What do you think about neighbors who complain about other people's pets?

Question

If you've been following me long enough, then you may or may not remember that my Dad's dog was killed last year by a truck driver. Prior to that, one of our neighbors had complained about the dog's "loud" barking. So we started bringing her inside more (particularly at night). At least half the people on my street have either dogs or cats (these particular neighbors also have a dog of their own) and there's a separate garage between both of our houses — it's not like we're right next to each other, so I don't know why we were being singled out.

Fast forward to now: My mom has a new little puppy that we also probably keep inside way too much just to try to keep the peace. 🙄

FunkyMonkee · Accepted Answer

I love dogs, I've had one all my life until about 10 years ago when Murphy died. I'm not sure about Zippy, the dog we had in the `60's and `70's but, with every dog we've had since then, we could open the front door (in a residential area!) and just let her go out onto the front porch by herself, no leash or tether, and she would either just sit on the porch or wander around in the yard a bit and THEN go sit on the porch, and we knew she'd never run away, chase anything but a squirrel up a tree or bark at anyone!! The only time she DID bark is BECAUSE there was a squirrel!! I don't even think she would bark at other dogs walking by! She might walk off the porch to go smell them, but that's as far as it went. We could leave her out front for hours!! When she wanted in, all she had to do was come to the door and bark once or twice.
Well, the neighbors up here, where I live, now, all have dogs and every one of them barks every time ANYTHING goes by!! The one on my right screams its head off at NOTHING!!! The old woman that lives next door let's it out and, as soon as she opens the door it runs to the end of the yard and screams its head off for 20:00!!! She does NOTHING to stop it!!! This happens at all hours of the day or night!!! The guy across the street has two little yappers that bark at EVERYTHING but, his solution for this is to chase after them and loudly whisper at them to shut up! Sometimes he'll shoot them with a squirt gun. 5:00 later, they're at it again!! The woman on my left at least puts SOME effort into stopping her dog and, for the most part, it only starts barking when those other two start!!
Dad had a very simple solution! When they're young and start doing something (like barking) that you don't want them to do, keep a loosely rolled up newspaper handy. If they do something "bad' slap your leg or your hand with the paper and tell them, "NO!", or whatever stern phrase you want to use. They don't like the sound that paper makes. You never HAVE to hit them! So, after you get them trained, they should be okay and you won't even need the paper anymore if they DO act up. I'm not sure if this works on smaller dogs, though. They have a smaller heart, which means their blood pumps a lot faster, which tends to MAKE them high-strung by nature!

Red_Arrow · Accepted Answer

Mixed feelings. Our neighbor has two dogs that will bark at sounds that disturb them. They are being protective. There are townhomes close to us, so lots of kids playing, loud talking, lawn maintenance, etc. Every time I move the garbage and recycling bins behind the house, they start barking. I just speak to them (close fence boards so hard to see) and they quiet down. Sometimes they are where I can see them between the boards and they will start wagging their tails like crazy when I talk to them. But I would not like it during the night. They stay inside at night, outside most of the day. If someone is thoughtless enough to leave pets out at night disturbing other people, I will complain,

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

I live in a nice secluded neighborhood, and on top of that, in a cul de sac with few neighbors. Then we got new neighbors who had a dog who barked consistently without interruption for HOURS at a time each day. Most of my neighbors have dogs but they only bark occasionally like if the mailman or strangers are walking by but not HOURS. How does one expect to ignore that? Even before the pandemic, I worked from home. It was extremely disruptive and I could never get any peace and quiet after the neighbors moved in. This lasted for 3 solid months before thank god they got rid of the dog. I KNOW I am lucky. For others, not so much. A neighborhood does not just belong to you and your pet. I would feel the same way if I had neighbors who played loud music or had loud parties everyday. As long as you are respectful in your approach to a complaint with your neighbor, I think they should make some attempts to rectify the situation either with training, removal, or getting a dog sitter because that's not normal for dogs and it's annoying for everyone else.

JosyJosy · Accepted Answer

I honestly don't care much. Like my parents' neighbours have a dog who will bark at everyone who passes by, and they complain that it's being loud, but honestly I feel safe with a dog like that nearby. Keeping the neighbourhood burglar free, one bark at a time

BlueBex · Answer

Okay, to start off, for the record I love dogs and I have two of them. One of them is definitely more “barky” than the other one.

That said, I think if the neighbour is complaining about barking in the middle of the night or in the early hours of the morning (and your dog is actually barking at those times) then it’s a valid complaint. Hell, I find it annoying when my dogs (or other peoples dogs) bark at those times and I signed up to have dogs, someone who didn’t sign up to deal with a dog has a valid reason to be irritated by it.

If the barking is happening during normal daylight hours and isn’t constant then they should be able to deal. But yes, even during daylight hours, constant yapping is annoying (and again, one of my dogs has a tendency to be yappy). If it’s a consistent issue and your dog is actually continuously barking then it’s up to you as the owner to train the dog to stop or reduce the barking. It’s totally doable (I’ve done it) and there is plenty of information available on the internet on how to do so.

Anonymous · Answer

Honestly, people that hates dogs shouldn't live in a neighborhood where 90% of b dog owners live there. I think that there's always going to be someone who complains about everything. wether it's dogs or not. Sometimes I believe that if they're not complaining, they'll explode.

I'm so sorry about your dog. It's really sad. I wish there were laws against people who purposely kill pets. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 Your dog is now watching over you in dog heaven. She's thankful for having a very good family.

In my neighborhood, the ones who complain the most about dogs are old people. They've started throwing broken glass on grass (especially places where dogs go to play or do their business). I've also been followed by neighbors, watching if I pick up my dog's poop and constantly being shouted to pick my dog's poop when my dog is peeing. I mean, picking poop is a law, as well as not leaving trash yet they leave trash on the streets most of the time.

I've also seen a video where a woman tried to shoot a dog, but instead shot her son. I don't want to be mean but I felt a little happy for her mistake. OF COURSE POOR CHILD, I don't mean anything bad for him... but still...

Apple1996 · Answer

I am one of those people that complain. So many people dont properly watch/take care of their dogs. I've had many many issues like their dog won't quit barking, the dog isn't on a leash and runs up on my kids and worst was when my neighbors in the duplex let their 4 dogs shit and piss all over the house and the smell came through the walls. If peoples dogs are doing those things I'm gonna say something, if they seem controlled then they dont bug me. But neighbors do have a valid reason to complain if the dog is being annoying.

hahahmm · Answer

You can train pets to do anything you want. Most people are too lazy/busy to bother but if you wan to have an animal that would be happiest in a huge forest, living in the suburbs it'd be a good idea to teach it some manners that work better with neighbors.

By the way, when I was a kid there were no leash laws. People let their dogs roam by themselves all the time and you never even heard of people getting attacked because the dogs had been taught manners from a young age. The only time I ever had a problem with a strange dog was somebody else's very young puppy but their bite won't even break the skin so not a big deal. Today, a lot of people's dogs are barely trained at all. They're practically rabid zombies. It's ridiculous.

ImSparkly · Answer

We have two dogs that are well behaved and don’t bark at blowing leaves. Conversely, our neighbors back home have three small dogs (terriers and smaller) that bark at the wind, bark at us sitting outside having dinner, and snarl at our dogs. They leave for hours at a time (work or recreation) and leave the dogs alone outside. We haven’t complained to the city yet as we have been gone for almost a year now, but don’t have any problems doing so if we go back. It’s bad owners who are irresponsible, and not training their dogs.

nolabels · Answer

I just lost my favorite dog to cancer two weeks ago at the age of 12 years.
I'm still heartbroken.

He was an extremely yappy little guy when he was younger, but settled into a somewhat quieter later life.
I would have neighbors mention it occasionally. I was always extremely apologetic and would curtail his outdoor excursions somewhat until he seemed to quiet down.

On the flip side, I've had neighbor dogs who bark incessantly, but I never said a word about it. I want to, but I just don't want to be "that guy".

GoodGuyBreakingBad · Answer

I've lived in a neighborhood and this neighbor who lived across the street
claimed to be a Christian person but she would turn us in for everything
for dogs we had, for cats, we had ducks for my little niece, and she
called the City on them, she would call the City for us to clean up
our backyard up and there wasn't much wrong with the yard
Our leaves from our Tree went over to her side of the street and
she handed my mom ( late) a rake and garbage bags to pick
them up on her side of the street, yes this woman was a
royal biatch on wheels so people are assholes and sorry
for your dad's dog , people are vindictive (( Hugs ))

Slartybartfast · Answer

The neighbors have several large dogs, unfortunately they don't clean up the yard and just let them use it as a toilet.

I can't even open my windows because of the smell of dog poop and the flies are terrible.

They also leave for work at 4am and put the dogs out , who immediately start barking and don't stop till they get home.

I like dogs, I hate irresponsible dog owners.

pjf1958 · Answer

I live in San Bernardino Ca. We have a predominantly latino population. Many of the families that live here have dogs. Many times I have felt threatened by their dogs, because they won't ensure that they are properly fenced up. Im not talking about chihuahua's, Im talking pit bulls. I have had confrontations with some of these homeowners. We couldn't communicate because of the language barrier. Is their a lack of understanding American laws concerning the proper fencing of dogs? Are the same laws in Mexico different?

sawno · Answer

I am that neighboor. Next to me is a retarded dog that will bark and howl nonstop if my neighboor isn't home and i need to be able to rest to recover from an injury. I don't mind my other neighboors dog, it barks occationally. But 2 hours of nonstop barking and howling when she's not home, and regular barking outside anytime the dog hears anything is not ok.

Leavesbound · Answer

As cute as your dog may be, barking is unacceptable. If your dog barks loud enough for your neighbor to hear you are either too close to your neighbor or should not have a dog in that neighborhood. Also, as a general rule of thumb, dogs need lots of outdoor space to run around and that should be approximately one acre for ever hundred pounds of dog. Your dog should be no less than 200 feet per hundred pounds away from your nearest neighbor as well.

MasseurDeMojo · Answer

It sounds like they did not like your dad's dog. I would of gone to the authorities, and told them what is going on, and then asked them for help. If your dog is not being loud, and you are following State regulations, then the neighbors have no right to complain; and that becomes a case of harassment.

You really need to look into this legally; then file against the neighbors!! They cannot dictate to you where you house your pets. They are in the wrong!!!

InfobotLives · Answer

I think that they should shut the fuck up. People think that they have some kind of right to silence. I would look for anything and everything to complain about them. Building regulations, public health violations, anything. I'd say that they keep their kids in a dungeon 😏

kkirk4442 · Answer

If a dog is barking at night, or barking a lot during the day, it can be very annoying to neighbors. We've owned dogs, and were always careful to keep them from barking when it could be bothersome to others.

Still-alive · Answer

Thats pretty fucked up that your dog was killed. I think complaining is ok as long as its done tactfully and respectfully. I also have a yappingg dog near by who thankfully shits up at night lol. But if it didn't i would go over there and just calmly explain that i need to sleep and the dog yapping through the night needs to stop.

anyways im happy for your new puppy. Hope this time it lives much longer

Ninjazzed · Answer

My neighbor’s dog barks every morning near my window.

Don’t leave your pets outside all-day and fucking everyday.

If this problem persists, and you receive plenty of complaints from everyone in the neighborhood, then don’t be surprised if you wake up and end up with a dead dog.

This tends to happen more often than not.

collie22 · Answer

i wouldn't try to judge probably two sides to every story. I'm sorry that happened to your doggy i would be so sad if anything happened to our Rex he's such a good dog. We don't complain about our neighbors dog barking even though its quite annoying. i figure the neighbors sheepdog its neglected

Twalli · Answer

Pets are not like humans. They make noise to communicate. For example my dog has distinct barks for different things. Fear, joy, play, let me in, etc. Most people here though have, or had dogs. They're generally understanding, because when they had a dog it was the same way. I once had a neighbor's dog follow me a decent way down the sidewalk because it smelled my Subway sandwich and I didn't mind at all.

Slim57 · Answer

Its not as bad when they're your pets but to other people who dont know your pets the barking is insane with some dogs where it will drive anyone crazy when they're trying to sleep

Éhmîë · Answer

🤔🤔🤔I think that maybe they didn't like the way ur dog barked not mainly the dog in general. Sry 4 the loss of it by the way. Wish u get to have more of them😊

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