To confront my neighbour about barking AGAIN

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LONG history of disagreements and fall
outs with our neighbour over their first dog barking in their garden when they let it out. (Reactive barking, not neglected).

We've given up expecting them to do anything about it/manage it, and after 12 years just endure it.

Thankfully, it never seemed to bark indoors, so we never heard it bark through the walls.

Now they have a second dog (now 18 months). This one barks indoors too.
We can hear it through the bedroom walls and it's disturbing our sleep. (Late night 11/11.30pm, early morning 6.30/7pm).

AIBU to bring this up too?

Back story for those that can be bothered:

12 years living next to each other on small terrace street in a city. Make good friends as soon as we move in & they get a dog the same year.

Dog is terrier with an incredibly deep and loud bark for a terrier.

They/dog fell into the habit of barking as soon as he's let into the garden.
This can be bursts of 10-30 barks, repeated, for up to 10-20 mins in the winter.
Constantly on and off in the summer with their bi fold doors open all day.
Sometimes as early at 6.30/7am, and as late as 11/11.30pm. Even later if they have friends over and are up late hosting.

Dog is reactive barking, not neglected. (Though clearly needs more walking IMO).
We mention/complain about the barking in a friendly way. Especially as our baby's bedroom window backs onto the gardens and it's disturbing their already terrible sleep.
Their reaction is not good and we fall out.
Several more incidents do to with noise, and building disagreements ensue over the years.

10 years on. We get dog of our own. They then get another dog, same breed as their original dog. They tell us they are hoping it will HELP their dog to bark less.... it does the the exact opposite and now we have a dog barking outside, and one barking inside.

Our dog is not a barker (we chose a less barky breed deliberately, and trained her as best as possible). If our dog does bark in the garden (v. Rare) we bring her in immediately and don't let it escalate.

They have 2 teenagers. They are a 'respectable' & professional family, on paper.

Other neighbours have complained too (2 houses down). But we seem to be the ones who bear the brunt.
Not aware if their neighbours on the other side have ever complained properly. They are freindly though. And those neighbours are very quiet and keep themselves to themselves, I get the impression they do not like confrontation.

So instead of using their own garden you think they should take the dog out in their lead every time?
Many dogs bark in their garden it's not unusual, it certainly doesn't sound excessive.
Maybe a terraced house isn't for you.

correct

If you have a dog warden in your council area, contact them for advice. We had a neighbour , left his lab in a pen outside while at work.

Dog barked all day. As it would, labs are social beasts. One of the neighbours next to them called the dog warden, who came to give advice, basically suggesting more human contact during the day ( & probably other things) Problem solved.

It’s miserable listening to it. As to the rows. Well that’s not your business , unless you think someone is being abused ?

Many of the other neighbours have come and gone, ie not lived here as long.

But other neighbours lack of complaint is noted by us hence AIBU. I've considered the fact that we seem to be alone in our level of disturbance.

Noted!

But what about timings? Do you think there is a reasonable cut off time though?

i think that in 12 years you have essentially been the only one complaining (aside from a neighbour two doors down) and you live in a row of terraces houses ie very densely populated, i do think that perhaps you need to ask yourself if you’re being a bit sensitive about this.

But i am curious. Nothing has changed i. 12 years despite you asking. why do you think asking yet again is going to make a difference?

Our next door neighbour is the village vicar. We told them them that we would start recording the constant barking of their dog and raise an environmental nuisance complaint with the council if they didn't do something about it. They moved into the village 8 years ago and have been the neighbours from hell ever since. I have never lived next to anyone so thoughtless, selfish and vile.

I would ring the council. I lived somewhere years ago where loads of gardens backed on to each other so I had no idea where the loud barking was coming from but it stopped! I also complained in my road now as someone let their dog poo constantly on the path outside my house and I had no idea who it was, but they stopped it 🤷🏻‍♀️it’s that or consider moving

I have issue with dog left everyday until 6pm . The old dog barks and the noise through the walls echoes. I have a long plastic stick and I rap loudly on their front door glass the noise stops the dogs mindset and shocks it . I do this everytime she starts and it stops the barking for a couple of hours . . There is nothing worse than a constant barking dog . I feel for you

Separation anxiety is a nightmare - a whole huge step up from a bit of annoying barking in the garden.

We have an 11 year old with separation anxiety and frankly although I love her, I am now counting the days until we are dog free. Can’t come soon enough. Sep anxiety tends to be an in-built psych condition (some breeds more prone than others) that is extremely hard (impossible, in some cases, like ours!) to treat. It is the natural result of generations of breeding to produce loyalty and a desire to live alongside humans.

We tried everything (except medication). Nothing works. For us, the only solution over the years has been dog-sitters if we ever want to go out together, dog crèche if we want to go out to work, separate hobbies so that someone is always in. It has cost a packet and meant that we lead quite separate lives unless we can involve the dog in some way.

Realistically, you had better start complaining, keeping a diary and making recordings, because I’m around a year’s time, you should take your evidence to the council. There is no other way. Then your neighbours have the choice between taking the sorts of measures set out above, paying a large fine, or re-homing their dog. Obviously they will hate you but by that stage, you probably won’t care.

Don’t be daft, of course a dog isn’t just going to bark.
We’ve had up to 4 dogs at one time without the level of barking the OP has to put up with. We taught them not to bark without reason. We’re down to two large dogs now; one doesn’t ever bark and one only barks when people knock on the door and he is very quickly quietened down.
Constantly yapping dogs are a nuisance and it is unnecessary. I have no idea how their owners put up with it, never mind their neighbours. I have misophonia and I honestly couldn’t live with that, I’d have to move. I know I’m not the only one to find it intolerable because our local FB blows up if some leaves a barking dog outside.

it is really annoying.
My neighbour had a barky dog. (in the garden)
I had 3 young kids so we took it as tit for tat really.

Then we got a rescue dog who barks.
he is a guardian breed, so he barks to let us know there is someone walking past the front window, someone outside the door, etc etc.

We have trained him and manage it. He is shut out of the room with the front window, that reduced 50% of the barking. When he goes into the garden, if he barks we go out and tell him to stop. We reward him for sitting quietly when someone comes to the door, etc etc.

He barks much less now.
It is possible to train a dog not to bark, and it is also possible to bring them inside when they bark. A barky dog doesn't need to disturb the neighbours.
But they are obviously not going to put any training in place.
So I am not sure there is anything you can do really.

Start keeping a diary of the barking and make a noise complaint to the council

YANBU. My old neighbours had three dogs and one of them was a terrible barker. I could hear it in the garden and through the walls and it didn't help they'd lock them out for ages. I complained to them a couple of times and they only stopped it for short bursts of time so I complained to their landlord and threatened to report them to the council - that mostly sorted it.

I like dogs. I have a dog that rarely barks. Next door (terrace) has a dog with wild seperation anxiety that barks and howls non stop if there's nobody in the house, also at every bird that flies past the window, every person walking down the stree when they are in the house, and every time they let it into the garden, which is several times a day for several minutes at a time.

It drives visitors mad. They ask how I can put up with it. I make the decision to not let it wind me up, because the alternatives are few. I could keep a noise diary and report them to the council. I am fairly sure that the council don't have a magic ray gun they can zap the dog with to stop it barking. So I choose to accept that it's part of living in a terraced house, and not take it personally. I get on nicely with the neighbours and all is as well as it can be. I'd obviously prefer the dog not to be there, but it is and here we are, short of moving, which I'm not going to do.

People live under flight paths, next to motorways, on country lanes with enormous farm machinery thundering past day and night, next to cockerels, near pubs where the glass bins are emptied at silly o clock.... this is having neighbours.

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My dogs will bark at anyone passing in the lane but I shout them in if it goes in longer than a few barks.

People live under flight paths, next to motorways, on country lanes with enormous farm machinery thundering past day and night, next to cockerels, near pubs where the glass bins are emptied at silly o clock.... this is having neighbours.

I'm moving to a house on a main road because I can't stand the sound of screaming children in the street anymore. My brain can filter our traffic noise as background noise but noises like screaming/barking/ball bouncing drive me to insanity.

I’m going through the exact Sam situation it’s scary how similar the situation is I have reported them to the council but things are slowly
progressing