neighbours barking dogs driving me nuts!

[electric_circus]

We live in a semi-detached house and have recently got some new neighbours with two dogs. The dogs bark what feels like a lot - several minutes at a time, repeatedly throughout the day. They bark when the postman comes to the door, they bark when our dog goes in our back garden, they bark when they are left (they bark continuously when this happens), they bark for no apparent reason even when the owners are at home. Most irritatingly, they bark when we use our own front door! I spoke to the owners after the dogs barked continuously for 5 hours when they were left shortly after they moved in, they were receptive to this and naturally a bit upset that their dogs had been so distressed while they were out. The thing is, they don't do anything to quiet the dogs even when they are in the house with them or when they can hear them barking in the garden.

I am sympathetic, to a point, as we have a rescue dog with separation anxiety and he will sometimes cry when left. There is no apparent pattern to this and we have worked with a dog behaviourist to help him as best we can. He is usually ok, but sometimes relapses. We do mitigate this though, as I work from home at lot of the time and he goes to doggy daycare on the couple of days a week when I'm not there. However, apart from the fact I work from home and the barking is really irritating, we will hopefully be looking to sell our house in the not-too-distant future and I am really concerned about what potential viewers are going to think when they come to our door and hear a barrage of barking from next door... which they can then hear in our house... If I went to view a house and that was my first impression I wouldn't even bother viewing the rest.

I don't really know what to do... the loopy woman sees the dogs as 'her babies' and I'd prefer not to make a complaint to environmental health as we will then have to declare this when we sell. When speaking to them, they are clearly angling for me to come and let the dogs out or something, as they have offered to do the same for us despite my protestations that we have a dogwalker. Being a massive grumpy old woman now, but I don't want them letting themselves into my house and don't want to get involved with their 'babies' as I can foresee it ending badly.

Has anyone got any advice? Tbh, I'd even just take some sympathy! I have tried the speaking to them route, and am considering getting them to sit in my living room and listening to the barking, but they surely must be able to hear our dog on the rare occasion he makes a noise! Would sound-proofing the dividing wall help?

 

[Doormouse]

Quite a hard one and I do sympathise as the noise of other peoples dogs barking is very tiresome.

Just a thought but perhaps as these neighbours are quite new it may be a very new environment for the dogs too and over the next few months they may settle down and stop barking at every unusual noise. I know that when I moved away from home, very rural house with no neighbours, with my 2 terriers into a cottage in a village with lots of neighbours they barked a lot to begin with but soon settled down once they realised there was nothing to worry about and that noises outside the house or from next door were not a threat.

 

[Possum]

I do sympathise - when you say 'recently' how long do you mean? Days/weeks/months? If they are very new then it probably will settle with time.
The problem is there may not in all reality be a huge amount the owner can do about it. We have a little terrier, and she is a vocal dog. She barks when she hears noises outside, when she's excited, hungry etc etc - it's just who she is and how she expresses herself. She's no worse or better if we're in or not. We're also in a semi and luckily our dividing wall is thick and next door are lovely, but if they did complain I don't know what we'd do. Do they bark at unsociable hours? I try my utmost to make sure that katie doesn't bark between 8pm and 8am, luckily she's normally exhausted and crashed out by then so not an issue unless there's fireworks.

 

[Bellasophia]

I feel your pain...we bring our two indoors between 1 and 3pm and in the evenings they sleep with us...HOWEVER,my neighbors all have garden dogs who are out 24/7.
We have a nighttime howler and a barker( GSD) who go at it all night long.
I sometimes have to lean out of my window and use this ultrasound ,high frequency dazer...
Instant success...http://www.dazer.com/dog-deterrent.jsp
Worth a try?i can say it works well and doesn't harm the dog..it's a high frequency sound that only the dogs hear and is an eversive.

 

[electric_circus]

Doormouse, they've been here about a month - they have downsized from a detached house on a quiet cul de sac, so being on a village high street is going to be quite different as while it isn't a busy road there is more traffic and particularly at school pick up/drop off. The dogs used to have the run of the entire house and bark whenever a bus went past, though I think since speaking to them and suggesting they shut the dogs at the back of the house (as we do with ours) so it was a bit less stimulating has helped.

Possum, I really am sympathetic to them but their dogs 'expressing themselves' won't help us one jot when we try to sell the house and the first thing that people hear is the barking, which then continues inside the house They don't seem to bark overnight or in the early hours, which is something at least!!

Bellasophia, thanks I'll have a look - I guess it doesn't work through walls though?

 

[Possum]

If it's only been a month and they're used to a very different environment then I'd be surprised if it didn't settle down. It does sound as if the owners are making some effort if they've taken your suggestion of confining their dogs to the back of the house.

I think you're being completely reasonable asking them to do something to sort incessant barking for hours when they're out, maybe you could keep a diary of when you hear the barking for a few days and then take it round to them? Or get neighbours the other side involved?

I was just making the point that with some dogs short volleys of barking (say less than a minute) at noises or random other triggers can be difficult to rectify, and if not at unsuitable hours IMHO it's not unreasonable. But this is completely different to incessant barking, and hopefully you will be able to get something sorted.

 

[electric_circus]

There aren't any neighbours on the other side, just us. I really really hope the dogs settle down, for their own sakes as well as ours. I don't think they're terrible people and you're right, they have made an effort - I get that short volleys are really difficult but when it is four or five times an hour plus sustained volleys of barking for 20 minutes in the garden it just doesn't seem entirely fair on us either?? If my dog starts making a row in the garden (rare, he isn't a bark-y breed, which was a deliberate choice because we have neighbours!!) I bring him straight in. As I'm typing this, the barking has started again... :'(

 

[Bellasophia]

if they are indoors I think you have to put up with it or sound proof your house..
If they are outside at ridiculous hours and no one can sleep it's game on IMO.

 

[Copperpot]

I feel for you. We have just moved and it's lovely not to listen to my neighbours dog bark all day. Even when she was in he did it and she just sat there. We have 5 dogs and when I was on nights the only thing that woke me up was sodding Oscar next door yapping lol. We offered her a collar that would squirt him in the face when he did it but she said it was cruel. To be fair when we told him to shut up if he was in the garden he did. But at 3am when he was going for it I could have happily killed him.

 

[A1fie]

Hi I had the opposite problem from you. I rescued a little dog to keep my other one company and she barked incessantly - but only when I was out, so I didn't know about it until my neighbour told me.

I was mortified when she let me know and so I got a collar that sprays a citronella scent when she barks. It worked a treat and stopped the problem immediately.

You may find that if you say something to your neighbour that she is willing to do something to sort the problem out. If she isn't, then maybe getting the environmental health involved would be a good idea.

Good luck!