I don't think calling the authorities will help. At worst, I think it could stand to make the dogs' quality of life worse. I mean, what are they going to do? A) tell them to do something about the barking (which is easier said than done) or B) take the dogs? (unlikely) I know people like to think that all doggies get adopted but they don't, some are put down.
I grew up around barking dogs, I learned to ignore it. What do you really expect them to do here? I honestly wouldn't know how to get a yappy dog to stop barking, it's partly why I'm afraid to get a chihuahua.
The dog owners are responsible for the behavior of their dogs. The how of getting the dogs to be quiet/behave is not the OPs problem, it's the dog owners problem (in any case there are options ie bark collars, obedience training etc).
I wanted to make the point that the OP is not helpless here. A lot of replies are saying to ask nicely and if nothing happens you have to deal with it. She has rights. Sometimes in these types of cases, sitting back, avoiding confrontation and being polite just leads to more frustration. There are noise violation laws and laws against disruptive pets. She is not at the mercy of this neighbor's choices and does not have to live like this. I'm not suggesting going straight to the authorities but if asking firmly but nicely once or twice doesn't improve the situation, other options are available.
I agree wholeheartedly with Scarlett. I live in a town where last year a little dog and his owner were next door at a coffee shop every morning, very early around 7 am, the dog yipped/barked loudly, waking me up every morning! I finally told the coffee shop numerous times and they talked with the owner. Unfortunately, the annoying behavior continued so I called my local police! They went out and talked with the owner, gave a warning/summons and even though the dog and owner came back to the coffee shop, they stopped coming as often and the dog isn't so loud now.
Sometimes you have to speak up for yourself. It may be uncomfortable but otherwise you risk being taken advantage of.
I know what you're going through...I have neighbors to both sides of me with small dogs that love to bark and run back and forth with my dog along the fence. I wouldn't mind so much if it weren't for the muddy mess this running makes of my dog after a rainy day.
I've almost only ever had wooden fences. When I first had chain link the neighbors had one and then two barking dogs. I actually just grew thick bushes along the side as well as got to know my neighbor and befriended the dogs. She ok'ed treats (very important to get permission) and then the dogs would sit and wiggle by the fence when I came out with my dog. One time she said I was allowed to give them a toy and they were utterly silent (other than play) for a month. Now my new problem is children. Loud children across a chain link fence that bark or scream at my dog WORSE than the other neighbor with the dog that barks only occasionally. My only choice is to call my dog in and wait for them to go inside or go outside with my dog and just play with him so he ignores them.
Thanks everyone. It looks like I need to get enough courage to talk to them.
To clarify, their dogs are not just barkers. One of them is highly dog aggressive and that one has jumped their fence trying to get to my dog. I've owned dogs my entire life, I can tell the difference between just barking and the hackles up-teeth bared- snarling/barking that warns that the dog would attack if it could. The dog owners did take the steps to raise their fence to keep their dog inside the fence. They did nothing to curb the constant barking however.
And I am frustrated. Over the weekend I was up late and at 1:30am decided to let my dog out. Surely the neighbor's dog wouldn't be out then? So I let her run. Ah, nope. Neighbors dog was out then, too. I want to be able to utilize my back yard!!! I don't like having to leash my dog in our fenced back yard and go out with her every single time she needs to do her business, just because I'm being held hostage by our neighbors.
Someone here mentioned that I should not have to pay for a bunch of improvements due to my neighbor's dog, and that's how I feel. I feel that their dog is the problem, and they should put up the privacy fence. There are four other neighbors who would benefit from this neighbor putting up a privacy fence, because their yard touches 5 lots total (we're one corner) and their dogs bark at all of us. We already have a fully fenced back yard, and it frustrates me to think that now we'll have to put up a privacy fence at our expense when it's not our dog causing the problems. I know I cannot require them to build a new fence, but if they were decent that's what they would do.
I do have some legal recourse, if I were to complain. Our community has a 15 minute bark rule that their dogs routinely break. I could turn them into animal control for that. But I don't like to make "the authorities" the first step. I just wish people would get a clue. Talking to them makes me nervous, because I guess I just expect that people that let their dogs behave that way will be jerks in person, too. And I detest confrontation. The cookie approach is a good idea.
I'm sorry about everything you're going through. I dread confrontation too, I hear that can be scary. I like the cookie idea, a peace offering is a good route.
You're not alone in your frustrations of dealing with awful neighbors, hugs.
I hope that you can get them to do something about the barking. I always told our neighbors when we moved in to new neighborhoods that if they had a problem with our dogs barking to let us know. I was very clear that I didn't care for barking dogs myself and we would understand if ours were barking too much. Of course that never helped with our one neighbor who thankfully has since moved. She would let him out on a leash and he would bark his fool head off at everything. We also go out with our dogs regardless of weather. We have one dog who barks all the time and is our roommates dog. She will listen to him but only will listen to us if we drop our voice to a deep voice like our roommate does. We tend to curb their barking as much as we can. To us its the polite thing to do.
I do have some legal recourse, if I were to complain. Our community has a 15 minute bark rule that their dogs routinely break. I could turn them into animal control for that. But I don't like to make "the authorities" the first step. I just wish people would get a clue. Talking to them makes me nervous, because I guess I just expect that people that let their dogs behave that way will be jerks in person, too. And I detest confrontation. The cookie approach is a good idea.
I had a similar situation (barking, aggression issues, neglect issues) with a similar rule. I anonymously contacted the authorities and they handled it. The situation did improve at least 90%. Even though you think they must know, and they probably do, they may not realize how bad it is for other people. I could have talked to them first, but I did not want to go down that road.
I'm sorry about everything you're going through. I dread confrontation too, I hear that can be scary. I like the cookie idea, a peace offering is a good route.
