DC rowhouse, new neighbor's dog barking nonstop. Options?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again, thanks everyone. I actually ended up calling them last night (we had exchanged numbers) when the dog was still barking at 9 pm and our kids needed to get to sleep. He claimed the dog just needs more time.

I agree with poster above who suggests giving them a month, then suggesting a dog collar. I will also point out that their dog is obviously not happy being left alone 14 hours (on some days) and they should think about that. At the very least they can make an effort to get home earlier or take the dog with them when they are out during the day. (Why on earth would someone get a huge dog if they're going to leave it home along most of the time? I don't get it.)

The people on the other side are a group house, so although some of them may not like the barking, they probably won't get organized to complain.

Anyway, lots of good advice above and I appreciate it.

Interfering with sleep is a huge issue IMO. So the song is barking even when the owners are home. Next time tell them I'm sorry but you leave me no choice to make a complaint. The neighbors don't sound like nice neighbors if they keep blowing you off. Maybe that dog needs exercise to wear him out and relieve stress. A neighbor of mine takes her dog to a doggie day care place because he was barking and going nuts when left alone. For them it worked great, and when she brought the dog home after work he was all worn out and sleep well.
BTW I am a dog owner. My dog can bark to get people's attention who walk by when he is in the yard because he wants them to stop and let him. My next door neighbor, who is a jerk re a lot of things, asked me if I would not let my dog out until 7:30 am because he claimed my dog went right below his kid's window and purposefully barked nonstop to wake up his 2 year old. Despite my knowledge that this was not actually true, I gracefully said of course, so sorry and complied with his request until they moved (they didn't move bc of our dog). A good dog owner is a reasonable dog owner, and a good neighbor needs to compromise to keep neighborhood peace. Sounds like your neighbor is either.

[Anonymous]

Fing autocorrect. PP here, sorry for the typos but you get the idea

[Anonymous]

This dog needs exercise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This dog needs exercise.

A dog walker would help the poor dog break up the monotony of his day. They leave the dog alone for 14 hrs a day??
These sound like shitty dog owners & soon to be shitty neighbors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This dog needs exercise.

A dog walker would help the poor dog break up the monotony of his day. They leave the dog alone for 14 hrs a day??
These sound like shitty dog owners & soon to be shitty neighbors.

+1

while "settling in" might be part of the problem, it sounds like he has an unhappy life if he's being left alone for 14 hours a day multiple times a week and no amount of "settling" will cease the barking

[Anonymous]

I bet you can get them for animal neglect if they are out of the house so often

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again, thanks everyone. I actually ended up calling them last night (we had exchanged numbers) when the dog was still barking at 9 pm and our kids needed to get to sleep. He claimed the dog just needs more time.

I agree with poster above who suggests giving them a month, then suggesting a dog collar. I will also point out that their dog is obviously not happy being left alone 14 hours (on some days) and they should think about that. At the very least they can make an effort to get home earlier or take the dog with them when they are out during the day. (Why on earth would someone get a huge dog if they're going to leave it home along most of the time? I don't get it.)

The people on the other side are a group house, so although some of them may not like the barking, they probably won't get organized to complain.

Anyway, lots of good advice above and I appreciate it.

Was the neighbor home when you called? Constant barking when they are home is even more concerning. Sometimes people aren't aware of what the dogs are doing when they aren't home.

I'm a crazy dog lover and have two dogs of my own, but constant barking is unacceptable. They need to hire a dog walker at a minimum and probably need doggie day care, but these things cost money.

You could try this: http://www.amazon.com/Barking-Ultrasonic-Birdhouse-Silencer-Controller/dp/B00XNU2UZ2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1441395955&sr=8-3&keywords=Dog+barking

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I bet you can get them for animal neglect if they are out of the house so often

Not a chance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can't "sue" over something like this. The worst that can happen to them is that they are fined. There is no private cause of action for you.

You can sue. You have a right to the peaceful enjoyment of your home. Even if you couldn't win, you can break them with legal fees.

[Anonymous]

There are so many people that have dogs, that shouldn't. Why get one if you can't care for it well, or be responsible for it?

[Anonymous]

OP,

Get an email address and communicate in writing.

http://www.wikihow.com/Stop-a-Neighbor's-Dog-from-Barking

[Anonymous]

If you contact Animal Control to tell them the dog is in distress, which it must be if it's barking so much, they will send out an officer to talk with the owners. The owners will freak and figure out a solution right away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't "sue" over something like this. The worst that can happen to them is that they are fined. There is no private cause of action for you.

Not sure. I would record the dog. If it constitutes a nuisances under the law that interferes with the ability to live in their house, they may have grounds. Similar to if a person plays music very loud, or smokes in a house that has a common wall. Just as OP is expected to be tolerant if living in s row house, the new neighbors also are expected to be considerate. This is an animal control, noise ordinance issue. If the dog is barking nonstop, he obviously isn't happy and is under extreme stress which is s horrible thing to do to a dog as a dog owner,

When I called animal control over a constantly barking dog in my neighborhood, animal control came but no one answered their door. He left s notice and said if they didn't respond in 24 hours he could come back and take the dog. Turned out the dogs were tied in the back yard while the people went out of town. One of our other neighbors ended up breaking into their yard and taking the dogs back to their house to care for them, when the owners came back into town, their excuse was "well we work in the White House and had to go out of town in a hurry". They put their house on the market 2 weeks later.

I would ask your neighbors other neighbors, the ones who live on the other side of them, if they can hear the dog too. Sometimes their is power in numbers,

Do not mob your neighbors. It could bring legal ramifications, even if you think you have a legitimate claim. I learned this the hard way, in close in VA. Just because I don't like what someone is doing, does not mean I have a right to mob them. Expensive lesson learned.

What do you mean by 'mob your neighbors'? I don't see how a group of people with a common problem approaching authorities with a legitimate complaint is a problem.

I don't understand why the owners aren't taking the dog inside after they get home. There is no way the OP's kid should be kept awake by barking dogs when the owners are there. That should end NOW. Sadly, in my experience, people like these owners tend to be selfish and clueless. They don't appear to be making any effort to train their dogs. They will probably just keep saying 'the dogs need more time' indefinitely. I would give it one more week and then alert the neighbors that you have no choice but to take action - and do it. Unfortunately, this may be the tip of the iceberg when dealing with these people.

[Anonymous]

Lol sue? You're an idiot. Hopefully when your kid crys someone will sue you for noise

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't "sue" over something like this. The worst that can happen to them is that they are fined. There is no private cause of action for you.

Not sure. I would record the dog. If it constitutes a nuisances under the law that interferes with the ability to live in their house, they may have grounds. Similar to if a person plays music very loud, or smokes in a house that has a common wall. Just as OP is expected to be tolerant if living in s row house, the new neighbors also are expected to be considerate. This is an animal control, noise ordinance issue. If the dog is barking nonstop, he obviously isn't happy and is under extreme stress which is s horrible thing to do to a dog as a dog owner,

When I called animal control over a constantly barking dog in my neighborhood, animal control came but no one answered their door. He left s notice and said if they didn't respond in 24 hours he could come back and take the dog. Turned out the dogs were tied in the back yard while the people went out of town. One of our other neighbors ended up breaking into their yard and taking the dogs back to their house to care for them, when the owners came back into town, their excuse was "well we work in the White House and had to go out of town in a hurry". They put their house on the market 2 weeks later.

I would ask your neighbors other neighbors, the ones who live on the other side of them, if they can hear the dog too. Sometimes their is power in numbers,

Do not mob your neighbors. It could bring legal ramifications, even if you think you have a legitimate claim. I learned this the hard way, in close in VA. Just because I don't like what someone is doing, does not mean I have a right to mob them. Expensive lesson learned.

What do you mean by 'mob your neighbors'? I don't see how a group of people with a common problem approaching authorities with a legitimate complaint is a problem.

I don't understand why the owners aren't taking the dog inside after they get home. There is no way the OP's kid should be kept awake by barking dogs when the owners are there. That should end NOW. Sadly, in my experience, people like these owners tend to be selfish and clueless. They don't appear to be making any effort to train their dogs. They will probably just keep saying 'the dogs need more time' indefinitely. I would give it one more week and then alert the neighbors that you have no choice but to take action - and do it. Unfortunately, this may be the tip of the iceberg when dealing with these people.

Perhaps the owners can take action, perhaps not. One does not go about it by trying to mob your neighbors - which will bring hefty legal retaliation. Don't be an idiot. Hire an attorney, sue them, whatever - but don't make it "us against them", unless you are prepared to be dragged into the legal ramifications.