Venting/neighbor problem

[Tamrahan]

My neighbor yelled at me last Thursday. 1st let me say, I deserved to have a talking to, I just don't like how he went about it. He could have just said'your dog's barking too much, can you please do something about it?' and left it at that.

2 of my 3 dogs are very barky. Very. But they are barking at something. Ususally it's the dogs behind us straying off thier property down to our fence or today the papillion crossed the street to come up to our fence, stuff like that., or dear neighbors dog, whenever thier lab comes out in the yard he and 2 of my dogs run back and forth along the fence line. I've always thought they were playing and it's never bothered me. It's kind of cute. But apparently it's been bothering them. Around 4 in the morning last Thursday Dh let 1 or dogs out (on a line) and dear neighbor was out with his lab and DN said "she won't leave our dog alone" and that's all that was said. We were'nt sure what to make of that.

The next day, Thursday afternoon 1 of my dogs was out and I went out to get her when I heard her barking and the neighbor was standing at the fence 'talking' to her. I didn't hear what he was saying but as soon as he saw me he started yelling at me because she was barking. Ok, I told him I was sorry and we'll try to correct this and he just yelled that's not good enough and kept on yelling/lecturing loud enough that my husband woke up and came out. Dh told him we'll get a fence and then the neighbor started using 4 letter words, and threatening to call the police and how he is trying to be neighborly and he said his dog could not even come out in his yard to take a sh*t (um, just today I counted 11 piles of poo in his yard close to the fence line, what a good neighbor!) and his lab is trying to p*ss on my dogs through the fence (shouldn't that be my complaint to him about his dog?) Last Tuesday when I was walking the yard picking up our dog's poo's, his dog lifted his leg and tried to pee on me. We've been so upset that the next day DH called a realtor but then we decided we're at least 3 or 4 years away before we can move. So Dh called a fence company to have them come and put up a privacy fence. This may help with the visual but I'm still concerned that they will still 'hear' stuff.

Everytime the dogs need to go out I have to look out to see if they are out in the back yard. If they are we can't go out because they'll make a beeline to the fence and run back and forth for a while and bark then they all get it out of thier system and go off to sniff around and do whatever.

I feel like we're a prisoner in our own home.

Oh and he was complaining about the dogs barking in the house too. So we've closed the windows and blinds on the south side of the house.

Oh and DN was also lecturing me how I need to work with my dogs. Well that maybe true but if I want to take my dogs for a walk around my neighborhood for instance I have to do it early in the morning before everyone else gets up because in the evening I have dogs coming up to us while on our walk. But I never complain about that or about someone's dog coming and pooping on our front lawn or how about the goldendoodle coming into my garage a few weeks ago, or the papillion tonight coming across the street to our fence, or the kids down at the corner house riding double on thier atv leaving thier property to wear down a path behind our house 3 lots down, or how about thier parents that didn't bother shoveling thier sidewalks in January of 2007 thereby causing me to have a near fall which caused me to pull my hamstring which to this day is causing me discomfort, or the 2 spaniels behind me that the owners have no control of whatsoever, who cross the street to greet the poor lady walking her 2 dogs, and who run all over the emply lot down' by my fence. What about all the fire crackers going off that cause my yorkie to disappear under my bed for nearly a month out of every year.
I wish I was perfect like all my neighbors.

I was venting to my friend at work and he said my DN should not have yelled at me, he should have had a man to man with my Dh.

I started keeping a bark log.

Here's what our city says about dogs on thier website:

Animal Protection and Control
Granger Code of Ordinance 55.06 AT-LARGE PROHIBITED. It is unlawful for any owner to allow dogs, cats, cattle, horses, swine, sheep or other similar animals or fowl to run at-large within the corporate limits of the City.


55.12 ANNOYANCE OR DISTURBANCE. It is unlawful for the owner of a dog to allow or permit such dog to cause serious annoyance or disturbance to any person or persons by frequent and habitual howling, yelping, barking, or otherwise; or, by running after or chasing persons, bicycles, automobiles or other vehicles.


Whats a serious annoyance? And how frequent of barking is acceptable?

Anyway I'm venting and rambling. Any suggestions would be helpful but really if you want to pounce and gang up on me and tell me what a lousy pet owner I've been I've really been feeling down right now and it would probably just make me bawl like a baby.

Anyone have any experience on the collars that send some kind of ultrasonic sound wave that only a dog can hear? (Not the shock collars)

Dh said we may have to consider getting her debarked!

 

[kirsten777]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear your troubles! I have two dogs, so maybe I'm more tolerant - but to me, a serious annoyance is a dog who barks continuously. it sounds like your dog(s) bark, possibly, to show the neighbor dog that this is the boundary (I think the peeing thing is a boundary marker also). My dog used to do the same thing whenever someone walked by with a dog, she would run along the fence like a maniac, barking her head off - god knows what she was saying, but it sounded like she was telling them off (she seems to think any land in her visual vicinity is hers!) Anyway, one thing you could try is every time your neighbor is out there with his dog, use treats to try to steer your dog(s) attention away from the fence line, this didn't work with my dog because she is not treat orientated (weird I know), but if yours are that might help. Then eventually, the trainer told me, your dog(s) would associate seeing the neighbor dog with treats. You can also train your dogs not to bark. We did that simply by making a firm, quick, stern noise (too bad I can't spell what I do) everytime they barked at something they shouldn't have and for the most part it has stopped. They do bark when someone knocks on the door - but I want them to do that Anyway, I'm sure others here will have better/more suggestions.

Good luck - and I agree with your co-workers, he has no right speaking to you that way. There are civilized ways to deal with issues and yelling obscenities is not one of them.
Kirsten

 

[meowracer]

Do not get your dogs debarked. That would be cruel to them. They are doing what dogs do - bark. Just because your neighbor is an ass does not mean your dogs should suffer. Doesn't his dog bark? And no, he should not have talked to you that way, especially if he has never spoken to you about it before. DH's dogs bark their heads off. I complained and complained to no avail. I begged our neighbors to complain, but they wouldn't. They moved so I worked on the new neighbors. They hated to complain too, but finally did. These people were not sleeping. The dogs don't bark only when there is something to bark at. They bark at nothing, each other, the air, you name it. I was losing sleep. Going crazy during the day. Thankfully, he finally got them bark collars. They don't eliminate the barking totally, but they help. At least, at night, if they are barking, they won't keep at it and they don't seem to bark uselessly as much. My point it that neighbors should be hesitant to complain, not jump down your throat. And it's normal for dogs to bark for a reason. My neighbors used to love my dogs barking b/c they knew if my dogs were barking, they were scaring something off and it made them feel safe. I hope you can work it out. The problem seems with your neighbor, not you or your dogs. I just hope it doesn't escalate further. Might be worthwhile filing a report, especially if anything else happens.

 

[hiitdogs]

Dh said we may have to consider getting her debarked!

Oh no!!! Please don't do that, that is horrible!!

I think your neighbor must be the brother of my neighbors! Holy crap! I understand that barking dogs are annoying but there certainly are other ways to deal with neighborly issues than being nasty. Just in my case, it's the neighbor's dogs barking and attacking, every time I move in my backyard, the damn dogs start barking, and you can hear them fighting and they let them run outside with a leash ........

I have a dog who barks when he sees other dogs, and there is not much that I hate more than barking dogs I had to keep him under control/on a leash whenever I went outside. We were working on the leave it command whenever I saw another dog coming or him tensing up, "Leave it" and distract him with treats, so he would associate the other dogs with positive. If I didn't catch it in time and he would start barking, I correct him, either a quick pull on the leash and "No" or poke him in the side "Na ah", depending on how far he goes into the zone.

He still sometimes gets bent out of shape when he sees another dog on our runs but it's a lot easier to control.

My dogs rarely ever bark at home, only if someone enters the home and they think I haven't realized it. I have kids and their friends running in and out all the time.

You just need to work with your dog, don't let her run by herself in the backyard if you know that she will bark. I don't like those sound collars because it effects other dogs too, not only your dog. But there is a collar that sprays citronella when the dog barks, it actually works pretty good on most dogs.

The other gadget is called Pet Corrector, it's a spray that dispenses compressed air, it makes a hissing sound. I train very stubborn dogs with that - like my Shiloh The best investment I ever made but you have to be close to your dog. I use it when NO or LEAVE IT don't have an immediate effect. http://www.onlinepetdepot.com/company-animals-corrector-training-spray-p-4208.html

You may have to try a few different things to figure out what works for your dog but it can be done and debarking is really cruel IMO. I guess what I am trying to say is that it is okay for a dog to alert but it is a problem if it is excessive and the dog won't stop at your voice command.

Good luck!

 

[sparrow13]

Tami, sorry you are dealing! Your neighbor should not have spoken to you that way. I can understand his frustration though. DH and I once lived next door to a dog that barked all.the.time. Morning, noon and night. It drove us insane and frankly we didn't care if the dog had a "good" reason, we just wanted it to stop. What made the difference for us was our neighbor's attitude. When we finally addressed it with her she was very friendly, said she was aware of the problem and was working on it but the dog still had to be outside sometimes. She asked for our patience and in return promised to limit the dog's outside time until the problem was solved. Just knowing that she was aware and willing to hear our concerns and trying to solve the issue made it tolerable for us, for a little while longer anyway.

So, maybe let your neighbor know that you get his frustration (even if you think he's a tool ) and that you are working on it? Just to smooth things over and take some of the pressure off yourself and the walking on eggshells.

And of course you are not a lousy pet owner!! These kinds of things happen in neighborhoods. Resolution is all in how it's dealt with and your neighbor should learn that there's a right way to complain!

Good luck!!

 

[syzygy314]

Tami:

I have been in your shoes! We have beagles and the only thing different between our stories is that our neighbor never even said anything to us, just called Animal Control. I came home from lunch one day to find his truck blocking my driveway and he was in my backyard with my dogs. We have an outdoor kennel with their doghouse in it. It's very shaded and nice. This 20 year old proceeded to tell ME (I've owned dogs all my life) how to take care of my dogs and that they can't be out barking late at night, etc. etc.

We, too, cannot move from this lousy neighborhood yet. We've had other issues that are only getting worse because there's a lot of rental property in our area. Of course, over time, our neighbor has gotten a dog and so have others.

Anyway, sounds like the privacy fence might alleviate some of the problem if there are territorial issues going on between your dogs and your evil neighbor's dog. He needs an attitude adjustment. Also, I would start calling in complaints about all the unleashed/loose dogs, if that's the way your neighbors want to be!

 

[LauraMax]

Here's what our city says about dogs on thier website:

Animal Protection and Control
Granger Code of Ordinance 55.06 AT-LARGE PROHIBITED. It is unlawful for any owner to allow dogs, cats, cattle, horses, swine, sheep or other similar animals or fowl to run at-large within the corporate limits of the City.


55.12 ANNOYANCE OR DISTURBANCE. It is unlawful for the owner of a dog to allow or permit such dog to cause serious annoyance or disturbance to any person or persons by frequent and habitual howling, yelping, barking, or otherwise; or, by running after or chasing persons, bicycles, automobiles or other vehicles.


Whats a serious annoyance? And how frequent of barking is acceptable?

Anyway I'm venting and rambling. Any suggestions would be helpful but really if you want to pounce and gang up on me and tell me what a lousy pet owner I've been I've really been feeling down right now and it would probably just make me bawl like a baby.

Anyone have any experience on the collars that send some kind of ultrasonic sound wave that only a dog can hear? (Not the shock collars)

Dh said we may have to consider getting her debarked!

Tami, my puggle does the same thing. Actually so does my pug, but he's more yappy & not nearly as loud as she is. I tried the citronella bark collars, totally useless.

I've gotten her pretty well trained inside the house (a can full of pennies & a strong NO every time she does it quites her pretty fast), but outside (esp. in my area which is heavily pedestrian) she barks an awful lot. My neighbor has complained also. My only solution has been to get her on a schedule where she goes at times when it's likely to be least disturbing to them.

Your town probably doesn't have an ordinance about this b/c your state probably does. In NJ, you have 15 minutes to bring your dog in.

 

[clothesminded]

As someone who is experiencing this problem right now, and for the last seven months, I can understand how frustrating it is to your neighbor. I can't imagine that anyone, except for the owner (you), would find that dogs barking all the time and at four a.m. would be "cute." But in no way do I feel that the neighbors should be hesitant in complaining.

My husband and I went over and talked to our neighbor, but he didn't seem to think that his beagle's barking, or whatever they do, was a problem enough to change how often they leave that poor dog outside. He's outside all day and most of the night. It's Texas, people, and it's over 100 degrees. The dog has no house or even a small piece of shade. His water sits in the hot sun all day long. It's just crazy why someone people become pet owners, not speaking to the OP since I don't know you. Just venting.

So, my vent is that I strongly believe that it's the pet owner's, and only his, responsibility to make sure that his pet isn't even really noticed by neighbors. With houses being so close now, that's just being courteous. I had a dog for 13 years, and no one even knew I had one because she was so quiet. Although the neighbor seems to lack some tact, he has every right to be really pissed off. He def. should have discussed the issue with you before going off on a cussing frenzy.

But from a sleepless neighbor's point of view-Try enjoying your summer with a dog barking constantly. Try sleeping and getting up at 4:30 for work when you have been awake all night. So, I say bring the animal control people on, but only when you've confronted the people in a respectful manner. They may not realize that their dog is barking.

 

[Worknprogress]

Unfortunately, I have been on the on the other side as well in my last neighborhood with a dog that continuously barked. Even when it was a beautiful night, cool, etc. we had to close our windows and turn the air conditioning on just to be able to get some sleep. We even did that during the day sometimes in beautiful weather just to get some peace and quiet.

However, your neighbor showed no class in screaming at you. I understand his frustration but he has no right to treat you like he did. Especially since you are neighbors, it does help to live in harmony. Several neighbors did talk to the pet owner's about the barking but nobody had the rude and ignorant manner that your neighbor did.

Good luck!

 

[Tamrahan]

Thanks ladies for your support and suggestions. And NO WAY am I getting my dog debarked. I think the old dog catcher in West Des Moines had his dog 'debarked' and he could still bark, it was a raspy wierd bark though-quieter, but I think I would find that more irritating than a regular bark.

Anyway, I have the fence man coming today, and I'm going to order the pet corrector. Meanwhile the pennies in the jar is a good idea.

Actually, when I go out with them they are begginning to respond to my 'no bark' command at least temporarily. I take a newspaper with so they know I mean business . So I just wont be able to leave them out there with no supervision anymore.

Dh said he is really depressed about this. He feels like he's walking on egg shells and hasn't slept good since this happened. He's worried we'll get our dog taken away.

Laura I heard the citronella is useless too.

Has anyone heard of this ? They are $59.95 per collar but I don't care about the $.
http://www.ultimatebarkcontrol.com/?gclid=CMTpn7n05psCFQ_xDAodfWf44w


Man, life is really throwing me some lemons right now an I'm not the best at making lemonade. There was a message on my answering machine last night from my sister that said my mom is ill and may need to go into assisted living or something. She has a laundry list of health problems, diabetes, chronic diarrhea, heart attack 2 years ago this month and now gout, to name just a few. *heavy sigh*

 

[clothesminded]

I applaud you, Tami, for taking measures to stop your dogs from barking. That's very cool. Maybe you can come to TX to talk to mine All pet owners should be as thoughtful as you are with building a fence, training....

I am so sorry to hear about your recent bad news. Sending good vibes your way.

 

[Beavs]

If it makes you feel any better, one of my kitties meows, loudly at 4:30 every morning. Fortunately she responds to "Be Quiet!"

 

[hiitdogs]

Dh said he is really depressed about this. He feels like he's walking on egg shells and hasn't slept good since this happened. He's worried we'll get our dog taken away.

Laura I heard the citronella is useless too.

Has anyone heard of this ? They are $59.95 per collar but I don't care about the $.
http://www.ultimatebarkcontrol.com/?gclid=CMTpn7n05psCFQ_xDAodfWf44w

No one is going to take your dog away for barking! It sounds like you are taking steps to get it under control.

The citronella, like many gadgets, is only useless if used incorrectly. If used correctly it works for most dogs.

Personally, I have never seen any of those sound devices work, I'd save my money.

Sorry to hear about your Mom, hopefully things will turn out better than expected. When it rains, it pours, huh?

 

[Melclear]

I have tried the Dog Silencer Pro, on my neighbors' dogs. I don't have dogs, but in the last 4 homes I have lived in (across 2 different states), I have not been able to sleep with the windows open for over 12 years because of crappy neighbors leaving their barking dogs outside all night. In a fit of sleepless frustration, I bought the Dog Silencer Pro and hung it outside my bedroom window (right on the border between us and our neighbor's 2 huge howling dogs). And it worked in about 4 days. They stopped howling. We did talk with the neighbors before we got it (about their dogs, not the silencer), and they basically said that their dogs were rescued and that's just how they were (and these folks run an inn in town, can you believe it?).

We then tried to use it on other neighbors' dogs but they were too far away for it to work. But if you are trying to train your own dogs, this should work just fine -- they won't need to wear any collars or anything, and if you place it just right, you might also train some of the stray dogs to stay out of your yard.

I am a big believer in it, since it is a cruelty-free training device. Good luck!

 

[LauraMax]

The citronella, like many gadgets, is only useless if used incorrectly. If used correctly it works for most dogs.

Really? How can you use it incorrectly? Put it on upside down? Good grief!

 

[hiitdogs]

Really? How can you use it incorrectly? Put it on upside down? Good grief!

Yeah, I figured you wouldn't know anything about how to use it correctly but still make some snide remarks

The collar has to be adjusted to have the citronella container right above the vocal cords and not to the side, the spray nozzle actually has to adjusted to spray in the face and not underneath the chin, that's when it's useless.


It also is useless to leave it on the dog day in and day out, it works best in controlled situations where the dog owner actually works with the dog. Using it incorrectly would be to put the citronella collar on and kick the dog out the door.

The instructions say to not have the collar on for longer than 8 hours, I disagree with that, see above.

You actually have to figure out why your dog is barking. A citronella collar will work best for nuisance barking but not fear barking.

 

[LauraMax]

Yeah, I figured you wouldn't know anything about how to use it correctly but still make some snide remarks

The collar has to be adjusted to have the citronella container right above the vocal cords and not to the side, the spray nozzle actually has to adjusted to spray in the face and not underneath the chin, that's when it's useless.


It also is useless to leave it on the dog day in and day out, it works best in controlled situations where the dog owner actually works with the dog. Using it incorrectly would be to put the citronella collar on and kick the dog out the door.

The instructions say to not have the collar on for longer than 8 hours, I disagree with that, see above.

You actually have to figure out why your dog is barking. A citronella collar will work best for nuisance barking but not fear barking.

Yeah, I figured I'd post that it didn't work for my dog & you'd make some snide remarks.

I followed the directions to a T, Carola. Some dogs are clearly too stubborn & are resistent to it. This might come as a shock to you, but you might perhaps not know every single thing there is to know about dogs.

Oh I'm sorry, I forgot--you know everything about everything.

 

[hiitdogs]

Yeah, I figured I'd post that it didn't work for my dog & you'd make some snide remarks.

I followed the directions to a T, Carola. Some dogs are clearly too stubborn & are resistent to it. This might come as a shock to you, but you might perhaps not know every single thing there is to know about dogs.

Oh I'm sorry, I forgot--you know everything about everything.