To ask neighbour to change his routine?

[SPUNfan]

We are an end terrace, at the front are gardens and then the road, to the side is a dirt road going down the side of our house providing access to parking at the back. We're semi rural and so have no neighbours except for the terrace we're attached to.

Our neighbours are a retired couple in their 60s. They're friendly enough but beyond saying good morning we usually keep ourselves to ourselves. They have two small dogs, we have three.

Every single morning at 5.30am without fail my neighbour walks his dogs past the front of our house and up the road. Every time the dogs bark from the time they leave his house until they're past our house. Without fail this wakes either me, or one of my children (3 under 5) and therefore me.

I can't wear earplugs as the children still wake in the night but I'm at my wits end - my youngest still wakes several times in the night, the other two do occasionally and so being up for the day at 530 is killing me! I'm absolutely knackered.

Wibu to speak to the neighbour to ask him to change his routine so he doesn't walk his barking dogs past my house every morning at 530?

You aren't being unreasonable and hopefully he'll change his routine (walk) or do it later.

Rephrase it that the barking is waking you up.
mid they only bark until they’re past your house is he training them to do it??

Loads of dogs bark when they're going for a walk and at the start because they're stupidly excited. Have you never met a beagle?

I would mention it to him calmly and politely. He might be unaware.

My dogs bark at the start of a walk with the excitement and anticipation of it all. (But don’t disturb anyone other than me!).

Our neighbour falls asleep on the settee in front of the telly, and then wakes at around 3.30 am and goes to bed.

Every. Single. Night.

It sets our dogs of going bananas and we have to get up, let them out for a wee and settle them again - he has said many a time "I set your lot off again". He is a nice man with a lot of health problems so I say nothing, but if I had young children who were disturbed by it, or if my own sleep was seriously broken I would say something.

I stopped taking my own dogs out at first light because when we got the third he was such an over-exciteable idiot that he literally shrieks when we approach the field at the prospect of getting off his lead. I felt couldn't inflict it on other people so we have later walks.

Speak to your neighbour - he may have no idea how disturbing it is.

Sorry OP that wasn't directed at you - you're NBU at all.

He won't be. Dogs get ideas into their own heads about where they often stop/ start barking, pulling whatever.

Lots of stuff goes on in those little brains.

You give no indication re what your relationship is with your neighbour? Non existent, civil, friendly, acrimonious?

Either way - yes I would ask. No drama, no rudeness, just a polite request with the caveat that you know he is under no obligation to so would be going you a favour

Ah sorry - civil

in that case, definitely go with what I suggested I would

Is the barking from your dogs being disturbed or his dogs on their walk?

You're definitely not being unreasonable.

@Intrigueddotcom Have you actually read her post?

If his dogs bark with excitement when he walks them, he shouldn't be walking them past other people's houses at 5.30am - particularly as he's retired and could presumably walk them at literally any other time. It's not like he has to take them out before he goes to work.

He either needs to get some advice on how to keep them calmer and tackle their barking, or he needs to walk them at a more reasonable hour.

I don't think I would approach him and say 'Could you please change your daily routine?' but just say something like 'I just wanted to ask about your dogs barking at 5am - I know they're probably just excited but the noise really travels and it's waking me and the kids up every time. Obviously all dogs bark and I wouldn't usually mind at all but it's just because it's at 5am that it's a bit of a problem.'

Do the dogs bark for the entire walk, so it goes on until they are out of earshot, or just going past your house (which I’m not minimising by the way, just curious).

@Phobiaphobic

my second post was seconds later

@Bonjovispjs

well they would be dicks then wouldn’t they.

proper anti social to make loads of noise at 5.30am.

Who walks their dog at that time?! They wanna get a life

We had neighbours whos dogs got so excited every day about being taken for their morning walk, they barked from leaving their house until they got past all the houses. One of them had brain damage (a rescue who had been abused,) the others just joined in I think This was about 7.00am. The instigator of the barking had the same name as my dad. The owner would say it's name to try and get it to shut up. It didn't work

I would ask him but not in some of the 'assertive' (confrontational) ways suggested on here. Yes he's unreasonable, but in the real world people generally don't ammend their behaviour just because someone tells them so in a strident manner. Often quite the opposite ime.
You can't force him not to let this happen so your best chance is to ask nicely and appeal to his better nature.

Sympathies OP. Not the dog related, but our neighbour likes to put out his inexplicably large amounts of rubbish and recycling every morning between 5am and 6am. His bins are very close to our bedroom window. He likes to put (aka throw/drop from a height) each thing in individually and slam the bin lids. He sometimes likes to crush drinks cans under his feet one by one.

I would ask them really nicely

Hmm, how much noise do your three make, three
under five are unlikely to be quiet. Is he getting up early because your children wake him?

Why would anyone think you were unreasonable?! This would drive me insane! We have 2 dogs and one barks when we get the lawnmower out, she is right back in the house instantly so it doesn't annoy the neighbours and that's at 3pm or whenever!
Tell him in a calm but firm fashion, nothing worse than someone stewing on something and going in all guns blazing on the initial approach. Although surely anyone would be aware that a barking dog at 5.30am might disturb someone....

😂
I'd be grateful if you could explain your reasoning to my dogs. Or maybe they are just weird.

Oh I feel for you OP - barking dogs are so annoying.

I had to point this out to my neighbour a while back as they were letting their dog into the garden early every morning and he would bark at pheasants. They started letting him out the side for a while which helped but then it started again and I realised they’d gone back to letting him out the back. There’s not much you can do with inconsiderate dog owners unfortunately.

If he’s retired why does he need to walk them so early? It’s so selfish.

I’d definitely mention it.

could you try white noise for the children?