery to begin with. The dog obviously has an issue with barking and the owner was using the collar as a way of quieting the dogs bark. Although I am not an advocate of the shock collar, at least the owner was proactive in its use. If it was my dog I would be embarrassed and would want to quickly resolve the issue. Since you've alreardy gone to him, as well as his neighbor, I would suggest calling the cops to report a noise violation. Some neighborhoods have guidelines against such violations as well. If the dog is barking for attention, then maybe the owner needs to give it more attention, or find another home for it so someone else can love on it. This sounds mean but I am a proud dog owner and get embarrassed if my dog even walks on their grass much alone bark all night.
M.,
I am a light sleeper and I have had similar problems. For me the solution was to put a fan and a air purifier that makes just enough "quiet" noise to block out the neighbors dogs. Still... it is very annoying and if it is going on for hours at a time you are perfectly within your right to politely remind your neighbor that it is disturbing. I have found from experience that they either don't hear it or they are so use to it they just don't realize it is disturbing others and often are more embarrassed than angry.
Hope this helps
T.
Hi M.. I face this very same situation as you with my next door neighbors. They have a dog door and whenever my neighbors leave their home, the dog goes out in the backyard and howls and barks for hours on end. Quite frequently, my neighbors go on weekend trips and it's a nightmare. I can't get any sleep. I have spoken with my neighbors about it with no results. Some people just don't really care that they may be bothering their neighbors. My advice to you is to possible attempt one more "talking to" with this gentleman. If you could get any of your other neighbors who are annoyed to join you so that he could understand that he really is irritating others, that might be helpful. If it isn't, check with your city or county to see what the ordinance is. I know in mine, there is a nuisance animal ordinance that does include nonstop barking. You can file a report and they will come out and give the owner a warning. Then if there's another complaint, they will give the owner a fine. Hopefully it wouldn't have to go any further than that. I haven't done it because if I did, my neighbors would know exactly who called since I have mentioned the dog's barking to them several times. I feel like my hands are tied, but maybe you have other options. I wish you the best of luck.
Check your local noise ordinance/law (assuming your area has one). I know that in the City of Atlanta, any dog barking more than 15 minutes continuously is violating the ordinance and the police will come and deal with it if you call.
So if you have an ordinance in place, you might kindly speak with your neighbor again about the dog barking and toss in a reminder about the noise ordinance.
Good Luck!
