WWYD - neighbours barking dogs

Kat_Bath

Kat_Bath

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Morning all,

I'm beginning to get more and more enraged by our neighbour's barking dogs and I don't know if I should/could do something about it. Yes, I notice it more because I'm working from home but the mornings have gotten worse as well. They have 2 dogs and this week they have 4 others visiting which doesn't help but the 2 permanent dogs are just as bad on their own. This morning, they woke me up at 7.03 and then again just now at 8.14.

Their house backs on to ours. They have a high fence, we have a low fence but their garden is at a slightly lower level. Essentially, when they let the dogs out in the morning (and any other time of day for that matter), they launch out of the back door, barking and barking, in the direction of our bedroom - I'm sure it's worse because the noise is travelling directly at us, if you get what I mean.

I am a sympathetic person and I am not one to complain but this is becoming an issue now.

They bark when we leave our back door, they bark when we are in our kitchen, they bark when we're in our bathroom (to the point where I don't think it's coincidenal anymore).

Our neighbours are retired, probably in their late 60s and don't have a clue. They shout "no", "shh" and "don't you dare" at the dogs just as loud as the dogs bark. We even call them "Mr and Mrs Shush Holly" which started as a bit of a joke but now it's really annoying. They chase the dogs round the garden, waving hands and pointing fingers at them. I might be guilty of anthropomorphising but I'm sure that even Harvey, our quiet, placid Labrador, is starting to find it irritating (either that or his face of disapproval accompanied by a big sigh is just coincidenal timing ?).

I want to ask them if they have ever done any training with the dogs as the dogs can be quiet out in the garden (I've seen it with my own eyes!) but it would be a conscious effort to go round there as you can't talk over the fence because of the dogs.

They're good dogs and the owners mean well but it's making me cross now. It's a bit delayed but anger does take a while to build up in me - it's never my first reaction.

I think they know it's an issue because they try so hard to shush them but I do think I need to highlight this to them. It's not so bad in winter as they do get let out later in the morning (they don't stick to a routine really).

One of the things that upsets me most is that they have a shock collar for one of the dogs but it doesn't stop her and they use it with such a delay that it really is pointless.

Sorry for this huge outpour of information and ramble and rant - I think in a way I just needed to get it out. I know another of our neighbours also find it irritating as well and our next-door-but-one neighbour is also affected but not quite so much.

Any advice would be appreciated. I don't want to be THAT neighbour but when it's your turn for a lie in (which I don't do very well as I'm a morning person but I do try!) and you get woken up twice with such a start, it's not fun.
 
CorvusCorax

CorvusCorax

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Kat_Bath said:
Morning all,

I'm beginning to get more and more enraged by our neighbour's barking dogs and I don't know if I should/could do something about it. Yes, I notice it more because I'm working from home but the mornings have gotten worse as well. They have 2 dogs and this week they have 4 others visiting which doesn't help but the 2 permanent dogs are just as bad on their own. This morning, they woke me up at 7.03 and then again just now at 8.14.

Their house backs on to ours. They have a high fence, we have a low fence but their garden is at a slightly lower level. Essentially, when they let the dogs out in the morning (and any other time of day for that matter), they launch out of the back door, barking and barking, in the direction of our bedroom - I'm sure it's worse because the noise is travelling directly at us, if you get what I mean.

I am a sympathetic person and I am not one to complain but this is becoming an issue now.

They bark when we leave our back door, they bark when we are in our kitchen, they bark when we're in our bathroom (to the point where I don't think it's coincidenal anymore).

Our neighbours are retired, probably in their late 60s and don't have a clue. They shout "no", "shh" and "don't you dare" at the dogs just as loud as the dogs bark. We even call them "Mr and Mrs Shush Holly" which started as a bit of a joke but now it's really annoying. They chase the dogs round the garden, waving hands and pointing fingers at them. I might be guilty of anthropomorphising but I'm sure that even Harvey, our quiet, placid Labrador, is starting to find it irritating (either that or his face of disapproval accompanied by a big sigh is just coincidenal timing ?).

I want to ask them if they have ever done any training with the dogs as the dogs can be quiet out in the garden (I've seen it with my own eyes!) but it would be a conscious effort to go round there as you can't talk over the fence because of the dogs.

They're good dogs and the owners mean well but it's making me cross now. It's a bit delayed but anger does take a while to build up in me - it's never my first reaction.

I think they know it's an issue because they try so hard to shush them but I do think I need to highlight this to them. It's not so bad in winter as they do get let out later in the morning (they don't stick to a routine really).

One of the things that upsets me most is that they have a shock collar for one of the dogs but it doesn't stop her and they use it with such a delay that it really is pointless.

Sorry for this huge outpour of information and ramble and rant - I think in a way I just needed to get it out. I know another of our neighbours also find it irritating as well and our next-door-but-one neighbour is also affected but not quite so much.

Any advice would be appreciated. I don't want to be THAT neighbour but when it's your turn for a lie in (which I don't do very well as I'm a morning person but I do try!) and you get woken up twice with such a start, it's not fun.
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I've started roaring at my neighbour's dog to be quiet, in English and German (it just sounds better ?), which usually embarrasses them into taking it back inside lol.
I also think they are using a collar as the tone/intent of the barking has changed.
It uses to be insecure aggression/reaction barking, now it's 'WTF'/surprise barking.
What about a polite letter or call round for a chat? As they clearly know it is an issue. You could recommend training etc.
Normally I'd suggest going straight to Environmental Health dept of council, but they don't seem like bad spuds, just out of their depth.
 
A

angrybird1

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E collars are banned are they not? so they shouldn't be using them anyway.
I would go round and have a quiet word with them. Just politely and calmly. Could you give them some advice? Ie. Not let the dogs out quite so early, let one out at a time, Go out with them. Distract them with something when out there. Do they get enough excercise?
Recommend a good trainer.
 
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Speaking as someone who has a reactive dog who barks at people walking by (there is a footpath behind the 6 foot fence at the back of my garden) I can honestly say that if they know there is a problem, then complaining to them won’t change much. They are already trying to keep their dogs quiet, even if this is without success.

A better approach IMO would be to speak to them and say that you’ve noticed they are struggling, had they thought of doing X Y or Z?

Absolutely you shouldn’t be having to train their dogs for them, absolutely they should be keeping their dogs quiet, but clearly they can’t do that for whatever reason. That’s my reasoning why a bit of a ‘supportive intervention’ rather than a rant might be good? Not saying you would rant of course, but I know it can be tempting if you get frustrated and wound up by a situation.

I’m at my wits end with my reactive dog because I know my vile neighbours (who are quite happy to have a garden full of screaming kids all day, or ignore the neighbour on the other side of me having loud parties and playing loud music all the time) are clocking every time she does it. So yes I do accept I’m being defensive here as well ???
 
satinbaze

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You can report to the dog warden and they will try and make positive suggestions to the owners. DW will tell you to keep a diary for at least 2 weeks noting time and length of barking and if you know it what has caused the barking. The dog warden will try to help the owners control the dogs.
 
B

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I would speak to them directly, and as nicely as you can. They sound like my people. (My lovely mum would drive me mad as a teenager, as her shouting at the dog to stop barking was more disruptive than the barking itself! It was they both had to have the last word do it went on and on.)

my dog can on occasion burst out of the back door barking, usually defending the garden against the flapping pigeons in the trees behind. I’m super aware of the neighbours as I let him out at 0530. So if he seems a bit agitated I will pop his lead on to take him out and use treats to divert him from idiot pigeons until he does his business and comes back in. The other thing that works well is doing the same but scattering a bit of kibble or grated cheese on the lawn to get his nose down sniffing instead of staring at the trees. These things generally work well and he is a good quiet neighbour even when the dogs on the other side bark at everything. It might be worth just saying that you are struggling with the noise and had they thought of trying the above as you know it has worked for ‘x’.
 
Kat_Bath

Kat_Bath

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Thanks everyone - I really appreciate all your replies.

Before I reply proper, a quick update as I spoke to the husband just now. I was going to the garden bin which is outside our gate and the dogs went bat s**t. He put them inside and said "would like some dogs for a couple of months", to which I replied saying (nicely!) have you thought about doing some training with them (technically meaning Holly and Skye, the 2 permanent doggos) so that they don't bark so much. He then said that his son's dogs do that with his son and that they're staying with them for 8 weeks while they get an extension put on their house. To start with, when he asked if I wanted them, I nearly said yes as I know I can keep them quieter and I'm no expert! It's a shame he thought I meant the visiting dogs.

So we have 8 weeks of this... And there goes my idea of waiting until they go home to broach the topic of Holly and Skye barking...

They're definitely not bad people at all, they just don't know what to do to make it better. And they absolutely could make it better for all of us (them included).

I now don't feel though, that I can make any suggestions for at least 8 weeks, which is a shame. And in the same vein, if I did report to the dog warden, they would say it's a temporary thing. I may have to report the shock collar regardless though - I heard the beep of it earlier so they're still using it on at least one of them. The other week, the battery must have been low or something as I could hear it constantly bleeping and Skye was stood in the garden, tail between legs, flinching at 2 second intervals for about 5 minutes. I did watch her when she went in and he did remove it so I was glad about that.

I'm definitely not an expert but we have worked really, really hard with Harvey in the nearly 2 years we've had him and he is now a pleasure to walk passed other dogs (thank goodness!). I've also taught him new things and tricks and fun stuff so they can learn and it's sad that our neighbours are using things like a shock collar and just shouting and shouting at them :(

But at least I have said something and they know that we're annoyed, even if we're not visibly raging about it. If they do keep letting them out before 7 and after 10pm, I may politely bring it to their attention that we sleep in the back bedroom and that being woken with such a start is really unpleasant. Sadly we can't up sticks and move to the front bedroom as that is not only the spare room (sofa bed - comfy but not for 8 weeks), it is the office with 2 full desks in as we're both WFH atm (me temporarily and OH has always been WFH).

Thanks again for replying - it's all sound advice and kind of what I expected, I think I also just wanted reassurance.
 
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SusieT

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I would go and speak to them. The most reliable suggestion might be a spray collar rather than a shock collar, kinder and no human needed to set it off.
I think as well the other thing they could do is walk the dogs rather than let them out in their garden before say 9am - extreme but a suggestion worth making and if they persist then report them. Of course if you've spoken to them they will know it was you reported them..
 
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angrybird1

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I think spray collars have been banned too or are going to be ?
Personally, I'd have taken the chance of speaking to the owner when you had the chance. They clearly know its a problem but need help dealing with it.
if they know its a issue for you they may get some help.
 
CorvusCorax

CorvusCorax

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Neither are banned yet, electric collars are illegal in Wales. The beeping is likely a warning beep before vibration or stimulation.
Anti bark collars work automatically rather than a human operating a remote.
 
Kat_Bath

Kat_Bath

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It's definitely got a remote as I've seen them use it and they have previously shouted at each other "grab the buzzer, grab the buzzer". We're in Scotland, if that makes a difference - I haven't looked into it at all.

I did have a good chance but the focus very quickly became his son and their extension :( He also looked totally fed up but I can hardly say I'm surprised.
 
Kat_Bath

Kat_Bath

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I could not agree more. The worse thing is, Skye (who normally wears it) isn't the worse and they use it on such a delay that it just doesn't work, never mind the fact it's awful in the first place.
 
Kat_Bath

Kat_Bath

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I think, from reading into it, they wanted to ban them and then didn't...

They do get walks, I have to say that, but they are round the block and neither dog ever looks stimulated or happy to be out exploring (unlike Harvey who sniffs every blooming brick!). They also thrash around at the end of the lead, barking, throwing themselves around, when they pass another dog. Although helpful for Harvey's training, it's not nice to see. They shouldn't have dogs but they don't hugely mistreat them, you know? They have good intentions. The small interaction I had today would suggest they wouldn't be willing to take any suggestions board because they have their way of "dealing with it". And it's very, very rare you get the opportunity to actually speak to them (second time I ever have, despite living here for nearly 3 years) as the dogs go absolutely mental at you so you can't even hear yourself, let alone get a point across to them.

I'll ring the dog warden tomorrow and see what they say about the collar at least.
 
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I have a problem with my neighbor's dog barking. If he gets my dogs stirred up I've been known to turn the hose pipe on them and make sure I manage to get the other dog full in the face.
There is some sort of device that a friend purchased to deal with her neighbor's barking dogs. I think she got it off of Amazon.
I don't like the spray collars, at least the ones that spray citronella, because that smell lingers. With an electronic bark collar, the dog barks and it zaps. I bought one several years ago and didn't like how my poor dogs reacted and haven't used it since.

Good luck.
 
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