Aibu to report neighbours barking dogs to council?

[Cokefloat82]

Moved into new place end of last year and found neighbours had dogs. Not a problem apart from the barking ranging between 6am and 7.30am and around 10.30pm for final walks of the day. This results in either me/partner being woken up in the morning or little one being woken when trying to sleep in the evening. All in all 13 instances recorded in the last 16 days.
Have kept a record ready to submit complaint to the council now as have tried talking to neighbours but just got the comments back that they can’t control barking, can’t train their dogs and the previous owner never complained so it isn’t a problem.
I’m at my wits end.

How are they supposed to stop the dogs from barking - it's what they do. YABU, I have dogs around me and they bark often, night and day, it doesn't worry me at all. I can't imagine the council will be interested unless they are barking all day and night.

Report them.

cannot stand lazy dog owners who let their dogs bark and I say this as a dog owner.
Twice a day for a few minutes, really? When we went looking at dogs there were breeds we were told are barkers and bark regularly throughout the day, nothing to do with laziness

I sympathise with the annoyance but I don't think it constitute excessive disturbance requiring action.

I'd trade this with my two neighbours and constant shouting, screaming, loud singing that goes on all day. That's not reportable either.

Its annoying but I think up to 10 mins at start and end of day is probably at acceptable levels.
I got woken up very early every morning by neighbours motorbike when he went to work- he seemed to leave it running/ spend ages revvinng it! If you live close to neighbours I think you have to put up with some noise and disturbance.

I tried yesterday and was polite. I asked them if they’d be willing to talk just so they could hear me out which is when I was told that we shouldn’t have moved in to a house where there were dogs next door, that a dog couldn’t be trained and that the previous owner didn’t have a problem so we shouldn’t either.

Well if that's their attitude then you can report them to the environmental health via the website, all anonymous however be prepared for backlash and they will know its you.

Once reported you'll be asked to monitor and keep a diary of the noise, a letter will be sent to your neighbours saying they've had reports of noise etc. Once you've completed the diary the EH will decide if it's bad enough. Unfortunately it has to be really bad for them to get properly involved.

Thanks for the tip. Will start logging all events

@eaglejulesk

How are they supposed to stop the dogs from barking - it's what they do. YABU, I have dogs around me and they bark often, night and day, it doesn't worry me at all. I can't imagine the council will be interested unless they are barking all day and night.

It may be in a dogs nature to Dogs may bark occasionslly at unexpected noise / passers by but this isn’t the case or what OP is concerned with.

the barking ranging between 6am and 7.30am and around 10.30pm for final walks of the day.
This is excitement barking which absolutely can be trained it’s just lazy owners do not want to train them.

And yes, I have a dog. Who knows what a “quiet” command means.

Be prepared to have to disclose this if you sell your house as a dispute with neighbours...

Tbh I doubt the council would bother. It doesn’t sound like excessive noise, although I sympathise that it must be horrible to live with. However, plenty of people have neighbours who keep them up or wake them up or both. I suspect 10 mins of barking will be seen as normal and you will end up with a neighbour dispute to declare if you were to sell and with even worst relations with your neighbours for no gain.

Do not use those activated dog anti bark things- you are likely going to make the problem worse.

I don't think it sounds too bad to be honest, but it's not me living next to them. I find children noisy but we just tolerate these things, it's part of living in an urban environment. I'm not sure if it's really going to tip the balance for the council to do anything to be honest,

It sounds like you could be my neighbour op, my retired neighbours have a yappy dog that barks at those times waking us up. I can sympathise, it really is mentally draining listening to a dog bark all day.
Only inconsiderate people think it’s normal and acceptable, yes dogs bark but a good owner will stop them particularly early or late hours.
You’re well within your right to report them, you’re entitled to quiet enjoyment of your properly which is being breached. If you’re willing to work with them a note through their door might help. State you’re unhappy to live with the barking any longer and will speak to the council if they’re unwilling to train their dog.
Part of owning a dog is training them to not disturb neighbours, if you can’t be respectful towards other people then why did you get a dog some of these replies show what’s wrong with communities these days, selfishness and entitlement.

I don’t think reporting the dogs barking would lead to anything changing except you’d have to declare it if you sold your house and your neighbours might become even less friendly.

It’s summer, you’ve had windows open. The noise coming in could have been birds singing, traffic, etc at a relatively similar time. We’ve had pigeons nesting here, 6am without fail “coo coo” repeatedly. There’s a freight train that passes at 5:30 am on weekdays. There’s a cockerel up the road that starts it’s crowing whenever the sunrise is. I’m oblivious to these noises unless I’m partially awake already.

The world makes noises. I don’t think the noise you’ve described is over and above what you can expect if you have neighbours with pets, children and so on.

@Cokefloat82 I've reported neighbours in the past for this reason - people who dismiss the severity of dog barking have clearly never experienced it. It is horrible and causes massive amounts of stress. I have to say the barking really did ease up - I reported the neighbours, the neighbours then received a letter from the council informing them they'd been reported and a log was being kept. When the neighbours got this letter they made the effort to minimise the barking (the council keep you informed when they send a letter).
If it is affecting your life don't hesitate to speak to the council.

@Rainbowshine you cannot compare a cuckoo's cooing to a dog barking! Completely different noises and volume. I would much much rather have a nest of cuckoos cooing than a dog barking at 6am.

I sympathise. I’d hate noisy dogs next door and the selfish inconsiderate attitude of the owners is horrible. If they apologised and tried to deal with it then that’s one thing but they sound like shit neighbours.

@Rainbowshine apologies, that should have said pigeons, not cuckoos! But still, I'd rather have a million pigeons nesting in my garden than be subjected to a the noise of a dog barking.

I think yabu and that's from a dog owner that brings my dog in from the garden when it barks. Close your windows, you do get noise if you live next to other people.

I'm shocked that people are saying that dog barking is acceptable at 6am and households should be up by then anyway! What?!
Our neighbours dog recently started barking all day every day. He was locked in a pen in their garden. RSPCA weren't interested as a it wasn't a cruelty issue (their opinion not mine!). In the end the dog was sent to live with another family member as we weren't the only neighbours to complain.

I have dogs, they do get excited when it's walkies time but they are not allowed to bark continually. Send your log to the council and take it from there. You have followed correct procedure from their POV

@stayathomer

Have you talked to them op? People with a blanket report them if the op hasn't even discussed them are being very unreasonable and I find it sad th as t you're reporting for a dog being excited for a walk to be honest (and I'm not even a huge dog person!) We have dogs here that bark more than that, and when we meet the owner she apologises but I know she hasn't got them chained up in a little square or anything cruel, they're a barky breed (looked them up when we ourselves were thinking about getting a dog)

Clearly says she has in her op

Report them!

Someone a few doors down from us seems to have either bought or inherited a yappy dog, the kind that's the size of a hairbrush and doesn't shut up.

It's been in their garden in the evenings endlessly barking and it's really starting to wind me up. Not sure if they are shutting the thing out there and that's not my problem if they are, but if the barking continues I'm going to be having a gentle word.

Whilst they might not mind the noise, others shouldn't have to live with it.

Dogs bark sometimes, if you don’t want to hear them, move to the middle of nowhere

My 2 bark, as soon as it is too much i get them in from the garden. My neighbours have complained to me about them barking. I didnt realise that they were so bad, so i started getting them in as soon as they started.

YABU. A small amount of noise a couple of times a day isn't a huge noise problem, as previous posters have said you could just as well be woken up by people leaving home early or coming home late. Sounds like you just don't like your neighbours tbh.

Thank you, this is reassuring

Of course dogs can be trained not to bark! I’m a dog owner and mine barks occasionally if someone parks right outside our house or walks past, but just a handful of time’s, he’s told to be quiet and he is. Dogs that go mental because they’re being walked, at set times EVERY day, can absolutely be trained out of that, IF the owner could be bothered. My sympathies. I would hate to live next door to this.