Reporting my neighbour?

[Disillusionedthesedays]

I live next door to a barking dog. It's driving me nuts. It's certainly not all day. But at least 7 to 10 times a day, it gets set off and barks almost constantly for between 5 and 15 minutes.

I used to brush it off, but recently it's been annoying me more and more. I think the reason I'm increasingly annoyed by it is because of the dog's situation. My neighbour lives in a small flat, with a small yard. She has 3 large dogs, including a rescue doberman (doing the barking). She works out of the home during the day, and sometimes lives away from home for several days to help manage the family business. Last month she was living at the bedsit for 2 weeks while her family were away, before going on holiday herself for a week.

When she is out of the house, she has a family friend come over and sit with the dogs. He is an old man whose only counter is to shout "stop barking!" To which the dog invariably shouts back. I understand she takes him to dog training once a week but he is upset by any outdoor noise.

I don't see her walk the dogs and as far as i know they are walked rarely, and left to run in circles round the small yard (barking). We walk our cockapoo 4-5 times a day so know most of the local walkers and don't see our neighbours out walking.

So while the noise is annoying, I'm also annoyed by the dogs' situation, which I suspect worries me more. The trouble is I actually really like my neighbour. She is very sweet, with various health issues herself. She has no kids and has told me that her dogs are her babies and she seems to love them lots.

We've discussed the barking. She asks me to let her know when they bark, but I would be literally messaging her several times every day. And when I do message her, she just calls the old man and he squirts water at the dog or takes him inside. I tend to call her when it's been going on for more than 10 minutes or if it is after 10pm when it wakes my kids. It often starts early, before 7am and last week he was barking c. midnight.

So my question is - should i be taking action? Reporting her or forcing the issue, even if it affects our good relationship? Or should I let (barking) sleeping dogs lie?

Report to.who?

I absolutely loathe irresponsible dog owners like your neighbour. She has no business having dogs if she can't provide basic care. I don't know if reporting her to the council for the barking issue or the RSPCA for the neglect issue will get you anywhere though 🤷‍♀️

Dog warden with local council

She's not sweet and she had no business owning dogs when she's not capable of giving them adequate care. The dogs are there as her emotional crutch, poor things, and she clearly doesn't see them as her babies because a mother that neglectful would have her children taken away. I think you should tell her every time the dog barks. I would also get in touch with the rescue as they won't be happy the dog isn't walked. Unless of course, she 'rescue' it from gumtree.

If you know her well enough to speak about barking why have you never asked about their exercise and the fact they are getting no mw gal stimulation that a walk brings as well as no physical exercise?

Ask her if she was confined to a back yard would she not descend into madness?

You won't get anywhere with RSPCA as sadly the dogs are fed and 'cared' for.

It's heartbreaking.

If she doesn't have CCTV, I'd be inclined to nab them and take to the pound and say you found all three loose.

Once she has to pay to get them back a few times she may not be able to get them back and they will be rehomed to people who can look after them properly.

'Nab', 3 large dogs, including a Dobermann from their own property? Are you nuts? Op would be liable to get bitten, or killed.

I did mention recently that doberman dogs suffer acutely with separation anxiety and also need 2 hours of exercise, including walks, each day. I suggested this might be why he is barking so much. But she hasn't replied 😕 . I guess I'm worried about our relationship deteriorating as I would find it hard to live next door to animosity and bad feeling.

I'll happily be the odd one out here and say I think YABU to report her.

A dog barking 7/10 times a day for maybe 5 minutes is not a great deal and would be considered within the realms of normal across the day.

You may not see her walking it because she might walk it at different times of day or choose quiet routes. Many people have dogs who don't want to be around unknown dogs, for example, and walk their dogs during unsociable hours or on quiet routes. It probably doesn't look like we walk our dog a lot, but he gets plenty of exercise, we just avoud busy areas or predictably busier times. 4 - 5 times a day is way too much, by the way (speaking as an animal professional, unless these were gentle, shorter, sniffy strolls). Dogs can also skip days walking without an issue as long as they have enough mental stimulation, toilet access, and there are reasons that might contribute to less walks (behaviour management or health). Sometimes a reduction in walks is actually recommended for welfare reasons depending on the animal.

She takes them to training weekly.

She provides care for them when she is away. The old man isn't doing any of the right things (squirting them with water) but she isn't ignoring your requests when you contact her. You might suggest discussing with her the way the barking is handled and perhaps she could work with somebody to stop them being as sensitive to whatever it is causing them to bark.

If you asked a welfare professional if these dogs were not having their welfare needs met, the likely answer (from what you have said here) is that the dogs are receiving appropriate care.
If you report her, brace yourself to destroy your relationship with your neighbour and for her to make your life hell if your dog so much as makes a peep, because that will probably be what happens.

RSPCA?

Council?

Dog warden (if they have one)

Thank you for this perspective, that's really helpful. You're right in saying that it works both ways and my children can be noisy in the garden sometimes and our dog only barks when the doorbell rings, but then she really goes for it, so we are not whiter than white.
I do think I'd notice her walking the dogs though. Our back entrances go straight to the promenade (sea front), where we walk, and I can see both her front and back entrances clearly. I think in the 2.5 years I'd notice the big dogs going out regularly. We also have a camera doorbell and they never go out the front.
It's interesting that you say we walk our dog too much. It's only a 10 minute route that we do 4 to 5 times a day because she doesn't use the garden much for toilet so we try to take her out when she looks desperate. But maybe a longer walk and less often might be better for her? Thank you for your response

We’ve had issues in our neighbourhood with 2 barking dogs. The council have recently issued the owner with an abatement order and it’s been much better (touch wood). RSPCA not bothered. The council were mainly concerned with the noise between 7pm-8am and they had to send inspectors out to witness it to check it constituted a statutory noise nuisance. I’m definitely a live and let live kind of person but draw the line if it stops or interrupts sleep. In our case there were loads of people who complained as the dogs were kept outside. Do you have other neighbours who are affected?

This sounds horrendous, you have my sympathy. I would lodge a complaint with the council. The noise level alone is unacceptable and antisocial.

First, keep a precise log of timings and duration and try to record the noise (is there an app which tells you the decibel rating?).

I know that at least one other neighbour has reported it as the dog warden came over before. I will start noting how often it occurs and recording it too. Thank you, Good ideas

I had this problem, I told the neighbour their dog was howling all day and night when they were out, which was every day and at least 5 nights a week, sometimes they were out all night leaving a puppy on its own. My neighbour just shrugged his shoulders and said he had to go to work and go out. So I reported him, my local council wrote them a letter but the dog still continued to howl, we recorded the dog on the councils recording equipment. The council issued an abatement order ( kind of an ASBO) and told them they would either have to get rid of the dog or sell up. It took 3 years but they sold their house, my new neighbours dogs bark but they are now keeping them quiet. Im a dog lover but know it does grate on you when the barking is relentless. Its not the dogs fault but the owners. I would explain to your neighbour again, that its annoying and that if it continues you would have no choice but to report her. I know you say she is a nice lady but dont let that put you off. I got on with my neighbour and yes it affected our relationship but my sanity was far more important. Good luck

I would. I recently reported someone's multiple dogs because they let them bark and howl numerous times a day for ages at a time every day including waking me and the kids sometimes several times in the night. I didn't report for ages but tbh I can't cope with it anymore and they can do something about it but don't. It's not my fault they don't train their dog not stop it quickly when it starts howling.

Dogs bark sometimes but as an owner you can train it or make it stop. It's not acceptable to leave a dog barking in a residential area several times a day for 15 mins at a time (or in my case in the middle of the night)

Given how the Conservatives have destroyed council budgets, there really isn't much resource to deal with barking dogs at most councils.

However you can report it and you might get somewhere - you could keep a noise diary and report to Environmental Health too.

I had a neighbour comment that the reason my foster dogs were behaving poorly (nothing to impact her, toileting problems) was because they aren't walked enough. She's a self proclaimed dog trainer (though with no qualifications that I know of. Apparently, they should be going for really long walks every day (hours over big distances)

They're rescues that arrived 2 weeks ago, and 5 months old, and haven't lived in a house. It's very well known puppies shouldn't be 'walking for hours' every day, even more so when they're a flight risk, haven't ever worn a collar + lead (or in our case harness and lead) nevermind so much as been taken for a walk before they arrived, and scream as soon as they plonk their arse putting pressure on lead themselves.

We do short walks with them when it's quiet late at night (think 11pm-midnight) to ease them in without distraction and super early in the morning (think 5am) - which incidentally, is within the hours most people sleep, including our neighbour. They are fearful and overwhelmed when we try to take them at more human hours. We'll build it up to it when the dogs are ready, not when she thinks they are.

She doesn't have a clue, and I didn't answer her comment, because I don't her an explanation of when we walk our dogs, if she wants to make assumptions that's up to her. It's equally as likely that if the dobe is reactive like you say, she could be walking it very late at night and you wouldn't have a scooby.

You can report all you want, nothing will happen.

I work for my councils dog warden service. We would tell you this is a problem for the anti social behaviour team.

Speak to her first, ideally directly, but if you don't like 'confrontation' then message her. For some reason no one ever does this, but the reality is that it's the best way to try to resolve the issue.

You could report to the council regarding the noise issue, but all they will do is send a letter. How would you feel if a neighbour had the local authority send you a letter saying one of your neighbours reported you for something? I think it's very likely to cause upset, but unlikely to change things.

You could report to the dog warden or an animal charity, but as the pets are looked after (you said she has someone sit with them when she's out), there's nothing they will do.

Universalsnail what effect did reporting it have for you?

Oh, wow, touchy subject for me this and just had to comment lol! I've just moved house and was surrounded on ALL sides by houses with barking yapping dogs, it causes misery! Even visitors would wince and comment on the noise from them 😔 If it wasn't one barking at one time it was the other. Made a complaint to housing who issued letters, then talking with said neighbours they'd mention it "oooh we got a letter about the dog barking, it's not ours tho ours is quite quiet!" Errr, it IS yours mate/love, it's all of yours! And that's the problem, it's like dog owners become "ear blind" to their own dog's bloody incessant yapping!

5-15 mins / 7-10 times per day??! Taking the absolute p*ss that! Imagine if I revved my car for 5-10 mins per day 7-10 times per day, I think I'd be issued a noise abatement order and if ignored then brought before the courts for antisocial behaviour pretty damn sharpish! No neighbour is backwards coming forwards when they have an issue, I've noticed that over the years, no matter how nice you are (and I am nice!) Once, last year, my neighbour, (with a yapping dog every damn day) once came out to me telling me to stop making noise as her husband was in bed as up early as soon as I used an angle grinder one summer's evening at 7pm for 5 minutes! And another, at the back complained and we got a letter from housing as a result... cos we DARED have 1 small party (the first and ONLY party in 4 years!) That was in all of 2 years being there til midnight out the garden in the summer on a Saturday evening! And who complained? One of the yappy dog owners with 3 yappy shitzus! The nerve!

End of the day, and this is for any of you dog owners reading this, if you choose to have a dog, that's YOUR perogative, life choice/hobby/interest, whatever, you don't NEED that dog, (The blind excluded obviously!) It's a life choice, So, it's YOUR responsibility to make sure that dog is not a nuisance due to barking, this is YOUR responsibility, you have a duty of respect to your neighbours, you have a dog and it's your responsibility to care for, feed properly, walk regularly and put the time in to train them yourself OR pay for proper training / walking service, but you are bang out of order if you think it's OK or just do nothing about your dog and expect your neighbours to live with your dog as well and its noise pollution too, and to anyone reading this if you let this happen you deserve all the grief you get for doing so and being so damn selfish and c*nty! Rant over! 😆 seriously tho, if you've tried all reasonable communications with your neighbour then you have no real choice other than to complain to council and insist they come and do a sound level measurement for the frequency of the barking (read up on this, google it) and if is deemed excessive, they will pursue her over it, it either stops, or the dogs have to go! Good luck! 👍

I think it's a tricky one as others have said we all do make noise but I can sympathise with you as our neighbour as 3 big dogs that at one point were outside all day barking and she never told them to stop. They are not approachable people at all so my only option was to report them to the council. We also had to keep a log and write down all the times they were barking and how long it went on for. The council then sent them a letter saying they had been reported and if they didn't curb it to a reasonable level then they could be issued with a large fine. Since then the bankable is at a normal level. As for kids being noisy in the garden, i can't imagine they are out there all day due to school etc and as long as they aren't out there at 6am or 10pm screaming and shouting then again it's really classed as normal kids playing in their garden!

Phone the council. I had to download an app, record the batting and send, it recorded decibels and was time stamped. Neighbour had warning letter from council. She didn’t know it was me , I’d tried to help her with the dog but she didn’t want to know.

YANBU but walking your dog for 10 minutes at a time on the same route is not great either.