To be fed up of neighbour's dogs ?

[GeorginaWorsley]

The man that lives behind us runs a gog training/grooming/breeding business from his house,keeping them in a double garage which runs parallel with our rear boundary,and has a courtesy door which he leaves open all the time so that the dogs are constantly out on a small path/run which is behind our hedge and about 40 feet from that end of our house.
For a year plus now we have been bothered by incessant barking,sometimes for most of night,and last year there were a few episodes of dogs entering our garden,which I let him know about but received no apology.
Tonight another dog has got in,fouled on our lawn and chased my little dd and frightened her and her sister.
I went around and spoke to the wife,the man who runs the business was out.She was very dismissive,saying it was an accident and no way would one of their well trained dogs attack my child.Also she denied that their business caused problems in the neighbourhood,despite me having spoken to various other people who are fed up of the noise.
Am afraid I was upset,she called me hysterical,which I wasn't,and a 'vindictive cow' for threatening to report them to enviromental health etc.
Was I unreasonable?

Yanbu

But is this a proper licensed business?do the council know?

If their dogs keep getting into your garden catch the dog and call the dog warden. A fine or two should encourage them to improve their dog area.

Is he insured to run a business from home? Does the council know he's doing this? how are the dogs accessing your property? is the fencing shoddy? is it your boundary fence or theirs?

TBH, I wouldnt have made any threats re reporting them, simply because you have now declared your hand and if you do decide to complain they will know it is you and could conceivably make your life a misery.

I'm an animal lover but would not be happy at all with the dogs getting into my garden, barking all night and pooing everywhere. I think you probably should report them esp as you have children and so not want to run the risk of then getting bitten.

There was another thread on this recently - IIRC a license is needed to keep a dog overnight if it is a commercial venture eg boarding another person's dog.

If you ring your Council's Environmental Health department they will let you know what you ca do about all this. EH are responsible for animal welfare and will be able to give you advice about what do do in respect of the noise nuisance, too.

YADNBU. This would drive me insane.

Unfortunately there are a small minority of dog owners who treat dogs as if they are more important than people.

That woman sounds dreadful, she should have apologised for the upset she caused, not insulted you.

Dont think it is licensed or that council know as we live on a small estate so not ideal environment at all.
There is an old field hedge between the houses but he has put a fence on his side,however there must be gaps and dogs must brave the holly!

I must admit she upset me more than the dogs!!
She was rude,and laughed at me suggesting their dog might have bitten my DDs.

You shoul definitely report it to environmental health. They will be interested both from the noise and health issues. Don't be bullied by the dog people.

Thanks!
Dog woman horrible,really dismissive and laughing at me being upset.
Needed big glass of wine when Igot home!

Likely to need planning permission as well and could be council tax implications. I'd ring the council tomorrow a nd explain- that really is not on (I say this as a dog owner as well)

Both dog boarding and home boarding are licensed by your local Council. You can often check the register of licensed premises online, and you have the right to access inspection reports, applications etc under FOI legislation. Ring up your Licensing Department if they are not licensed.

If he is breeding dogs he may also need a licence, depending on how many bitches he has.

He should also have a proper commercial waste collection (breaking the law if he isn't), and the business will almost certainly require planning permission. Again, you can search online to check this. If he doesn't have consent, you can report him to Planning Enforcement.

Noise - if he is creating a noise nuisance, which is possible, you can report it to Environmental Health. However, be aware that once you have reported a noise issue, it must be mentioned if you then decide to sell your house, so I would personally go for the licensing issues first, which may resolve the matter for you.

Lastly, for you and your DC's protection, I would get the fence fixed.

Thanks for all that info.
Man himself came round and was very apologetic,promised to keep dogs in at night and sort out fence issue.
DDs report much quieter last night thnk goodness.
Will still check licensing etc and am sure doesn't have special waste collection ,so will look into that.