To complain to council

[KaosReigns]

NDN have two Labradors who just will not stop barking.

Not the occasional bark when guests come but barking non stop for long periods of time. One morning they were barking from 9am to after 10am with only short breaks. With there being two of them when one is taking a breath in between barks the other is barking.

It is driving me insane. I'm due to give birth in June and I just don't know how I am going to deal with the constant barking and a newborn.

We have a dog ourselves and I am also worried about her being blamed for the barking of the dogs next door. She is well trained not to bark, and gets pretty upset when the dogs next door do it, for a couple of days she tried joining them but I put an immediate stop to that and now she hides in her kennel when it starts. However if anyone complains and says that she is the barker then we would lose our 'Responsible Owner' discount on her yearly registration.

I can't hang out the washing without being barked at. Our dog can't play with her toys because it starts them barking. Every time we open our gate or dare to wander out in to our own back yard the barking starts, to the point where I just don't go out there anymore.

So WIBU to contact the council to complain about the noise, or should I try approach the owners directly? I don't know what complaining would achieve short of costing them large amounts of money.

They're fucking at it again!!! 3 fucking barking fits in the time it took me to write this post. I can't take it anymore!!!

[daisychain01]

I'd keep it as amicable as you can if you own your property. Start by going round and politely mentioning the disturbance to them.

Also keep a diary of the times dates frequency of disturbance for the record, but......
Only contact the council as a last resort, as formal NDN disputes can affect the resale value of your property

[KaosReigns]

We are renting, but plan on being here long term.

Neighbours know that the barking is a problem, and have apologised for it before. But just seem incapable of doing anything about it. The dogs will be 15 minutes in to a barking session before they even come out and tell them to be quiet.

Can't seem to think of a solution that will actually stop the barking.

[Nandocushion]

I approached my neighbour directly, and she was sorry but basically said there was nothing she could do. So we contacted the city (not council here). They fined her several times in increasing amounts, and as if by magic, the barking stopped. I would just call the council if I were you.

[PinkheartsPinkfarts]

I am currently having my own issue with a neighbour and whilst usually I would advise to approach them first It has never worked out for me in a good way but then people get annoyed if you dont approach first but if you do they are rude.

[MattDillonsPants]

I had this OP but I was the baddy with the barking dog. My dog was 5 months old when we got him and big and barky.

He's a sheepdog type so a bit too protective.

We were trying everything possible to get a handle on it and the neighbour shouted at me repeatedly because obviously she was upset.

I wasn't ignoring him though....I was trying to train.

Anyway...eventually, she worked with me on the issue....she came into our garden, we brought the dog into hers...we chatted over the fence with the dog next to me until he got to know here and now he never says a word when she comes out.

I was going to get him a bark collar...they spray citrus at the dog...but wanted to avoid that if possible and luckily he stopped.

Tell the neighbour nicely that it's very bothersome...and perhaps if you could meet the dogs in person and if she could talk over the fence to you then they'd stop.

[KaosReigns]

I have also been the owner of the barking dog in the past, which is why we are so hesitant to complain. I wouldn't even consider complaining if we saw any evidence of the neighbours actually trying to stop the barking.

We worked really hard to stop the dog barking and made it clear to our neighbours that we were doing everything we could. It was also a very complicated situation where one neighbour was intentionally making our dog bark, and all of the other neighbours knew this so everyone was angry at the neighbour not our dog. That is why their barking upsets our dog so much, because she knows it is wrong and keeps coming to me wondering why she would be punished when they aren't.

My partner and I have both chatted with the neighbour through the fence, and introduced ourselves to the dogs with their owner present. Just a calm hello, have a sniff of us we live here now. They still bark whenever we emerge, and 90% of the time we aren't even outside they're just barking. Can't for the life of me figure out what it's at, no people walking past, our dog and cats are inside well away from their property, all other neighbours at work, but they're still barking like someone is trying to break in to their house.

[KaosReigns]

If I weren't pregnant I would have offered to take their dogs out for a walk during the day while they're out, because I get the feeling that it is boredom causing it. But keeping my own dog entertained is enough at the moment.

[Idefix]

Are the ndn in whilst the dogs bark like this? If so I would speak to them about it but make it clear that this barking has to change.

I have two dogs and one is a very small but Barky natured dog, when she was younger if she started to bark in the garden for more than one or two "hello, I am here" barks she was brought inside. She now has a quiet gruff bark outside, that can't be heard unless you stand right next to her iyswim.
If your ndn are in the house this is something they can resolve with a bit of effort.

From experience of living nd to a howling husky with separation anxiety the solution only happened when the ndn moved and partiall resolved by having a doggy bedroom in the cellar which muffled the intensity of the howls...

[KaosReigns]

I'm never sure. Usually I assume they're not home, because who could live with their dogs barking like that and not react. But on more than one occasion the dogs have been barking for 10-15 minutes then she emerges to tell them off.

[TestingTestingWonTooFree]

How do you get on with their other NDN? Are they similarly irritated? Can you approach together?

[RidersOnTheStorm]

Contact the council. hey won't like it but they don't sound like reasonable neighbours anyway.

[teafortoads]

I have a similar problem and it is a total nightmare and has escalated; very stressful especially with toothless Council workers who seem incapable of following their own rules (we and neighbours are both in Council rented properties). I would approach neighbour with a friendly 'I'm sure you're not aware of the dogs missing you and being unsettled when you are out' type of line and see how that goes? You can get sonic dog bark deterrent type thingies fairly cheaply, though I'm no James Herriot but am assuming this would also upset your own pooch somewhat? If no joy approaching the neighbour (mine ignored my polite requests and we are talking 7 hours straight yapping from a rat-ferret thing dog locked in the kitchen in a terraced house), then the Council SHOULD warn the neighbours in writing then offer noise monitoring equipment. Although the whole thing is hideous for neighbourly relations (we are no longer planning to buy our house Goodbye 'right to buy bargain! Hello lifetime of private renting! ). Don't fret too much about the baby; DD2 has grown up with every sort of noise imaginable from Neighbours From Hell and is totally bomb proof. It is me whose last nerve is utterly jangled. It is sortable but is a lengthy process.

[Skittlesss]

Someone over the road from me allows their dog to bark and I reported them to the council twice. A short time after the first report they stopped the barking for a few months, but then it started up again so have reported again.

They are not approachable people and also they are teasing the dog and making it bark. I can see their yard from my window and see the man holding things up high so the dog can't get to them. This is at 9pm at night.

I wouldn't have complained if the dog barking was during the day but it barks at 5.30am for half an hour every week day, 8-9pm and sometimes if they've been out they let him out at 1-2am of a weekend and he barks then!

[smokeybandit]

Most council's require you notify them of pets and in any case it should be in the tenancy terms and conditions that you br s responsible pet owner should you have any and that your ownership of animals should not impact on others. It's a tenancy issue, take it up with council if neighbour is unlikely or unwilling to help. Talk to your housing manager if you know who they are, otherwise ASB or noise nuisance team.

[smokeybandit]

Typo. Be a, not br s.

[MistressChalk]

Urgh we have this, every time they let their dog in the garden it barks constantly until they pull it back in. I wouldn't usually mind too much but in this case I think it barks because it doesn't like other people, so it barks at people walking past the houses, barks if I dare sit in my garden, barks if it can hear kids playing. It's a massive dog and a notoriously aggressive breed, so the barks are loud warning type barks.
I love dogs but this does worry me slightly that they don't seem to care that he is so territorial. They are not approachable though, they don't do anything when he barks for hours now so I doubt they'd do anything if we approached them.

[KaosReigns]

Thanks everyone, they NDN do seem like a nice enough couple. They just don't seem to know what a massive nuisance the dogs are.

Will start keeping a record as of tomorrow, starting with the 30-60 minutes of barking that sets off every morning at 7am when DP heads to work. Then try hang out and 'accidentally' bump in to the neighbour over the weekend to have a word.

Next step taking my diary to the council. Were not in the UK, dogs must be registered and not cause a nuisance though, so they would receive a warning, then a fine or three, then the dogs would be seized (which we would feel dreadful about if it came to that).

[KaosReigns]

Just don't want to feel like I would be a colossal bitch to report them.

[Fizzielove]

My NDN took her dog to a doggy psychologist/ whisperer! Don't know what they did but £70 and 1 session and the constant barking stopped! I put up with it for 10 months before I snapped and said something!

[parmalilac]

How can they be completely unaware of this? It's really rude and inconsiderate.

Had this problem before in various places, most recently NDNs (we were just 2 houses in the middle of nowhere) suddenly decided to put their 2 dogs in a cage outside all day, where they barked ALL DAY until the nbs came home at 6pm. I went round and politely told them it was a problem as I work from home wanted to ask why the sodding things couldn't have been barking when we'd originally viewed the house. They looked at me, this pair of wealthy professionals, with the cat's bottom mouths, and said there wasn't any problem and THEY never heard the dogs bark. I said that obviously it didn't happen when they came home from work and let the dogs indoors. They said they would see what they could do. No change. I went round again, same conversation again, and I asked why the dogs couldn't be kept indoors (in their gigantic 8 bedroom house), was told they were 'outdoor dogs'. So how is sitting in a cage all day different to sitting in a room?? No change. Called council, eventually problem was sorted, but it took several visits and letters, much record keeping from me. Can't believe people can be so horrible and ignorant. This is why we now live in a house with NO neighbours!