Neighbours dogs barking/crying all day everyday

Eire212 · 04-02-2018 8:04pm #1

Neighbours of mine have dogs that cry/bark all day everyday. This has been going on too long (months) and I'm at my wits end with it. I've sent an email of general inquiry to the DSPCA about it, but they haven't responded. I'm sure they wouldn't bother anyway, cause if this was reportable by their standards, i'd say their reports would increase by 1000%. They only seem interested in serious physical abuse cases judging by the criteria asked when filling in a report file on their website. These neighbours of mine neglect their dogs and aren't bothered by them crying all day for attention.

Is there some law that forces owners to exercise control over their dogs or something? I don't know what to do about this, it's stress-inducing.

decky1 · 04-02-2018 8:11pm

I've one at the back of my house no lie he barks all day long[not at night] I don't know how he catches his breath, I can see him at the back door barking into the glass panel, rang them once all good for a few days then back to normal it can be very annoying. i'm sure there must be some law to prevent it. or away to the vet and get his bark removed'or maybe the big sleep.

ganmo · 04-02-2018 8:13pm

Neglect and cruelty aren't the same thing

Noise complaints can be made to your local coco

Doctors room ghost · 04-02-2018 8:23pm

As far as I know it’s a. Noise pollution issue with the council and owner gets a warning.dogs are probably just bored out of their skulls.am I right in guessing that them dogs are never walked and are going stir crazy with cabin fever.some people should be taken out and shot them dogs owner being one.

NIMAN · 04-02-2018 8:24pm

Some people shouldn't be allowed to own pets.

dhaughton99 · 04-02-2018 8:25pm

Same here. So many dogs in this estate of 30 houses and maybe 2 dogs get a walk and rest left out back to bark all day. New family moved in at the back of mine 6 months ago and same thing with them. Dog barking non stop and the owners are there all day and won’t shut it up. A note will go in their door if it keeps up.

A friend had to bring her next neighbor to civil court as dog barking all day in the house. Ended up having to put the house for sale because once the other neighbors found out about it, it was all kinds of threats, car set on fire, windows put in, kids assaulted. Put in cameras everywhere and cops could do nothing. It was one of those kind of estates.

DBB · 04-02-2018 8:30pm

decky1 wrote: »

or away to the vet and get his bark removed'or maybe the big sleep.

Jayney. Steady on! Irish vets will not debark dogs, it is unethical and possibly illegal.
Killing a dog for barking when rehoming it would perfectly suffice seems a tad nuclear.

OP, there are laws that allow you to take the legal route against neighbours that cause unacceptable noise levels... Including allowing their dog to bark all day long, or at antosocial hours.
The law requires that you approach them first to try to reach agreement that they will ensure that their dog is no longer causing a nuisance.
It has been shown to be useful to get some support from other neighbours who are also bothered by the barking at this point.
If you get no resolution, you can get a noise complaint form from your local County council. This leads to the owner being summonsed to the local District Court. Some councils will send out the dog warden before the hearing to have a word with the owners, but this is an add-on service that the council is not compelled to do. It does help some cases taking up court time though, if they can be resolved at this stage.
At this point, you need to be gathering evidence... Recordings, video, contemporaneous notes in a diary detailing time, duration of barking, and any other salient details... All will be really important to fight your case when the case goes to court.
The judge, should s/he find the owner culpable, can order that the owner take whatever (legal) actions are necessary to bring the noise under control. This may include ordering that the dog is surrendered for rehoming, but this doesn't usually happen unless the owner fails to, or is not prepared to take the necessary steps to control the noise.
Euthanasia is absolutely last on the list of options open to the judge.

You do need to be aware that many quick-fire options to curtail barking are pretty distasteful, and result in the dog not only being left alone for hours on end (torture for a social creature), but getting zapped in the neck every time it tries to express its frustration and loneliness... Which is why he's barking in the first place.

Bells21 · 04-02-2018 8:31pm

A complaint has to be made to the local Coco, the forms for such a complaint can be found and downloaded from most Coco websites. Once you lodge the complaint you have to notify the neighbours that you have made the complaint. If you choose to go this route I suggest you keep a log of barking i.e. times, duration etc.
Of course perhaps having an informal chat to the neighbours first may/may not work but if the issue goes to court at least you can prove you have exhausted all avenue first.
We have had an ongoing issue here too, spoke to neighbours numerous times who did something for a short while and then back to square one so I started ringing/texting during the night when the dog was going spare.

Magilla Gorilla · 04-02-2018 8:47pm

You're better off making a complaint in the district court directly. Your local council will be very reluctant to get involved, as essentially it's a he said/she said scenario. In addition, the burden of proof on a council tends to be a lot higher, as some judges see it as a David v Goliath situation if the council takes a person to court ( I know this very well as going to court is part of my job, though not in noise cases).

I have see noise cases in court myself where the complainant makes the case directly. Judges tend to give laypersons a lot of latitude when hearing their complaint. Certainly you should approach the owner in a polite manner etc. in the first place and be able to give evidence of these efforts. If this fails, your MUST make a log of all barking events (dates, times, duration, loudness). The longer your log of events covers, the better your case. Finally, if you can get neighbours to come as witnesses, you case is very strong.

Recently a judge was willing to hear dog howling noises/video recorded on the complainant's phone, despite objections from the other side. Again, if you were to get these independently recorded, you case is stronger. While that case was adjourned, the judge left the dog's owners and their barrister (!) in no doubt that if the problem was not addressed before it came back to court, there would be serious repercussions. (He ordered the destruction of two expensive dogs in another unrelated biting case).

Eire212 · 04-02-2018 8:47pm

Thanks for the info all! very informative. It's a pity i need to approach them personally as the first step. This is going to be a very long long tedious process, that is, if i can actually afford the time for it.

tk123 · 04-02-2018 9:45pm

Snap OP are you in glasnevin lol? Barking and howling all day here. Often at the back of our house :mad: At times he’s in distress so much that it freaks my two out. Or they’re out minding their own business and he flips out on the other side of the fence

Luis21 · 22-04-2019 10:50am

The dog in question barks every night and is allowed to do so whether the tenants are there or not. This is a Dublin City Council house. We have complained on numerous occasions to DCC and all they do is warn the tenant and generally take their side. The tenants dont give a toss and told us to leave them alone.

We have involved the local TD and all DCC do is recommend the District Court even though it is a direct breaking of the tenants agreement.

Has anyone any advice re the District Court. Will phone recordings really be sufficient ? Should I bring a solicitor ? I have no experience of any court.

Thanks.

Graces7 · 27-04-2019 3:26pm

Bells21 wrote: »

A complaint has to be made to the local Coco, the forms for such a complaint can be found and downloaded from most Coco websites. Once you lodge the complaint you have to notify the neighbours that you have made the complaint. If you choose to go this route I suggest you keep a log of barking i.e. times, duration etc.
Of course perhaps having an informal chat to the neighbours first may/may not work but if the issue goes to court at least you can prove you have exhausted all avenue first.
We have had an ongoing issue here too, spoke to neighbours numerous times who did something for a short while and then back to square one so I started ringing/texting during the night when the dog was going spare.

I have found that informing the owners in writing that you are intending to make a formal complaint to court has worked fine. Seems to scare them?

I also called a neighbour here during the night after a collie barked non stop for literally 2 hours. They were furious! Laid into me verbally until I made them realise that I was worried as dogs do not bark unless there is something wrong and would they please tell me who to call if I was worried as I cannot walk as far as their house... Maybe the gardai? They claimed they could not hear it..

It sorted the problem . Thankfully

Graces7 · 27-04-2019 3:28pm

Luis21 wrote: »

The dog in question barks every night and is allowed to do so whether the tenants are there or not. This is a Dublin City Council house. We have complained on numerous occasions to DCC and all they do is warn the tenant and generally take their side. The tenants dont give a toss and told us to leave them alone.

We have involved the local TD and all DCC do is recommend the District Court even though it is a direct breaking of the tenants agreement.

Has anyone any advice re the District Court. Will phone recordings really be sufficient ? Should I bring a solicitor ? I have no experience of any court.

Thanks.

It seems to be a non intimidatory and simple process and no solicitor needed, so low cost. Warning the owners of impending court action in a formal letter has always worked for me.

Angry Tennant · 12-07-2019 2:29pm

I have 2 poodle type dogs barking in garden and neighbours don't mind their dogs yelping all day
What can I do

s7ryf3925pivug · 12-07-2019 2:32pm

The council were surprisingly responsive and effective when I lodged a complaint recently.

I understand that for barking dogs you're supposed to talk to the offender first, but if you dont want to do that I'd ask the council anyway.

are you serious · 12-07-2019 3:23pm

Section 25 of the Control of Dogs Act covers nuisance/barking dogs

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1986/act/32/section/25/enacted/en/html#sec25

Graces7 · 12-07-2019 3:33pm

Lexie Freezing Vandal wrote: »

The council were surprisingly responsive and effective when I lodged a complaint recently.

I understand that for barking dogs you're supposed to talk to the offender first, but if you dont want to do that I'd ask the council anyway.

I was told by the council it had to be a written warning ie "advice" to the owner of court action if the nuisance did not stop. That is what I always did and the noise was stopped. The court would need written proof that procedure had been followed

Neighbours dogs barking/crying all day everyday

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