[EagleRiverDee]

I am so fed up with my neighbors and their darn dogs. They moved in about a year ago, and ever since then all the surrounding neighbors have had to put up with being barked at constantly by their dogs. And for those of us, like myself, that have dogs of our own...it's much worse.

If I take my dogs into my back yard, and their dogs are outside (which is very often) their dogs rush the fence and start barking incessantly and very menacingly. One of my dogs reacts very badly to that, and has begun acting defensive every time we go into the back yard. She's so watchful of whether this dog is going to come out that she forgets to do her business.

Meanwhile, even I can't go out and do my gardening without this dog barking incessantly at me. One of the neighbors has gone to the extreme of lining his chain link fence with tarps so that his dogs and my neighbor's dogs can't see each other but still routinely you can hear all the dogs going nuts.

My other neighbor, who has no dogs, has expressed her frustration about not being able to work in her garden without that dog barking at her constantly.

I know my neighbors are aware of the problem, but they seem not to care. I had my dogs out in the back yard this morning doing their business. As always, I was with them- my dogs don't go outside without me. My neighbor let his dogs out at the same time, and as usual his dog rushes the fence barking like crazy. I hear him gently calling her, "Daisy, come here" over and over but the dog would not respond to him and he wouldn't bother to come out in his yard and collect his dog.

It's driving. Me. Insane.

I don't want to call Animal Control. But I stink at confrontation. A letter seems passive aggressive.

Any advice?

[nelie]

Can you just talk to them?

I'd just say what you have said here that you wonder if there is a solution that would give you some quiet time outdoors.

[EagleRiverDee]

Originally Posted by nelie

Can you just talk to them?

I'd just say what you have said here that you wonder if there is a solution that would give you some quiet time outdoors.

I can try, but based on the situation, they are aware it's a problem. Certainly when one neighbor lines his fence with tarps, they certainly must know that it's a reaction to their dog. It's unsightly- we have a nice neighborhood and most people try hard to have nice yards. Tarp lined fences stick out like a sore thumb and it wasn't like that until they moved in and their dogs made such nuisances of themselves.

I guess it just makes me angry that they are such bad neighbors and just don't seem to care. The reason I go out with my dogs every time they go out is exactly so I am not *that* neighbor. I don't want my dogs barking and carrying on they way their dogs do. And I guess I don't expect talk to accomplish much because it would only confirm to them what they certainly already know- their dog is a pain in the rear end to everyone around them.

I'm at the point where I'm also considering doing something drastic to limit the visibility from their yard to ours, and if it's not attractive it will make my DH unhappy. He's very much aware of appearances and doesn't want our yard to not fit in with the look of the neighborhood. One drawback to, say, putting in a solid wooden fence is that we really like our neighbors just behind us and would hate to not be able to stand at the fence and chat the way we do. But I'm just at my wits end.

[ReNew Me]

If the dog is not dangerous (meaning, it's controlled, not getting out of the back yard) and isn't barking at night or during quiet hours then there's not a lot that can be done by authorities. They aren't so much bad neighbors as stupid dog owners. If someone was to go speak to the owner I have no doubt they'd say something to the effect "yeah, I'm sorry but we don't know what to do about it."

If you have a neighborhood association maybe it could be addressed that way but otherwise, if nobody will call them out on it while it's happening, the best you can hope for is that someone steals the dog or it drops dead.

[Brandis]

I had this same problem. We put up a privacy fence within our other fence. The menacing barking is gone now.

If that is not an option, due to esthetics, I would ask your neighbor if you can text him or call to see if his dogs are out before you go out with yours, so that there is no interaction between the dogs. Or just simply to please not allow his dogs to rush the fence, as it is causing your dog bathroom issues.

Unfortunately, when it comes to neighbors, I am not good with the whole talking thing either-hence why I just put up two fences to block the view!This whole problem sucks, and in my case, I also had a problem that involved getting law enforcement involved, due to not just barking, but aggression and roaming on the part of the neighbor's previous dog. It is always a pain living next to people. My next house will have acreage!

Also, I don't know if they work or not, but there are devices that emit a high pitched noise at the sound of dogs barking. Maybe you could read reviews for some of those and see if you could install them on your periphery of the fence. If they work, maybe the dogs wouldn't bark so much at the fence line.

[nelie]

I think neighbors sometimes know but they don't _know_. So talking to them helps. When you live in close quarters, you often expect some neighbor disturbance but you may not realize where the critical point is at if you are the source of excess noise.

[TheSecondHalf]

There's every chance that they are thinking that as no one complains, it must not be THAT big an issue.

I would take some cookies or something and just talk about it. People get defensive and dig in when you come at thme aggressively or with accusations, but if you are friendly and honest - hey, have some cookies. I realize your dogs aren't dangerous but I can't take my dogs into my yard or work back there without them growling and barking. Is there something we can do?

ARE the dogs friendly? Our neighbors dog used to bark her head off at us when we moved in but once we "met" her, she's fine with us. I talk to her when I see her and she doesn't cut up to get my attention. What if you threw treats over the fence

[VermontMom]

Originally Posted by TheSecondHalf

There's every chance that they are thinking that as no one complains, it must not be THAT big an issue.

I would take some cookies or something and just talk about it. People get defensive and dig in when you come at thme aggressively or with accusations, but if you are friendly and honest - hey, have some cookies. I realize your dogs aren't dangerous but I can't take my dogs into my yard or work back there without them growling and barking. Is there something we can do?

ARE the dogs friendly? Our neighbors dog used to bark her head off at us when we moved in but once we "met" her, she's fine with us. I talk to her when I see her and she doesn't cut up to get my attention. What if you threw treats over the fence

You must be such a sweet person, to be able to propose such a non-aggressive approach, which only a nasty person could object to! Does your job involve working with the public?!

EagleRiverDee, I hope that unfortunate situation can be resolved!

[Pattience]

Sounds like their dogs need to be taken out for walks.

If they aren't being taken out for walks, then i would definitely call the authorities but i would tell them first.

I have no trouble confronting people about issues like this but i don't go and get abusive. I just tell they've got a problem that is upsetting. I told a neighbour once about her barking dog. They never took it for walks either but some time later the dog was not there anymore. I hope it found a new home.

[GlamourGirl827]

I agree it sounds as though the dogs need to be walked. Our neighbor that borders the back one side of our back yard has a dog that just stays in this little year all day. This woman is generally a tool, and of course does not walk her poor dog. It barks at the chain link as well, although it seems she is too preoccupied with her merry-go-round of men to notice the poor thing. However, it is fed and not looking neglected, because its not officially neglectful to fail to walk a dog despite it needing it...anyway we put up a stockade fence just along her yard. It was obvious what we were doing, but hey, what does she expect?? Can you put up a 6 foot stockyard on that side? We also plan to the line the fence with this awesome bush called Leyland cypress, they are great for privacy and blocking out neighbors. But honestly, since the fence has gone up and the dog cant see us, he's quiet.

[Scarlett]

I had a similar issue. I moved into an apartment and the 30ish year old woman who lives in the apartment next to mine (ie on the other side of my head), had these 2 little yappy dogs that would bark NONSTOP while she was gone. Some days she left at 6am and the dogs would bark all morning.

I know this upset the whole building, it was SO BAD. I said something to her about it, then nothing happened. Then a few months later I finally sent her a long text message saying that something needed to be done about the barking ie I can't study at home, they wake me up, etc. She thought I talked to the property manager so she called him and then he called me. She again promised to do something about it but nothing changed maybe a month later the property manager called me and asked for an update, I explained that the situation was still horrible. He then vowed to have a very serious talk with her about the dogs. Soon after she got bark collars and life improved dramatically.

After all of this I seriously wish I was more firm about the dogs earlier on. I tried to be nice and suffered longer (although I tried extra hard to be polite in my dealings with her). I finally felt like if she is so inconsiderate of me, why should I worry so much about being "nice" to her.

There are noise violation laws for this specific scenario. If you get several neighbors on board you could force her to change. There are bark collars, the dog can have their vocal cords removed. You do not have to put up with incessant dog barking. You could visit your local police station and find out exactly what the local laws are.

I think it is best to recount specific situations. When dealing with my neighbor I detailed being woken up at 6 am on a specific day and a night where I had a paper due at midnight and had to go to a coffee shop. Write down when the barking occurs and the specifics. Tell her firmly and politely that something needs to be done.

[Palestrina]

Ugh, neighbors!

I'm sure if you called animal control and ask for their advice they could give you a few pointers? I'm sure they've dealt with issues like these before and have some sort of suggestions on how to work things out with your neighbor. You could also visit your other neighbors and find out how they are dealing with the problem, garner some support and then approach these people as a group. When people have dogs it's to be expected that they will bark occassionally, but if they're causing your dogs to be overly excited or can't use the bathroom then it's a terrible problem. You shouldn't have to alter your house to accommodate someone else's pets.

[jiffypop]

this might sound a little screwball and/or drastic, but here goes. Find a trainer and explain the whole situation. Hatch a plan along the lines of the trainer putting advertising leaflets into everyone's mailboxes/front doors. Make sure it states 'endless barking,' 'not coming when called,' 'aggressive guarding,' 'territory guarding.' THEN let it be known that you're going to hire the trainer to help you with YOUR dogs deal with the endless barking and aggression on the other side of the fence.

you could combine this with the sweet, kind cookie approach [I'm at my wits' end - my dogs are going to need therapy and re-training for a long time!!!!]

good luck - dogs on BOTH sides of the fence are not happy, and your neighbor needs to step up and GROW UP

[TheSecondHalf]

Originally Posted by VermontMom

You must be such a sweet person, to be able to propose such a non-aggressive approach, which only a nasty person could object to! Does your job involve working with the public?!

EagleRiverDee, I hope that unfortunate situation can be resolved!

Ha, thanks! I spent about ten years in retail, which would make great training for foreign diplomats. I learned pretty quickly that you really do catch more flies with honey - so I'm not really sweet so much as manipulative

[novangel]

A letter or call to animal control isn't going to fix dogs that bark too much. If they were a threat or being abused then you might have a case...but they're just annoying dogs and the neighbors are probably aware but don't know how to get their dogs to stop. If it's after 10pm you could call the cops for disturbing the peace but you don't want friction with them either. I also highly doubt they will be willing to give up the dogs or move. It's a sucky situation for sure.

My only advice is to put up a privacy fence and hopefully that will solve the problem.