Neighbor's Barking Dog (Fort Worth: home, fence, legal)

[Campeador]

I am trying to gauge what the norm is here in Fort Worth. I have a new neighbor who has a dog that barks for extended periods at all hours of the day. It's disturbed our sleep patterns and my work patterns (I work from home twice a week). Several times this week it kept me up at night (after 10:30 PM) and woke me up in the morning (before 6 AM).

I noticed that they keep him/her in a rather small pen; my guess is that it needs some attention/affection.

Is letting your dog bark like this acceptable here in FW?

[catman]

I know exactly what you are going through. I was subjected to three Labs who barked incessantly at close range for several years. I felt sorry for the dogs, as they were ignored by their owner. Finally, the scumbag moved.

If it's a really small pen, the local SPCA might be interested. Otherwise, Animal Control (as far as I know) is your only legal option unless you can reach some understanding with the owner.

[jimboburnsy]

Your first order of business should probably be to approach the owner in a manner that is as neutral and non-confrontational as possible. My own pea-brained view is that initiating hostilities with a new neighbor is never a good idea. If your new neighbor is a generally reasonable, well-meaning human then it is likely that an easy solution or a good compromise can be reached. If your neighbor is not a reasonable, well-meaning human then, by all means, open fire.

Calling the SPCA or Animal Control is overtly antagonistic and will more or less guarantee that you will not have a good neighbor going forward - I wouldn't do that. I had a neighbor who called the SPCA because my working dog often stays in a 6'X15' kennel run in the backyard. It isn't uncommon for him to spend eight hours a day confined to the kennell while my wife and I are at work. He sleeps indoors, knows lots of love and camaraderie, gets work and exercise at least 4 days each week (and goes hunting about every weekend this time of year), and generally has a very interesting and fulfilling dog's life. This appears to be terrible cruelty to some people and a few of these people would prefer to involve the authorities rather than to address a neighbor directly. That isn't effective - that's chickensh*t. Don't be that guy.

[Campeador]

Originally Posted by jimboburnsy

Your first order of business should probably be to approach the owner in a manner that is as neutral and non-confrontational as possible. My own pea-brained view is that initiating hostilities with a new neighbor is never a good idea. If your new neighbor is a generally reasonable, well-meaning human then it is likely that an easy solution or a good compromise can be reached. If your neighbor is not a reasonable, well-meaning human then, by all means, open fire.

Calling the SPCA or Animal Control is overtly antagonistic and will more or less guarantee that you will not have a good neighbor going forward - I wouldn't do that. I had a neighbor who called the SPCA because my working dog often stays in a 6'X15' kennel run in the backyard. It isn't uncommon for him to spend eight hours a day confined to the kennell while my wife and I are at work. He sleeps indoors, knows lots of love and camaraderie, gets work and exercise at least 4 days each week (and goes hunting about every weekend this time of year), and generally has a very interesting and fulfilling dog's life. This appears to be terrible cruelty to some people and a few of these people would prefer to involve the authorities rather than to address a neighbor directly. That isn't effective - that's chickensh*t. Don't be that guy.

Thanks for your post Jim Bob. I spoke with my neighbor about the issue quite some time ago and they were indeed reasonable. Mostly, I wanted to gauge what the common opinion to such a situation was in FW since I am new to this part of the world.

[Rakin]

Can you throw a cheese ball loaded with a benedryl over the fence about 7pm in the evening ?

Just like me & you a good benedryl will give those dogs a good night sleep. If they are small dogs you might cut the pill in half.

We used to do this to one of our dogs when we had parties. Even the vet recommended this.

I'm semi-joking (maybe not)

[CzechGrazer]

Fort Worth has a pretty decent noise ordinance... you can check it out on the city's website.
That being said, I agree with other posters and would concider reporting it as an absolute last resort... it will be burning a bridge with your neighbors so to speak.
They have devices that are supposed to quiet dogs at Petco, PetSmart, etc. Maybe you can nudge your neighbor into a purchase.
To answer you initial question... no one should ever have to endure "a dog that barks for extended periods at all hours of the day".

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by Rakin

Can you throw a cheese ball loaded with a benedryl over the fence about 7pm in the evening ?

Just like me & you a good benedryl will give those dogs a good night sleep. If they are small dogs you might cut the pill in half.

We used to do this to one of our dogs when we had parties. Even the vet recommended this.

I'm semi-joking (maybe not)

Oddly enough, dogs are dosed pretty high for benadryl. Usually 1-3 mg. for every pound of body weight. A 200 lb. human is fine with 50 mg.

[catman]

jimboburnsy: For the record, I tried to address my ex-neighbor in a 'non-confrontational manner', but she more or less told me to stuff it, leaving me no recourse. I also noted one of the poor dogs chained to her fence, standing in cold water around a Thnaksgiving, so I felt justified in taking action. There was no bridge to burn; it was out from the beginning.

[Campeador]

Originally Posted by CzechGrazer

Fort Worth has a pretty decent noise ordinance... you can check it out on the city's website.
...
They have devices that are supposed to quiet dogs at Petco, PetSmart, etc. Maybe you can nudge your neighbor into a purchase.
To answer you initial question... no one should ever have to endure "a dog that barks for extended periods at all hours of the day".

I did precisely that: printed out an add for one of these spray devices, brought it to them and talked to them about it. They were cool, and have made changes. Glad to hear the city has something of an ordinance in place.

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by catman

jimboburnsy: For the record, I tried to address my ex-neighbor in a 'non-confrontational manner', but she more or less told me to stuff it, leaving me no recourse. I also noted one of the poor dogs chained to her fence, standing in cold water around a Thnaksgiving, so I felt justified in taking action. There was no bridge to burn; it was out from the beginning.

I apologize if my post came across as snarky. It sounds as though you and I have been in the same kind of neighbor nightmare. I can still work myself into a froth thinking about it.

No offense intended, I just felt that "staying easy" was adviseable first.