Does This Constitute Excessive Noise?

Norris2005

Our next door neighbours have 4 dogs that they got in January. They’re locked in the garden for approx 15 hours per day with no food, water or shelter. The dogs are not trained, exercised, played with or stimulated in any fashion. 

Aside from being concerned for the dogs welfare, they bark incessantly and it is driving us up the wall.

Their house has been on the market for 4 months so we decided not to say anything & hope the house sells. But it isn’t selling, so yesterday I said to the guy that the noise is bothering us and can they do something? He said that they’re just puppies and they’re “finding their voice”.

It is constant from 8am - 10:30/11pm. At least 30 mins per hour. In my opinion the dogs are neglected and mistreated. Our neighbour opposite is also disturbed by the noise.

my understanding is that both the RSPCA and the council have a high burden of proof when it comes to taking action against negligent dog owners & excessive noise. Before we go down that path, I wonder, do you think we have a case?

tacpot12

You might. It would be as well to start keeping a diary of when the dogs are barking, how many of them are barking, whether there is any reason for them to be barking, such as someone trying to get into the garden, etc. 

Your neighbour that is also being bothered should also do the same. It's better if a complaint is made at the same time by two indenpendent parties.

The lack of water and shelter needs reporting to the RSPCA immediately. The RSPCA should send someone to check on the dogs, and if they find them without water, they will regard the issue as serious. 

elsien

You’re probably living next door to one of the idiots who say “they’re dogs, it’s what they do.”
No, it’s not acceptable at all. I think if you could evidence it, it’s very likely you would have a case if your council is one of the ones that can be bothered. 
. It’s also something you need to declare when selling however as any potential viewer can hear the racket anyway that probably won’t make a lot of difference in real terms. 

However, be aware that the RSPCA doesn’t deal with noise nuisance. They are concerned about whether the dogs basic food, water, shelter and health needs are being met. They’re not going to do anything about dogs not being stimulated  and creating because they are bored. 

That would involve your local dog warden and/or environmental health.
Noise and neglect are two different issues. 

MikeJXE

Never mind the barking 

No food water or shelter is more to the point 

Report them to the RSPCA

Savvy_Sue

elsien said:

. It’s also something you need to declare when selling however as any potential viewer can hear the racket anyway that probably won’t make a lot of difference in real terms. 

It's the neighbour who would need to declare the complaint at this stage, which of course might make the house less sell-able, but not necessarily any less sell-able than it is already with lots of dogs barking constantly in the back garden! 

Tucosalamanca

RSPCA might act quickly, particularly as four dogs are involved.
Are any children living at the property, any other anti-social behaviour?
Are the dogs left unattended for long periods of time, this would certainly be frowned upon.

If they are concerned, they might attend with others, council or Police (PCSO?), so don't be surprised if it escalates quite quickly...

35har1old

MikeJXE said:

Never mind the barking 

No food water or shelter is more to the point 

Report them to the RSPCA

Food should be provided but it's a bad idea to leave food that has not be consumed in a outdoor environment as it will attract vermin.

sheramber

You couldn't leave food out for 4 dogs.
How would you make sure thye got what they needed and it was not  all eaten by the stronger ones?

Water and shelter  needs to be provided.

For nuisance barking you could contact your local dog warden  or Environmental Health.

. There should be information on who to contact on your local council website.

They will want to know things like.

• The volume of the barking
• The duration of the barking
• The time of day in which the barking takes place

so start keeping a log of the barking. Recording  some of it might be useful.

Norris2005

Thanks all for your input, much appreciated.

thriftytracey

I wish the law could be changed it is so cruel when dogs don't get walked and left like that. It's cruel.  Dogs are sentient creatures.

FlorayG

I've had this problem in the past this is what I did;
1) went round and asked them very nicely to do something about it
2) wrote a letter and posted through their door telling them that I would have to take action if they didn't do something about it
3) Kept a diary for a whole month of every time the barking occurred - sometimes it was in the middle of the night and often during the day would go on for an hour or more
4) Spoke to all the OTHER neighbours to see if they were also suffering it - they were
5) wrote a letter of complaint to the council, signed by all the neighbours
Council sent the dog warden around to see them and advise them on the nuisance they were causing...dog ( it was only one but very loud) was after that kept in. 
Best of luck