Time for the annual dog barking talk with neighbor

[TWG1572]

We live in a neighborhood where everyone has 2-3 acre lots, which we had hoped would give us a little privacy/quiet compared to living in the densely populated city we did before. Or that was the thought.

Our neighbor has a 100lb lab, which is pretty much an outdoor dog. They got it go hunting, but never got around to training it. As soon as the sun starts going down, he starts running all over their lot and going crazy barking. They are usually pretty good about calling him in on work nights around 10-10:30 and locking him in the garage overnight - but he will bark from sundown till then. Weekends are a different story. Last night he got left outside barking all night - around 2 I finally gave up and went to the couch in the basement.

I'm running on about 4 hours of sleep, and am once again irritated at the lack of consideration these people have. If I can hear barking booming through my house, I'm pretty sure they can too. So they don't care, are too lazy to call him in, who knows...

So I get to wander over again today and discuss the situation with them. It's been about a year since last time. We live in a township, so no barking dog ordinances. It's pretty much down to being nice and trying to convince them to do a bark collar or something. They are one of our few neighbors, so I'd prefer not to totally alienate them. But on the flip side of things, they really don't seem to care about me.

I guess this is more of a rant than anything. It's amazing how much time and thought you can put into finding the "perfect" home that checks all the boxes, and with one fell swoop a poor neighbor can move in and make you wish you had picked a different house to buy.

 

[Barkleymut]

Tell him you will pay for the bark collar, tell him it is driving you crazy. Then sit back and see what he has to say. Be nice about it and it will work itself out. If not then get his cell # and call every single time his dog barks after 9pm

 

[Silk]

I think you hear more noises in a rural setting than suburbia. When we lived with a lot of space around we could hear the neighbours on the otherside of the valley talking on their deck....and when the one legged girl down the road woke up in the morning I could hear her hopping around the house. And dogs - you can hear them for miles.

 

[TWG1572]

Originally Posted By: Silk
I think you hear more noises in a rural setting than suburbia. When we lived with a lot of space around we could hear the neighbours on the otherside of the valley talking on their deck....and when the one legged girl down the road woke up in the morning I could hear her hopping around the house. And dogs - you can hear them for miles.


I think you are correct. I also think when I lived in the city, I was more used to a higher level of ambient noise. I grew up in the country and love having the windows open and listening to country noises at night. Frogs, owls, cows, that sort of thing. But this dog's just too close to blend in.

 

[sparky123]

I am amazed at the lack of respect/decency other people have for others. I find barking dogs a GREAT nuisance. I'm sure they hear the dog as well but my be less sensitive to its barking. You should not have to put up w/this. Talk w/the owners then if things don't improve look into civil action w/perhaps an attorney. I just don't understand this mentality of nuisance dog owners!

 

[A_Harman]

I understand your frustration with the situation because pretty much the same thing happened to me. I lived in my house for 8 years in peace until the friendly retired couple sold their house and a family with young children and a chocolate lab moved in. The dog would bark at me whenever I was working in the yard and sometimes looked like he was going to jump the fence. I tried to make friends with him, but whenever I got within five feet of the fence, he would run away. So I figured the dog was more bark than bite. Then the little girl started calling me "the bad man" because the dog would always bark at me.

I had a friendly chat with the father one day and worked this into the conversation: "Is there any danger that Sergeant (the dog) is going to come after me over the fence sometime?" I think he took the question to heart and got some training for the dog because in the last year, Sergeant hasn't jumped up on the fence, and he is barking somewhat less. And the neighborly relationship has remained friendly. I'll be moving away in a couple of months, to a new house closer to my new job, so the situation will be totally resolved.

 

[LoneRanger]

Well, you do have a conundrum. Since it's only you very nearby to them you would be the prime suspect if "something happened to the dog." No, I'm not suggesting anything like that but I've been in your shoes before and when you're lying awake in the wee hours listening to it and getting ticked off, a lot of extreme thoughts tend to run through your head. Your only choice is to have a discussion with them. I doubt they'd go for a bark collar it does after all deliver a pain compliance shock (doesn't it?) and most pet owners might be offended at the concept of implementing a pain compliance device at the behest of a neighbor. But in extreme cases that is better for the dog than a crossbow bolt through the torso. Sorry, but like I said, have been in your shoes before, albeit in a suburban environment with more tightly packed housing. Quality of life issues are huge, so this needs to be resolved since it is destroying your quality of life. There is always the court option. Most court bailiwicks (jurisdictions) allow people to file suit in Small Claims (think Judge Judy...) when they can't work out disputes over quality of life issues with neighbors.

 

[Sayjac]

I live in the "burbs" relatively close to neightbors and had to have the talk. The worst thing about it was the dog (choc. lab) primarily barked when the neighbor was not at home. Dog must have been able to tell when she was alone. For that reason not sure at first he completely believed it, but must have figured out out it was true. More noticeable at night because you're trying to sleep. Fortunately he already had a bark collar, just needed to get a new battery.

From this experience I can say bark collars work. Hated to see the dog getting shocked but the alternative, barking and not being able to sleep, was not acceptable.

I understand your frustration. Good Luck.

 

[fdcg27]

When we had a dog of a protective breed about 25% larger than this lab, we kept him as a house dog.
He didn't bark unless he had good reason, and the dog's deep, loud bark would be enough to discourage any intruder.
He would warn off other large dogs by assuming an agressive posture and barking at them.
I think that leaving a dog outside is simply irresponsible ownerhip, since dogs are animals used to living in groups and the dog only wants to be treated as part of the family it sees as its pack.
Labs seem to be an especially needy breed.
Good luck with this, since your neighbor either bought the dog without understanding its needs or has merely tired of it.

 

[Wilhelm_D]

Originally Posted By: TWG1572
Our neighbor has a 100lb lab, which is pretty much an outdoor dog. They got it go hunting, but never got around to training it. As soon as the sun starts going down, he starts running all over their lot and going crazy barking. They are usually pretty good about calling him in on work nights around 10-10:30 and locking him in the garage overnight - but he will bark from sundown till then. Weekends are a different story. Last night he got left outside barking all night - around 2 I finally gave up and went to the couch in the basement.

Many years ago my father had a similar situation.

After discussions with the dog's owner failed to work, he went out and bought a slingshot and some plastic pellets.

Being exceptionally careful to avoid eyes, ears, and so on every time the dog began yapping it got a pellet.

Eventually all he had to do was jiggle the handle on the back door and the barking stopped.

Apparently Pavlov was correct.

He always owned dogs and loved them, but bad owners who don't discipline and train their dogs are the dog's worst enemy.

That was mid-20th century, I am sure doing this today would have dire consequences.

 

[JTK]

TWG- is the rest of your family bothered by the barking dog? Reason I ask is, I'm an EXTREMELY light sleeper and work a rotating shift. Wife and kids could pretty much sleep through anything. I've found that earplugs help considerably for me.

 

[Wheel]

Don't take out the owner's bad behavior on the dog. The dog is reacting to the owner's lack of interest in it. If it's fenced in, I'd make a few friendly visits near the fenceline with the dog before bed. The dog just may learn to settle down. I wouldn't think that you can fix a bad neighbor, you have better odds with the dog.

 

[yeti]

it boggles the mind that so many people have poor problem solving skills. instead of itching about this ("rant" in your words),do a search on google -- how to stop dog barking, for example.
to the people that want to shoot/poison/kill a dog because of barking -- you're morons.
let technology do it for you.there's no sense approaching the neighbor. if he doesn't know that his dog barking is an issue, then he's just stupid. and, you can't reason with stupid people.electronic control eliminates any dealing/possible confrontation with a stupid neighbor.
a device can be placed such that the neighbor won't even know that it's there.
i'll continue my hand holding -- "dog silencer pro". two friends confirm that it works.
go to the horse's mouth FIRST, instead of starting an itching thread.
or, you could ask antiqueshell for a solution.he'll know that it's some plot/conspiracy. his solution will be subtle -- like using napalm, or something from the M72 family.
no disrespect to the op, but a thinking person SHOULD be able to deal with a petty problem such as this, without itching about it on the net.we were taught, at a young age, to deal with petty problems in life, instead of whining about them. just sayin'.good luck.

 

[mrsilv04]

When my neighbor's black lab is barking at 2am on the weekend, they're not home to hear it, as they are out getting drunk (or already are drunk).

But the sheriff's deputy that comes out to investigate does, and will write up a report and forward it to the county animal control office.

Then, as happened last spring, after the third or fourth year of this problem, the county animal control office fined the owner $800 total for the barking.

Then the idiot owner makes an even bigger idiot of himself, by yelling and screaming to everyone involved, that he "ain't paying no $800 in fines". (I learned this from someone down at the Village Hall).

Life isn't easy. It's even harder when you're an idiot with an apparent drinking problem.

 

[loyd]

Just buy some foam ear plugs. Save the "talk" for something really important. Dogs just bark.

 

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: yeti
it boggles the mind that so many people have poor problem solving skills. instead of itching about this ("rant" in your words),do a search on google -- how to stop dog barking, for example.
to the people that want to shoot/poison/kill a dog because of barking -- you're morons.
let technology do it for you.there's no sense approaching the neighbor. if he doesn't know that his dog barking is an issue, then he's just stupid. and, you can't reason with stupid people.electronic control eliminates any dealing/possible confrontation with a stupid neighbor.
a device can be placed such that the neighbor won't even know that it's there.
i'll continue my hand holding -- "dog silencer pro". two friends confirm that it works.
go to the horse's mouth FIRST, instead of starting an itching thread.
or, you could ask antiqueshell for a solution.he'll know that it's some plot/conspiracy. his solution will be subtle -- like using napalm, or something from the M72 family.
no disrespect to the op, but a thinking person SHOULD be able to deal with a petty problem such as this, without itching about it on the net.we were taught, at a young age, to deal with petty problems in life, instead of whining about them. just sayin'.good luck.

Lol....napalm? Yes, the dog is actually part of a plot....a "false-flag" to divert attention away from the fact the the neighbor is actually working for the New World Order and is tunneling under your property in the late evenings to install listening devices as a compliment to his high altitude drones.
Trust me...I KNOW.

 

[Chris142]

if the dog is not facing their house or they sleep with a fan or radio om they may not hear it.

 

[Cutehumor]

I have a similar problem except neighbors with dogs on both sides bark at me constantly when I'm doing yard work during the day. I'm thinking of getting one of those dog bark silencers and see how it works

 

[Wilhelm_D]

Originally Posted By: yeti
let technology do it for you.there's no sense approaching the neighbor. if he doesn't know that his dog barking is an issue, then he's just stupid. and, you can't reason with stupid people.electronic control eliminates any dealing/possible confrontation with a stupid neighbor.

Wait until he's asleep and then put a no-bark collar on him.

 

[Mackelroy]

Actually 90% of the population luvs obnoxious barking dogs for some reason. You can live in the ghetto or million dollar houses, getting away from that is luck of the draw.

The cops is the best route, gains a whole lot more attention and annoyance for the pet owner at 2am. Any property Bylaws , you can contact the property manager, but all that just produces a letter without a lot of bite. Unless they eventually pose a fine.

Maybe you can buy the dog from them, and take care of it yourself >G