New Neighbour rant....

[BC_MoM]

Just after Christmas, someone new moved into the house behind us, a single lady with two dogs; a Lab mix and a Chow? mix.

Whenever I would take the M&M's outside, they would go crazy barking at my dogs.. Molly would charge the fence, and Mickey would run away.. so no pees or poos would be made.

Now that the weather is warming up, the dogs are outside for hours on ends, which gives me no chance to take MY dogs out.

I sneak out when I can when those dogs are in, but I swear it, I saw.. the lady looks through the blinds, saw I was out there with my dogs, and then let her dogs out! WHAT THE HECK!!!! Isn't my head shaking in her dog's direction a hint that they royally tick me off???

This morning was the last straw.... she let her dogs out at 7AM and they barked and barked. They woke my whole house up... completely. I SLEEP IN THE BASEMENT AND THEY WOKE ME UP.

It's difficult for me to approach people, so I'm not sure if I should write her a letter or just contact the city.

I'm not going to be putting up with her dogs barking all summer. No sirree, bub.



Sorry for the rant, but I'm seriously bothered by the barking.

[Argranade]

Aww I hate being woke up early in the morning too lol,

Maybe just ask her if she could please try and stop her dogs from barking so much & say there scaring your poor pups.

My old nabours had a tiny dog that barked all day and night, they even left it outside because it would bark so much, now being a small dog it was not very strong ... the next morning the dog was gone and I belive the racoons ate him.

Not saying to use a giant racoon to go after the ladies dogs tho LOL,

Hope somthing can be done.

[sparks19]

I say put up a tarp along your fence to keep the visibility between dogs down.... Perhaps that will give her the hint you don't like her dogs behaving that way.... but probably not lol

I would at least write a letter before going to the city. AT least you can say you tried

[king2005]

I don't know how people can let their dog(s) bark & bark & bark... When Bear gets riled up over something I get her to hush as quickly as I can.

Write them a letter, but be polite & such.. if that doesn't work, report them. If your neighbours are your friends, get them to report them aswell... I'm sure the owner will get the message quickly

[lizbud]

I say put up a tarp along your fence to keep the visibility between dogs down.... Perhaps that will give her the hint you don't like her dogs behaving that way.... but probably not lol

I would at least write a letter before going to the city. AT least you can say you tried

That just might work since some dogs have only to spot another to get
them going. This would be an awful spot to be in, but maybe talking to her
in a calm way, you both could work something out. I sure hope so for your
peace of mind.

[Catty1]

I'd try the tarp first - then if she asks any questions, you can just explain that your dogs are sensitive and get scared when they see dogs they don't know.

It's a bit of BS, but if you want to keep the peace, try that.

As to them barking all the time, I'd call Bylaw straight away. Unless she is completely deaf and has NO idea how noisy they are.

You might find you weren't the first to call!

Good luck!

[kuhio98]

It's difficult for me to approach people, so I'm not sure if I should write her a letter or just contact the city.

My advice is to get over this as soon as possible. Otherwise, you're going to have a long, frustrating life.

I checked our Animal Welfare webpage where I live and here's what they suggest... It sounds like the best approach is to assume (even though you may feel differently) that the owner isn't aware of the problem. Explain to her that your pets are frightened. If she truly is an animal lover, she will understand. Perhaps you guys can work out a schedule. She lets her dogs out certain hours of the day then you let yours out for different hours:

Few things in life are as annoying as having to listen to the constant bark, howl, whine or cry of another person's dog. The noise from barking can disrupt sleep, lower the quality of your leisure hours, disturb your work, and make being at home unpleasant. The first reaction of many people faced with a barking dog problem is to call the authorities. Believe it or not, this is not always the best route to resolve the problem. This problem has been looked at nationally and the conclusions reached have been uniformly the same: Barking is a neighborhood problem. Here are a few facts about the owners of barking dogs that may help you deal with what the situation:

• The owner of a barking dog often doesn't know the dog is barking.
• Owners may leave for work with a quiet dog in the back yard and return home to a quiet dog. The dog may only be barking because its owner is gone.
• The dog barking may be a comfort to the owner. Barking may tell the owner the dog is well and the property is protected. The owner may assume it gives neighbors the same feeling.
• The owner may be desensitized to the barking. People that are around barking dogs all of the time learn to tune out the noise.
  The owners may assume that because they haven't had anyone complain about the noise, that the barking doesn't bother anyone.

Owners of barking dogs falling into the above categories are best dealt with as neighbors. Letting the owner know, on a personal level, that the dog's noise is disrupting your life can be very effective. People that do not first attempt to solve the problem as neighbors often begin long-term neighborhood feuds. Tell the person, very politely--in person, in writing, or by phone--exactly what the nature of the annoyance is. Communicate things such as "I can't sleep"; "I can't hear my television"; "I work nights and sleep days"; or "I can't study because of the noise your dog is making". Neighborhood communication is a very important part of neighborhood security. Even the act of telling someone his or her dog is bothering you can further communication.

If these methods fail then you should call the Anchorage Animal Care & Control Center at xxx-xxxx. Do not try to silence the animal yourself or wait until you can no longer handle the barking. Tackle the problem early on. Animals are family and disciplining someone else's family member can result in violence.

[BC_MoM]

Thanks everyone.
kuhio98, that was some great info, thanks!

I found out that she leaves her dogs out while she's gone at work during the day. Honestly, dogs barking don't normally ever bother me.. but when it affects my dogs behaviour, it does get to me.

The problem with the tarp is that our backyard is a bit higher than theirs, and their dogs are usually on a high deck, so they can see OVER the fence, and are high enough that my dogs can see them.

Mickey is SUCH a freak (I mean that in a nice way!), he hasn't gone #2 since Monday now because of this... the only place he does it is the backyard. Grrr...

When I see the owner, I'll ask her if she knows how much her dogs back when she's away.. before I go crazy, lol.

[Edwina's Secretary]

Asking for help is sometimes a more effective way of gaining cooperation and you have a real need for it! What if you were to say to her..."I can tell you are a dog lover too and I need your help. My dog is afraid to do his business when he see your dogs and hears them barking so, etc." Can you help me?

It is less confrontational and doesn't put the other person so on the defensive.