Neighbours barking dog (Morning only)

ENN0

Hows it going guys, seen quite a few threads on barking dogs when I searched it, however they seem to cover all day barking or late night barking. My neighbours recently got a dog about 4 months ago, they both work and Mon-Fri they leave the dog out their back garden around 7:45 - 8.00am. The dog is out on its own and just barks for 2 hours straight. It wakes me up nearly every weekday without fail. I've considered saying it to them before but I dont know if I have grounds to stand on, it may be only for 2 hours but its non stop, could these times be considered unsociable?

Im at my wits end, I have a week and a half of college left and I have a lot of work to hand in before we break for christmas, so i've been doing late nights and the dog keeps waking me up. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

tk123

If they're approachable say it to them - they mightn't know that the dog is barking that long.

Mousewar

Had the exact same situation when I moved into my house, except the dog barked from 7am for about an hour. It woke me up every single day. I eventually built up the courage and went next door and very politey explained to the lady that the dog was waking me up every morning and would she mind taking him in when he starts barking. I said it very nicely, putting the emphasis on her doing me a favour rather than insisting that she had to do it. She reacted very well and four years on, the dog has never been a problem since.

It's one of life's experiences - just do it, you'll benefit from doing it whether the reaction is good or bad.

mistress_gi

When we got our dog we made of point of calling over to our neighbors to let them know we also asked everyone once in a while if he was barking when we were away. I think you will find most good dog owners would be gratefull to know if there was an issue they were unaware of so it can be adressed and hopefully resolved!

ENN0

Cheers for the replies, gonna knock into them today when they get home and let you know their response!!!

ENN0

Hi guys, I approached the owner that night. He was quite defensive at the start and was almost adamant it wasn't his dog. He eventually cam around to the idea it could be his dog. He did not notice the barking because there is no one home to hear it when the dog is out the back garden in the morning. To cut a long story short, the owner wasn't very helpful, I could not provide evidence at that time that it was his dog barking at 8 am every weekday morning and he could not provide evidence that his dog was not barking. He said he would ask around and see if any of the neighbours heard him barking. I havent heard from him since and the dog is still waking me up. What are my next steps, because I really cant deal with this anymore.

tk123

can you record a video of the dog barking on your phone etc to show him?

Mousewar

It's a shame he was defensive. It seems extraordinarily unreasonable that he was so reluctant to believe it's his dog that is barking when he's not there at the time and you are.
I presume you can look out your window and see the dog barking? If you can, I'd video it on your phone.
You're left with four options then as far as I can tell, each one escalating the matter further than the previous:
1 - Do nothing and hope he comes around. He might be waiting for the weekend to talk to the neighbours.
2 - Talk to some of the other neighbours yourself. Strength in numbers is good.
3 - Return to him with the evidence he seems to require (the phone video)
4 - Follow the guidelines on this page for officially making a complaint.

ENN0

tk123 wrote: »

can you record a video of the dog barking on your phone etc to show him?

I was thinking of doing this. Im in the attic so I cant see the dog barking if I look out my window, I would actually have to go down the side of his house and look over his back garden wall to see the dog barking and I think it would be bordering on trespassing if I did this.

I suppose I could record an arial view from my attic of him barking and then anther recording from the front of his house of the dog barking. But from our last conversation, I feel this wouldnt be good enough for him. He has already thrown the idea out that it could be the house behind him because they also have a dog, but I have never heard that barking in all my years here, the problem has only started since they got their dog.

ENN0

Mousewar wrote: »

It's a shame he was defensive. It seems extraordinarily unreasonable that he was so reluctant to believe it's his dog that is barking when he's not there at the time and you are.
I presume you can look out your window and see the dog barking? If you can, I'd video it on your phone.
You're left with four options then as far as I can tell, each one escalating the matter further than the previous:
1 - Do nothing and hope he comes around. He might be waiting for the weekend to talk to the neighbours.
2 - Talk to some of the other neighbours yourself. Strength in numbers is good.
3 - Return to him with the evidence he seems to require (the phone video)
4 - Follow the guidelines on this page for officially making a complaint.

Thanks very much for this Mousewar, the next logical step would be to record the dog barking. I'll have to wait until Monday to do that, because the dog never barks weekends as the family are at home and he stays inside. Unfortunately step one is a no go for me, its been going on way to long and its effecting my standard of living. Im in my final year of college and really dont need this. I will however follow the rest of the steps and see what he has to say with the evidence I show him.

After reading on some Irish law on the matter, it seems quite lenient for my side of the argument. I dont want to go down this road, but if he decides to keep being unreasonable, I might just have to.

tk123

What a pain I try not to have my dogs barking in the house let alone out in the garden so as not to bother anyone!!
Do you know the neighbours on the other side - could you maybe call over to them when the dog is barking "just to double check that it's not their dog". Now I know you know it's not their dog but I'd call over anyway because imo they'll more than likely confirm that it's not their dog but the other one! Possibly the other dog is driving them mad too so they may help you out.

blakerobinson

Wow, can't believe your neighbour is being so unreasonable. I'm finding myself in the same situation and i'm very close to doing something about it, but the reaction you described worries me.

Report that asshole, let him learn the hard way. As long as you can prove that it is harming your quality of life (which it clearly is), you'll be grand.

I feel sorry for the poor dog with such an oblivious owner.

ENN0

blakerobinson wrote: »

Wow, can't believe your neighbour is being so unreasonable. I'm finding myself in the same situation and i'm very close to doing something about it, but the reaction you described worries me.

Report that asshole, let him learn the hard way. As long as you can prove that it is harming your quality of life (which it clearly is), you'll be grand.

I feel sorry for the poor dog with such an oblivious owner.

I would suggest you do, although I didnt get the reaction I was looking for, at least the process of getting it sorted has begun. Im not gonna jump straight into reporting him, im going to approach him again next week with more evidence and ask him nicely once more and if he refuses to do anything about it i'll have to report him.

Its really not a route I want to go down, as if he is very stubborn it could go to the district court, which im willing to do, but i'd rather not. As well as that, its a lovely dog, real friendly, it seems to be going through separation anxiety when they leave and just barks and barks. I any case, i'll report back after I knock in again next week....stay tuned!!!