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Sorry guys, very off-topic here. I’ve gotten good hair advice here in the past. There are some wise and intelligent longhairs that post here, so please advise me on my unrelated issue. Thanks!
I live in a suburban neighborhood (U.S.) where the houses are rather closely spaced together (approximately 12 feet apart). The neighbor to the right of me has a little dog that seems be let outside, for large chunks of the day. They are not neglectful to the dog, they just seem to leave him out there during the day a lot. This would be fine except the dog yaps constantly (and loudly). I’ve come to find this highly annoying, as I myself have 2 dogs and when they start barking, I bring them inside (so as not to be a nuisance to anyone). He doesn’t leave the dog out at nighttime, just during the day, so fortunately my sleep is not disturbed. I don’t want to be a pestering and meddlesome neighbor but I think I’ll have to talk to him about this. Just wondering what your take on this is? Am I being too critical here and not accepting enough? What would be a reasonable amount of time to leave the dog outside barking before bringing him inside? Any suggestions on how to approach the neighbor about this? I want to be nice yet firm with him. I don’t know the guy well at all, though in the few times I’ve chatted with him he seems like a fairly nice dude.
Again sorry for the very O/T nature of this post. Thanks for the advice guys.
Well, for a good conversation-opener, you could start by buying him a nice muzzle, wrapping it up in a box with pretty gift-wrapping paper, then mailing it special-delivery to his house. Be sure to put your return address on the package, as nowadays in the US there's too much suspicion of terrorism or another "unibomber" sending an unwelcomed prank.
Or... you cvould buy yourself an expensive pair of earplugs, and send him the bill.
Or... you could include other neighbors in on this, sending him a syruppy-sweet Hallmark card about "Peace & Quiet" and how much you love your neighbors or something, along with a business card from the nearest animal control office.
Or... you could, just for fun, leave YOUR dogs out for about a week, both day & night... until HE complains!
Or... you could buy yourself a tape recorder, go outside and record his dog barking at you (a minimum of 15 minutes would be my recommendation), then call up his answering machine when he's not home, and then play back the tape recording (not even bothering including any human voice, --- especially yours!)...
These are all just mischievous ideas I'd be tempted to do, if I lived nextdoor to him myself, --- and ideas that won't require you to have to say a word to him on the topic!
- Ken (who puts up with a few modest-volume barkers in San Francisco)
Well, since it seems that your neighbor and you are probably on fairly good terms at this point, I would try to keep it that way. If he's a nice guy/decent person sort, you should be able to mention the problem to him in an adult manner, and ask him if there's a solution that you guys can agree on. Good neighbors are hard to come by these days, so do all you can to keep it friendly and amicable, but do let him know that there's an issue. I would also give him the benefit of the doubt that he will be able to take care of the problem himself by dealing with him one-on-one first, before resorting to other means (talking with other neighbor and getting a petition, calling the police, etc.).
I like your advice Dino. I just finished trying that approach (just spoke to him about 30 minutes ago). I kept it all adult and respectful and nice. Told him I'd really appreciate the help with his dog. He told me he'd try his best. We'll see how this works out. I think I've done all I can do at this point, short of calling the cops and all. Thanks again for the input. I appreciate it guys.
That's good to hear. I hope it all works out. There are other things that can be done, too. A couple who used to live next door to me had two dogs who used to bark incessantly. We discussed the problem with them, and they decided to get a "shock collar" for one of them. Whenever she would bark, she would get a very slight electric zap, so she soon learned to stop barking. The other one stopped barking too, primarily because the one wearing the shock collar was usually the instigator.
Now I don't promote cruelty to animals in any way, shape or form, but from what I understand about these devices, they are completely harmless to dogs. Even so, I still don't like the idea that the dogs are being kept mute in such a coercive, manmade kind of way. Nevertheless, we seldom encountered problems with noise after that. (And it was bad.)
Good luck!
I'm not sure whether the dog is in it's yard or not.If it's loose even small towns have leash laws.Call animal control and complain.If the dog has tags animal control will call the vet the tags came from who will then call the owner. If he doesn't pick it up thats his problem.I'm not sure what you can do if the dog is in it's yard.I live on 400 acres,don't have that problem.My problems are usually something like the neighbors cows push the fence down and graze on my grass or mine do the same to him.
Arrick
Yea man... I wish barking dogs are the only thing that annoyed me during the day... if you think that is bad, try moving to Taiwan. Here you will most likely be living in a high rise and will (and I mean it!) be bothered by 1. trucks with loudspeakers selling things or begging you to vote for some politician, 2. Temple worship events which consists of huge gongs that makes rock concert sound like a whisper, firecrackers that sound like machine gun, big drums that makes even the hardest drummer sound like nothing. It happens once in a while but when it happens and you work graveyard shift and sleeps during the day (like me), good luck trying to sleep. 3. barking dogs... but given all the afromentioned noises barking dogs are actually the least of my concern. then finally, 4. remodeling! you will hear constant drilling and hammering on the floor above you going nonstop (sometimes even at 3 in the morning!) for more than 6 months, and when they get done, another floor does the same and still constant hammering and drilling.
I wish the only noise I had to worry about is leaf blowers (which isnt even that loud) and barking dogs....
I love my peace and quiet and solitude. I have a very short fuse for loud music being played(not my music, but any rap crap or bad music), loud car engines,construction work, etc.
Barking dogs agitate me aswell. Sometimes you just wanna strangle the mutt, lol.
So yeah, i need a peaceful and quiet environment , otherwise i get agitated, irritable, cranky and abusive.
Fortunately, where i live, in the outer suburbs it is very calm and peaceful environment with little noises. At the same time, i am not living in solitude away from civilisation and i am not in the bustling metropolitean areas with noise, traffic etc.
I love the beach, i want to buy a house near the coast one day. Close to nature and relaxed enviroment without traffic, stress, people, noise, pollution etc etc.
As one who long ago went to the dogs, I have a few thoughts.
I am truly amazed at how many people who get dogs have little understanding of their needs.
If solitary confinement is the most cruel punishment for humans it is exponentially difficult for dogs. Except when they are sleeping, which is about 18 hours a day, they want and need company. Dogs are pack animals, and want to be with their family.
My maxwell, an 85 pound border collie + something, so wants to go with me that he will sleep patiently in the car when I park it. If it is too hot to leave him in the car, and I know there is space to tie him out, I have a 20' lead, and he accepts this quietly. If I know there is no place to safely tie him out, I see his sad face when I leave home ans say "Mac Stays," as he puts his tail between his legs and turns away from the door. He is always accepting and quiet, except when I tie him out and he can overhear social interaction which includes me. Then he is relentless in letting everyone know that Maxwell intends to come to the party.
Many people treat dogs as objects rather than dog-persons. If we can understand their genetically programmed but modifiable culture, we can better understand ourselves.
I hope you can take your conversation with your neighbor a bit deeper in this direction.
But if all else fails, you gotta take care of yourself, and then I like Ken's advice.
Quoting:
Or... you could buy yourself a tape recorder, go outside and record his dog barking at you (a minimum of 15 minutes would be my recommendation), then call up his answering machine when he's not home, and then play back the tape recording (not even bothering including any human voice, --- especially yours!)...
James
Well if he seems fairly nice you should be able to discuss this with him. I don't see why some people do that, leaving their dogs out in the yard all day. Surely it can't be a very stimulating activety for the dog to be out there all by itself. Maybe he keeps it outside because he can't stand having it barking around inside the house? Maybe it would be a good thing to get to know him better, and since you are both dog owners why not join company and take them out for a walk every now and then? That way he would have less reason to keep them in the park. lol
