Neighbor Claims Disruptive Dog (Bellevue: how much, new home, live in)

[MeinGlanzendMotorrad]

Originally Posted by jpb245

I'm in Overbrook.

So one of a thousand barking dogs all day...

[jpb245]

Originally Posted by MeinGlanzendMotorrad

So one of a thousand barking dogs all day...

Yes, another reason I was sure it would be thrown out. It includes one of the two dogs next door to me that sounds just like mine (the other is a high pitched yip that is at least distinct from my dog's deep voice). I can't tell them apart, but this guy 100 yards away knows it was my dog that is causing his problems.

If I give him the benefit of the doubt, he's making an honest mistake thinking my dog is the problem when it isn't. At worst he's just a miserable old man looking to pick a fight, but I really want to try to think the best of people...

Its getting hard to not take action, but I will not do anything that gives him any more ammunition.

[MeinGlanzendMotorrad]

Having lived in Overbrook (Cortina Way, with two bully-breed dogs across the street from me with their back yard facing my front door - all I heard day in and day out was them freaking out at something or other.) I'm guessing it's the "looking to pick a fight" option.

I could go on for hours about how terrible some of the people I ran into were there.

Like the woman who had my car towed from in front of my house because she wanted to park in front of my house instead.

[Hopes]

Don't confront him. Wait until you go to court. You have time to compile your own evidence, such as video taping other neighbors' dogs, creating a map showing the location of those dogs' houses, having your next door neighbor attend as a witness to your dog's character, etc.

Even if you win, you have to change your ways.

I have two dogs. Two BIG dogs. I would never use a doggie door. There's just no way your dog isn't barking more than you think if he has free run to come and go. Plus if you're not home, you would have no idea how often your dog barked while outside. I understand that you said you kept the doggie door locked after the first complaint, but you are still letting your dog out unsupervised when you do let him out. Unsupervised dogs are not safe from people with bad intentions.

My dogs are NEVER outside without me. NEVER. If they start barking, I herd them back into the house immediately.

Nothing is more annoying than my neighbor's dog standing and barking at their house asking to go back inside. I can hear it, why can't they? How can they ignore their dog when all it takes is walking to the door to let it inside? Even 10 minutes of this is annoying. You don't realize because your dog's barking is like a grandfather clock in your house---you don't hear it, your mind blocks it out because you're so used to it. It doesn't happen everyday, but it's certainly annoying. If they simply went outside with their dog, it wouldn't happen. I wouldn't report them because it's not constant, not in the middle of the night, and I know and like them.

I've never complained about any dog in our neighborhood except the one that lives two blocks away up on a hill. That dog barks out of a second floor window in the middle of the night. After not sleeping, I got up and walked through the neighborhood until I found the offender at 2pm. I knocked on their door. They didn't answer, but the barking stopped. Not answering happened on multiple occassions. I knew they were home because the dog stopped barking. Other times the dog is barking and they aren't home.

You seriously have to consider the fact that you're not as on top of this issue as you think. Is it possible that your dog is barking out the window in the summer when you're at work, out shopping, or out for the evening?

I don't think you should live in fear. But there is no reason for your dog to be barking. You can avoid this by simply being outside with your dog. If it barks, bring it in immediately. If you don't have airconditioning, close your windows when you leave the house so your dog isn't barking out the windows. The very fact you said "isn't my dog supposed to bark at all?" indicates that you do tollerate barking. Neighbors shouldn't have to put up with it though.

I'm sorry if my post seems harsh. I'm an avid dog lover. Love dogs. I'm being harsh because it's important for you to ensure your neighbors are comfortable with your dog living in your neighborhood. People's dogs are poisoned by nasty neighbors. It happend to a friend of mine. That's one BIG reason I never leave my dogs out unattended. You don't want that to happen. That's another reason to never leave your dog out unattended, especially since you already know that you have a neighbor who has targeted your dog.

This is not a war worth fighting if your dog can be put at risk. Definitely appeal. Win or lose, change what you're doing for the safety of your dog!

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by Hopes

You don't realize because your dog's barking is like a grandfather clock in your house---you don't hear it, your mind blocks it out because you're so used to it.

I would so much rather listen to a dog bark -- anyone's dog -- than have to listen to a ticking clock of any sort. There is no way for my mind to "block out" a grandfather clock. The worst night's sleep I ever had was anytime I had to sleep at this one particular aunt's house, because she had grandfather clocks. But any ticking clock has the same effect.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by jay5835

I would so much rather listen to a dog bark -- anyone's dog -- than have to listen to a ticking clock of any sort. There is no way for my mind to "block out" a grandfather clock. The worst night's sleep I ever had was anytime I had to sleep at this one particular aunt's house, because she had grandfather clocks. But any ticking clock has the same effect.

If you lived with it, your mind would eventually block it out. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true.

My point wasn't what was more preferable. My point is that the OP probably doesn't even realize her dog is barking because her mind blocks it out sometimes.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by Hopes

If you lived with it, your mind would eventually block it out. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true.

True for you, maybe. Not for me.

[squarian]

Nothing like a dog barking endlessly, especially at odd hours, to make one absolutely miserable in one's own home. I've had the rotten luck to have lived near several careless dog owners whose beast barked insanely for hours, at all hours, without cease or respite.

I'm glad to hear that the neighbor gained some kind of legal remedy - all too often noise pollution, especially the pet variety, is ignored by the police and the courts. All too often, poorly-framed bylaws and ordinances provide no recourse. And all too often, the animal-control authorities are powerless or unwilling to involve themselves.

Sound carries in funny ways - a slope or a wall can amplify it in one direction, so that the owner may not even be aware of the noise (or at least may claim not to be) while a few hundred yards away there are people going steadily mad from lack of sleep and the incessant jackhammer sound of the dog's insane barking. This was the case in one instance, where the owner put his dog out at night in his backyard, which sloped downward to a creek-bed, which functioned like an amphitheater for we unfortunates on the far side.

The OP mentions being unaware of the problem - which is sadly often true. In another instance, the woman left her dog home all day (and sometimes all night when she was with her boyfriend) in a second-floor apartment, and left the windows open in warm weather. The dog was large, it's voice booming, and with the height of the second floor, the noise echoed off the houses opposite like cannon fire. Of course, the dog was probably just lonely - it never seemed to bark like a mad thing when she was at home, only when it was alone - so she had no idea it was driving the rest of us homicidal.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by squarian

Nothing like a dog barking endlessly, especially at odd hours, to make one absolutely miserable in one's own home. I've had the rotten luck to have lived near several careless dog owners whose beast barked insanely for hours, at all hours, without cease or respite.

Now this is the kind of noise I actually can block out. You got that, Hopes?

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by squarian

I'm glad to hear that the neighbor gained some kind of legal remedy - all too often noise pollution, especially the pet variety, is ignored by the police and the courts. All too often, poorly-framed bylaws and ordinances provide no recourse. And all too often, the animal-control authorities are powerless or unwilling to involve themselves.

The OP mentions that this "neighbor" never once introduced himself to complain in person about the disruptive noise. The OP seems like an educated and rational woman who, if confronted about their dog's apparently rowdy behavior, would make reasonable efforts to ebb it. Why is the first reaction people have "I'm going to call the cops"? Pittsburgh is supposedly one of the last few "neighborly" bastions in America, but now I'm not quite so certain given the string of bad luck I and others, including the OP, have been having living here. Dogs occasionally bark in my neighborhood. I shrug it off as part of living in the city. Ditto loud car radios booming rap music at 3 AM across the street from me. If I DID have a problem, though, I'd go knock on the offender's door and ask them politely to cease and desist. I'd only call the police if they then refused to do so.