Neighbours dog barking - I'm so stressed and anxious

[Chefpig]

My neighbours dog barks frequently when they're home. They're home pretty much all the time. Their attempts to shut the dog up consists of screaming at the dog or saying its name very meekly. This has been going on for 18 months since I moved in. I tried to talk to male neighbour twice when I bumped into him the street but he was full of excuses such as ill health as to why they hadn't trained the dog. I also went round during one particularly bad morning which was constant barking til 1pm when I'd had enough. The man was incredibly short and rude to me.

I ended up going to the council and they fit a recorder. The readings were just below the threshold and I wasn't surprised as they'd kept the dog especially quiet that week.

It's all started back up again and I'm going out of my mind with the noise, the sheer stress. I feel like I live with a dog and two people because I can hear them so often.

The council are willing to fit another sound recorder but can't for a month due to my and their availability.

The barking is scaring my own pets as well as disturbing me.

It's started late at night when he goes to and from the pub, which it used to do but stopped but lately it's been waking me up again.

What can I do?

If you can hear them too is there any way you can add something to dull/muffle the sounds coming through the wall from next door?

Have you tried having your radio on low or white noise or anything like that to make the barking less loud and sudden?

Do your neighbours own or rent?

When the council come, is it obvious they are coming with recording equipment? If it is, I'd ask if that can be problem solved at all eg can they not park outside your house/in view when they come.

Fan noise can muffle the noise but it's too cold now for the fan on. I'll try the radio and I'll turn the tv up everytime the dog barks to drown it out. Hopefully it'll get annoying for them hearing my tv.

How so? Because I'm tired from almost constant dog barking?

Sorry, I didnt answer the rest of your questions. They own the house.

The council officer parked down the road last time. I think they still heard him in the house though.

Why would it scare your pets? That’s bizarre.

Just look to move house, this isn’t the place for you

It startles them. My pets aren't dogs BTW.

That's stupidly unpleasant and unhelpful

Still bizarre. Animals aren’t typically constantly surprised by other animals

So do you.

You are ‘stressed and anxious’ because your neighbours’ dog is barking? Seriously?

I’m sure it’s irritating, but come on, now.

If it’s so debilitating, I recommend investing in
a white noise machine. You can get one off Amazon for a tenner and then drown noise out sufficiently for small babies to sleep.

Prey animals can be startled.

Are you actually joking???? Ear plugs do nothing to even muffle the sound of a barking dog. Barking is a really loud and incredibly intrusive sound.

It's not even 10 days since your last thread on this, and you have written several other threads re the dog/s before over several months.

What are you going to do ?

Clearly you have complained to the Council and they have monitored the noise.

Have you taken your own legal action yet ?

They own their home, do you own yours ? if so you can consider selling - but of course any neighbour disputes / legal action need to be declared.

I would imagine she’s an entitled dog owner OP - there are a lot of them about 🙄

I wonder if you've ever been affected by a dog barking so much that all your daily activities are interrupted. Peacefully reading a book? Interrupted. Watching tv? Interrupted. Working from home and presenting a meeting? Interrupted. Eating a meal? Interrupted. The list goes on.

I am writing again because it's really affecting my mental state. Work is also really stressful atm and trying to work at home when the dog is barking is very difficult. I couldn't go to the office for the last few days as I was ill and needed to be near a toilet at all times.

I've been thinking about taking my own legal action but I know it costs a few hundred to take it to court, but then the solicitors fees would be astronomical. I wondered about representing myself. I have all the evidence, after all.

They own their home. I don't own mine. Can't afford to move at the moment. I only moved in this property 18 months ago and I've spent lots of money doing it up nicely.

What would legal action even do though? Why not put that money into moving?

Whether you agree with OP or not, why do people have to be so angry and unkind with their responses. Not just on this post but on so many. You can get a point across without being unkind surely.

I think unpleasantness is par for the course on mumsnet these days. I know a lot of people don't think barking is that big of a deal but it can really affect some people's mental state like it is mine.

I hope that taking them to court would spur them into action to shut their dog up, which they absolutely can do and have demonstrated this on several occasions. I think the court would potentially fine them but not remove the dog, which would be the ultimate goal for me. They don't take it for walks and I've not heard them say a nice thing.

Dogs bark, people make noise. It’s an annoying fact of life when you have neighbours. And I do know neighbours can be a nightmare. We had an horrible one and we moved! You do seem to be particularly affected by it though. Are you getting any help with your mental health?

Are the houses terraced/semis?

i think some struggle with that more than others.

i would move somewhere quieter

You know it would likely make them worse right? I assume you rent and wouldn’t have to declare the neighbour dispute when selling?

Dog owner here, they are being unreasonable. Dogs should not be constantly barking. That said not sure what you can do if they won’t train the dog or have a specialist trainer come in to help them. This is not helpful but one of the reasons I live more rural is because of effing neighbours.