Neighbour’s dog

[Whatamess582]

Apologies if this kind of thing has been asked before. I had a quick scan of previous threads and haven’t found anything similar.

My neighbour comes to his house, which is a second home (which is side on to ours) every Tuesday evening and leaves Thursday morning. I think he has the day off on a Wednesday. He sometimes comes up on the weekend but oddly this doesn’t happen on a weekend... no idea why. When he comes he brings his enormous German Shepherd with him who my dog absolutely hates and they spend all day barking at each other through the fence, so I spend all Wednesday either yelling at my dog to shut up or having to lock him in the house all day which is unfair to him. The neighbour jokes that my (otherwise silent animal!) is very territorial and makes a lot of noise....

But that’s not really what I’m most annoyed about. Every Tuesday and Wednesday night he leaves the dog out in the garden. And when I come into the bedroom and turn my bedroom light on, the light streams out into my driveway and their back garden and dog starts barking at the light. That sets my dog on edge and he starts scampering round the house whimpering and whining to go out and protect his territory. The kids wake up then and start asking if the ‘crazy dog from next door is loose’... which is actually our greatest fear. When I turn the bedroom light off... the dog stops barking instantly. But I can’t do everything I need to do in complete darkness. I feel like a fool walking around my own bedroom in my own house with my phone light on trying to brush my teeth, get undressed etc so as not to disturb the animal. I’ve mentioned it to the dogs owner and he kind of laughed it off and made some joke about the dog obviously thinking I should be in bed at that time. I asked him if the dog always slept outside or if he could put him inside and the answer was along the lines of ‘he prefers sleeping outside... he is a guard dog’

We don’t have any other permanent neighbours who are affected. and those that are there permanently are on the other side of the road and can’t hear all of this.

AIBU to call the local council and tell them it’s a noise nuisance? Or should I just suck it up for 1 (sometimes 2) nights a week.

I would be a mardy arse and put the light on all night just so the dog barks all night and annoys your neighbour! Maybe he'll take the dog in inside.

At the moment, you are the only one adjusting your behaviour (walking around using phone light as torch), so the neighbour is getting off scot free.

Yes it will be annoying for you, but keep dog close and re-assure kids that the neighbour's dog is just barking because he's bored in the garden and he can't leave the garden.

Really surprised at how many people on here would be prepared to creep around their own homes in darkness, weird

I wouldn’t. I’d just tolerate the dog barking for the length of time the light was on but OP doesn’t want to do that.

It doesn't sound like the dog is barking at night in a sustained way that warrants a noise complaint.

It also sounds like it's actually your dog's reaction to the barking that is disturbing your family the most. It's possible to work on this with your dog and train that reactivity out of him. It's morning here in Melbourne, my German Shepherd (not Shepard!) is snoozing on the patio while the Cavvy over the fence is going apeshit about 8 feet away.

I'd see what you can do to block out light on that side of the house - Ikea has great, cheap blockout curtains - and get some training advice or help for your dog.

Why should she if it upsets her children and makes her own dog anxious?
Barking dogs are classed as a noise nuisance that local authorities have a statutory requirement to investigate, I'd just report it, I would let someone who can't be bothered to control their dog dictate how I use my own home

my German Shepherd (not Shepard!)

Thank you!

@SoWhyNot

No he doesn’t come out to calm the dog down. Yes he must be able to hear it. No idea why he doesn’t care. He doesn’t calm the dog down or tell him to be quiet during the day or remove him from the section of garden so he isn’t agitated by my dog either, ever. He doesn’t seem to care. I take all the action and make all the concessions. And now it’s got to the point of creeping round my house with a phone torch so as not to disturb the animal next door who apparently gets upset by a light going on.

Why should she if it upsets her children and makes her own dog anxious?

No one is saying she should, that’s why we’re providing alternative suggestions which you have shat all over too so 🤷‍♀️

@UhtredRagnarson no I've just pointed out that she shouldn't have to change her behaviour, or curtains, for that matter, because a neighbour can't be bothered to control their dog. If I let my dog regularly bark at night in the garden for any length of time, I'd expect someone to complain, but then I'm a considerate person

@stackemhigh
I might just have to. Even if I got black out blinds for my room, it doesn’t solve the problem of the back garden sensor light which I’m not prepared to disconnect two nights a week.

Tibetan terriers were originally bred as herders and watch dogs. They can still be very territorial especially with other dogs. Sounds like you might both need to attend some training classes. Him to learn how to recognise his poor dog’s needs and you to learn how to manage his behaviour. I’m sure this could all be very easily fixed.

He should have shown more empathy when you mentioned it, but I wonder if his response was to do with your tone.
You post comes across as you just don't like him being there for a couple of days a week and would rather it was empty.

I do own an enormous crazy GSD, but to be fair to her, I've never been attacked by either a pigeon or a squirrel, so in her eyes she's doing her job.

Slightly missing the point but what do you mean by no permanent neighbours are affected? Are there non-permanent neighbours who are being disturbed by both dogs?

@Goldieloxx

Thank you. I agree I’m not happy about having to change so many things in my own house to keep next doors dog happy. It means my dog can’t go out in the garden after the kids have gone to bed, I can’t go to the car (because that’s in our driveway which is part of our garden)... the sensor light has to be disconnected, I can’t go to the loo with the light on, I can’t read in bed,

[quote Whatamess582]@stackemhigh
I might just have to. Even if I got black out blinds for my room, it doesn’t solve the problem of the back garden sensor light which I’m not prepared to disconnect two nights a week.[/quote]
Do you children mind white noise? I’d be tempted to put loud white noise on in their rooms and either do the same for yourself or else get some ear plugs. Then put your security light to flicker on and off overnight and go to sleep. Maybe after not sleeping at all for the two nights he is here, your neighbour will keep the dog inside.

@NeedaLittleNap

Sorry. About 50% of the houses on our road are holiday houses... people usually come for weekends or in the summer. The other houses near us that could hear all this are empty mostly.... and if they do come it’s usually on the weekend or in the summer and he doesn’t bring the dog during the summer. I genuinely don’t know why the dog doesn’t sleep outside on a weekend... it only happens in the week! It’s so weird.

The other (permanent) people on the road are just too far away to hear it. Or if they do hear it it’s not loud enough for it to be a massive problem. The dogs in our village all have an evening bark at each other. It’s like the dogs in 101 Dalmatians. It’s sweet. This is not that. It’s angry aggressive barking. 10m from my window.

If I let my dog regularly bark at night in the garden for any length of time, I'd expect someone to complain

Me too. But realistically is this guy going to do anything if she does? He doesn’t give a shit. The council are going to do absolutely nothing about a dog barking for 5 minutes at a time when OP is going to bed.

@SheilaWilcox

Not at all. I would much prefer him to be here , even if 1 or 2 nights a week. Where we are is quite isolated and it’s nice to have neighbours to say hello to, hear moving about, using the house.
It was a conversation that wasn’t just about the dog. We were talking about good fishing spots for my kids to go and It was all very pleasant. We get on on a superficial neighbour-you-don’t-see-very-often way

[quote Whatamess582]@Goldieloxx

Thank you. I agree I’m not happy about having to change so many things in my own house to keep next doors dog happy. It means my dog can’t go out in the garden after the kids have gone to bed, I can’t go to the car (because that’s in our driveway which is part of our garden)... the sensor light has to be disconnected, I can’t go to the loo with the light on, I can’t read in bed,[/quote]
You've changed tack somewhat, in your OP you were saying it was your own dog's, barking, whining and scratching in response to the other dog that was waking your kids and annoying you most. So this is really about keeping your own dog happy, not theirs. It's not a given that a dog will carry on like that when it hears another dog. You can work on that.

Ah ok. So there is potential for it to disturb others, not at the moment, but perhaps more then most this summer when the season might be longer etc.

Maybe a daft idea but could you leave your bedroom light on all night for a few Tuesdays and Wednesdays? Let the dog get used to it so it's no longer scary or novel to him. Maybe even board your own dog out those days to save him the stress. Bunk in with a child, earplugs etc.

OP - can you go around to his house and be firm?
Dogs do bark at each other.
Have they “met”? It might- emphasis on might - solve the issue.
Your neighbour surely shouldn’t be leaving his dog outside in this weather/time of year.
I’m going on most of your responses here and guessing- you are a bit afraid of the dog or don’t like the breed.
Both breeds are herding dogs, do what you might think of as the larger dog being more aggressive, it’s not always like that.
You probably should tell your children that nothing bad will happen. They will rely on you to make them feel secure on that front.
It’s possible that your neighbour’s dog is bored and lonely.
I’d personally go round and tell him look this situation is driving me mad. How do we resolve it. I know you did go round, but maybe try again.
His dog and your dog are bred for similar purposes and possibly are getting along more than you might think (GS dogs are not primarily guard dogs!)

@Providora
No, not at all. My OP does not say my dog barks when the next door dog barks at my bedroom light.

My issue is that the dog barks whenever my bedroom light goes on. It’s not about the reaction my dog has. Yes he hears and yes he reacts... but the dog next door is barking not 10m from my bedroom window. It’s bloody noisy and bloody annoying. But even if my dog wasn’t reacting my kids would still be woken up by the dog next door who is barking like someone is breaking into his property. The bathroom light elicits the same response. And the garden light. So then the dog next door is barking, my dog is agitated, my kids are woken up, it’s 10pm and all I want to do is lie in bed and read a sodding book and I can’t. And his owner doesn’t do a damn thing. So I have to either walk around with a phone torch to brush my teeth and get dressed, or spend money on black out curtains I don’t want because the next door neighbour can’t train his dog not to be scared of a light.

@Krazynights34

Probably the best advice here. Thank you. I never know what to say in these situations so yes.. thank you that sounds perfect.

Have no problem with the breed. I have a friend in the village who has a massive black German shepherd and we adore him. He plays with the kids and my dog and all is fine.

Yes I’m probably a bit afraid of the dog next door. He isn’t just barking at the air, standing back from the fence, He has his teeth bared and is pushing against a wire fence and scrabbling at the floor to get to our dog. Size wise for my dog me and the kids he would be no match. So yes I’m not going to deny I’m a bit wary of him. I’m not scared about him getting in here. And I’m not saying he would attack us. Either way, The guy has him locked into the property with padlocks and an extra high fence. So I’m not worried about him getting in here... I just want to be able to maybe read a book before bed without the whole house being on high alert

I hear you OP.
The dog next door sounds very frustrated.
I understand the worry (I have two dogs and in our old house our neighbours had a dog who didn’t like ours and did the same sort of thing BUT they took him inside/loved him/walked him etc).
I really do think you need to lay it on the line to your neighbour.
You shouldn’t have to creep around your house etc and his dog shouldn’t be left outside! That’s cruel (if it were a farm or something I’d understand but it isn’t!)

I feel your pain, OP. Next door neighbour’s son’s dog attacked my dog in the woods one day. He would bring it round to his mum’s house, my dog would go nuts, as would my other two (they’re normally silent in the garden). I confess I went a bit mad and said it wasn’t fair that my dog was being traumatised in his own garden (6 feet fence, but they could hear/smell each other).

It isn’t fair and I would speak to the neighbour and be very clear about the fact that he should keep his dog indoors overnight or you will make a complaint to the council.

Should the neighbour have been travelling to a second home during the lockdown?