dealing with neighbor's barking dog?

1. Start with an anonymous, gentle approach.

Gentle because - Some dog owners do not realize Fido is barking his head off when he's left alone at home all day or outside alone.

Never leave a threatening or belligerent note because you never know who might see you dropping it off! If you don't want to leave it, send it through the mail.

Try something like -

August 3, 2006,

Dear Neighbor,

You may not realize that your dogs are barking all day while you're gone. {or barking all night while outside).

The dogs may be bored, scared and lonely. Here's an article with tips on how you can help them. All of us in the neighborhood would appreciate your attention to this.

Another Dog Lover

The article may be from this website - http://www.toybreeds.com/home_alone.htm or other.

Keep a copy of your note and any attachment.

Anonymous because - There are plenty of nuts out there and many of them own dogs. They enjoy annoying their neighbors and in fact, consider any act of decency on their part to be a loss of position. Don't provoke them unless and until you must.

Give the gentle note at least a 10-days to see if there's any improvement.

2. Notify your landlord or homeowners association (HOA).

If you rent or live in an HOA community, call them and explain the problem.

If they appear uninterested or unwilling to do anything, you may need to follow up with a note.

If you have a lease or community Codes, Covenants, and Restrictions (CC&R's), review them for provisions on noises and your right to "quiet" or "peaceful enjoyment" of your home.

Warning - some CCRs require "multiple household" complaints to enforce noise rules. Even if your neighbors hate the barking as much as you do, you'll probably find they're too apathetic or frightened to work with you. In that case, keep reading.

See if your lease discusses noise control especially after 10 p.m. or before 7 a.m. or other "nuisance" or "disturbance" provisions.

If your lease has it, it's probable the dogs owner has as well.

Send your landlord/HOA a letter referencing the applicable language. Again, do not threaten or attack (they'll be time for that if these early steps don't work).

State that the barking is keeping your awake/unable to work at home/etc and ask that they enforce the rules of the HOA or lease.

Do NOT give ultimatums. If the other side doesn't respond/act, you might have to eat your words and they'll never again take you seriously.

State the facts, reference the appropriate lease/CCR provisions and ask them to take action.

3. Ratchet up the approach to the neighbor.

If you're not renting, there's no HOA and the gentle anonymous note didn't work, you need a stronger letter. It can still be anonymous.

Get a copy of your local/state ordinance or law that would cover loud noises. Some cities have specific ordinances on dog barking.

With the Internet, this is likely to be easy. Visit your city or county's official website and do a search. If you can't find it, call the city attorney's office or county's District/Prosecuting/State's attorney office and ask them. Sorry about all the names but counties use different terminology.

Get a copy of the ordinance/law and mail it to your neighbor with a stronger note.

Do not threaten or attack but do state that if the situation does not improve, you'll be forced to notify the authorities. Ask them to help their dogs by keeping them inside at night.

Again, wait at least 10 days to see if that helps.

Be sure to date the note and keep a copy.

The three steps above can be taken without exposing yourself to your neighbor. We'll give one more step can be done anonymously, but beyond that you will have to face your neighbor.

4. Since the problem is outdoor dogs - use technology and remain anonymous.

Technology 1

If you don't want to go to the authorities or you're afraid of your neighbor, make use of technology.

Mount a Super Bark Free (about $80) device outside so it is aimed at the dogs or the area where the dogs are usually barking.

This only works with outside dogs and its affectivity is diminished if its line of site is blocked by landscaping and poles.

The manufacturer states it does work up to 50-feet of the dog. The dog's barking will set off the device which sends an ultrasonic blast of 130dB to the dog. He'll hear it but humans won't.

It may take a few days for the dogs to associate the high frequency sound with his barking and realize that you can't have one without the other.

You'll need to mount it carefully as it is not water proof so make sure it's protected from the elements. It is battery operated.

When this products works - and some breeds such as Yorkshire Terriers do not seem affected - it's fantastic because your neighbor won't hear it, and probably can't see it or recognize what it is.

Technology II

Try head phones and ear plugs so you don't hear the dog. Mack's has a brand of silicone ear plugs that can be molded in your ear and are great for sleeping. If you can hear the dog through the ear plugs, you really do have a major, major problem. Keep reading.

5. If technology or letters don't work, start keeping a log.

This is a written record of when and for how long the dog is barking. You can create a computer log, use an old calendar or buy a fancy notebook log.

Just note the date and time the barking started and when it stopped. If there were any outside causes for the barking (such as deer, garbage men, or letter carriers showing up), be sure to note that.

You will need this record for the authorities or legal action you may take. Have your log for at least a week before you contact the authorities.

If you already have the equipment, you can use a video or audio recorder or both. Just make certain you can attach days and times to the recorded instances.

6. File a report with law enforcement.

This may be the police or animal control, depending on where you live.

The police are often effective when they come. Note, the "when they come." Dog barking complaints rarely are a priority with them, and they may not arrive in a timely manner. In some areas, they only come if there's nothing else going on; e.g., murder, rape, robbery, etc.

Animal control may or may not be effective. It depends on your area. With your log showing that this is a chronic problem, you have a better chance of getting their attention and help.

Provide animal control or the police with copies of your written letters to the neighbor and your log.

In many areas, you will be required to sign a complaint so your neighbor then will know it's you who has been complaining. There's no way around this.

Using the authorities is an irrevocable course so make certain that you are ready for the fall-out and that the authorities will do something worthwhile - such as charge the dogs' owner with a misdemeanor or take custody of the dogs.

One other note, if you live in a community where there is some state or local agency that has oversight, be sure to file a complaint with that agency.

For instance, if your HOA board hasn't acted and your state has a board that oversees them, send the agency a complaint with a copy of your initial letter to the HOA and send the HOA a copy of your complaint to the agency.

If you're in Section 8(a) or other assistance housing, ask your case worker for advice and assistance.

P.S. Never exaggerate your problem. Rely on your log to speak for you. It is human-nature to see your problem as monumental but lying or misrepresenting your case to the police may be a criminal offense (remember Martha Stewart?).

7. Sue in Small Claims Court

All states today allow people to bring actions in Small Claims Court without a lawyer. The amount of money you can ask for is limited, usually between $2,000 and $5,000.

You will need your written or electronic log, copies of police or animal control reports (both should provide you copies often for a nominal fee) and ideally, witnesses other than yourself.

You will have to describe how the barking prevented you from doing normal activities (such as sleeping), give evidence of the barking (through your logs, etc) and show that you asked the person to stop the noise (copies of your anonymous or signed letters).

Once you have a judgment, if the neighbor doesn't pay, you can attach their bank account or get a lien on their home. If the barking continues, you can sue them again but you'll probably want to move on to the next step.

8. Get a lawyer.

There are two things a lawyer can do. One is to send a "lawyer" letter to the dogs' owner or the authorities, public or private, who should have been taking action to stop the dog barking.

Many people- especially landlords and HOAs - will finally act when they get a formal lawyer letter and realize they could be sued.

A lawyer letter is a fairly economical way to go and may force some action.

The other thing a lawyer may do is get a restraining order against the dogs' owner. The order may require the owner to keep the dogs indoors or some other action that stops the noise. These can't be obtained through Small Claims Court so you will need a lawyer.

A restraining order will be expensive, the dogs' owner may counter-sue and it may be a prolonged financial and emotional process through the courts.

Its often effective, however, because the dogs' owner may be arrested if he violates the order.

An alternative to the restraining order is mediation or arbitration and your lawyer could offer this to the dogs' owner. It's not that this isn't workable, it's that when it's reached this point, the dog owner is apt to be a 100% nut and may be too emotionally deranged or violent to cooperate in a mediation.

9. When all else fails, move but disclose the barking.

Be aware that in many states you must disclose to potential buyers that there is a nuisance in the neighborhood; i.e., the barking dogs.

California actually had such a court case and the homeowner who was trying to sell lost the case because he didn't tell the real estate agent or buyer about the barking dogs.

2 Steps to Avoid

1. Don't shoot the dogs.

I'm serious. There was such a case. Do not get to the point that you poison or harm the dogs or the owner or the owner's home.

Yes, you know better but lack of sleep can distort your thinking. Your reputation, credit rating and bank accounts may be seriously damaged if you react violently - no matter how provoked.

2. Don't confront the owner.

Sometimes people recommend that you tape the dogs and play it over and over on a loud speaker. Or they recommend calling the dogs' owner at 2 a.m. when the dogs are barking.

These things probably worked in the non-litigious past but they are apt to get you into trouble today. You can be sued or you can be reported as a stalker for too often or too vigorously contacting the dogs' owner.

Some nutty dog owners will try to provoke you so you look like the trouble maker to authorities. Do not play into their hands.

Keep your contact with the dog owner to a minimum. You should rely on written contact and the authorities and avoid situations where it is just you and the dogs' owner.

Unfortunately, there are many violent people in the world and you don't want to get in their line of fire.

Good luck.

1

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The first is simple; you must win your dogs mind. If you don't achieve this first then you will be struggling the all the way. When I talk about winning your dogs mind what I really mean is that your dog looks to you for all the decisions. Before you do anything else watch one of the amazing video sites that show you the 5 Golden rules to establishing yourself as the pack leader. If you aren't putting these in place then you are setting yourself up to fail. Just at the crucial point where you really want your dog to listen they will go and do their own thing. For sure your dog may play ball occasionally or even most of the time, you may even have a dog that is obedient 99% of the time, however if you want a dog who always listens to you and does as you ask then you need to win your dogs mind.

The second key to success is to motivate your dog. It is really important that you discover what it is that your dog enjoys both in terms of exercise and play but also in terms of a reward. If you can make the experience enjoyable then you will both achieve more and look forward to training.

Some dogs love to fetch, others love agility, and other dogs simply love obedience training, or swimming out into water and retrieve. At least to start with find out what your dogs love is and help them develop this, what I am saying is work with your dog. The other point to recognize is to make training enjoyable reward your dog.

I'd talk to them one more time and be polite but direct - they obviously don't take a hint - they may be nice but they are also being clueless. Let them know that the barking dogs have become a big problem for you and you are losing a lot of sleep and ask that they take the dogs inside at night or put them in the garage or do whatever they need to do to make the barking stop. You owe them one more chance to do the right thing. Let them know that since they can't hear the dogs barking, you will call them when its happening and tell them.

If they don't fix the problem right away, call them at 2 am to tell them their dogs are barking. Now you can both be awake. That should get through to them.

And if that doesn't do it, call the police or animal control and file a complaint.

I wouldn't do anything mean. I would mention to them sometime when you two happen to be outside at the same time that the dog is barking at every little thing. Just try your best to be nice about it and keep the same relationship with the neighbor. Nice neighbor's are really hard to come by, I can't stand mine.

Hello,

In response to this question, Dealing with neighbor's barking dog?, I can tell you that this guide ASPCA Complete Dog Training Manual might help you in your situation

As you described; "my neighbor's dogs live in a fenced in area in their back-yard. the dogs

have dog-houses and are taken care of. the problem is during the night when

deer or other animals are" it may help you.

Good Luck :)

A dog should be trained on how to eat, walk with you, not to bark, potty training and sleep on its place etc. You can teach anything to your puppy, dogs get trained easily with some good instructions. If you want some good training tips visit https://tr.im/trainyourdog

If properly trained, they should also understand whistle and gesture equivalents for all the relevant commands, e.g. short whistle or finger raised sit, long whistle or flat hand lay down, and so on.

It's important that they also get gestures and whistles as voice may not be sufficient over long distances and under certain circumstances.

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Call the police everytime the dogs bark at night. The owner will get the hint when he starts getting fined. I did it here where I live (the whole neighborhood did) on one of your neighbors with 3 usless dogs that barked at nothing all night, Now they put the dogs in the garage at night, and we akk can sleep again in peace.

Well

Understanding how to train your dog and how to correct bad behaviours is very important. That's why I suggest to follow a good training course. There are plenty of books and training material. One online course I recommend (I like it because it has hundreds of videos) is http://www.goobypls.com/r/rd.asp?gid=572

It helped me a lot.

Regards

first i reccomend point blank requesting that thier dogs be brought inside during the night

its our right not to be woken up, if they dont do it, you can petition the neighbors and then ask them again

then you need to threaten legal action and mean it

not in a nasty way but a firm way,

you can also offer to split the cost of bark collars or trianing devices but its really hard to stop a dog from barking at deer

good luck