To let my dog bark for an extra half hour even though the neighbour was already annoyed

[Candlestand]

I have 2 dogs, DH usually takes them to work so Mon-Fri they're never here during the day. Due to a bit of excess faffing yesterday morning he forgot them. Normally he puts them in the dog box in the car and sorts out DD and they all head off to nursery then work but somehow yesterday he just forgot he hadn't already put them in the car and I got a text from DH to tell me the dogs were still in the garden. Fine. I'm up in my office, WFH, the back door is open as it was such a nice day, they can mooch in and out as they please and we'll just walk them tonight instead.
I work for the local authority and we've had a nasty incident occur with a safeguarding issue for a child and I was part of back to back meetings so I never even went down for a cup of tea. I'm then in a meeting that I have been volunteered as minute taker for and there are over 20 people in this meeting and that's when my neighbour starts banging on my door. Initially I ignore him thinking it's a delivery and I can't leave this meeting but he is now practically pounding my door down so I race to the other room to open the window to ask them to go away whatever it is and he starts swearing that the dogs are barking and its really annoying. I shout down that I'm sorry but I'm in a meeting and I will sort them out as soon as I'm out of it. I can see he's furious and he storms off still swearing but the meeting is still going on without me and I have to be in it. I'm now vaguely aware that my younger dog is barking because it's been brought to my attention but honestly I just hadn't noticed before because it had been such a busy morning so I don't know how long they had been barking for. I didn't want to disrupt the meeting by asking for a break because there was a lot going on in it and we were, I hoped, almost finished but it turned out we were still going half an hour later before the meeting actually finished and because I'm now aware of it I can hear the dog still barking on and off for that time.
The thing is, we have a big garden and they don't come in when called straight away because it becomes a game to them so although me being out in the garden with them stopped the barking it takes me over 5 minutes to get them to come into the house (which I knew it would and why I didn't want to stop in the middle of a very large meeting to chase around my garden for ages). I appreciate it must have been annoying and I could see my neighbours over our fence so when I could go get them I apologised properly and tried to explain that I couldn't leave the meeting to come and get them and they were furious with me and said I was ruining their day. They are retired and are always in their garden. My dog was actually barking at their dog who was sat with them and my little dog could smell him, the older one wasn't actually barking. I tried to explain that he was just excited by their dog and if they had taken their dog in, he would have stopped barking but this just made them angrier (I meant it to try and break the tension as a discussion rather than a criticism of them, though clearly I misjudged how to say that) as they said why shouldn't their dog be allowed outside when he's being well behaved. I apologised again and just got back to chasing the dogs into the house and went back to work.

I appreciate it was annoying but I'm not sure they needed to be quite so angry. It was the middle of the day, this never normally happens at all because the dogs are not here during the week and at the weekend we're both able to be much more atuned to them if one of them starts barking at another dog or a squirrel or something and it has never been an issue before. We live rurally so other than the house on the other side of our neighbours theres no one else to be upset by the barking.
WIBU to put work before my neighbours enjoyment of their garden for half an hour?

[SycamoreGap]

I think you need to train your dogs better to come inside when called - we have 5 dogs and luckily they are not really barkers, but they are called inside straight away if they start to do anything that will irritate the neighbours.

[cupoftea2021]

@OverTheRainbow88

lol people are being obtuse and ridiculous.

It was a one off mistake, I would verbally apologise then not think about it again.

Same here.

[imforourfreedomback]

@Macncheeseballs

Given how busy your day was and how important your meetings were, your dh really left you in the shit

Have you considered that it was a genuine mistake?! Gosh...what a drama!
Don't you ever forget when you are in a rush? Bloody hell...would you advise OP to file for divorce too ?! 😂😂

[imforourfreedomback]

*forget things

[sunflowersandbuttercups]

Have you considered that it was a genuine mistake?! Gosh...what a drama! Don't you ever forget when you are in a rush?

I have never once forgotten to care for my animals, no!

Forgetting to empty the bin or change the sheets, sure, but how do you forget your dog?!

[Francescaisstressed]

Look at it from their point of view? They are sat in their garden nicely whilst your dog is barking (perhaps aggressively you haven't said) at their smaller dog. This clearly went on for much of the day and when they've had enough they've asked you do bring them in and they haven't. Whilst I know dogs are difficult and it's not simply down to training as this wa sout of the norm, ultimately you've just chucked them in a garden and caused a nuisance to your neighbours. When they've raised it to you you haven't brought them in and then when you did bring them in you suggested they should have done something differently instead. I think you should go round and apologise to mend the relationship and think about keeping your dogs inside if they cause that much of an issue and you struggle to get them back in.

[BRB2021]

Wow you must have a ruddy big house not to hear your dogs barking until it is brought to your attention! i can hear dogs from about 5 houses away barking.

A difficult situation for you if you are dealing with a serious issue at work and in meetings. You are kind of stuck.

A token "sorry" gift is a good idea, but the neighbours sound a bit OTT to be pounding on your door if it is a one off.

[Francescaisstressed]

Also I have dogs. I wouldn't leave them the whole day in a garden unattanded like that.

[yoyo1234]

You were in meetings all day probably wearing eat phones that are likely to cancel a lot of the barking. It may have been half an hour before you dealt with the barking but how long (possibly hours) had your poor neighbours had to listen to that noise before then?

[Gensola]

YABVU - it is a public nuisance to leave a dog barking for more than 5 mins in an hour. I hope your neighbours report you to the council!

[Greenmarmalade]

YANBU and people need to listen and understand each other more. Just explain and apologise, and say what you’ll do next time.

[imforourfreedomback]

@Francescaisstressed

Look at it from their point of view? They are sat in their garden nicely whilst your dog is barking (perhaps aggressively you haven't said) at their smaller dog. This clearly went on for much of the day and when they've had enough they've asked you do bring them in and they haven't. Whilst I know dogs are difficult and it's not simply down to training as this wa sout of the norm, ultimately you've just chucked them in a garden and caused a nuisance to your neighbours. When they've raised it to you you haven't brought them in and then when you did bring them in you suggested they should have done something differently instead. I think you should go round and apologise to mend the relationship and think about keeping your dogs inside if they cause that much of an issue and you struggle to get them back in.

Op has already apologised no need for more apologies.
These neighbours are quite entitled if they can't put up with a bit of inconvenience.

[SchadenfreudePersonified]

YANBU

As this is a "one-off" I don't think YABU and your neighbours could have cut you a bit of slack - I could have tolerated it if I'd known it ws going to end in half an hour or whatever.

I don't think the council would have done much about it if it was happening during the day, and wasn't every day, but it's a shame to fall out with neighbours over something like this.

If you DH forgets the dogs again, you'll just have to keep them in during meetings - awkward, I know because if they need a wee that will disturb you.

As for the person who said your dog was "feral" - don't be so stupid! Of course it's not "feral". A young dog barking with excitement is not different to a young child shrieking with excitement - it might be bliddy annoying, but it doesn't make them some sort of delinquent.

Barking is the most difficult thing to stop dogs - any dogs - doing, as it is a natural instinct to protect their own territory and to let other dogs and people know that they are there doing their job. Some breeds bark more than others; some breeds have a more annoying bark than others.

I'm told that to teach a dog how to not to bark, you first have to teach it TO bark (on command) and then to be quiet. I have read this in many books.

I have never succeeded in teaching a dog to shut up!

(Mine don't bark all day BTW - just if someone comes to the door, but I would really like to be able to tell them to be quiet)

[Molehillfromamountain]

YABVU. Allowing your dogs to bark constantly is selfish at any point in the day.
I say this as someone who was woken up this morning by the neighbours dag barking...again.

[maddening]

Yanbu, it was a one off, just like any other one off noise incident.

[Mummyoflittledragon]

My dogs would probably bark their heads off continuously at birds if I let them. They still bark if a bird arrives in the garden but I stop it immediately. They generally come in when called but the youngest has a very high prey drive so if she’s seen a pigeon in a tree, I have to bribe her with a treat and she’s straight in. The older dog used to be tricky to get in if it was dark outside and I had to go outside to get him in; he looses his head in the dark and I don’t trust him off lead in the dark. Apart from that, recall for both is very good.

A dog finding their voice is not a good thing. It is something to be stopped at every occasion otherwise they will bark more and more. Recall is something to be worked on. I get your dog is a year old but this needs to get under control otherwise how can you trust them off lead for walks and to not bark at the neighbours?

[Profiterolegirl]

It doesn't matter how important what you think you were doing was. Other people may have been trying to do important things. Babies or ill people may have been sleeping. Other people may have been working or studying from home. People may have been trying to sit in their gardens. You don't have the right to let your dogs park outside all day. It wasn't just half an hour. It had been happening for a long time before your neighbour banged on the door or they would not have been banging on the door.

[SchadenfreudePersonified]

Op has already apologised no need for more apologies.
These neighbours are quite entitled if they can't put up with a bit of inconvenience.

I agree freedom

And there is no suggestion that the dog is aggressive as "Francesca" is projecting.

Sometimes we have to put up with a bit of noise.

I think that lockdown has made many of us less tolerant, unfortunately.

[Roussette]

it is a public nuisance to leave a dog barking for more than 5 mins in an hour. I hope your neighbours report you to the council!

So you would report your NDNs for a one off incident of dog barking, even though she has apologised and even though the dogs aren't there Monday to Friday normally.

Good grief. Im glad I live next to nicer people.

[marmitepasta]

I think you should have left the meeting and got the dogs in even if your presence at the meeting was important. It was only 5 mins.

The neighbor sounds like he over reacted though

[maddening]

And of course forgetting, even big things, is very normal.

[Arbadacarba]

I don't know why the OP is getting a hard time - she's said she will be popping round with apology + wine.

We had a dog next door that would start barking whenever our dog went into the garden. Our dog wasn't much of a barker - I taught him that if he was outside and started barking for no reason, the fun stopped and he came back into the house straight away. He would sit on the patio and listen to the 'conversation' between next door's dog and a huge dog down the street somewhere that had a really deep bark . Generally I don't mind dog noise during the day.

[Branleuse]

So they cant even go in their own garden without your dogs getting territorial and shouting the entire time.

My neighbours dogs can get a bit like this and it makes it really hard to enjoy my garden sometimes. My dog ignores it, but my partners dog gets really intimidated by it.
You should have gone and brought them in or your dp should have come back and got them

[maddening]

And no you should not have left your meeting to appease 2 entitled people who have every single day to sit out in the garden, it was only for 30 more minutes, they could see you were busy, their dog popping in for 30 minutes would have helped, they have every other day to be out with their dog, a one off moment of cooperation would have sorted it

[poppycat10]

[quote Candlestand]@Sirzy That's unfair. It wasn't at all that I couldn't be bothered, I could not leave that meeting. It's not a choice to work, I have to work and its not my choice to work from home.[/quote]
Yes but it is your choice to have a dog, so you have to deal with it, in the same way that you would (hopefully) have dealt with a screaming child.

If you don't want the responsibility, don't have a dog.

I think that if it was ok to leave the meetings to go into another room, open a window and have a conversation with your neighbour, it would have been equally ok to leave the meeting to fetch the dogs in yes. I've left a meeting for a few seconds to open the door to the postman when he had a parcel for me.

My neighbours have barky dogs but fortunately it only tends to be when they get let out to go to the loo, so it's only for a couple of minutes a day. 30 minutes would do my head in.