Recently purchased house, barking dog.

JP1978

Not really any sympathy - the friend knew that there were many dogs in the area, realised that posed a risk of noise and believed the response of the vendor/agent on the noise? Why not take a drive by at various times of the day over the course of a week or so and listen?

Its akin to moving next to a pub and then asking them to stop making noise after 9pm.

Mickygg

Stayontheground wrote: »

Oh and if i were to buy a house now... I'd definitely be listening out for barking. I would visit the street at different times of the day. I would want to know who has a dog nearby.
Our neighbours bought the dog after we moved here.

That's the problem. You can buy a house and do all the investigation and research in months leading up to the purchase, but all it takes is For a neighbour the day after completion to get a dog, put in planning for a huge extension, take custody of kids etc etc and that's that.

Buying a house is a risk. It's just such a shame it's a hugely expensive risk!

Stayontheground

I know it's not the dog's fault but sometimes, like today for example. I just don't want to get out of bed in the mornings and feel like crying all day.
I can't open my window at night as it's just too irritating.
There was a bloke who became so stressed over his neighbour's barking dog that he killed it. It was in all the papers. The prosecution said that he should have carried on trying to get the council to do something. I know from my own experience that as the complainant, you're completely left out of the loop. The officer will come and advise the family ("entertain the dog" "move the dog" which they ignore etc) but not one of them has knocked on my door nor written to me with updates. I have to send angry emails to get even the slightest bit of information.
I know that if I blasted punk out of my upstairs window in retaliation, I would get a visit immediately!
Our house is worthless while this continues, even if we moved out and rented we would still be paying the mortgage on top. We couldn't even rent out our house. I wouldn't put potential tenants through this!

Stayontheground

Just because there are many dogs in an area doesn't mean they will all bark endlessly.
It's the selfish owners who couldn't give a toss about anybody else by allowing it to happen that are the problem. Too many people get a dog and don't feel it's necessary to train it.
The statement "it's a dog!" just doesn't wash with me. It's atypical of a standard selfish idiot.
An untrained dog with lazy, irresponsible owners will have poor mental health, so spend all its time barking at, oh let me think...the sky, a cloud, a leaf blowing by, a stiff breeze, a bird tweeting, anything...Nothing!!!

maisie_cat

A couple of things strike me here, the issue of that particular dog barking, but also the expectation that all noise is a nuisance.
If you live in a densely populated area you will never get peace & quiet and we all make some noise, a lawnmower can be just as annoying especially in the summer when the lawn addicts use them every day for an hour.
What about bbq smells & smoke, or screaming kids playing in a paddling pool, music, people working on their houses, or indeed employing tradesmen to do so?
In my village I can hear on an average day, dogs, chickens, music, lawnmowers, power tools and delivery vehicles.
I accept that it's the price of living in a community rather than in isolation and even if I didn't the council will do nothing when it's all during day time hours.

Soot2006

The RSPCA can be very helpful esp if you're in an area with some good officers. I have gone out with the RSPCA a few times and many of the calls are for dogs left alone all day/unhappy/barking/etc ... Good advice can make an enormous difference and many people listen to uniforms more than to neighbours!

Our new puppy is barking, thankfully not at night (touch wood), but a LOT. We put a note through to both neighbours to say sorry new dog still learning etc x

nikongirl

maisie_cat wrote: »

A couple of things strike me here, the issue of that particular dog barking, but also the expectation that all noise is a nuisance.
If you live in a densely populated area you will never get peace & quiet and we all make some noise, a lawnmower can be just as annoying especially in the summer when the lawn addicts use them every day for an hour.

Of course there should be some expectation of noise but there's difference between occasional noise and something that's a repetitive pattern every day for hours on end. Especially in situations where you've told the neighbour how badly it affects you and they still do it. In that situation it starts to feel like a personal attack on you every time it happens.

I totally feel for Stayontheground with the work issue. When I was on a secondment I found the open-plan office really difficult to work in and had to invest in some noise-cancelling headphones to block everything else out (or you could try a white noise app). Some people are definitely more noise-sensitive than others, but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect neighbours to mitigate their noise a bit, especially if they've been asked nicely.

Davesnave

Nope, I don't think many people 'get it,' unless they actually experience a dog, or dogs, barking incessantly for hours on end, day in and day out.

It isn't remotely comparable with lawn mowers, traffic, cockerels, pub forecourts, barbecues and screaming children. Using those as examples just shows how far from understanding some contributors are.

It isn't a necessary part of living in a community at all. It's anti-community.

Yes, of course people make noise; some more than others, but certain noises are intended to cause distress or unease. Dog barking is one of them, and another is babies crying.

I wonder how many here would be content to listen to a baby crying for 3 or 4 hours at a stretch, several times a day? Yes, we've all done it a few times, and it was distressing enough then, but every day of every week?

EachPenny

ED2 wrote: »

So I'm not sure what I can advise my friend here. If anyone would like to chime in and offer suggestion, experience...

Based on other people's comments on here I would suggest the following advice.

1) Your friend should buy a bigger louder dog than the neighbours. And a cat.
2) Encourage her cat to tease the dog.
3) When the loud barking of your friend's dog annoys the neighbours into coming round she can have a nice chat with them about the problems of dog barking disturbance and agree that she will keep her dog quiet if they do likewise.
4) If (3) fails to have the desired effect then -
a) She will be unlikely to hear the neighbours dogs barking above the noise of her own dog.
b) Having pets will make her feel less stressed, so the neighbours dogs will no longer bother her.

5) She should consider herself lucky not to live next door to students, at least dogs don't set smoke alarms off at all times of the night while trying to cook bacon sandwiches after a night in the pub.

Stayontheground

The Rspca told me that as long as the dog had food and water there was nothing they could do.
I don't know what area you live in, maybe the rspca are more effective in certain areas. I do recall watching a documentary where an rspca officer visited a man with an overweight dog!!
Obviously a fat dog is more of a worry than a mentally ill dog locked in a coupe all day. After all it has food and water!! Though on their website one of the four points of cruelty is an unnatural environment.
I actually gave a monthly direct debit to the rspca before this. I cancelled it immediately following the phone call. I honestly felt like I was speaking a different language, then speaking to a brick wall. The woman on the phone would not listen to me at all. It's disgusting.
I've just had to make an application for bankruptcy.
There is no help whatsoever if you own your own house, I've recently discovered that their house; the family who own the dog, is a council house.
They even viewed my neighbour's house and are now considering purchasing it. If that dog is moved right next door. I will snap!
I hoped that other neighbour's might help but they don't want any trouble, the last time I confronted the family (they were happily using our trailer as their own personal skip, which meant that whenever we hitched the trailer, we had to visit the tip first!) I found myself surrounded by about 15 Asian teenagers who attempted to intimidate me. Which I found quite amusing as I grew up in an area where I learned at a young age never to be intimidated. As a woman though, I did find it worrying, I've never experienced that level of misogyny in my life.
Unfortunately my car was then mysteriously trashed!
So I can understand why other neighbours don't speak up.
This is a small village, not a city like I'm used to.
I've never experienced this level of behaviour before. Moving here was a big mistake! I hate it.