Barking dog, nuisance neighbor and HOAs (Dallas, Irving: HOA, hotel, attorney)

[TexSun2Step]

We bought a home in a Las Colinas community about a year ago. The back of our house faces a golf course. We have a golden retriever mix that we adoptd from an animal shelter several years ago, and she is a very sweet natured, friendly dog. She is also a hunting dog, and, as we have skunks, raccoons, possums, and other wild animals around the golf couse she does in fact bark sometimes when we have her out. I am sure that she has sometimes barked in boredome, as she has sometimes barked when people are walking their dogs on the golf course in the mornings (which they are not supposed to do).

Since about a month after we moved in, a neighbor across and down the golf course has constantly complained about her barking. The complaints have ranged from notes taped to my front door, anonymous letters (though we now know who it is), calls to the neighbors on each side of us about our dog, complaints with Irving animal control, Las Colinas security called (no barking dog found by them), telephone calls screaming at us, Irving police called when the neighbors knew that we were out to dinner and could not recitfy the situation, and now a letter saying that our HOA is fining us for nuisance barking.

We have a doggy door for our dog, and it is closed when we are at work (most of the time) or gone. In the mornings, I let the dog out, and in the evenings when I come home from work. It is a fact taht the dog does bark sometimes, as she is not a barkless dog, but nowhere near what the neighbor tries to make out.

The HOA Management Office has told me that this neighbor does not like dogs, period. He complained about other dogs before we moved here, anhd often complains about more than one at a time. In an effort to be a good neighbor and placate this guy, I have tried a citronella barking collar, a bird house that emits a high pitched sound, a "dog whisperer," and numerous things. None of it works. We love our dog and have no plans to get rid of her. If the market were better, we would look to sell and get away from this guy. In the meantime, I am trying to understand how one person (two, counting his wife) can be such miserable people and get away with it. I do not believe that they can prove that my dog was barking on the date they said she was. Is this worth getting an attorney and fighting the HOA?

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

I would. He is only going to continue. A friend of mine has a similar problem only the guy is next door. She has been home at the times he complained about and her dog was inside with her.

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[CSD610]

I would tell the HOA and the non dog friendly neighbor to stuff it. You have a dog, dogs bark, fact of their nature. As long as it is not excessive should not be a problem.

I wouldn't live anywhere with a HOA anyway or neighbors that close to me. There is no way I am going to allow some yutz with a HOA tell me what color I can paint my mail box and an even bigger yutz neighbor to bully me into getting rid of my dog or selling my home and moving.

We were at a hotel once where a complaint was made to the front desk about our barking dog. Our dog doesn't bark, anyway while the hotel manager was in our room with us and our dog another complaint was called in about our barking dog....hahaha.........the manager then discovered the one complaining is the one who had the barking dog across the hall from us and had NOT told the hotel they even had the dog with them. They and their barking dog were escorted out of the hotel and we enjoyed the rest of our stay at 1/2 price for the inconvenience of being bothered. It was great.

[BigDGeek]

I got a pissy anonymous note on my door a while back complaining about my Maltese's "nuisance barking". They alleged that my dog was outside 14 hours a day barking constantly. Uh, no...that would be the people BEHIND me, whose two large dogs basically live outside and bark a lot.

Bottom line, some people are miserable self-absorbed d-bags who can't take the sound of a single bark. You are doing pretty much everything you can but I would close the doggy door down for good if I were you. Aside from being a security hazard and a portal for unwanted fauna, it also just gives your neighbor ammunition. Don't allow your dog outside unless you are home.

[TexSun2Step]

You guys are too funny :-) We keep the doggy door closed unless we are home, and then call her in if she starts barking. The time they called the police, we had gone out to eat and forgotten to close the doggy door. They called screaming at us, and when we told them that there was no way we could get back across Dallas in a few minutes, they said they were callilng the police. And they did. The police did not find a barking dog (good girl) The HOA publishes a neighborhood directory with everyone's name, map, address, phone number, etc. Probably a good idea at one time, but I don't think I like that.

[MckinneyOwnr]

If they persist in reporting you to the police and HOA, and if the police have failed to find a barking dog on multiple occasions, then I would hire an attorney and file harassment charges and see how they like it.

Not sure if you are the confrontational sort, but if I were you I'd go over and hand them a typed, dated, letter detailing your side of the story, and detailing what actions you will take if they continue. Do not say a word to them, end the letter with a statement saying that any further harassment by them will result in a lawsuit.

At this point, they may be threatening to fight or verbally threatening you, which is why you bring a small recorder hidden in a shirt pocket so you can record their reaction. If it does come to a lawsuit, now you have on record that they've threatened you physically, and that will pretty much win you the case.

[trc_everything]

Sounds like this guy is the one that needs to move, not you. You should encourage all your neighbors to adopt dogs of a very vocal breed to expedite the process

[loves2read]

Agree that this person is probably borderline irrational on other fronts as well
IF you have people/neighbors walking their dogs on the golf course against the rules of the golf course and probably the HOA does this neighbor report them as well? Or has s/he singled YOU out as primary focus of complaints?

We had problem in Bedford before we moved (and one reason that we finally decided to do just that) with someone reporting our dog (min-schnauzer) as barker...
Like yours, she was outside and she would bark at squirrels which would run along the fence and tease her or bark when other dogs in the neighborhood would bark--and there were several in our immediate area...
The first time we got the note on the door from Animal control and I called about it--
they said the person called to report our dog barking at a time when our dog was IN THE HOUSE and we were home...I explained that to the Animal Control person and he was pretty nice

The second time I was walking my dog and came home to find the Animal Control person coming to the door to leave another complaint notice...this person was young and female and we talked for quite a while...my dog sat on the grass and never barked during the entire conversation--even to say "hello" to her...I explained that my dog would bark if/when she was outside and that since we got the first complaint we had stopped leaving her outside (nice spring weather then) when we went out...
She said that so far the person calling had not given a name or address--but that for a third call, the person making the complaint would have to come down and SIGN a complaint form with their name/address...so we would know who the person was...
At that point, a citation would be issued that would require a court date--
IF the judge found that our dog was a nuisance with the barking there would be a fine--
that at the court date we could present our side of the story with any other evidence we had...

Well--needless to say that the person making the complaint never called back a third time--
did not want to give name and address--

we had lived at that house for 20 yrs at that point--were on our third dog--all schnauzers--
and NEVER had a complaint from Animal Control about any dogs' barking before
I asked some of our neighbors if they had called Animal Control about our dog barking and they said no--some of them had dogs themselves so don't think they were the caller

we have strong suspicion that the person doing the calling were people who move into house catty-corner to ours (with no pets) but who parked their large RV on the street for several days at a time during the year--totally against the HOA rules...and played Christmas (religious) music outloud on their speakers that we could hear inside our house at times...which we could have but did not report to police since it violated the HOA noise rules...

They were just snots--very convervative/opinionated who moved from Pecan Plantation in Granbury because their neighbors "drank too much"--meaning they had drinks at their social gatherings in the neighborhood...

This person is a bully--just that simple--and right now no one is calling him/her to account for their actions...bullies persist in their actions until someone confronts them...
I don't know what the Las Colinas city policy is about getting calls about dogs barking--
you should find out specifically what the city ordinance is
I would also keep a calendar of the dates/times that your dog is outside and when she IS outside tape her barking--if there is any--with a video camera or your phone...

Since you know where this person lives, have your spouse go to that address, stand outside, and also tape/record what you can hear--
you might not be able to really hear anything--this person might just know your habits and guestimate when your dog is barking...or hear another dog and think it is your dog...
but if you are going to file harassment charges then you need some evidence to prove your neighbor is not making viable complaints--

One of the complaints made against our dog was at time when she was in the kennel...duh!

PS you mentioned telephone calls "screaming" at you--you should try to record ANY phone calls where the caller shows that type of anger/hostility--
1- because it definitely proves the harassment of the behavior and
2--because those calls can be traced/used to prove that it is the person you are complaining about--
I am sure if you were to confront them legally they would deny making more than 1 or 2 calls and none that were "harassing" in nature...

[txgolfer130]

There are several things you can do:
1. install video cameras to verify that the time and date of the infraction are indeed related to your dog.
2. Attempt a more rigorous training process for your dog.
3. Since you know who it is, inspect their property on "walk by's" w/ your dog for their own violations. A tit-for-tat situation. Most people will have at least 2-3 if all HOA regulations are followed to the letter. Most people will get the hint.
4. Sue them for harassment as mentioned. Your noise nuisance ordinance states

Unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise emitted by an animal or bird for which a person is responsible.

I would get a noise meter and measure the decibel level. If it's not above the decibel level of 70db from his yard, then it would not be a "nuisance". Dogs bark. That's not "unreasonable" for a dog to bark. If the dog barks continuously (or longer than 30 minutes) that would be a different 'dog' all together.

[LQQKOUT]

That is why I no longer live in a HOA community. Dogs bark period. I would move as soon as you can.