Neighbors who keep their dogs outside

[L_Sludger]

I live in a cul-de-sac in a small, quiet community. Unfortunately, I have some neighbors who keep their dogs outside to bark incessantly. It's also pretty cruel to keep them out in freezing weather. Should I file a complaint with the police, or is that ineffective and I have no recourse to speak of?

I really don't understand people who keep their dogs outside. It just screams low-class.

 

[Turk]

Oh, I can't stand that.

In my old house, I estimated I lost 300-320 hours of sleep.

UH!!!!

 

[bullwinkle]

Maybe the local SPCA? I have somewhat of the same problem here, but at least the dogs aren't outside 24/7.

 

[Quattro Pete]

There are working dogs that are meant to live outside, but granted, that's appropriate on a farm and maybe not in a residential neighborhood where the dog's barking may be a nuisance to the neighbors due to proximity.

I'm guessing you've talked to those neighbors already and asked politely to take care of the issue? If so, then I would certainly file a complaint as next step.

 

[pbm]

There are laws regarding barking at unreasonable hours....unfortunately barking all day isn't illegal.
I have an a**hole neighbor who does the same thing.

 

[Propflux01]

If you want to remain anonymous, mail them a typed letter explaining your situation without giving yourself away. Ask them to do something about the dogs/treatment. If they don't attempt to fix the problem, then go with complaints and so forth

 

[mrsilv04]

Start taking videos with your cell phone, post them on YouTube, and send the URLs for the videos to the local Animal Control office with detailed times, dates, and notes as to what is happening.

Also, if Animal Control tells you to call the police or sheriff's department when the dog barks... do it. That's just more documentation for Animal Control to use to go after the owner with.

I've been dealing with Animal Control for over 3 YEARS for a neighbor's dog that barks at everything that moves.... even at 11 o'clock at night on a Friday night. If I go into *my* backyard, the dog will bark at me until I either leave or go into the house. Lucky me.

What happens at night, is that the owner of the dog goes out drinking with his old lady, while the dog is in the backyard barking its head off.

I just found out yesterday, however, that the County slapped him a $500 fine for the barking dog, and the City slapped him with another $300 fine.

He showed up at City Hall all ticked-off, demanded to see the City Manager, and told the City Manager that he wasn't going to pay.

I guess he is *that* stupid, in that he'll eventually lose his house over a $300 fine.

He's all sorts of stupid. He rolls his Harley out of the garage around Memorial Day...every year... he fires it up, and it runs on one cylinder. So to fix it, he revs the engine up to the redline and back to idle for about 10 minutes until the second cylinder finally starts firing.

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Start taking videos with your cell phone, post them on YouTube, and send the URLs for the videos to the local Animal Control office with detailed times, dates, and notes as to what is happening.

Also, if Animal Control tells you to call the police or sheriff's department when the dog barks... do it. That's just more documentation for Animal Control to use to go after the owner with.

I've been dealing with Animal Control for over 3 YEARS for a neighbor's dog that barks at everything that moves.... even at 11 o'clock at night on a Friday night. If I go into *my* backyard, the dog will bark at me until I either leave or go into the house. Lucky me.

What happens at night, is that the owner of the dog goes out drinking with his old lady, while the dog is in the backyard barking its head off.

I just found out yesterday, however, that the County slapped him a $500 fine for the barking dog, and the City slapped him with another $300 fine.

He showed up at City Hall all ticked-off, demanded to see the City Manager, and told the City Manager that he wasn't going to pay.

I guess he is *that* stupid, in that he'll eventually lose his house over a $300 fine.

He's all sorts of stupid. He rolls his Harley out of the garage around Memorial Day...every year... he fires it up, and it runs on one cylinder. So to fix it, he revs the engine up to the redline and back to idle for about 10 minutes until the second cylinder finally starts firing.



Typical zombified morons populating the country today. The worst part is there are so many of them now.

Don't waste too much time writing polite letters and such your gut already tells you that they won't do anything until law enforcement forces them. Call Animal Control and don't let up on them.

 

[Zaedock]

We have a neighbor with barking dogs. We're friends, but I manage to include a little comment about the dogs here and there. He got the hint and takes them in earlier at night. My other neighbor is more blunt and simply told him that his dogs barked too much.

We're all friends, but sometimes that can make it harder to talk about it.

 

[The_Jeff]

Also check your town for noise ordinances. My town is 45 decibels after 7pm at the lot line. A dB meter is only about $18 on amazon, shoot some video of the noise and its effect on your meter. Cops like a slam dunk on this sort of thing.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

One more reason why I live in a rural area. No neighbors close enough to hear (even a dog barking), and if our dogs happen to be outside and bark, it bothers no one but us.

 

[simple_gifts]

My across the street neighbors have a barking beagle. Annoying;

I will mention that a friend of my father had a boxer which barked a lot, but hey it was out in rural VA; apparently somebody had enough and tossed it a poisoned steak.

Just an FYI if you think your barking dog isn't a problem.....

 

[LeakySeals]

I had a dog named Maxx. And meddling, nosy, righteous "dogs are people" neighbors stole him. Likely sentenced him to death.

I rescued Maxx from the pound. A stray. Greyhound/Blond Lab mix. He was freaked out being confined in the house. Always standing near the door. Wanted out whether I was home or not. At first I kept him in the house with the cats. I'd come home from work and the rugs would be pulled off the tacking strips. Chew holes in the doors, walls, wood floors, window trim. Digging till his paws and face were bloody trying to get out. He would sleep with us. But he'd get up in the middle of the night and try to get out. I'd hear him trying to jump out windows on the second floor.

I finally decided to return Maxx to the pound. He had racked up $20k in damage to the house. I talked to the pound, they said this was strike 3 for him, if I didn't want him they would put Maxx to sleep. I couldn't do it, decided to try leaving him outside during the day. I was shocked. His personality completely changed. He was happy. Came in at night, was content. 6:00am, out he went. Food, water, dogloo with a heated pad. Life was good. Neighbors said he was fine, didn't make any noise. They actually liked him there, because if he barked, somebody was around that was out of place. Didn't belong. He only barked when he was supposed to. This went on for 8 years - come home from work, take the dog in.

Moved to another town to raise the kids. More affluent, better school system, bigger house, more land. Perfect. Set up the 75' runner and his dogloo. Same schedule. Take him in when I got home. Or when its cold out leave him in. So long as it wasnt too often or he would revert back to trying to get out again, even 8 years after being a stray.

After a month in the new town the letters started in the mailbox. "How dare you leave the dog outside, its cruel". "Your a terrible person, I'm calling the cops to save this poor dog". "Dogs have the same rights as people, they have feelings". Lots of stuff like that. Maybe 20 harassing letters in the first month. I would chuckle, crumple up the notes and think .."if they only knew".

A month after that Maxx was gone. Nothing but his unbuckled collar with his tags and a glove from an apparent struggle. Footprints leading off down the street. Maxx's feet were dragging, so he was resisting. That was 15 years ago, never saw him again.

The kids were traumatized, wanted to move. They slept with us for 2 years saying things like "daddy will they take me too?". I got the cops and the dog officer involved. They never found him. From what I understand there are animal rights activists that will relocate an animal in some kind of underground relocation. Other than the COWARDLY anonymous letters nobody confronted me. If they had, I would have told them about Maxx's behavior, and how he wanted, the dog CHOSE to be outside. I figure he was adopted and it went really bad. Probably tore up somebodys house and was sent to the pound where he met his fate. A needle thanks to ignorant nosy people.

Some dogs like being outside. I had one. Before anyone starts getting all righteos and meddling in peoples lives thinking they know whats best, remember this story. If you have a problem with whats going on, talk to the owners. Its the right thing to do. Then make a decision from there.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
One more reason why I live in a rural area. No neighbors close enough to hear (even a dog barking), and if our dogs happen to be outside and bark, it bothers no one but us.


I agree. I live in the sticks also. My dogs have wandered and were "sunning" themselves on a neighbors deck. No one got too upset about it and they came home. I guess my deck is not sunny enough.

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
They actually liked him there, because if he barked, somebody was around that was out of place. Didn't belong. He only barked when he was supposed to. This went on for 8 years - come home from work, take the dog in.


You didn't hear from the neighbors that didn't like to hear him bark. You said you were at work so really how do you know if he was barking at appropriate times? Some neighbors out of fear, or in order to keep the peace as much as they suffer in silence will not confront the owners of the animals. The unfortunate thing is that the owners of the dogs NOT the neighbors ARE COMPLETELY responsible. It is NOT my responsibility to have to "tell you" to silence your animals, you should be on top of that issue and most of the time many communities have nuisance laws that prohibit things like barking dogs. It is YOUR responsibility to know the law and adhere to it.

While what the "fancy" neighbors did was wrong,
they may have been genuinely concerned about the animal being outside in severe cold and it COULD be interpreted as abuse. BUT they should have contacted Animal Control to deal with the situation not taken the matter into their own hands.....I also wouldn't be surprised if that dog WAS barking and it WAS bothering the neighbors. But they still should have called the police and made a formal complaint.

One thing I notice with so many dog owners is that they either are in denial or really cannot see that there is a problem that needs immediate attention to deal with. The old...not my dog nonsense. LOL

 

[UNC017]

Originally Posted By: LeakySeals


Some dogs like being outside. I had one. Before anyone starts getting all righteos and meddling in peoples lives thinking they know whats best, remember this story. If you have a problem with whats going on, talk to the owners. Its the right thing to do. Then make a decision from there.


You would *think* that these self-righteous animal rightists would realize that if "dogs are people too," then dogs are INDIVIDUALS just like people are. But too often they don't. They think that all dogs have the same preferences, and these preferences don't include being outside, or being in the cold for that matter. I had two black Labs that would spend *hours* outside when cold weather would blow in. They simply loved it... just as much as I hated cold weather!

I've seen dogs that liked being outside, and even one dog that had a tether arrangement that she just loved (long wire with the lead able to slide down the wire so that the dog couldn't tangle and had about 100 yards by 50 feet of mobility). She spent more hours out there than in the house and lived to the age of 16, but that would get someone fined and the dog 'confiscated' these days. Of course some of that is due to people who abuse dogs, but not entirely.

 

[sparky123]

I'm sorry you're dealing w/this issue. Contact Animal Control and they will tell you want you need to do. Keep a record of the nuisance barking. You'll probably have to file a complaint w/the court. You may need to contact an attorney. Keep your sanity, go buy some motor oil. Hope things get better!

 

[daves87rs]

As a dog owner, I stay aware of what my dogs are doing (like my kid

). I have one that is a little barky, and if I cannot quiet her down, I bring her inside. Thank goodness she is an inside dog.

I've got good neighbors, and don't want to make them mad if I can...

 

[wrcsixeight]

Continuously barking dogs are completely intolerable noise pollution.

Last year, I was a guest in person's home who owned a very loved but poorly trained dog, and would put him outside and just let him bark and bark.

After several disturbing episodes of this I could no longer hold my tongue:

"Do you not notice that?"
"What?"
"What is your dog barking continuously for?"
"Oh Fluffy, he does that, I don't even notice anymore"
"If I was your neighbor, we'd have problems."

I love dogs. People, not so much.

"Fluffy" was just bored and eager for a leader, and learned not to bark so much during my stay. The neighbors and then the home owner thanked me, but I have to assume the pattern returned when fluffy took back over.

Where I live, there is one dog that will just carry on all day long while the owners are at work. Just out of boredom. Most annoying bark I can imagine.

While I do dislike this dog, I despise the owners. I've never seen them, or the dog. I know it is not healthy to get so consumed with overwhelming hatred for such a dog owner, but such inconsideration for others, such ignorance and apathy is intolerable.

To the OP, best of luck with your situation.

 

[warrior]

I admit I not entirely sure how to respond to your post. The first part of your issue about barking dogs is simple. You must talk to the neighbors about this issue. I am assumming that you have not already caused problems with the neighborhood. That is because of the second part of your statement...the part about outdoor dogs are lo-class? Never heard that before. I am not low class by any stretch and I have always thought that putting dogs indoors was nasty, dirty, and extremely low class...sort of like caveman stuff. Do you let the dogs lick you in the face as well? Do you have dog hair all in your food? Does it wipe its [censored] on your carpet?