NWR - are my neighbors rude?

SJM7538 · April 2013

So it's about 10 am where I am right now. About an hour to and hour and a half ago my neighbors let their dog outside. It was barking nonstop.

My fiancé is a police officer and works third shift. He just worked all night and he is trying to sleep. This happened with the dog yesterday afternoon and my fiancé was woken up by 1pm when he didn't get home and to sleep til 9am. So essentially he only slept about 4 hours yesterday and then worked all night.

So I walked over there and knocked on the door and my exact words were "I don't mean to be rude, but your dog has been outside barking all morning. My fiancé is a police office and he just worked all night and he needs to sleep. He was woken up yesterday by your dog. Can you please bring the dog inside?"

She then proceeded to tell me her dog wasn't even outside and had to confirm with her husband that the dog was in fact outside. She got kind of snotty with me and made me feel like I had no right to complain because its not super early in the morning or really late at night. Any one ever deal with something like this?

I don't want to piss my neighbors off but come on. I have a beagle mix and he is LOUD, but when he starts barking I bring him in. I would never leave him outside barking and howling that long.

I have a feeling this isn't going to be a one time thing... what would you guys have done? What if there are future incidents?

forensicgirla · April 2013

Call the police. When people speed at 50+mph past my house (in a 25 mph zone), I call police if I can give a description of the car. Just one person one time probably won't do anything, but if you keep bothering them, eventually something will come of it.
Our neighbors also call police on unsafe drivers and the police put out a survey and posted officers randomly down the road.
It would help you to explain to the officers that your husband is also an officer, as they really do take care of each other.

Nolagirl12 · April 2013

Call the police. She will bring the dog in for sure.

lyndausvi · April 2013

How long is the dog barking for?

SJM7538 · April 2013

In Response to Re:NWR are my neighbors rude?:[QUOTE]How long is the dog barking for? Posted by lyndausvi[/QUOTE]

This morning... Well over an hour. About the same yesterday.

Last weekend they left her out for about two hours while she whined and barked at the door

MuppetFan · April 2013

Noise ordinances normally go from 10pm to 7am... maybe a little later on the weekend in some areas. At 10:00 in the morning, I would not complain. Dogs bark, it's part of living near other people. The dog would be a nuisance if he is left out for hours at a time to bark on a daily basis or left out during noise ordinances for long lengths of time. It's just unfortunate that he works odd hours.

If it persists, I would buy ear plugs or cut the noise with music. It's not really any different than someone mowing their lawn in the morning (which used to wake me up all the time). It wasn't my neighbor's fault that I was sleeping.

ETA: If you do plan to pursue any sort of legal action, you'll need to prove that he's substantially and unreasonably interfering with the enjoyment of your property. The dog annoying you guys in the late morning or late afternoon doesn't prove that by itself (and I personally don't think there is a case during the hours you are mentioning). Check your town ordinance laws though, and document each time it happens, when you talked to the neighbor, send her a letter, take a video... you can try asking the police, you can try small claims court.

lyndausvi · April 2013

Well you FI is a police officer what does he say they can do about it?

Is this dog like this all the time or are you just noticing now that he is on 3rd shift?

I've worked 3rd shift before. It sucks. I use to live near a park and during the summer they had camps going. All those kids screming and whistles blowing all day. I swear I did't get much sleep during that time of year.

jessicabessica · April 2013

My county has an "animal noise" ordinance that is separate from a typical noise ordinance that may be restricted to nighttime hours. I would look up to see if you have any kind of animal noise restrictions, and then if they say that it's not super early, you tell them it does not matter and they need to prevent their dog from disturbing you.

Also, I think it's generally a bad idea to start an encounter with "I don't mean to be _____, but...". It's not terrible that you did that, but I don't really see the point and it tends to just put people on the defensive.

MuppetFan · April 2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_nwr-are-my-neighbors-rude?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:1445901a-8f37-4f5a-81c8-da507256925cPost:1967c50a-fcdc-4450-b25d-180cf076e29c">Re: NWR - are my neighbors rude?</a>:
[QUOTE]W<strong>ell you FI is a police officer what does he say they can do about it? Is this dog like this all the time or are you just noticing now that he is on 3rd shift?</strong> I've worked 3rd shift before. It sucks. I use to live near a park and during the summer they had camps going. All those kids screming and whistles blowing all day. I swear I did't get much sleep during that time of year.
Posted by lyndausvi[/QUOTE]

I forgot about him being an officer. Yes, what does he say?

And I do lean towards that you're sensitive to it because of his shift. I also have sympathy because I've worked 3 jobs before and it was a rarity that I slept and it was never normal hours.

On a side note, my dogs bark every time I let them out and they see people walking or see an animal. I control the length of time they are out and the hours they are out. There is a house with a rooster abutting my property. I hate the rooster. He wakes me up around 4 every.single.morning. He makes the dogs go crazy. Roosters don't apply to the noise ordinance in the country =) I still hate him. I just go back to sleep eventually.

SJM7538 · April 2013

In Response to Re:NWR are my neighbors rude?:In Response to Re: NWR are my neighbors rude?:Well you FI is a police officer what does he say they can do about it? Is this dog like this all the time or are you just noticing now that he is on 3rd shift? I've worked 3rd shift before. nbsp;It sucks. nbsp; I use to live near a park and during the summer they had camps going. nbsp; All those kids screming and whistles blowing all day. nbsp;I swear I did't get much sleep during that time of year.Posted by lyndausviI forgot about him being an officer. Yes, what does he say?And I do lean towards that you're sensitive to it because of his shift. I also have sympathy because I've worked 3 jobs before and it was a rarity that I slept and it was never normal hours.On a side note, my dogs bark every time I let them out and they see people walking or see an animal. I control the length of time they are out and the hours they are out. There is a house with a rooster abutting my property. I hate the rooster. He wakes me up around 4 every.single.morning. He makes the dogs go crazy. Roosters don't apply to the noise ordinance in the country I still hate him. I just go back to sleep eventually. Posted by MuppetFan He's always worked third shift and it just started being an issue in the past few weeks. So up until yesterday he was just waiting it out but he wasn't very happy this morning when he got Home exhausted. So I don't know if they just started leaving her outside unattended or what. I totally understand that dogs bar. We have three and they bark. Its life. But if they're barking I don't leave them outside for hours on end.

lyndausvi · April 2013

If this is something fairly new I would wait it out a little longer. But if it doesn't improve soon I would send him over to say something. I would think the actual police officer and the one being inconvenienced over the situations has a much bigger impact than the soon-to-be wife speaking on their behalf.

SJM7538 · April 2013

In Response to Re:NWR are my neighbors rude?:[QUOTE]If this is something fairly new I would wait it out a little longer. nbsp; But if it doesn't improve soon I would send him over to say something. nbsp; I would think the actual police officer and the one being inconvenienced over the situations has a much bigger impact than the soontobe wife speaking on their behalf. Posted by lyndausvi[/QUOTE]

This is a very good point. I didn't think of it that way. thank you. I'll mention that to fianc. He actually doesn't know I went over there yet. He's sleeping right now but he has to work a double tonight and only slept four hours yesterday so I wanted to ask them to bring the dog in, which they did.

Loopyseven · April 2013

I agree it's not cool for them to leave their barking dog outside. When my dog barks at stuff, I always bring her back in. That said - I'm not sure what you're recourse is if they do not seem concerned/considerate enough to follow that common courtesy of not annoying their neighbors by leaving their barking dog outside all the time. At that point it becomes either a noise nuisance issue so it depends on the city ordinances for that type of thing, or an animal safety issue if the dog is left out unattended in inclement/bad weather without access to shelter/food/water. You could try animal control, but I don't know that they'll do much about a barking dog as long as it's well taken care of otherwise and there aren't any additional circumstances (weather, etc) putting the dog in any danger.

jennyd412 · April 2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_nwr-are-my-neighbors-rude?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:1445901a-8f37-4f5a-81c8-da507256925cPost:b37ab5c6-db81-4e4f-ab15-0fe46faeb6da">NWR - are my neighbors rude?</a>:
[QUOTE]So it's about 10 am where I am right now. About an hour to and hour and a half ago my neighbors let their dog outside. It was barking nonstop. My fiancé is a police officer and works third shift. He just worked all night and he is trying to sleep. This happened with the dog yesterday afternoon and my fiancé was woken up by 1pm when he didn't get home and to sleep til 9am. So essentially he only slept about 4 hours yesterday and then worked all night. So I walked over there and knocked on the door and my exact words were "I don't mean to be rude, but your dog has been outside barking all morning. My fiancé is a police office and he just worked all night and he needs to sleep. He was woken up yesterday by your dog. Can you please bring the dog inside?" She then proceeded to tell me her dog wasn't even outside and had to confirm with her husband that the dog was in fact outside. She got kind of snotty with me and made me feel like I had no right to complain because its not super early in the morning or really late at night. Any one ever deal with something like this? I don't want to piss my neighbors off but come on. I have a beagle mix and he is LOUD, but when he starts barking I bring him in. I would never leave him outside barking and howling that long. I have a feeling this isn't going to be a one time thing... what would you guys have done? What if there are future incidents?
Posted by SJM7538[/QUOTE]

Side note...I see you are in Boston. Biggest thanks to your FI and his colleagues for the work they do.

MuppetFan · April 2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_nwr-are-my-neighbors-rude?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:1445901a-8f37-4f5a-81c8-da507256925cPost:8f0aac0e-adca-4f96-a797-2eb1d13a1ffa">Re: NWR - are my neighbors rude?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: NWR - are my neighbors rude? : Muppet, train your dogs not to bark at things that shouldn't be barked at, or to stop barking on command. Sometimes my dogs forget their manners outside and bark at stuff too. If they don't shut it up right away it is back inside the house. Our big dog now barks at the neighbor's dogs and then comes to the door to be let in because he knows barking outside means a time out inside. It didn't take him long to put it together and he is dumb as a bag of rocks. Your neighbors will thank you (and I am sorry about their rooster).
Posted by Liatris2010[/QUOTE]

I live on 3.5 acres in the middle of nowhere. They bark when people walk on our street, they think they are intruding. They also bark when there are animals intruding in the yard (like deer). I do bring them in them in when the don't stop and I control when they are out (like I don't let them out when I know a school bus is about to drop off the kids).

libby2483 · April 2013

I think if it happens again, and the dog is outside and barking for an extended period of time, you should politely ask them to bring the dog inside. If it persists beyond that, look into noise ordinances in your area and see what can be done.

Pookieson · April 2013

We have a house behiind us with yappers. They have three dogs that bark all. day. long. I used to call and complain if they were barking late at night or early in the morning, but it hasn't done anything. They have been fined, cited, all of that good stuff, they just don't pay the fine, and keep on letting their dogs bark. I don't know what happens after that, but we just watch TV or listen to music really loud now to avoid hearing the dogs. The neighbors around us have called too. We are just looking foward to the day we can move

SB1512 · April 2013

I grew up in a neighborhood where the houses were very close together, each house was on less than 1/4 acre of land. There was a house directly behind mine and the owners had a dog that was outside from sunup until sundown most days. He barked nonstop. It was so annoying. I feel your pain. Neighbors used to complain to these people all the time, and they never brought their dog in during daylight hours. It honestly was not until the dog died that the barking ever stopped.

SJM7538 · April 2013

The def isn't neglected. Its healthy and ive never seen it out in extreme conditions. They got it about a year ago when it was a puppy and the kids were always outside playing with her. Now i never see the kids outside with her. She's always outside in the yard by herself. I Honeslty feel bad, she's probably bored and just wants some attention. I just don't get why they don't let her in when she's barking and yelping for over an hour straight

ridedatbike · April 2013

Send him over in his uniform lol

STARMOON44 · April 2013

Wow I'm surprised so many people would call the police! If I called to report a dog barking in the middle of the day they 'd just think I was crazy. I think your FI needs a white noise machine and ear plugs.

NYCMercedes · April 2013

Go online to see if your jurisdiction has an animal noise ordinance. Ours does. Our neighbors called the police on us when we broke that law. A police officer came over with three pamphlets for us on silencing barking dogs.

TKzilla · April 2013

Dogs bark. It's their nature. She has to let the dog out to pee/poop/run off energy. God knows, if I had a backyard, I'd let my dog run himself ragged out there.

It's unfortunate that your FI has odd hours right now, but the dogs has to be able to go out onto their property at some point. I'd be more understanding if it were 3am or something, but the hours are perfectly reasonable.

Please do not waste the time of police officers to call about a dog barking in the late morning hours. Invest in ear plugs and a white noise machine and let your man drift off to sleep listening to waves crashing on the beach or something.

ZiggyZos · April 2013

While dogs do bark "because they're dogs", it is NOT normal for a dog to bark for hours on end. The dog is likely bored and attention seeking. Yes, people should be able to let their dog out in their own yard - and some barking can probably be expected - but the reality is that, if left by himself, the dog is not expending much energy just by physically being outside. If his mind isn't engaged and/or he is not physically wearing himself out running/playing, his mere presence outside does not mean he's getting energy out. That is one of my biggest pet peeves: letting a dog outside in a yard =/= exercising it. I would have your FI approach them if this continues, then contact the appropriate authorities. In the meantime, invest in some ear plugs and/or have your FI sleep with a tv or radio on low.

TKzilla · April 2013

An hour to an hour and a half is not "hours on end", either. By all means, look up noise ordinances in your city/neighborhood. But is this really worth calling the POLICE for? OP is apparently from Boston... don't you think with everything else that's happened, the last thing the cops want to worry about is a barking dog next door? This is a problem that would easily be remedied with ear plugs and/or a white noise machine. Barking dogs is part of living in the suburbs and having neighbors. I live in an apartment, and hearing my upstairs neighbor's children play is annoying on my rare days off, or my weird "work 6am-2pm, then 5pm-11pm" days. I do not go upstairs and ask that she make her kids quiet down when I'm trying to sleep between 2:30 and 4:30. I got ear plugs. A fan. White noise machine.

orangehills · April 2013

Have your FI go over in uniform, that will scare them!!!

Hopefully they keep this in mind though. I wrote a letter and left it on our neighbors door, anonymously, letting them know that their 2 dogs barking were a nuissance and if they didn't correct the behavior, I would start the process needed to have them fined. But their dogs were barking til 10 at night in an area where all houses are patio homes right next to each other. Thankfully they listened and it stopped. Someone left a note for us that our dog barked a lot, and I listened, and I keep her inside now when we aren't home. Hopefully your neighbors will be thoughtful, and pay attention as well! If not, FI in a uniform.

PrettyGirlLost · April 2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_nwr-are-my-neighbors-rude?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:1445901a-8f37-4f5a-81c8-da507256925cPost:620052cb-93a5-4dd4-b841-e5576c6f3b14">Re: NWR - are my neighbors rude?</a>:
[QUOTE]Yeah, I would never call the police for a barking dog - especially at 10 a.m. in the morning. I think that's inappropriate use of police time.
Posted by scribe95[/QUOTE]

Depends on what the noise ordinances in the area are. Many cities and suburbs have separate noise ordinances for nuisance animals. OP should check with her DH ;-)

There's no reason a dog should be barking non stop for 1hr.+ Let the damn thing in already!

SJM7538 · April 2013

Thanks for all the feedback ladies! We are actually in western mass but TK doesn't give that option when making a profile. At this point I'm not going to call the police unless it persists for awhile. No need to drag them into it. The longest it's barked so far has been about 2.5 hours and it was barking and yelping bc it wanted to go in the house and they wouldn't let it in. He's tried ear plugs and they don't work. Our bedroom is literally right next to the fence that separates the yards. But since i went over there on Sunday it hasn't been an issue again... yet. I think a this point I almost just feel bad for the dog. She is obviously bored and needs attention and is not getting it. I can let my dogs out and they tire out but there are three of them so they all play together. And as far as my fianc, if he did any other job id probably tell him to just suck it up and he probably would but he hates going to work exhausted knowing his and other people's lives are on the line.

NWR - are my neighbors rude?

Re: NWR - are my neighbors rude?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards