Should I keep dogs in because neighbour is WFH

[poodlelocks]

I have 2 dogs.

Bark when postie knocks, van pulls up etc When told to stop, they do.

If in garden they'll bark at cats, or if someone comes up back alleyway (no pun intended)

Again they shut up if told

Last week neighbour asked if we could keep dogs In before 12pm as she does nights and is sleeping - fair enough? Agreed to that.

Now today she's asked if we can keep them into 4pm as husband is WFH and barks disrupt him.

Any advise before I return my answer to them!?

I have a neighbour (2 doors away) and their curly headed, little bastard dog yaps all the time .
It’s so annoying . I can’t even make the smallest noise without it setting off and neither can anyone else on the street .
Now we can’t even have the windows /doors open when it’s warm as it’s hard to take work calls with that in the background!
Tried talking to them and they said they’d remedy it .
All they do is say it’s name in a sing songy way when it starts if they’re out there , but now they leave their back door open it just does what it likes.
I fucking hate it and as I have misophonia, it reduced me to tears yesterday and I had a mother of all tantrums .
Think it’s all building up if I’m honest

Honestly, if the dogs are left on their own outside and then are barking, they shouldn't be out on their own. The odd bit of reactive barking is to be expected, if that is a response to something on their territory (knocking at the door). But they shouldn't really be barking at things going on around them simply because they are happening. And they should be quiet the instant they are told to be.

I say that as a dog owner. Dogs can be trained and it does sound like maybe yours are reacting to too many things.

It doesn’t have to be continuous to be a noise nuisance. But if it really is once all morning then I wouldn’t be calling it a nuisance.

I'll definitely keep a count of how often we call them in/ to stop.

We certainly don't want them overly barking either so are trying to be as proactive As we can, but they're surely has to be a bit of give and take each way

I have a not disimilar situation but only one dog. He barks if someone rings the bell or other unexpected noise near the door (car beeping horn, disinfectant truck blasting the pavement) but completely ignores things like cats, children, shouting etc. So far I have counted him barking twice today and its 3pm here. In the evenings at 8pm he does go mad because a neighbour (not in the uk) plays "morale boosting" music for an hour after the applause which is daily here. I got a very snotty message from a neighbour about disturbance and working from home. Have started putting him in the back garden during the music but for the rest of the day tough shit. He sleeps til 10am and never barks at night. He's a guard dog and I'm not going to tell him not to bark when he's meant to

@sd249 what time do your neighbours let their dogs out? To achieve 500 barks by 11am they'd be barking every 30 seconds from 7am. That's almost continuous barking and would be considered a noise nuisance.

Is it non stop or occasional barking. I wfh full time and my intermittently barking dog bothers no one!!

I have dogs who are similar, will bark at a knock at the door or hearing something unusual outside.

I always tell them to stop immediately, to me, they are no worse than neighbours’ screaming children which I just ignore as well.

I would keep in till 12pm as a favour to someone trying to get some sleep but then I would do as you please & keep doing what you’re doing which sounds entirely reasonable.

Some barking is acceptable, and it sounds like this is what it is. Our dog barks when people are at the door - security is their job!

I used to live next to a dog that barked all the time and it drove me mad - I wish to God they had told it to shut up - but it doesn't sound like this is the case. I don't think you are BU.

As PPs have said, it's unreasonable to expect total silence when everyone is at home at the moment. Do your neighbours also ask everyone's kids to be quiet so they can work?

Bishybarnybee Just jog on - the dogs aren't on their own, they're just pootling about in the garden.

I often think that if the people who expend all their energy getting stressed about what their neighbours were or weren't doing just focused on themselves and what they were doing, they would be much happier.

Anyone who is unable to tune out a dog barking through closed doors and windows to focus on the task in front of them is obviously not concentrating very hard. How do they work in an office?

Its a 'No' from me. I agree you were reasonable to keep them in until noon for neighbour sleeping after a night shift, but 4pm for her husband working from home?!?

As long as your dogs aren't persistent barkers and you respond to each barking episode within a minute, I think they can give their head a roll. They could live next door to boisterous and noisy children running in and out of paddling pools etc. Everyone has to tolerate a bit of neighbourly noise - as long as its not excessive

The request to keep them in until 4pm, is ridiculous.

I think OPs need to wear hard hats on AIBU if they start threads about their dogs barking, same as when it's about children playing in the garden, if it's about neighbours complaining. There's a group of posters who always side with the neighbours because they have this idea that no neighbour would complain without a good reason (which is patently untrue).

FWIW, I've never owned a dog as an adult (I have 3 cats), and non stop barking does annoy me, though I've never complained about it. (I also feel sorry for the dog when that's happening.) But occasional barking is to be expected in a residential neighbourhood.

I am currently tolerating my neighbour's gardener using power tools (its been several hours)

@Shinyletsbebadguys don’t be so bloody patronising !
Talking in a garden is not the same as dogs barking on and off all day .
You don’t mind it, good for you but a lot of us do.
It’s depends on the lay out of the house /gardens and the type of dog.
A larger dog I wouldn’t find as annoying as the high pitched science experiment that lives next to me !

I would not keep them in at all, a little bit of barking is expected as long as it’s not constant. Asking you to keep them in until 12pm was a real cheek, until 4pm is an utter piss take.

Tell her to buy some bloody ear plugs.

I think if your neighbours had to say something it must be worse than you realise.
My neighbours dogs bark a lot and it drives me mad

As the weather warms up you can't be walking your dogs in the mid day heat. Given the amount it sounds like they're barking (not much at all) I'm pretty sure the neighbour didn't strictly need to ask you to keep the dogs in while she's asleep either. Nice of you to do so.

The DHs need for silence while WFH would be far less important to me than my dogs ability to snooze in the garden

Exactly Mittens some neighbours are not reasonable and complain without grounds

My neighbour complains about my son kicking a ball against our wall. I've timed it without telling him for the last few days and its no more than 20 minutes and not every day. She however - dodgy taste in Eighties music which she will happily blast out, and a hugely irritating house alarm which is sensitive (triggered by tree branches waving in the breeze) and activates a loud voice message "You are trespassing on private property. Please leave or the alarm will sound". Not to mention her gardener and his propensity to use power tools. She has no self awareness

If your dogs barks at everything then yes, you should keep them indoors. I have a dog, dog stays where I am. I'm indoors, dog is indoors.
When I go out, dog comes too.
On the row of houses where I live are three other families with dog/s. One yaps a bit. One is noisy but not out all the time and to be honest the people shouting at it to be quiet are as annoying as the dog barking at everything. The last dog is highly reactive and does its nut at everything. It's owner is trying very hard to calm it down (rescue) but it's an annoying sound that can't be ignored.
So, the noise of your dogs is probably really annoying and intrusive to your neighbours - they probably aren't usually at home this much, so maybe be a good neighbour and keep your dogs inside for now.

I think if your neighbours had to say something it must be worse than you realise.

Or the neighbours are possibly just very intolerant to noise. We had a neighbour like that once and she was just awful to live by. The things she moaned about were ridiculous and she fell out with everyone.

Novacaine
It is not worse. I am completely aware of how, when and how long they bark for. I have explained their habits honestly.

She has her grandkids twice weekly. They're not the quietest. Their nose IS constant but they're kids and that's just part of being a neighbour.

Incidentally the dogs never bark at them when they're in the garden, actually the grandkids enjoy throwing balls over for the dogs.

I may also add there are plenty of other dugs barking in adjacent gardens. I'm yet to find out if she's requested the same from those owners

I think your neighbours are extremely unreasonable to expect you to keep your dogs in all day.

We also have a dog that barks at neighbours cat, currently trying to train her not to bark as it annoys me more than anything (my neighbours have said don't worry that's what dogs do!)
We like to keep the back door open and let our dog go out as she pleases, it's such lovely weather so why not.

Your neighbour sounds precious.

Dogs bark, children shout, people do DIY, mow grass etc. All of which makes noise. Where does it stop?

Dog barking is anti social for most people, it is considerate to minimise. You have lots of time during lockdown to train them to stop. There are masses of positive reinforcement online training techniques to try.

In the meantime, you know they react to basically anything that moves, supervise them when they are outside or keep in.

You might only be allowed out for a walk once but they can be out more often to make sure they are getting enough exercise. dh and I walk our dog separately so he still gets out enough.