Neighbors and Dog Haters... Ugh.

I've always liked where I live. Until today. Today I hate it and would give just about anything to be able to live out in the country with NO NEIGHBORS.

I started my day with a woman knocking on my door that lives on on the street directly behind my house. She was complaining about my dog barking and waking her up every morning "for over a year". She claims that she hears my dog barking every morning starting at 5am. Which is utter BULL****. She says I should be a responsible dog owner and keep her quiet out of respect for my neighbors, or she will call animal control.

My rebuttal to her was this:

First of all, I wake up at 5am. And I don't even let my dog go outside until 6! Why 6? Because my dog does bark, but only when my neighbor's dogs come out at 7. So I give her that hour before they come out, so that she DOES NOT bark, so that she doesn't disturb my neighbors!!!

If my neighbor's dogs come out early (never before 6) I immediately bring my dog inside so that she doesn't bark the whole time they are out!

I literally stress myself EVERY SINGLE MORNING about making sure my dog stays quiet so that some stupid broad doesn't complain to the whole neighborhood about my dog.

Our community has specific quiet hours, from 6am to 10om on weeknights, and 6am to midnight on weekends. My dog is ALWAYS quiet during those times.

Anyway, I decided to be preemptive and call animal control myself, to find out the specific regulations in regard to my situation. They laughed. As long as it isn't during quiet hours, grumpy lady just has to suck it up.

I told the lady, "I am really really sorry that you are so frustrated, but I am doing the best I can to be a courteous neighbor. What can I do to help you with this problem? What time do you think is a fair time that I should let my dog out?"

Her reply was something along the lines of just "keep your dog quiet". She says "I usually get up around 6 or 6:30" (WAIT, WHAT) So I said, wait, my dog doesn't even start barking til 7, maybe 6:30 at the earliest, so WHAT EXACTLY is the problem if you are ALREADY awake?? On top of which, it's not like she's out there barking for hours, as soon as she starts I bring her inside!!"

And she says "Well, sometimes she wakes me up before I wake up, and that just gets on my nerves"

And so on and so forth, blah blah blah.


So, starting my day like this has literally ruined my whole day, I can't seem to shake my dark mood. It really bothers me because I try so hard to be a considerate neighbor, and it is still not good enough for some people.

Gooosblaabllaa

a reply to: MojaveBurning

Get more Dogs and.




You will be fine...maybe a dog poo paper bag on fire trick to cheer you up?.

You're lucky. If a dog woke me regularly and it wasn't handled said dog wouldn't survive long. Sorry, my sleep trumps a dog.

originally posted by: boymonkey74

You will be fine...maybe a dog poo paper bag on fire trick to cheer you up?.

LOL you obviously grew up in the same era as me

I can still see their faces...priceless

a reply to: intrepid

Kill a dog cause it is doing something natural? Seems excessive...

Try one of those vibrating collars.

They are made for the exact situation you are in.

No shock...just a vibration that will stop the barking.

originally posted by: intrepid
You're lucky. If a dog woke me regularly and it wasn't handled said dog wouldn't survive long. Sorry, my sleep trumps a dog.

It's sometimes hard to judge by text so I just need to ask this outright. Are you joking or would you seriously kill the dog?

kinda a crappy situation, but yah honestly if there was a dog next door that started yammering consistently at six, seven, eight, nine in the morning, every morning, I would lose my marbles.

originally posted by: boymonkey74
a reply to: MojaveBurning

Get more Dogs and.

You will be fine...maybe a dog poo paper bag on fire trick to cheer you up?.

No BoyMonkey - it's MojaveBurning, not MaDogSheetBurning!

a reply to: MojaveBurning

Today I hate it and would give just about anything to be able to live out in the country with NO NEIGHBORS.

I agree with this for the opposite reason. When we moved in it was so quiet, since then everyone new came with dogs, some many dogs and they ALL bark day and night. No more quiet sitting with our morning coffee by the pond, no more sleeping in on days off.

I am stunned that people let the little kids be awakened early on their days off school...no one seems to care that they change everyone elses lives. Change, I mean destroy!

It sounds like you care but you know many don't. I love all animals. When i had dogs when I lived in the country, they were trained...they barked if someone came ON MY PROPERTY otherwise they didn't bark at people. The barked if something was happening, another animal in the yard but not just to bark.

No barking all the time is not a natural thing for dogs, other sounds yes, a loud bark is for a purpose in normal dog behavior not just to yap. I think most dogs that bark all the time are unhappy dogs.

It sounds like she was doing her best to be a good neighbor as well by putting up with it for a whole year before finally working up the nerve to say something about it. You must have one of those irritating little ankle biters that yaps every time the wind blows.

originally posted by: whyamIhere
Try one of those vibrating collars.

They are made for the exact situation you are in.

No shock...just a vibration that will stop the barking.

I thought you meant an electric shock one....I put one round me neck once for a dare, after the first which nearly killed me I had to fight two pals to get the buzzer.
Never use them on any animal lol.

It sounds as though you are trying your best, but truth be told - It's annoying, no matter if I am awake or not. Responsible dog owner (in the city an with close neighbors) includes keeping the dog quiet. Just because quiet hours are 10-6 doesn't mean it's ok for the dog to bark non-stop 6-10. You want your dog to roam free and have the space to "be a dog" without neighbors to hassle you, move... animals belong outside anyway (IMHO) I'm a dog lover, btw...

I really do not like or have any respect for dog owners who do not:

1. Keep your dog on a leash
2. Clean up your dogs droppings if you do not walk it in your own yard
3. Let their dog bark anytime it wants to

The first two are obvious. Letting your dog bark all night or all day
is not only annoying its down right rude and should be illegal.

If you went out into your back yard and yelled at the top of your
lungs for an hour you are breaking the law. Why is that not the same
with dogs?

So no I do not empathize with any dog owner ever who has ever in their
life EVER had a noise complaint. I do not and will not deal with a dog
problem. End of story. Absolutely hate them.

I hate them because of bad owners.

originally posted by: LadySkadi
It sounds as though you are trying your best, but truth be told - It's annoying, no matter if I am awake or not. Responsible dog owner (in the city an with close neighbors) includes keeping the dog quiet. Just because quiet hours are 10-6 doesn't mean it's ok for the dog to bark non-stop 6-10. You want your dog to roam free and have the space to "be a dog" without neighbors to hassle you, move... animals belong outside anyway (IMHO) I'm a dog lover, btw...

Would it not be reasonable for all Dog owners that are not far out in the country to have to go with their animal to be trained. I had no trouble with kind, caring training, but my pup was smart, a german shepard, most people need the training with their dog.

My newest neighbor has a dozen or so she says are "rescue dogs". Poor miserable babies bark all the time and she hits them with a leather whip with a frayed end! They learn from that to hate everyone so if a person makes a sound they start barking.

originally posted by: MojaveBurning


I literally stress myself EVERY SINGLE MORNING about making sure my dog stays quiet so that some stupid broad doesn't complain to the whole neighborhood about my dog.

Not trying to be rude, but did you ever consider how much stress your barking dog is causing your neighbor? And who wants to hear a dog barking non-stop even at 7:00am? Some people work different shifts. Who wants to wake up to that anyway? Irresponsible dog owners should be heavily fined, and if nothing is done about it, prosecuted.

It's simple, keep your dog inside your house after it relieves itself. I bet you leave it outside all day long like the people next door to me once did? The dog drove me crazy all day long while I tried to process loans from home, and nobody could get any sleep, including our newborn. It's complete madness after awhile.

I mean, who do you people think that you are anyway? It's also illegal in California to just allow your dog to yap all day. I know cause I went through the animal control process, and it's a very, very long process. While you're waiting, the insanity continues.

May I suggest a shock color, a muzzle or maybe getting the dog trained? You can also purchase the Dog Silencer pro like I did. The military uses them to keep their dogs quiet. It reacts to the dog barking with an annoying frequency that only Dogs can hear. The dog quickly learns not to bark non-stop. This helped another poster here that had the same issue as me.

Look, I have absolutely no sympathy for you whatsoever, and it's not personal at all my friend, I am just bias. Fact is, People have a right to a certain amount of peace and quiet. Dogs that bark non-stop are a plague.

It finally took me having our lawyer send my neighbors a letter threatening to sue them for harassment and loss of wages, for them to finally purchase a shock collar. They were too cheap to get their dog trained, so instead they torture it. Better than torturing me though. The guy even works for the Humane Society if you can believe that? True story.

One last thing. Your dog would not happen to be a Puggle now would it? A wretched, non-stop 24/7 barking, breed of a dog. ~$heopleNation

originally posted by: Char-Lee

I agree with this for the opposite reason. When we moved in it was so quiet, since then everyone new came with dogs, some many dogs and they ALL bark day and night. No more quiet sitting with our morning coffee by the pond, no more sleeping in on days off.

I know, I loved to sit outside next to our waterfall and read, but it was absolute chaos. So glad I don't have to deal with that anymore. I swear I aged 10 years during those 2 years of absolute madness.

I am stunned that people let the little kids be awakened early on their days off school...no one seems to care that they change everyone elses lives. Change, I mean destroy!

Could not have said it better myself. My Son would bust his ass in 100 degree Football practice every single day and then have to get up and go to school after this dog would bark on and off again all night long.

People are inconsiderate and clueless about other human beings who are living around them. ~$heopleNation

Alright ya'll, I'd first like to point out that I wrote this in the rant forum. The ins and outs of dog ownership weren't meant to be debated or judged.

To address just a couple of the topics brought up here:

Maybe some of you missed the part in my original post where I mentioned that I bring my dog inside as soon as she starts barking? She's NOT outside barking 24/7. She has one morning barking fit when the neighbors dogs come out, which I stop immediately when I bring her inside.

No, she isn't a little nonstop barking yappy dog, she is a GSD who barks ONLY if a person or dog is near my backyard.

She also wears an e-collar, which I activate once she starts barking, so that I can quiet her down as quickly as possible while I then call her inside. It might take me a minute or two to get the remote, but once I do, she quiets down with the tone, I get her focus, and call her in.

She is not untrained. She's no agility or show dog, but we have done two levels of obedience classes together. She's only a year old, so she is definitely a work in progress with more classes in her future.

And no, she doesn't stay outside all day. If she wants to go out, I let her out, and I leave the door open so she can come in when she wants. She also gets twice daily trips to the off-leash dog park and at least one long walk a day.

I don't want my dog to NOT bark if another dog or person comes near my yard. That's kind of one of the points of having this type of dog. I'm not going to punish my dog for alerting me of someone or something's presence in our vicinity.

a reply to: MojaveBurning

Of course it's ok if your dog barks sometimes, dogs are meant to bark. Sometimes I even enjoy the sound of a barking dog in the distance on a warm summer evening while sitting outside reading, but at a distance. LMAO!

Nah you sound like you're good to your dog, and that it has a good life. At least you're trying to limit it, which is more than I can say for numerous people around here who allow their dogs to bark all day long outside while they are away at work. ~$heopleNation