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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU - dog barking

60 replies

JoGP70 · 26/06/2020 12:57

Hi
I generally work 3 days from home in normal times but am currently at home permanently. As I'm effectively a businss at home i have deliveries 2 or 3 times a day. This means my (3) dogs bark for 10-20 seconds. Some neighbours occasionally let their dogs (whilst on their lead) come down our drive, as it's a shared one I can't put a gate on it to stop them. So say, 5 times a day they bark for a few minutes.

We've had problems with our neighbour and have had to report him a couple of times for harrasment. He's now effing and blinding shouting abuse either out of the window, in the garden or just in the house (when his wife isn't in).
I don't let them bark for any length of time as it's annoying to me too!

Is his behaviour reasonable do you think?

OP posts:
sillysmiles · 26/06/2020 16:01

Your dogs are barking a few times at day for short periods. That is a lot less noise than most peoples kids make. There is no reason to expect better behaviour from a dog than a child.

Let them bark!

Home42 · 26/06/2020 16:06

My dog barks a couple of times per day (at any delivery person or if he sees a cat in his garden). It’s short bursts. My kids make WAY more noise. Your neighbor is unreasonable.

Thurmanmurman · 26/06/2020 16:13

Who are these strange people who expect total silence at all times. If you live near other people you will hear dogs barking, people arguing, music, kids shouting etc. Unless it's excessive then you live with it or move to the middle of nowhere with no neighbours.

Springersrock · 26/06/2020 16:16

YANBU

My dog is not particularly barky, but she will bark if someone knocks on the door, or comes onto the drive.

I always shush her so it’s only for a few seconds. She’s with us at work all day during the week anyway.

My neighbours have screaming kids, a very loud motorbike, car doors slamming, occasional music in the garden, squeaky trampolines, etc, etc.

The occasional bark is normal, and frankly, tough luck

Mittens030869 · 26/06/2020 17:16

Dogs have been pets for thousands of years, and that will continue to be the case. It's how it is, so moaning about it is like all those people complaining about children making too much noise.

The majority of people in my experience do their best to mitigate the noise, whether it's children or dogs. We need to accept that if we live in streets with neighbours, there will be some noise.

roxfox · 26/06/2020 17:24

Sort your bloody dogs out. I'd report your for noise nuisance if I lived next door. YABVVVVU

WiddlinDiddlin · 26/06/2020 17:29

@roxfox

Sort your bloody dogs out. I'd report your for noise nuisance if I lived next door. YABVVVVU
And if the OP's dogs genuinely are barking for just a few seconds several times a day you'll be noted as a time waster!

Local authorities are well aware there are intolerant muppets around who like to report any minor irritant, they have procedures to deal with that sort of thing.

lynsey91 · 26/06/2020 18:20

@roxfox are you serious? Your complaint would just be laughed at.

I would far rather have her as a neighbour than the neighbours I do have. Yappy dog yapping most of the day and motor mouth 6 year old daughter constantly shouting the dog's name every single time it yaps and inbetween that screeching and screaming extremely loudly. Even when she talks she shouts everything.

I get migraines and sometimes feel murderous towards them

Stuckinadream · 26/06/2020 19:35

People are often more annoying.

Tumbleweed101 · 26/06/2020 19:40

I’ve no problem with dogs barking if it’s occasionally and with cause.

It’s dogs that bark for hours when owners go out that’s a problem.

Could be bias as I have dogs that do occasionally bark through the day if they have certain triggers.

JRUIN · 26/06/2020 19:50

I love dogs, but why are you letting them bark for a few minutes at a time? Three dogs barking for more than a few seconds must be hellish for the neighbours to have to listen to several times a day!

Stefoscope · 26/06/2020 23:27

I couldn't get worked up over three dogs barking for a few minutes a day when you receive deliveries (assuming it's not really early in the morning or late at night). You recognise a barking dog is annoying and are trying to control the noise. If you were leaving your dogs to bark constantly all day long then that would be different. Personally if my neighbour's dog is out in the garden and starts barking at mine causing him to bark back, then I'll call my dog inside.

CardsforKittens · 26/06/2020 23:43

I am not a dog person at all, but this wouldn’t bother me. Dogs bark a bit sometimes. Hours of barking would be annoying (my previous neighbour had dogs who barked for hours). A few minutes occasionally? No problem.

longtimecomin · 27/06/2020 03:39

Your neighbour is a dick

seenbeensbean · 27/06/2020 03:42

Yabu, it's not just your drive. Barking dogs are annoying, one dog fine (ish) but multiple dogs is a noise nuisance.

Nandocushion · 27/06/2020 04:30

YABU.

ALL dog owners think their dogs' barking is only for five or ten seconds, not very loud, only a few times a day for a second or two, etc etc etc. If this was actually true, no one would complain, but it's not true and it never is.

Your neighbours complain because they have to listen to it and they are tired of it. They don't love your dogs, and actually your dogs bark very loudly for many minutes and the fact is that you just don't care because you're used to it and it doesn't bother you/you aren't home to hear it/whatever. For the sake of your long-suffering neighbours, please please please shut your dogs up. If the rest of us wanted to listen to this, we would have dogs.

stayathomer · 27/06/2020 04:40

Once a day a few times a week three greyhounds are walked by the end of the road and they bark for literally only a few seconds but when I'm really tired or on a bad hayfever day when I've migraines I'm so sorry but I do feel like 'oh god please just hurry by'. I'm so sorry but if it were regular and it pissed you off enough it would grate, it's three not one

Swirlyceiling · 27/06/2020 07:32

YANBU OP. That amount of time is nothing. Dogs bark. If people aren't prepared to listen to a bit of noise from neighbours, they should buy a rural detached house.

We have 8 dogs on our small cul we sac. 6 of them are under stimulated terriers so yap quite a lot. The 7th is a rescue who barks a LOT. Ours never paid much attention to the yapping but does bark in response to the larger dog. I try my best to shut him up as quickly as I can, and I do feel a bit sorry for the 1 or 2 houses on our road that don't have dogs, but what can you do.

Generally ours will only bark if the door goes, or in response to loud outdoor noise, for a few seconds. I don't have an issue with it. He is a great burgular deterrent.

heartsonacake · 27/06/2020 07:35

YABU. That’s far too often. You shouldn’t have dogs if you’re not prepared to train them properly.

Figmentofmyimagination · 27/06/2020 07:47

Three dogs is quite a lot of dogs all in one house. In reality they will set each other off so the barking is likely to go on quite a bit longer than 10 seconds and be a lot louder and more irritating than if it was just 3 individual dogs barking for 10 seconds. Unless you are in a rural location it’s anti social to have 3 dogs. I’m not surprised he is irritated especially at the moment when tempers are fraying.

mydogisthebest · 27/06/2020 07:48

Two or three times a day for up to 20 seconds is too much and too often! Do some of you live in the real world? People, particularly children make far more noise than most dogs. Do you expect dogs to be silent? If someone is around my dogs bark. I expect them to. They are defending their home and me. The 6 year old next door doesn't need to scream and screech for hours on end but she does. Her mother doesn't need to have every phone call in her garden at the top of her voice but she does

raspran · 27/06/2020 10:12

@Figmentofmyimagination

Three dogs is quite a lot of dogs all in one house. In reality they will set each other off so the barking is likely to go on quite a bit longer than 10 seconds and be a lot louder and more irritating than if it was just 3 individual dogs barking for 10 seconds. Unless you are in a rural location it’s anti social to have 3 dogs. I’m not surprised he is irritated especially at the moment when tempers are fraying.
This. In an urban area they will usually start other dogs off barking. There are seven dogs in our neighbouring houses and it ruins our peace, it's not the quiet place we moved to since one neighbour bought four dogs.
BurtsBeesKnees · 27/06/2020 10:46

YANBU op. I have dogs and they may bark for the same amount of time too. If you live in close proximity to people then there will be noise

Car radios
Engine noise
Lawn mowers
Kids screaming
People laughing
Dogs barking
Diy
Motorbikes

This list goes on. I wonder if posters in here saying yabu let their kids outside to play but make them shush after 10 seconds of laughing it screaming 3 times a day.

EL8888 · 27/06/2020 10:48

His behaviour isn’t acceptable. But dogs barking is very annoying, especially at the moment when most people are spending a lot of time at home. I would find them very annoying

Lazypuppy · 27/06/2020 10:50

10-20 seconds is a long time!

My dog barks once or twice when someone comes to the door and thats it.