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We just moved into our dream house and our first night here experienced some of the most unpleasant howling/barking I've ever heard in my life. Come to find out, our next door neighbors have a beagle and a hound. We have a dog and allow her outside, but we've always been very strict with bringing her in after any persistent barking - about 2-3 minutes, which is about the time it takes for her to stop barking after seeing a squirrel :-)
These 2 dogs are outside almost all day. For as long as they are outside, they bark - and hoot, and howl, and bark - just wanting to go back in. It can go on for HOURS, and as early as 7am I've uploaded a few videos onto Youtube so you can hear what we experience most of the day... Neighbors Dogs - 11/18/11 - part1 - YouTube
I'm not writing this thread to simply vent, but to ask for your advice. I really DON'T know how to handle this with the owners. How would YOU want an annoyed neighbor like me to approach you in this situation? Written letter? Talk? Another way? What do you think is "reasonable" for me to ask of them if I were to go talk to them:
Not leaving them out longer than 20min?
Not before 9am, or after 9pm?
Not leaving the dogs out when they're away?
I wanna make some form of earnest attempt to 'strike a deal' with the owners that we all can live with before resorting to calling the police (which was Animal Control's only recourse, "unless the dogs are in some sort of danger"). I don't want to get off on the wrong foot with them, but I can't handle much more. My son (2yr old) will wake from his afternoon naps early yelling things like "Mom, doggie in trouble." Or "Help the doggie, Mom." The dogs DO sound like they are in pure agony sometimes! And God-forbid we try to actually be outside in our backyard...then they're even more aggressively barking. We've been here 5weeks and haven't been able to *finish* a meal outside in our screened porch even once yet :-(
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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OK, I have a barker and when we moved into our previous house, my neighbor had two infant sons. I out-and-out asked her if my dog was bothering her or the boys, even though I bring Artie in after just a few barks. (I know that it only takes one bark to wake someone up.)
But you've got the reverse situation. They're not asking you if you mind the dogs -- you're TELLING them that you mind the dogs.
While I would be OK receiving a written letter (I've in fact written one myself about a big bully dog who was left out free in a yard and consistently would come and harass Artie while we'd be out walking), I wonder if other people would find it passive-aggressive. I don't know.
I think talking to them face to face, in a FRIENDLY way (hi! we just moved in! we love our house and this neighborhood! so nice to meet you!) and discussing the pooch situation might be a better way to go. If you go over there and act antagonistic, of course that's not going to lead to anything good. But if you're friendly -- and absolutely DO tell them that your two-year-old is being woken up! -- they will hopefully understand. I would.
As for your list:
Not leaving them out longer than 20min?
Not before 9am, or after 9pm?
Not leaving the dogs out when they're away?
They're ALL reasonable requests. Artie is only out for a short while at a time (albeit 400 times per day!). As soon as he starts barking, I lure him back inside. Before 9am, he has his citronella collar on so that he won't bark. After 9pm, he's in bed sleeping -- he goes out for a last pee just before 9pm and there's nothing to bark at because it's dark. As for leaving the dogs out when they're away? MY GOD, that's terrible. Make them stop doing that!
I agree with DandJ, talking with them is the way to go. I have talkative dogs especially when there are vermin around! However, I don't allow them to carry on and I supervise their yard time. Even if I had a dog door, I would supervise yard time because I know how loud they bark...not to mention the fence becomes invisible when there are vermin around. Fence, what fence? (lol) (I have an escape artist, with hound in him.)
I control the dogs so my neighbors don't have to come to me...but then, when it comes to my dogs I want to be the exception and not the rule. (Like DandJ)
Thanks for the responses! I definitely would approach them in a respectful and friendly manner, catching more flies with honey and all that :-) I just wanted to be sure that what I was asking of them was fair. I've met the wife (who introduced herself playfully as the "neighbors with the beagle and hound,") but have yet to meet the husband, so that's partially what makes me hestitant to make the walk over there :-/
I thought about that perspective that a letter might seem passive-aggressive, but I don't want to only speak with the wife and have her "mis-relay" the message to the husband as we're angry, etc. Or vise versa. So, I just feel stuck! But your thoughts are helpful! If there's anymore beagle/hound owners out there, feel free to chime in!
Are there other neighbors who might be having the same experience as you are? Might try meeting and visiting with others if they are close by since they may already have some ideas about the situation or give you the list of what they tried that did not work. That she introduced herself as the "beagle and hound" neighbor, I am guessing she realizes the problem exists. Maybe before you speak to them, you might try to come up with some solutions to suggest because they may be at the end of their rope with the dogs as many people cannot/will not handle their dog problems which is part of responsible ownership. Think "I know someone who was having this issue with their dogs and they.............." and that makes you a helpful neighbor. Good luck! ***This really happens with more than just these 2 breeds especially since it is more an owner problem than a dog problem.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
17,330 posts, read 33,088,309 times
Reputation: 28903
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnywhereElse
Are there other neighbors who might be having the same experience as you are? Might try meeting and visiting with others if they are close by since they may already have some ideas about the situation or give you the list of what they tried that did not work. That she introduced herself as the "beagle and hound" neighbor, I am guessing she realizes the problem exists. Maybe before you speak to them, you might try to come up with some solutions to suggest because they may be at the end of their rope with the dogs as many people cannot/will not handle their dog problems which is part of responsible ownership. Think "I know someone who was having this issue with their dogs and they.............." and that makes you a helpful neighbor. Good luck! ***This really happens with more than just these 2 breeds especially since it is more an owner problem than a dog problem.
Good idea about coming up with possible solutions. It's just like a good boss always says, "Don't just come to me with your problems -- give me solutions to them as well."
That said, I think it's fair for the OP to ask that they bring the dogs in after they've barked for two minutes, that they don't let them out before 9am and after 9pm, and that they should definitely not leave them outside while they're away because "I've heard stories about dogs being stolen from their yards." (Even if you've never heard these stories, I have... so now you know them too.)
While I think it's a good idea to meet the husband and the wife, that may be intimidating for you. I'm assuming that you, the OP, are a woman, and sometimes two women works things out well without letting a man pipe in. Uh, OP, if you're a man... I did NOT just say that.
Just a warning: Even if they bring those dogs inside, there is a chance that they will still howl up a storm when the owners leave the house. The sound might be muffled because they are indoors. But if the owners forget and leave a window open, you'll hear those howls as clearly as if they had been left outside. When you have hounds close by, you're going to hear them on occasion no matter what the owners do.
That said, I don't think it's unreasonable for you to have a casual talk with your neighbors. If it makes you more comfortable to talk to them both, wait until the husband and wife are both home and go over for a chat.
While I think it's a good idea to meet the husband and the wife, that may be intimidating for you. I'm assuming that you, the OP, are a woman, and sometimes two women works things out well without letting a man pipe in. Uh, OP, if you're a man... I did NOT just say that.
Haha! I'm a woman, and would feel more comfortable with just talking to the wife who seemed very sweet. Thanks so much for everyone's responses. Keep them coming! I'm feeling so much better about this than I was earlier today (when I took the recording out of pure frustration!)
Just a warning: Even if they bring those dogs inside, there is a chance that they will still howl up a storm when the owners leave the house. The sound might be muffled because they are indoors. But if the owners forget and leave a window open, you'll hear those howls as clearly as if they had been left outside. When you have hounds close by, you're going to hear them on occasion no matter what the owners do.
That's a good point, but our houses are far enough away that it's only when the dogs are out on the deck and running around in their backyard that it gets so loud. And I think the one really sets the other one off when it sees squirrels, etc. I just can't handle the loud, incessant situation that you heard in the video - it's not a pleasant alarm clock, especially when I'm pregnant and sleep is a precious commodity!
It's not unreasonable to expect that dogs that bark excessively not be left out for extended periods of time. Many areas have ordinances that directly speak to this, and note cutoff times of day before problematic barking becomes a violation of a noise ordinance.
Full disclosure...I own a beagle mix. Due to his mix of breeds, or perhaps just his unique temperament, he is not much for baying, as beagles often are. He does, however, bark INSISTENTLY when he sees squirrels and rabbits, of which our neighborhood happens to be full...this is to be expected...beagles have been bred for centuries to flush small game out of underbrush and alert hunters to its presence. And alert, he does. There is no real, effective training him out of it...it's what he's supposed to do.
Because I know this, I tend to not leave him out for long stretches of time, especially during times of year when the squirrels, etc. are at their most visible (like when the leaves come down). I don't leave him out much off-leash, period, because he is an escape artist, of the fence-scaling and untwisting-stake-from-the-ground variety. When he starts to bark, I don't let him go long without redirecting/bringing him in. I do go longer than 2 minutes, though...he needs to be outside getting exercise, and if it's not early in the morning or late at night, I figure a certain amount of ambient dog barking is kind of the price of living with others. I wouldn't leave nonstop barking to go for more than 5-10 minutes unchecked...but he wouldn't bark that long, he'd really just bark until the intruding animal is out of his range of smelling.
In my case, I also have neighbors on one side who have a young female pit who lives mostly inside, but when outside on leash or staked, can get barky. On the other side, I have neighbors with two very loudly baying Basset hounds. So neither is particularly bothered by our dog's barking. It's a generally doggy neighborhood, something we observed when househunting, knowing we were getting a dog. We figured, correctly, that we'd have neighbors fairly tolerant of a normal amount of dog noise.
It sounds like these dogs are left out a lot, and left alone a lot. I would NEVER leave my dog outside when I'm not home, for many reasons, one of which would be that I wouldn't expect my neighbors to tolerate the barking he'd do. However...
Quote:
Originally Posted by springfieldva
Just a warning: Even if they bring those dogs inside, there is a chance that they will still howl up a storm when the owners leave the house. The sound might be muffled because they are indoors. But if the owners forget and leave a window open, you'll hear those howls as clearly as if they had been left outside. When you have hounds close by, you're going to hear them on occasion no matter what the owners do.
....this is very much the case. He stays in when we're at work...in a crate. I know that he barks up a storm, even from within the crate, like clockwork every time the mailman sets foot on our porch, even though his crate is kept as far from the front door as possible. He just knows...by smell, by hearing, by the time of day. And he goes nuts. I guarantee that anybody outside the house can hear it plain as day.
Hounds are hounds. None of which is to say that you should tolerate excess noise from neglected dogs of any breed, obviously. But, yes, living next door to hounds is going to entail some noise. It's very hard to fight centuries of breeding, and these dogs were bred to bark at small animals, so that's what they'll do.
I recommend that no matter how you broach the issue w/ your neighbors, bring some dog treats for the hounds, for the sake of good will.
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I've uploaded a few videos onto Youtube so you can hear what we experience most of the day... 
What do you think is "reasonable" for me to ask of them if I were to go talk to them: 
