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!?

Yes dogs in til 12 fair enough as a compromise
No till 4pm
No to the parking request

They are taking the mick.

If they are now in the garden more than usual, then it's probably more irritating/noticeable to the neighbour.

If a dog is getting enough walks I can't see that it's cruel to keep it inside until 4pm tbh.

That said, Op if you go back to usual walks then there probably won't be an issue.

Just leave the door open as you wish whilst it's nice & they might not be so bothered about going out much.

Suggest the MN favourite of noise cancelling headphones for her pwecious whittle husband 🙄

a little bit of barking is expected as long as it’s not constant

I agree. A bit of of barking is normal behaviour for dogs, and the right to express normal behaviour is one of the basic tenets of animal welfare.

Dogs bark for a variety of reasons, and one of them is guarding/warning. Very few dogs will have so little guarding/warning instinct that they remain silent if someone comes on to "their" property. That's a very different thing from barking out of boredom, or because of separation anxiety.

It's no more noise nuisance than children playing loudly imo, as long as it doesn't go on for very long or during unsocial hours.

I think the OP has been perfectly reasonable.

Very considerate: dogs in until 12
No, too much: 4pm
No, CF: parking request

Some dog owners are inconsiderate and irresponsible.
Some neighbours are uptight and seem to think the entire neighborhood should revolve around their desire for peace and quiet.
These are the types who will have a good old moan about children playing, people mowing their lawn on an evening or on a weekend, or during the day, people doing some DIY, people having a dog who barks now and then, people who have friends round for dinner and drinks, people having a BBQ, and any other entirely reasonable sound that they perceive as a nuisance to their precious little bubble.

Two dogs barking loudly can be a very decibel sound enough to trigger an adrenalin rush

What?
If you're going into fight or flight mode every time a couple of dogs bark in next door's garden then that isn't a normal response and you're likely to want to be accessing some support resources. That isn't normal.

Crazy how dogs barking creates unhinged opinions on MN but kids screeching in gardens all day in the lockdown is completely okay.

Keep the dogs in if YOU want to. Doing it til 12 will not keep them happy and keeping them in all day is out of the question.

Neighbours don't get to control what I do and I think it's a slippery slope when you start jumping to their tune tbh.

Where I live there's dogs barking all over the place . The worst noise though are the kids next door who are allowed out to scream shout and play from 7am til 6 pm!!!!

My dh has to wfh through it all and didn't say a thing as it's tough luck. Neighbours equals noise, like it or lump it. Or move to the country imo.

Dogs are an easy target. Never mind all the pressure washers, lawnmowers and leaf blowers either...

Last year she asked me to keep the cats out of her garden.

She does have form but I certainly respect the fact she needs to sleep after a night shift hence the patio doors being firmly closed until 12

After that , I'm going with the majority and continuing as I am. I will count the barks etc and monitor just to check I'm not tuning out, but I sincerely don't think that's the case.

Tolerance for dogs is a lot less then I would've thought

No absolutely not to keep them in. They have just as much right to be outside as we Do. Her sleeping yes ok negotiable but for her and her husband no. No way let them out keep an eye that they don't hurt your dogs though. They can't do anything.

It is no ones fault that people have to work from home but it is also not the dogs or the owners fault that the dogs are barking. That's their only way of communication as they can not talk you can't shut them up. I bet if children were playing next door having fun you wouldn't tell their parents to keep them in. Animals have just as much right to be happy and free as we do so stop moaning and block the noise out if you don't like it that's your problem and your problem only put earphones in

Sorry but you cannot compare dogs barking to children , pressure washers , lawn mowers .. that doesn’t make sense !
No one pressure washes everyday , no one mows their lawn every day and even if they did , they’d do it for about 30 min,max once a week and not all year round .
Not on and off all day every day and as for children , yes you can tell them to be quiet or keep the noise down , if they don’t listen then that’s on you as a parent .

Non stop barking dogs. Great. Thanks a lot.

i bet if children were playing next door having fun you wouldn't tell their parents to keep them in haven’t been on mn long huh? Literally a children next door thread every day! Why we should tolerate unruly dogs more than unruly children is beyond me

How are people counting barks? In the following scenario, for example:

Postman delivers, letter box sets them off.

BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK

"Dog's name! Quiet!"

BARK. (They always want the last bloody word.)

Now, is that one - as in one occasion, they barked at one thing this morning, so they barked once?

Or is that ten? Ten actual woofs?

I would be annoyed if my neighbour was saying 'but they only barked once' if I was listening to ten loud woofs.

Yes you should keep them in, or make sure they aren't barking when going outside. It's rude to let them bark when people are trying to sleep or work. I have 2 dogs and don't allow them to bark, if they do they come back inside.

Either half the people on this thread can’t read or just enjoy creating hyperbolic scenarios.
“They bark at the postman and cats” has turned into “they bark at every little thing” and “constantly barking” and even “unruly”.

She also asked us Not to paint the fence on her boundary (our side)
Said it cost her a fortune and it lasts longer not painted

@InFiveMins
So your dog has never barked?

Infivemins
I've mentioned a couple of times that I call them back in if they bark

Haddaway
My thoughts exactly

Omg I’d have you as a neighbour 😭 my neighbours dog woke us up with non stop barking before 7am. It happens every week. I’m
So done

By the way, I don’t mind when her dog barks. But early in the morning or after 9pm
Is a piss take

It's not fair to keep your dogs in until 4pm. If you do, she'll probably extend the time further. It doesn't sound as if your dogs bark at every little thing, despite some posters trying to take it there. Her DP can get earplugs they're not expensive, problem solved. If he's that easily distracted from his work then that's what he needs to do.

Some people seem to want detached house nowhere near neighbours life when they simply don't have that.

Let’s just accept this neighbour is an entitled CF with her mad demands.