Next doors dog

[SliceoQuiche]

I’ll caveat this with by saying I LOVE dogs and would love one of my own, but currently circumstances don’t allow for it.

Next door got a black lab at the beginning of April. Quite an energetic little thing and really quite lovely, he’s now around 6 months old.

My problem is the barking. Before anyone says it, yes, I am aware dogs bark. But this is something else…
Neighbour works 8am-6pm Tuesday to Saturday and with the exception of a couple of hours in the middle of the day the dog barks non stop, on for a minute or two, then stop for a minute, on then stop. How it still has the energy or any voice left is beyond me.

I work from home, hence I notice it all week; I’ve had people on Teams meetings ask if I can mute because of my dog, I’ve been woken pre-6am because of the dog… it’s just never ending and I feel like I’m going mad.

We’ve mentioned it to the neighbour a couple of times now, he flits between ‘I’m so sorry’ and ‘what do you expect me to do about it when I’m not there?’

How long is too long to put up with this? AIBU to contact the council with a noise complaint? I don’t want to be that neighbour, I want to get on with people, but I can feel my nerves fraying with the repetitive barking day in day out!

Your neighbour should not own a dog if he works these hours. The dog is obviously upset. He needs company and training with his owner.

TBH I think that’s probably an animal welfare concern if it’s alone that much and distressed. Not that that helps you

Dog is far too young to be left for that amount of time. Wouldn't even do that with an older dog, our lab is 3 and she will bark when hungry, when she wants to go out etc but we sort her out within a couple of minutes each time. Certainly speak to the council if the owner isn't making any changes

Can you report to the RSPCA? The dog should not be left alone for all that time!

The dog needs training. I have a dog, I trained him, he doesn't bark except when required eg he barks at the window cleaner, at the delivery driver with a motorbike helmet but not the postman even. It's the owners fault not the dog.

Adopt the dog, but on a foggy day care basis and get paid for looking after said dog then hand back.

a totally ridiculous suggestion but dog snuggles and no barking is a pretty good deal.

You're reply to "what do you expect me to do when I'm not there?" Should be along the lines of "I expect that when you're not there you arrange for someone to look after the dog as it's clearly to anxious being on its own ".

I'm a dog owner, I am very conscious of our neighbour. We got a puppy 2 years ago. It's taken 18 months of patience to ensure that our dog has slowly learnt to become ok with being left alone for a few hours. We have a camera to make sure he's not barking or doing anything that indicates distress. Me and DH work full time, when we got the dog we factored in paying for someone to look after the dog while we're at work. Too many people think working full time and popping back for half hour at lunch is ok. It's not ok, especially with very young dogs.

We ended up getting the police involved because of the incessant barking from 7am to after 11pm at night.

Wanker neighbour actually works from home full time but ignored the little happy bastard. It’s horrible OP I feel your pain.

Dog's distressed. Owner's shit.

Contact whomever is responsible for noise nuisance at your local authority.

I have a dog who goes between the house and the garden all day. He will bark 3 times every time a cat comes into the garden. This happens half a dozen times a day and I worry about the neighbours. All day non stop is anti social. It also means the dog isn't happy being in the garden all day.

I was going to suggest having the dog in OP's house while the owner is at work.

All the good points about owning a dog and none of the hassle or bills!

You can't report this for animal welfare. The standards for that are shockingly low. Our ndn used to leave his 2 dogs outside in the garden all day, literally 7am-7pm. I spoke to RSPCA and they said as long as they had access to shelter and water and were checked on every 12 hours that was enough!! 😟

The dog is probably barking because it's bored and needs exercise! A well-exercised dog should conk out fast asleep after a jolly good run/play.

Ok, crazy suggestion here but as you love dogs but can't own one of your own, could you offer to take it for walks or have it in your house? I know, the dog is not your responsibility but it seems like this could be a solution to solve both problems?

Well he shouldn't have a bloody dog if he's leaving it for ten hours a day 🙄

Send them a link to the latest cf ndn who has had her ddog removed by the rpsca for barking excessively... As it should have been.

I have 4 ddogs. They have been trained not to annoy the neighbours. It really wasn't difficult..

The council usually send a letter within days. We had a similar situation, our neighbour informed the council and they sent a letter and the neighbours kept the dog indoors. We had spoken to them about it before but they were aggressive.

This is going to be a bit of a long slog to deal with, but you need to start getting this down on paper (or email if you have your neighbour’s email address).

Write to your neighbour setting out what you have written here:

• His time of absence from house
• time barking
• time not barking
• impact on you incl zoom meetings etc

Ask him to resolve it by X date (7days). Don’t make any threats. Then write to him again in 7days asking for an update and noting the barking during the previous 7days.

Then, if no improvement write to the Council environment services and the RSPCA enclosing both letters.

@Whoopsies oh wow that’s so sad, I had no idea the bar was so low, I always thought the advice was not leaving a dog alone for any longer than 4 hours, that must be rather outdated now
Poor dog

I would have complained to the council long before now, and I'm a dog owner myself.

This dog is being neglected. You can't leave a six month old puppy alone all day with the exception of a break at lunch - presumably it's out with a dog-walker or something midday?

Daycare would be a much, much better option for a puppy and probably wouldn't cost much more than a walker. However, as a dog walker myself, I know pretty much all daycares are fully booked up with waiting lists - since lockdown, the demand for walkers and daycares has soared.

The council can deal with the noise but sadly I suspect the RSPCA won't be interested in a barking dog - as long as as a dog has food, water and shelter, they don't give a shit about the rest.

I don't know if the council can eventually get the dog removed if the noise isn't dealt with, though.

As the owner of a 'barky' dog myself i can sympathise with both sides.

I am 100% aware of the fustration hering a barking dog day in day out ca have, even after 5 minutes of hearing someone elses dog barking it drives me mad.

But it is also ally really hard to try and stop a dog doing something it instinctively does.
Mine barks through seperation anxiety (down to circumstances that occurred before he was in my life) and use to howl for the entire 4 hours he was left at home. We had council letters, RSPCA called the lot. All of course deemed safe and loved because he is, but he just hates being alone.

Unortuantely though, i need to work to pay the bills. We have tried all sorts to help calm him down and have found a new furry buddy, a long walk before leaving and a constant routine has greatly reduced his anxietys.

If your neighbour is taking steps to reduce his anxiety then as fustrating it is for you, it is the age old question of what can he actually do about it? People need to work, and that doesnt mean they shouldnt have a dog. Im guessing that middle of the day silence is due to neighbour coming home and interacting with the dog? Meaning he is alone for 4 hours at a time max?

But i do sympathise for you having to hear it day in day out. It is just a tricky one

Well I feel better about my dogs barking now, that is bad.

Could you give your neighbours the ultimatum of engaging a dog behaviourist within a specified timeframe or you will report to the council (start a diary/recording now in preparation).

It sounds like he has separation anxiety +/- boredom poor thing.

People need to work, and that doesnt mean they shouldnt have a dog.

Yes it does actually, if it means someone has to listen to a dog barking for 8 hours with a brief break at lunch.

What he needs to do is put the dog in day care - tell him that and tell him if it continues you will have to go down the complain to the council route as it’s making your work/ home life impossible .

If your neighbour is taking steps to reduce his anxiety then as fustrating it is for you, it is the age old question of what can he actually do about it? People need to work, and that doesnt mean they shouldnt have a dog.

Bollocks.

You should only have a dog if you can look after it properly. Leaving a distressed, barking dog alone for 8 hours a day is neglect. If your dog isn't happy on it's own, then you bloody well stump up for daycare - not just leave it to suffer "because you have to work".

And I say that as the owner of a dog with severe separation anxiety - to the point he can't be left longer than an hour. So I don't leave him for longer than an hour. He either comes to work with me, spends the day with my in-laws or we pay for daycare.

How can people be that stupid to not think constant barking would annoy the neighbours , beyond me tbh and also it's no life for the dog . 6mths is very interactive stage of life and should be learning to socialise etc . How can he do that stuck in a garden 😂