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Original poster

Dog barking driving us mad...move or report?

63 replies

OUB1974 · 30/04/2022 10:19

We're at the end of our tether with our neighbours in our new house, which we moved into a year ago. Next door has one large dog with a very deep and loud bark. The other side of them is a household with 3 or 4 small very yappy dogs. .

Barely half an hour goes by without them barking, sometimes for hours on end. None of them seem to make an effort to stop them and they wind each other up when it's warmer and they are all in the garden. Next door leaves theirs at home alone and once it starts it doesn't stop.

DH has been round to be met with quite a defensive attitude. We have both been woken up from much needed lie ins as they start early.

He wants to move, I want to report to the council, which would make it difficult to move. What would you do?

We are in a beautiful end terrace with a large kitchen, period features, 3 double bedrooms and a 40m long garden. We love it so much and it was really difficult to find one that suited us after losing our jobs during the pandemic. We are about a minute's walk from school and we gave up parking for our dream house, which hasn't been a problem.

If we moved it would be a downsize to a smaller 3 bed semi with one tiny box room and probably a much smaller garden. I think it's too big a risk as we could end up with bad neighbours even if we moved. We can't afford a detached, but even if we did, our neighbours to the back are detached and I think they get annoyed with the incessant barking too, so it's no guarantee.

I think we need to tackle it head on. Maybe go round once or twice more (write a letter?) and then report to the council as a noise nuisance. At this point I don't care about neighbourly relations! But obviously this would stop us selling for a while at least. I don't want to leave our lovely home and disrupt our children for a second time. DH would prioritise peace over the size of the house and garden.

It is all making us very stressed. We are snappy with each other and the children and very anxious. My usually good natured husband has really been got down by it. I've got some earphones that are supposed to make it more bearable and I'm trying not to let me get it down, but it's hard.

What would you do - move or report? And have any dog owners got any insight on how they could stop winding each other up through the fence? Thank you!

OP posts:
sarahc336 · 30/04/2022 10:25

We're just about to complete and move for this exact reason. Remember if you go complain via the council you then must declare it to new buyers so we put up and sold instead, good luck xx

spotcheck · 30/04/2022 10:26

You can hear the dogs two houses away? Or is it that they are in the garden barking away at each other ?

Would triple glazing/ cavity wall insulation help?

Not sure how to tackle with neighbors- I'm hoping you receive some great advice which I can use with my noisy neighbors too ( kids)
😃

YayitisfinallySpring · 30/04/2022 10:29

Sell. Don't get into a dispute that you have to declare. When looking for another house, check regularly for noise before you commit.

TheRossatron · 30/04/2022 10:32

I have full sympathy with you I really do. I had a twat of a neighbour who got a very large working dog then locked it in a cage ALL FUCKING DAY while they went to work. The stupidity astonished me and we had a massive fall out over it. It has put me off dogs for life. I almost had a multiple orgasm when they moved. Unfortunately the RSPCA will do fuck all and I doubt the council will either. If you can afford to move I would. Nuisance noise is massively underrated and unless you've suffered it you'll have no idea of the affect it can have on a person. I dreaded coming home and was regularly stressed out and in tears. I really feel for you x

lilao · 30/04/2022 10:46

Another thing to consider is what the outcome of the council complaint might be?

What happens if they send letters, do the noise diary etc and then tell you it's normal noise they can't do anything?

What would be your best case scenario of reporting to the council?

I feel for you OP it's not an easy decision to make and moving will be costly.

Cauliflowersqueeze · 30/04/2022 10:48

move. Don’t get involved in a dispute you then have to report to potential sellers. Just go. They are not going to stop their dogs barking. So annoying.

Original poster
OUB1974 · 30/04/2022 10:50

spotcheck · 30/04/2022 10:26

You can hear the dogs two houses away? Or is it that they are in the garden barking away at each other ?

Would triple glazing/ cavity wall insulation help?

Not sure how to tackle with neighbors- I'm hoping you receive some great advice which I can use with my noisy neighbors too ( kids)
😃

We hear next door outside and inside, and 2 doors down when they're in the garden, which is a lot. Insulation might help with the indoor, but we often can't sit in our garden and it wouldn't help when both sets are outside. Two doors down yap a lot and then next door runs up and down the fence barking at them.

Thanks for thoughts so far...it seems crazy to move but I'm really considering it. We can't report until we've 100% decided not to as we'd have to declare it. I'm just on edge all the time waiting for the next round if barking, even when it's quiet. Disappointing to heat that councils aren't much use...

OP posts:
Original poster
OUB1974 · 30/04/2022 10:52

lilao · 30/04/2022 10:46

Another thing to consider is what the outcome of the council complaint might be?

What happens if they send letters, do the noise diary etc and then tell you it's normal noise they can't do anything?

What would be your best case scenario of reporting to the council?

I feel for you OP it's not an easy decision to make and moving will be costly.

I'd love the two sets of neighbours to work together to stop their dogs winding each other up and barking for hours on end. Wishful thinking though maybe! We can live with a bit of if noise, we have schools, main road and railway line nearby but it's the barking that's a real nuisance.

OP posts:
breakdown19 · 30/04/2022 15:37

I am in your shoes op
One massive noisy gSD right Next door
And 4/5 fucking yappy little shitzus behind us
But I am trying to be zen about it
Moving you can't guarantee that the neighbours won't sell and someone else won't move a massive dog in

LoveSpringDaffs · 30/04/2022 15:43

Do you have a hosepipe?

RoseValleyRambles · 30/04/2022 15:44

Would a bark buster device work? Not sure how they work, if they work at distance, or of they're considered appropriate, but could be an option?

Elsiebear90 · 30/04/2022 15:51

So they just leave their dogs to bark at each other for hours on end in the garden?

Dogs do bark sometimes, we have a dog as do our next door neighbours and they do set each other off sometimes, but always stops within a few seconds and I would never let my dog bark for hours. I think since it’s more than one neighbour that’s the problem your best bet really is to move.

Original poster
OUB1974 · 30/04/2022 18:08

Elsiebear90 · 30/04/2022 15:51

So they just leave their dogs to bark at each other for hours on end in the garden?

Dogs do bark sometimes, we have a dog as do our next door neighbours and they do set each other off sometimes, but always stops within a few seconds and I would never let my dog bark for hours. I think since it’s more than one neighbour that’s the problem your best bet really is to move.

Yes. We've been keeping a record in case we do decide to report. My husband kept a record for an hour last week (he went out in the end as he couldn't stand it any more), and there were 13 separate episodes of barking. They'll bark for a few minutes and then stop for a few and then go off again. Sometimes the owners are out but I've seen them sit there in the garden with them barking and not do anything at all. It is far beyond what anyone would find normal neighbourhood dog behaviour. We had 45 minutes almost non stop this morning before we went out then the first thing I heard when we got home and out if the car was a bark (thankfully have stopped now, but you're almost waiting for the next time and constantly on edge).

I can't actually believe we're considering moving after all of the upheaval of the last 2 years and letting these awful antisocial and selfish people drive us away. I will give a barkbuster or similar a go first though @RoseValleyRambles . I've had a look and I think you can pick them up for 20 quid or so. Got to be worth a go. We suspect neighbour no 2 has a dog flap and they come and go as they please, but we're not sure.

We went out today and were dreading coming home. 😟

OP posts:
Maydaysoonenough · 30/04/2022 18:16

Ime regularly shouting stfu helps. Every Saturday for months we had 2 people stop outside our window about 9am and chat for between 30 and 40 mins with a small yappy ddog barking the entire time. How they heard their own conversation was beyond me. I started shouting shut that bloody ddog up.. They got the message. Wish the old twat who allows 6 am barking for to to 2 hours was as easy to deal with. Council aren't interested in him.

Clymene · 30/04/2022 18:21

Omg this would do my head in.

I have a dog. He barks at stuff occasionally when he's out in the garden and I just bring him in immediately. Barking dogs are awful awful awful.

GrandRapids · 30/04/2022 18:27

Really feel for you. We have 3 dogs, never would I allow them to bark more than a couple of times without intervening. Sadly there are so many dense, selfish people around these days.

If you really love the house and can't imagine moving then you need to go full throttle on reporting them to the council.

Wouldntitbenicetobeinyourshoes · 30/04/2022 18:35

You have my sympathy.
the people a couple of houses away from us got a yappity dog a couple of years ago. They happily sit in the garden with it yapping on & on and never tell it to stop.
we can’t fart in our house without setting it off. Seriously, as soon as we step into our kitchen (window open) yap!yap!yap! If we open the back door to hang washing out the delightful birdsong is drowned out by yapping. I hate the bloody thing now.I can’t even sit out in the garden and turn a page in my book without setting it off!
I did take to muttering ‘fgs shut up’ a couple of times last year when I was in the garden and I did hear them call it, but just a couple of times. Inconsiderate twats.

FlySwimmer · 30/04/2022 18:37

If your neighbours to the back, in the
detached house, are also annoyed by it, perhaps see if they’d be interested in teaming up to speak to the other neighbours? Might be harder to dismiss two different households. But all my
sympathies OP, my parents’ house was similarly afflicted when I was a teenager & I know exactly what you mean about being constantly on edge, even when it’s quiet.

doveseternal · 30/04/2022 18:41

I despise dog owners who allow this. If I lived next door to one I'd genuinely report them to the police or similar for animal abuse so the dog can be taken somewhere where it isn't abused by being left outside to bark all day.

Marthaandthemuffins · 30/04/2022 18:43

I really feel for you and your family. Constant dog barking, especially in the evenings, drives me crazy and I feel quite anxious. I don’t understand how people can be so inconsiderate.

We have 2 dogs, one is exceptionally quiet, but the other one gets brought straight back inside if he starts barking.

Maybe just start looking at other properties in the meantime until you decide what to do.

Good luck OP.

drinkingwineoutofamug · 30/04/2022 18:49

Hate hearing dogs barking and I own a dog!
I really feel for you OP but have no real advice.
I have a dog next door to me that barks when let out, a dog behind that jumps up at the fence barking. Yet it took literally a day to train my dog . A simple any more woofing and your in. She snorts and stops barking.
Only thing I can think of is those plug in things which release high frequency when a dog barks .

essaytwenty · 30/04/2022 19:04

You can hear the dogs two houses away?

I can hear dogs barking a mile away over the other side of the valley. Luckily, it’s far enough away for it not to be a problem for us, but I do feel for their near neighbours.

Unfortunately, despite the distance, things we do sets them off. Splitting logs or firing a gun has them barking for up to an hour. I don’t know how they put up with it themselves.

MissMaple82 · 30/04/2022 19:05

OUB1974 · 30/04/2022 10:50

We hear next door outside and inside, and 2 doors down when they're in the garden, which is a lot. Insulation might help with the indoor, but we often can't sit in our garden and it wouldn't help when both sets are outside. Two doors down yap a lot and then next door runs up and down the fence barking at them.

Thanks for thoughts so far...it seems crazy to move but I'm really considering it. We can't report until we've 100% decided not to as we'd have to declare it. I'm just on edge all the time waiting for the next round if barking, even when it's quiet. Disappointing to heat that councils aren't much use...

Show quote history

Councils do take things lile this seriously though. Or at least my council do. They do thorough investigations and they will be told to put things into place in order to reduce the issues. I know this from personal experience

thekaratekid · 30/04/2022 20:15

We had this. When we moved in it became evident that the vendors had somewhat hidden the situation from us (we overheard that the vendors had basically asked neighbour to keep dogs inside during viewings). The dogs were never ever walked and were a boisterous working breed. Bored out of their minds all day long, they would fence run and bark at the sound of a mouse farting 2 miles away. The only time we had a lie-in was when they went away on holiday and the dogs were in kennels.

The house which adjoined the dog house complained a lot. The dog owners bought those shock collar devices...which are cruel and didn't work. That house changed hands several times in quick succession.

I don't really have any useful advice OP. We decided not to report, keep quiet (well I shouted STFU a few times out the window) and eventually move. We didn't want to risk having a dispute putting a black mark against the property. To be honest in the last couple of years we lived there, the dogs quietened down a lot as they were getting into the "mature" age category (about 8-10 years old). So I don't know if that might factor into your decision process? How old are they...likely to be around for many years yet? Some breeds seem to live longer than you might think...the breed we were dealing with often live to 14 years old. To our knowledge all the dogs are still alive now...yet the houses either side have jointly been through 7 sets of owners in since the dogs were on the scene...

stuntbubbles · 30/04/2022 20:19

YayitisfinallySpring · 30/04/2022 10:29

Sell. Don't get into a dispute that you have to declare. When looking for another house, check regularly for noise before you commit.

OP’s buyers will do this with her house, too. I just decided against an otherwise perfect house because I heard a happy dog throughout the viewing.