Barking Dog In Garland (Dallas: apartments, renting, crime)

[definingsilence]

I'm about to go insane. My neighbors have a rather large dog that is kept outside 24/7. He frequently will stand at the fence and bark for hours on end. At the present time, he's been barking non-stop since 8pm. It's now 9:30pm.

My fiance is going to go over and talk to them if the dog has not stopped barking by about 10pm (no idea why he's chosen that time, I've already got a headache from it.)

If talking to them doesn't work, what can we do?

I'm not convinced that talking to them is going to work. Their kids frequently refuse to move when I'm trying to leave and when I'm coming home. I nearly hit the daughter the other night because it was pitch black and I didn't see her until I'd started making the turn and my head lights hit her. I've spoken to them numerous times about it, but the kids still (with their parents blatant encouragement) wind up in my driveway.

[FarNorthDallas]

Call the police.

[jaime_mac]

Either call the cops and file a noise complaint or call animal control.

I had the same problem with my neighbor, however we live in apartments. I did have a chance to speak with him cuz he's a really nice guy and we were able to work something out. He leaves his dog on the porch during the day while he's at work but the dog has a house and a huge bucket of water so animal control won't do anything for that. If this dog that's left outside all the time is not taken care of there is something they can do, but as far as the constant barking the only thing I can think of is calling the cops and filing a noise complaint, especially if it continues at all hours of the night.

[TriumphOfTheSprint]

I haven't tried this personally, but I've heard from others that they work:

Lentek Super Bark Free | Super Bark Free | Stop Dog Barking | Dog Training Device | Pet Training Products

[getmeoutofhere]

Steal the dog and give him a home that cares about him instead of the insufferable pieces of trash he currently has the misfortune to be with.

[Dallascaper]

The best solution: Talk to the dog's owner and try to work something out. Don't threaten the owner with legal action unless you actually plan to follow through. Also remember that the barking is not the dog's fault - it is probably suffering from anxiety or loneliness.

I don't know about where you live, but many cities are "dog-friendly"; in other words, the laws are written so that actually getting the city to enforce noise ordinances is very difficult, if not impossible. You can try calling the police, but many times they will do nothing.

I had a similar situation as you, except that my neighbor had four dogs that took turns barking 18 hours a day. I talked to my neighbor, who stated, "but that is what dogs do, they bark" as if the incessant barking was normal. This went on for about a year; I tried the sonic bark thing (didn't work), and I almost spent $10K on sound-proof windows just to get some peace.

Finally, about a year ago, a wonderful thing happened. One of the dogs - the female - died of natural causes. The dog's demise caused the other dogs, all male, to greatly reduce their barking. By last summer, one dog was sold and another was given away, and the lone dog that remained was quiet. Peace at last. The point is that I had very little control - the neighbor knew the law was on his side and eliminated the barking problem when it was convenient to him. But at least by talking to the neighbor he knew that I was unhappy and that may have spurred his action. Good luck.

[fratermus]

Originally Posted by definingsilence

I'm not convinced that talking to them is going to work. Their kids frequently refuse to move when I'm trying to leave and when I'm coming home. I nearly hit the daughter the other night because it was pitch black and I didn't see her until I'd started making the turn and my head lights hit her. I've spoken to them numerous times about it, but the kids still (with their parents blatant encouragement) wind up in my driveway.

GPD mentions this specifically:

From the COG website (http://www.garlandpolice.com/home/departments/public%20safety/police/p08a.htm - broken link):
To more efficiently handle calls, the Garland Police Department established a number to report non-emergency situations to the police. The non-emergency number is 972-485-4840.

A non-emergency incident is one that does not involve a crime in progress; does not pose an imminent threat to human life, major property damage or loss; and does not require the immediate dispatch of a Police unit. Examples are abandoned vehicles and barking dogs.

On a different page (http://www.ci.garland.tx.us/Home/Departments/Community+Services/Animal+Services/ - broken link) the Animal Control folks say:

Dispatch Office (972)205-3570 Press 4
· Please call the dispatch office to report an animal running at large, barking dog, dead animal, animal bites or cruelty.

Call early, call often.

I suspect that talking to the neighbor will do nothing positive, particularly given the feral children playing in your driveway.

I had a similar situation this year where the neighbor kid preferred to play in my driveway. I had to start walking around my vehicle to find him before backing out. Sometimes he would be in his yard, see me getting in my car and THEN come over to play behind my car. Parents watching and unresponsive to my requests to prevent their kid from getting squished. This is the Doritos approach to parenting: "run over all you want; we'll make more." It's common in Dallas; I won't elaborate further.

And their cats loved to back up and **** all over my car and house. Finally they moved out a couple of months ago and my life is greatly improved.

[jobert]

Originally Posted by definingsilence

If talking to them doesn't work, what can we do?

umm...move out of the ghetto?

[FalconheadWest]

We lived next to a barking dog, and calling the police for noise ordinance and also animal control really does work! My neighbor said he put the dog outside because he couldn't stand the barking inside, and seriously didn't know we could hear it... whatever... he ended up giving the dog away because he couldn't get him to stop barking.

[definingsilence]

Originally Posted by jobert

umm...move out of the ghetto?

Luckily for me, I don't own this house, my MIL does and my fiance and I are moving in the spring. Just a few more months. x.x

The dog finally stopped about 9:45 and I didn't hear him again all night.

If that crap starts again tonight I will be calling the non emergency number (thank you fratermus!).