What to do about neighbours dog barking

[Leesha 10]

I feel for you. I have 2 dogs, which do bark I admit - not excessively, just when giddy or playing, or when someone knocks on the door.

 

Our neighbours approached our landlord to complain. Fair enough. I wish they had just approached us, as we are polite and would of done something about it. We did what we could, but then another complaint was made. Bear in mind, these neighbours are very noisy too.

 

One weekday morning, I was off work ill. The dogs were barking downstairs and I could here strange noises outside so I got up to see what was the matter. I walked into the kitchen and saw on our back garden, next door (the wife) waving her arms and shouting the dogs through the window, which of course were going mental, and her husband trying to record it!!!!

 

I don't think they knew I was home and were deliberately winding the dogs up to bark to try to get us evicted! I still have no idea why. And on reflection, our dogs really didn't bark that much ... just normal behaviour really. I confronted them, and instead of talking rationally they scurried off back into the house, embarrassed at being caught I suppose. So all the time they were accusing my dogs of barking excessively, they were the cause of it. From then, I have witnessed several times, the wife and the kids deliberately winding my dogs up. Banging on the walls, screaming their names through the walls, playing knock a door run and winding them up through the windows.

 

The best bit is though, we have since found out that the previous 2 tennants of the property moved out due to their noisy family, and believe me they are stupidly noisy. There's the Mum and Dad and 2 kids, and an older kid that comes over often. We are constantly having to listen to 'boom boom' music at 8am in the morning through till lunch time on weekends and the kids literally screaming at each other (I think this is how they communicate, because the mother screams too!). We can often hear every single word and can even sing along to the music they play! When my husband went round, they refused to answer the door ... strange ... so now, as bad as it sounds, I really don't care that my dogs bark. Infact I encourage it when they do as I blame them. They bark at the noise from next door. I am mindful that they don't bark at anti social hours. But I certainly encourage it at 8am on a sunday morning when I can hear every word to LMFAO's sexy and I know it!

[CeeCee 10]

What lovely neighbours some of you have! I have lived in a few different houses over the years and have never ever had any problems with neighbours its very alien to me

[Classic Rock 10]

If it is a Sheffield Homes or Housing Association property then speak to them, they have anti social behaviour teams who can act on your behalf. Otherwise, contact Environmental Health at the Council who will visit, judge the volume and speak to your neighbour.

 

It's not an issue for the RSPCA.

[WallBuilder 10]

Few questions

1. Did you ask to speak to an officer within animal services or Sheffield homes if she is a council tenant?

2. Did you get the name of whoever you spoke to?

3. Did you ask for a follow up call within five working days or a clearly mentioned time period?

4. Did you ask for a timescale in which you'd be wwaiting for action?

If then nothing happens you've got a name and a commitment that will help if you need to contact the council again and if they then turn round and say it's nothing to do with them they should be able to point you at the relevant organissation.

[Total Chaos 10]

thanks all for your replies, the dog walk me and my husband up at 4.30 this morning on our day off and is still at it!!!!! husband is losing his temper now and threatened to go round and i dont want that because i know what he is like!!!

we have banged on the wall, and shouted and still nothing is being done about it, so i phoned 101 and they said they will send someone round but as yet nothing....

im so tierd, fustrated and getting very miffed about this now.

 

Sorry,but i would **** myself, if the noise polution guys come around to your house, because she has reported you for shouting and banging on the wall.PMSL:hihi:

[enepsigos 10]

the councils noise nuisance team have sent the next door neighbour a letter explaining our plight....this was 7 or 8 days ago, i know because i got the copy of the letter, the lady from the council said that cases like this usually resolve themselfs after the letter has been sent and to give the neighbour a week to see if anythings changed, if not get back intouch with the council lady armed with my noise diary and we will take things further, its been just over a week and if anything its got worse!!!!

its not just the dog now which still barks and howls every morning at daft o clock, its the neighbours loud music, swearing, shouting and banging doors early morning and late at night, something they have never done before!

 

what gets me is that im 27 and my husband is 31 and we are quiet neighbours, the neighbours on the other side to us have even said we are the most quiet and best neighbours they have ever had, and they have lived there over 50 years!

now the noisy neighbour in question is in her 60s, surely she should know better! noise nuisance is often classed to the none working young uns, not in this case, shes a complete and utter nut job!

[Darth Vader 10]

the councils noise nuisance team have sent the next door neighbour a letter explaining our plight....this was 7 or 8 days ago, i know because i got the copy of the letter, the lady from the council said that cases like this usually resolve themselfs after the letter has been sent and to give the neighbour a week to see if anythings changed, if not get back intouch with the council lady armed with my noise diary and we will take things further, its been just over a week and if anything its got worse!!!!

its not just the dog now which still barks and howls every morning at daft o clock, its the neighbours loud music, swearing, shouting and banging doors early morning and late at night, something they have never done before!

 

what gets me is that im 27 and my husband is 31 and we are quiet neighbours, the neighbours on the other side to us have even said we are the most quiet and best neighbours they have ever had, and they have lived there over 50 years!

now the noisy neighbour in question is in her 60s, surely she should know better! noise nuisance is often classed to the none working young uns, not in this case, shes a complete and utter nut job!

 

Could she be a little hard of hearing, perhaps?

[enepsigos 10]

Could she be a little hard of hearing, perhaps?

 

she would have to be completly deaf and blind not to hear or see the racket her mutt causes!

[Norseman 10]

my next door neighbour is a weird one to say the least but anyway she bought a puppy roughly 8 months ago, they keep the dog in the bedroom next to ours, every morning since they bought the dog it barks and barks and bloody barks, starts at around 4am and continues till around 10am, our walls are paper thin and i can even hear the lady go to the toilet at night, however i havent heard not once her shouting at the dog to be quiet or even get up to see what it is barking for, she just leaves it and it seems just sleeps through! my husband has to be up for work every morning at 5am, its just not on, ive got a recording of the dog barking what it sounds like whilst we are in bed and forwarded it to the council.... this was 3 months ago and still nothing has been done, its getting beyond a joke! our only lay in is a sunday and to be woke up at 4am is not nice... is there anything else i can do, ive been to speak to her but she never answers the door and completly ignores me when i approach her when she lets the dog on the back garden for all of 3 mins, she doesnt even take it for a walk anywhere!

 

The house next to us is rented and we had this issue about 14 years ago, they had two Yorkshire terriers which barked from the moment the owners went out to the moment they came back to the house which was from 8pm - 4am and like you I had to be up for work.

I tried to talk to them and they ignored it. So I contacted the council and they told me to keep a diary which did sweet bu**ger all. In the end I spoke to them again, two weeks later they moved... good bl**dy ridence

 

I can't stand yappy little dogs now but then again it was the ownersa who were at fault not the dogs

[Brian Hanson 10]

my next door neighbour is a weird one to say the least but anyway she bought a puppy roughly 8 months ago, they keep the dog in the bedroom next to ours, every morning since they bought the dog it barks and barks and bloody barks, starts at around 4am and continues till around 10am, our walls are paper thin and i can even hear the lady go to the toilet at night, however i havent heard not once her shouting at the dog to be quiet or even get up to see what it is barking for, she just leaves it and it seems just sleeps through! my husband has to be up for work every morning at 5am, its just not on, ive got a recording of the dog barking what it sounds like whilst we are in bed and forwarded it to the council.... this was 3 months ago and still nothing has been done, its getting beyond a joke! our only lay in is a sunday and to be woke up at 4am is not nice... is there anything else i can do, ive been to speak to her but she never answers the door and completly ignores me when i approach her when she lets the dog on the back garden for all of 3 mins, she doesnt even take it for a walk anywhere!

 

Hello enepsigos,

 

You say you never hear your neighbour shouting at the dog to be quiet and that she completely ignores you when you approach her to complain to her over the dog barking. It seems to me that it has never dawned on you that your neighbour might be 'DEAF'. If she is, then the poor woman cannot hear her dog barking, hence the reason she never tells it to be quiet, also hence the reason she ignores you when you complain to her. Not all deaf people can lip-read.

 

As for not taking the dog out for a walk the neighbour might be mobility restricted due to having problems with her legs or feet. She might be able to manage the short distance into her garden ok, but long distances might be intolerable for her.

I imagine you're going to say; "Well in that case she shouldn't have a dog".

 

I notice you haven't mentioned the woman having a husband, so therefore I take it apart from having the dog your neighbour lives alone. If she is deaf then she will feel very vulnerable and probably frightened at night time (I know these feeling from personal experience because I am deaf). If your neighbour is deaf then I suppose she has the dog to guard her and her home at night time when she is most at risk of being burgled.

 

I think it's about time you stopped thinking just of yourself and got to know your neighbour a bit better than you do. When you've done that if you find out she is not deaf or mobility restricted then, and only then, report her to the RSPCA and Sheffield City Council.

[enepsigos 10]

Hello enepsigos,

 

You say you never hear your neighbour shouting at the dog to be quiet and that she completely ignores you when you approach her to complain to her over the dog barking. It seems to me that it has never dawned on you that your neighbour might be 'DEAF'. If she is, then the poor woman cannot hear her dog barking, hence the reason she never tells it to be quiet, also hence the reason she ignores you when you complain to her. Not all deaf people can lip-read.

 

As for not taking the dog out for a walk the neighbour might be mobility restricted due to having problems with her legs or feet. She might be able to manage the short distance into her garden ok, but long distances might be intolerable for her.

I imagine you're going to say; "Well in that case she shouldn't have a dog".

 

I notice you haven't mentioned the woman having a husband, so therefore I take it apart from having the dog your neighbour lives alone. If she is deaf then she will feel very vulnerable and probably frightened at night time (I know these feeling from personal experience because I am deaf). If your neighbour is deaf then I suppose she has the dog to guard her and her home at night time when she is most at risk of being burgled.

 

I think it's about time you stopped thinking just of yourself and got to know your neighbour a bit better than you do. When you've done that if you find out she is not deaf or mobility restricted then, and only then, report her to the RSPCA and Sheffield City Council.

 

i know she is not deaf because ive spoken to her before, not about this but when we first moved in, about three months after moving in i asked her if i could borrow her broom to sweep the leaves up on my front garden as ours had snapped, she heard me perfectly well and said yes just put it back where you found it once you have done, she has no mobility problems either as she works at asda and i often see her walk from where i live to the new asda at parsons cross, aprox a mile away! i suppose your going to say she is blind now aswell because she hasnt responded to the letters she recieved from the council and or acted on them!

there is nothing wrong with her apart from being bloody bone idle, scruffy and the most weirdest women ive ever met!

she also lives with her daughter who is just as bad, shes in her 20s.

this morning i went round to the local shop, i looked round and behind me in the que i saw my neighbour, i asked if i could have a word outside with her when she is finished, she just looked at me in a blank fashion, i said im your neighbour i will walk round with you because i need to have a word about your dog,

i was served and waited outside for the women, i heard her asking for the cigs she was buying pay the man and then she walked straight past me!!!! i said excuse me, again she ignored me and walked off home! i thought it was quite clear she does not want to talk to me so i left it 5 mins before i followed, i dont want her to think im harrasing her.

im going to continue with this diary and im going to take this all the way, once our baby is born i really dont want this to be still continuing..

 

but of course....im just bloody selfish and thinking only of myself!

Edited March 15, 2012 by enepsigos

[Zamo 10]

The authorities have already demonstrated their effectiveness. It's a dog eat dog world out there... you know what you have to do.