Dogs barking...what is reasonable?

[Namechangemum100]

Next door neighbours have 2 small dogs. Every day, all day, the dogs are left outside in the front garden to roam free.

They bark on and off throughout the entire day, ndn never come out to try to calm them or reduce the barking. This starts from around 7am and will continue until gone 8pm at night. Now the nights are lighter the dogs are being left longer. They don't bark continuously, but they will bark if anyone walks past which is ALOT!

I've never had a dog, so I have no idea if this would be considered reasonable or not, however I find it extremely irritating. I have a young baby who is disturbed basically during most naps and bedtime, and after a few years of this I'm starting to lose my temper.

We have spoken to them about it before, however they basically told us to f off. At the time it was winter so shortly after we tried to speak to them the dogs were brought in and the problem went away for a few months.

I'm not sure it is going to be much use speaking to them as they themselves are not particularly friendly, however if this is actually considered "normal" to dog owners maybe I'm the one being unreasonably annoyed?

what does mn think re: dogs barking?

Make a log of frequency and duration then go to Environmental Health. This would drive me nuts. Mine isn’t allowed to bark for more than 5 seconds.

Mine doesn’t go outside except to wee/poo. After he’s done his business he’s brought straight back in. He be goes for 4 walks a day so he’s not bored.

Yanbu. Speak to environmental health about noise pollution.

I’ve got one barker and one non barker.

I make sure when I let them out that if the barker barks then she has to come in. It’s usually when she sees her fancy piece across the way (solid gates will put a stop to that tho)

But we do have neighbours who have some small happy things that can be constant depending on the day of the week.

Honestly this would drive me mad. We have a dog and he only barks if he’s left out for about half an hour to an hour when I’m cleaning the floors so he doesn’t break his neck (and it’s just one quick bark, to remind me, then he goes back to being quiet) - and this is acceptable imo. If it’s a dog barking to come back in after he’s had a wee and then let in, then that’s okay. What you’re explaining is absolutely NOPE! Dogs arent happy and needs are being neglected as they’re outdoors being left.

Log it and complain imo

That’s totally unacceptable.
Log and report
Not walking them or providing shelter and stimulation is a concern too. Poor things

If our dog barks for more than a few seconds she is brought in andreprimanded. She soon learns

This isn’t fair on you or your surrounding neighbours.

Sorry posted too soon!
Has any of your other neighbours mentioned it? It must be so stressful for you.

They shouldn't be left alone for anything like that long.

My dog will bark once to be let in (which I do straightaway). If other dogs are barking in the neighbourhood, he will sometimes try to join in the barkfest, but I bring him straight inside again!

I've 3 dogs and they have 5 minutes ( I've a beagle howler ) then they get a swift 'shut up'
That would drive me bonkers!

My neighbours are pretty good. They know they can approach me, we had a break in up the road so I let the dogs out as late midnight ( the beagle howler started and I couldn't exactly scream at midnight ! ) first thing I did was go round and apologise, they said thank you all of them and to let them out late more often it made them feel better she was around.
If I took the piss like your neighbour I think I would be the hated one on the street... and I wouldn't blame them either!

Keep records but be careful if you lodge a noise complaint it shows up if you sell your house ( I think? Used to.. I think :/ )

A few years? You have been a lot more reasonable than I was in a similar situation.

I had a newborn who didn't sleep and a dog next door who barked if a leaf twitched. He went nuts when the mail was delivered, when children played, when the baby cried, when the phone rang in my kitchen...

I called the town hall/animal welfare dept and left a message. The dept called me back and we tried having a conversation but of course we were drowned out by the barking that had started as soon as my phone rang.

That afternoon a van drew up and the animal control officer posted a notice on ndn's door advising of a noise nuisance and requesting immediate measures to remedy the situation. While the officer posted the notice the dog barked and barked and barked.

Problem was solved by the weekend.

Good luck. It nearly drove me insane for the few weeks I put up with it.

This is definately not normal dog owner behaviour. I have a dog who goes out briefly for his business as required( sometimes barks once to be let back in if I forget him) then I take him for a couple of walks a day. Anti social neighbours by the sound of it and neglecting their dogs too... poor things! Report to environmental health and animal welfare.You’ve done extremely well to put up with this for so long !

I'm pleased to hear I'm not being unreasonable.

To answer a few questions, yes, other neighbours are also fed up with it and have mentioned it to us as they know we have a young baby and that we get the brunt of it living next door.

The dog is outside basically all day long, every single day...would others see this as neglect? I always feel so sorry for her, she looks so lonely.

In addition to the dog barking, the other problem we have is that as the dog is far from friendly (it's only a little thing), they have a sign on their front gate that says "touch dog at own risk" or something along those lines, and the gate is locked with a padlock. In recent months we have been receiving alot of post addressed to their door number but put through our door. I think it's because the postman is sick of the dog and can't be bothered anymore so "accidentally" puts it through ours in the hope we will pass it on.

I didn't mind at first, but I'm totally fed up with it, can't stop the postman doing it, but don't see why I should be delivering their mail.

Argh this has turned into a bit of a rant now because I'm not really sure there is anything I can actually do about it!

You need to contact dog warden at your local council and keep a diary as mentioned above

It is neglect of the dog. Is there any shelter for her... In the recent horrendous weather where does she go?
As for their mail, hand it back at the post office and say it was put through your door by mistake. Or just pop it into a postbox

Record the barking. Wait til you see the postman approaching, kids walking past from school, other dogs being walked, etc.

I wouldn't get the postman in trouble by returning all the post to the PO, but maybe box up the ndn's post and give it to them once every three weeks.

Definitely contact the local dog warden or rspca. This is cruel and as the weather gets warmer the dogs could get heat stroke very quickly if left outside in the sun all day. Do they get walked? I can't abide this kind of animal neglect 😡 Those poor dogs sound very distressed if they are barking like that. Please report.

They sound like your garden variety inconsiderate neighbours.

I have a dog that doesn't bark too much (she's a golden retriever and very mellow) and I get very stressed out if I leave her in the garden and am in the loo or whatever and hear her bark twice. I worry quite a lot about her bothering my neighbours, which is what a normal dog owner does.

I'd report.

I didn't think post office could deliver to other than the stated address? I would return to sender. Or post back in the post box writing wrong address on envelope.
Do you talk to them ?

Dogs bark it's part of them but this isn't acceptable, I'd either talk to them again and explain you have a baby and the baby is being disturbed by the barking and please could they kindly do something to help the situation or make a log and go to the council

If they already told you to F off I wouldn’t be doing them the favour of delivering their mail ...

I think I live on the other side of your neighbours. Oh how I feel your pain. I have a constant tension headache ready to erupt. My neighbours throw their dogs outside because the barking inside drives them mad(!)

I have a tiny barker. I try not to let her become such an antisocial problem. She usually settles after a few minutes but if she doesn't I bring her back in after 10 mins or so. I don't understand how people can leave them barking all day, I'm pretty sure mine annoys me far more than my neighbours (who I have spoken to and assure me there's no major issues).

With regards to it being outside all day, mine would love it (and does when my parents dogsit). She's tiny and generally lives inside but she's an outside dog at heart. It's not inherently cruel unless there's no shade/shelter etc.

My dog will bark if someone comes to the door, if she hears a cat fight or foxes kicking off and goes out for a quick bark after dinner.

She used to be much barkier but we've trained her out of it by calling her in and rewarding her with a biscuit. Otoh, she now goes out and barks when she fancies a biscuit, so she might have trained us.

Leaving a dog out in all weathers without shelter is neglect imo. The dogs should have someone dry and something comfy to lie on, shelter from rain and cold and shade from the sun. They should also have access to fresh water at all times.

The amount of barking you hear would definitely be a noise nuisance imo and I think you should contact the council.

not reasonable at all. In a sensible world the dogs would be removed and these people fined and banned from future dog keeping.

It isn't a sensible world. Start by contacting your local council and activating the complaints procedure. It will take time.

I sympathise - we've got a neighbour like this and the bastards only put the dog out on nice days. It is certainly never walked and barks for hours.

As a dog owner (and someone who deals with noise nuisance as a job) it is unreasonable.

If my dog is in the garden and barks more than once I bring him in, and I don't even let him bark in the house. Its simply courtesy. When I first moved in I use to ask my neighbours if he has been a problem. I don't know many dog owners who would let their dog bark relentlessly.

It could be that they are at work when the dog barks and so don't know the extent? Or they don't care.
Talking to environmental health at the council will help you understand what is/isn't acceptable - a general rule of thumb is prolonged barking, or on/off for a significant time, or at anti-social times.
They can warn the dogs owner of the problem, potential consequences and suggest ways to minimise the barking. They will then do some monitoring to gain evidence of a stat. nuisance (diary sheets filled in by you, on site officer monitoring, noise equipment) and if sufficient can issue a notice.

Usually just a visit from the council is enough for most people to take some action to stop the barking.