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!?

My neighbours don’t think their dogs barking are excessive.

Sounds similar to what your dogs do. It is incredibly irritating. It might only be for a minute or two at a time, but it is any time they are in the garden, several times a day, first one is usually before 7am and wakes me up pretty much every day. They stop when asked, but they don’t ask until they have let the dogs bark for a minute or two.

In the surrounding houses there are a dozen dogs, but only theirs are heard barking every day.

Train your dogs FGs.

Surely they’re not barking non-stop? It sounds like your neighbour is being unreasonable here, especially if you say they stop barking when you tell them too. I can understand a barking dog would wake you up if your sleeping so that’s fair, but the odd bark while you’re trying to work being so distracting you can’t concentrate?? Nahh.

Although to be honest keeping the dog in until 12 is bollocks too on second thought. I used to work nights - the world around you can’t come to a stop in the morning because of it. That’s what ear plugs and blackout curtains are for.

Nobody wants to hear your dogs at any time of day or night.

Definitely unreasonable to expect that.

I'd counter with "as they're already in for the majority of the day, I won't be able to keep them in for that amount of time, it's just unfair on them. I'll continue to bring them in when they bark. If he has any important conference calls, please let me know in advance. Whilst I can't promise to keep them in during these times, I'll do my best to limit the noise."

Really weird when people expect dogs to just not bark ever or say 'nobody wants to hear your dogs'. It's literally how they communicate. Would you force your child to live a life of silence because no one wants to hear them?

Really weird when people expect dogs to just not bark ever or say 'nobody wants to hear your dogs'. It's literally how they communicate. Would you force your child to live a life of silence because no one wants to hear them?

That is the most ridiculous argument I’ve ever heard. Strange how none of my other neighbours’ dogs feel the need to “communicate” by running round the garden barking every time they are out there.

@motherheroic I was thinking that too. It's certainly a ridiculous thing to claim that now one wants to hear your dogs'. I'm not a dog owner, but I certainly don't expect to never hear them barking. It's what dogs do, and if it isn't excessive, I don't particularly notice it.

Anyway, you'll only make yourself miserable if you expect to never hear dogs bark, as dog ownership is clearly here to stay, with apparently 25% of homes including at least one dog.

I do expect my dog to communicate in ways other than barking yes.
He can use his tail, his face and his paws etc to communicate but I'm not keen on barking.
I can't understand the idea that I would have to let him out unsupervised in the garden, he probably would be a barky pain if I let him do this so he doesn't do it.

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 hmm
Tbf I’d be annoyed if our neighbours painted our fence on the other side as it always trickles through as it did on our old fence.
We now have new fences which are unpainted BUT treated already before being installed so do not need painting /varnishing

@MintyMabel Cone in, there's a difference between constant barking (which's very inconsiderate) and occasional barking, like when someone comes to the house and rings the doorbell. If there's a dog in the house, it hardly surprises me if it barks at that moment. As long as the owner keeps the said dog from jumping up at me (I hate that).

@MintyMabel Yes it's ridiculous for me to say that dogs use their voice sometimes. Anyway.

I’ve got barking dogs on both sides - one that goes out at 6am (we’ve spoken to them about this but it’s creeping back again) and the other side whenever someone walks past, or when I go to my car, or to the bins, or if a delivery comes, or if another dog passes etc etc etc. It drives me fucking spare, we’re planning on moving and I’m genuinely worried about selling the house with the dogs going nuts every five minutes.

@midwesteaster If you're not a fan of barking, why on earth did you get an animal that barks? Yes dogs can communicate with their paws and tail but expecting them to never use their voice because you're not keen? Come on now.

Exactly, it was a response to the poster who said that no one wanted to hear another person's dog bark ever, which was totally unrealistic. There is a happy medium surely?

In the same way that my DH and I allow our DDs to play in the garden, but wouldn't allow them to scream their heads off.

Say no sorry I agree with the fact if he's asleep but I'm not keeping them in all the time. This is my garden and I want to use it. X

@Mittens030869

The problem is, entitled god owners have a skewed perception of what is excessive. If the neighbour is complaining, I guarantee it isn’t happening just a little bit.

@motherheroic Yes, ridiculous to compare it to expecting a child never to speak.

As for the question, if the cats and alley walking are a constant occurrence then the dogs can't be out there unsupervised, by the time you tell them to shut up they've already barked an annoying amount of times.

Is your garden entirely open or can you block bits off? I had to block off the stairs leading to the backgate because of the cats. Now he doesn't bother barking because there's nothing to bark about.

No. You should keep them in because they bark at everything.

Strange how none of my other neighbours’ dogs feel the need to “communicate” by running round the garden barking every time they are out there.

I think there’s a huge difference between a dog briefly barking because someone’s walking past, and barking non stop. To be honest if the OP is at home I really can’t imagine the dog would be constantly barking - the only time I’ve known some dogs to be doing that is if they’ve been left alone and presumably have some kind of separation anxiety. Obviously constant barking would be very disruptive and quite worrying as the dog would be in distress - but brief barking as a warning or for excitement (communication as a pp said) is not going to cause a huge disturbance. No more than a child briefly crying or a plane flying over head. Surely lawn mowers are more of nuisance than that. But supposedly you wouldn’t ask your neighbour to not mow their lawn until after 4 o’clock. Or maybe those neighbours would, who knows.

On the basis that it’s the odd bit of barking rather than continuous I’d suggest noise cancelling headphones - there has to be a compromise and you are already accommodating them until 12. Just like kids will occasionally get louder than anyone would like and you calm them down, it’s not reasonable to expect a dog to stay indoors all day or never bark.

A white noise machine would solve your neighbour's problems OP 😉

If you're certain your dogs don't bark excessively then explain that and the number of times they bark and say they will be in the garden from 1 pm to 4 (or something similar) as WFH isn't a good enough reason. If in an office environment there would inevitably be multiple distractions worse than a few odd barks.

@MintyMabel K.

You are being reasonable and asking extra is being cheeky. I have worked from home for 5 years. You get used to noise if you're working hard enough.