Upstairs neighbor's barking dog - do I have any legal recource? (Austin: sale, daycare)

[owlman]

How about one of those electronic anti-bark thingies? I wonder if that would work through a wall. (They seem to get mixed reviews anyway)

[chuck_steak]

Originally Posted by owlman

How about one of those electronic anti-bark thingies? I wonder if that would work through a wall. (They seem to get mixed reviews anyway)

don't those have to put on the dog's neck to work though?

[stan4]

Document (and record - video or audio - something with a time stamp) every episode of this happening for a week.
Submit to animal control. I guarantee you they have a noise nuisance policy.

If all else fails, it's an easy lawsuit to emotional distress if they landlord doesn't let you out of your lease.

[whiterabbit2]

Originally Posted by WorknMan

I moved into this apartment a few months ago and back in early January, the upstairs neighbor got a new dog and started crating it. Since I work from home, I get to hear the dog bark and yelp all day, while scratching on the crate and trying to get out. This has been going on for nearly two months, and the neighbor is ambivalent about it. After the first couple of weeks, I left him a note about the barking dog and asked him to please do something. It wasn't exactly a nastygram, but he complained to management, and now I am forbidden to approach him anymore about the matter.

Austin noise ordinance states quite hours from 10:30 pm to 7 am, your apartment lease might also have something like that. If the dog makes excessive noise during quiet hours and disturbs your sleep, then you can complain. NPC Law Library: Austin, Texas Noise Ordinance. Do other neighbors complain about this dog barking at night?

Otherwise, your neighbor has the same right to live and do whatever it's not illegal in their unit, as you do (you like to work from home, they like to have a dog or a crying baby). Get ear plugs, headphones, rent an office or move to a house. Your office space doesn't extend to the neighbor's unit to push your own policies there. Moreover, he can sue you for harassment if you push it further, as you're already forbidden to approach him. Your sensibilities are not "normal" in this case, as they relate to the condition of working at home (not sleeping).

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by whiterabbit2

Otherwise, your neighbor has the same right to live and do whatever it's not illegal in their unit, as you do (you like to work from home, they like to have a dog or a crying baby).

Not exactly. Barking dogs (and other animal noises) ARE a special case. There is an ordinance against it.

>>>
City of Austin Ordinance on Animal Noise

Source: 1992 Code Section 3-3-6; Ord. 031009-9; Ord. 031211-11.

§ 3-2-2 NOISY ANIMALS. An owner or handler may not keep an animal that makes frequent or long, continued noise that is disturbing to a person of normal sensibilities.
>>>

The catch is, it's not an easy one to get enforced, but it's worth bringing up to your landlord that the law is on your side, and DO start keeping a detailed log of the problem. You'll need it if you have to file a complaint or break your lease, whatever.

Here's a pretty informative article with more details: Barking Dogs - nwaca.org

[WorknMan]

Originally Posted by whiterabbit2

Otherwise, your neighbor has the same right to live and do whatever it's not illegal in their unit, as you do (you like to work from home, they like to have a dog or a crying baby). Get ear plugs, headphones, rent an office or move to a house. Your office space doesn't extend to the neighbor's unit to push your own policies there.

These people live on the second floor, and their apartment is the one closer to the back. Yet, you can stand in front of the building outside and hear the dog from the sidewalk. I understand that people are going to have dogs, and that they will sometimes bark if somebody knocks on the door or passes by the window. But this particular dog is being crated, and I can hear it barking and whining for long periods of time, while scratching on the crate, trying to get out. The poor thing is miserable.

So tell me why neighbors should reasonably be expected to put up with this? Do they have a right to treat an animal inhumanely? If they were playing loud music or something, the managers says they could do something about that. But since it's a dog, those of us who live within earshot are supposed to just grin and bare it.

Anyway, thanks for all the info, guys. It seems that laws in most counties dealing with barking dogs seem to be more sympathetic to irresponsible dog owners, rather than the people who are victimized by them.

[eepstein]

Sir, this IS Texas afterall. You never heard of a SHOTGUN??

Originally Posted by WorknMan

I moved into this apartment a few months ago and back in early January, the upstairs neighbor got a new dog and started crating it. Since I work from home, I get to hear the dog bark and yelp all day, while scratching on the crate and trying to get out. This has been going on for nearly two months, and the neighbor is ambivalent about it. After the first couple of weeks, I left him a note about the barking dog and asked him to please do something. It wasn't exactly a nastygram, but he complained to management, and now I am forbidden to approach him anymore about the matter.

The property manager has talked to him about it, and told me to just be patient, as a new dog needs time to adjust to its environment. So after several more weeks, I told her that the dog is clearly not adjusting, and she said the dog may never adjust, but there's nothing legally she can do about it, since having a barking dog is like a crying child, and even if they took him to court, the case would get thrown out.

Anyway, rather than take her word for it, I decided to look into what the local laws are in regard to barking dogs, and whether I have any legal recourse, but I don't know where to start. The property manager is a dog owner herself, and is clearly sympathetic towards the neighbors, saying that if they let the dog out of the crate, it might chew up their furniture, and we can't have that, can we? She says she can't even advise the neighbor of proper crate training techniques, because that would be like telling them how to raise their children, and 'people get sensitive about that kind of thing'. She points out that none of the other neighbors have complained, but it happens during the day when most people are at work, so they're probably not even home. And even if they did complain, I don't think it would matter.

So basically, I'm being told to just live with it, so I'm done with mediation. I've got about 7 months left on this lease, and feel like I am being made to suffer for my neighbors decision to get a dog.

[someguyatx]

The no bark collars do work but I think electroshock therapy is a bit inhumane. I would just keep pushing management to do something and if you bug them enough they might just tell you to go ahead and move out. Unfortunately some dogs take many months to get used to being crated in a new environment especially if they were a rescue. I used to leave the TV on for my dog and leave blankets, toys, and chew bones in his crate.

[kbchitown]

That's one of the drawbacks of apartment life...either move or wait for the neighbor to. Look at it this way...would you rather deal with barking dogs or a psycho neighbor?

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by kbchitown

That's one of the drawbacks of apartment life...either move or wait for the neighbor to. Look at it this way...would you rather deal with barking dogs or a psycho neighbor?

Sorry, I disagree... legally it is actually the Manager's problem, and the OP needs to put the heat on the Manager to do something to resolve the issue.