Dog barking

boingsaidzebedee

Had a similar problem.
They were redeveloping the local Greyhound Track and I bought the electric motor,running gear and imitation hare.
I installed this to run on a continuous circuit along the top of the garden fence and set it going.
The next door German Shepherd spotted it and started chasing.
Two days later it dropped dead from exhaustion.
Unfortunately the squirrel which lives in my garden elm tree fell off a branch laughing and broke his leg.He has now engaged a no win no fee team of solicitors who inform me they intend to sue my bottom off.

ROY47

We had same problem a few years ago
Neighbours moved away luckily

I reckon all dog owners are deaf !

Davesnave

When you said:
"Eventually I contacted the council, and they took it up for me, agreeing from the logs they asked me to keep that it seemed excessive. The next step was them putting noise equipment in to monitor it. They sent next door a letter, and he came round and went crazy - threatening with counter action"

I'm taking this to mean that you didn't follow through and ask the council to install the monitoring equipment. In that case, it's still an option, come summer.

Meanwhile the neighbour has bought another GSD, possibly as company for the other, but maybe to assert themselves against the 'threat' you now pose to them.

It's difficult. There's no telling if the council will find the noise excessive, even if it's as loud as GSDs can be. If they considered it OTT, they could require your neighbour to control the dog, and if that was shown not to work, start issuing fines. However, all this is theory and maybe unlikely to happen with intermittent noise. As you recognise, some dogs bark most of the time and councils reserve expensive prosecutions for extreme cases. My own council is so reluctant, it suggests people take out private prosecutions! It's possible, but it's fraught with difficulties..

So, you have to decide whether to offer an olive branch or a big stick. In the back of my mind would be the thought that many owners are not mentally capable of controlling their dogs, even if they wanted to.

I'd certainly wait to see what happens with two dogs. In my limited experience, two dogs do set each other off, so the noise could well increase, in which case moving might be be the better option, rather than a protracted battle that no one wins, simply because no one can.

Katapolt

stick some business cards through their door for local dog trainers, or walkers who can come and take the dogs out in the day to keep them occupied. Sounds like the poor things are bored.

JulieElizabeth

There is a wee yappie dog that is left out in the back yard of a house near to me. This means I can't open a kitchen window or back door in the summer. It yaps loudly and often for prolonged periods of time.


Can't offer advice but I feel your pain.

krlyr

Dogs bark. Just like babies will cry...if their household noise is loud in your house then chances are your household noises are probably loud in theirs too. Maybe that's why they don't have too much pity for you?

Unfortunately GSDs can have quite a booming bark and some can be more vocal than others. I'm fortunate that mine is more of a grumbler than a whiner or barker but he will still bark at the postman etc...I've done some training to reduce it, and if I'm home then I will ask him to be quiet (I don't enjoy listening to it, let alone the neighbours!), but ultimately he is a dog not a robot so there are some times where he will bark (especially if I'm not about).

I think if the relationship has broken down that badly then you're either going to have to continue down the council route and deal with the fallout (I'm not really sure what he can do to counter you - you're not harassing him if there's noise there and you're working with the council to establish if it is a nuisance or not) or find some ways to soundproof the room/house a bit better.

Katapolt wrote: »

stick some business cards through their door for local dog trainers, or walkers who can come and take the dogs out in the day to keep them occupied. Sounds like the poor things are bored.

Might not be bored at all - can just be a breed trait. Or a dog trait!

Bigphil1474

Depends where you live, but the council I work for has to establish if it is a statutory nuisance, and if so they can take action. If they establish a stat. nuisance then they can require the owners to take all reasonable steps to shut the dog up. How the owner does that is up to them, but it could be through training, or not allowing the dog outside unless someone is with it etc. etc. Either way, it's not your problem. Some councils work to the Noise Act so can issue fines to the responsible person.


They wouldn't usually remove the dog unless all other avenues have been thoroughly explored - mainly because it costs a fortune and isn't good PR.

ForestBluebells

If you say the dog only barks and squirrels and when you are in the garden then it doesnt sound like the dog is barking all day excessively, dogs are allowed to bark some of the time as they are living beings, not robots. The loudness of the dogs bark isnt really relevents its whether it is barking for excessively long periods. I think the council would drop the case if you tried to take it further anyway and you would no doubt damage the relationship you have with your neighbour irreprably and then have to declair it when you come to sell your property that you had neighbourly disputes. I would also assume that your neighbours have had to put up with your baby screaming in the night, your kids making noise in the garden throughout the years...... it doesnt seem worth falling out any more over.