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I live in a cookie-cutter suburb. My neighborhood is lower to middle-middle class. I have two small dogs, but they are not typical yappy little dogs. We had some flooring done and the dogs were outside for the better part of a week (daytime only). With all the commotion, yes, they barked a lot. But it was an isolated incident. One of my neighbors wrote an anonymous to us, complaining about the dogs. I felt bad and wished I knew who I could say sorry to. About a month later we had a birthday party and as a few of the guests did not like dogs, they had to go outside. Again, with all the strangers and kids running around, the dogs were barking. Two days later, another note came, this time it was passive-aggressive. This neighbor threatened to call the police. I swear, my dogs don't bark unless there are highly a-typical events. They don't even bark when someone comes to the door. They are worthless as guard dogs. After the second letter I was irritated that our neighbors are too cowardly to come over and say hi and let us know if our dogs are bothering them. At least sign a name to the notes, for goodness sake. These neighbors are fairly new (we are original homeowners and know all our other neighbors).
So, anyhow, today someone in our neighborhood called the police because we were backwashing our pool filter and apparently, as per a recent law, this is not ok to do. Even the officer who came over to investigate the complaint said he had to do extensive checking to see if the complaint had validity. So, I was curious if this unwillingness to be neighborly and talk to your neighbor before wasting the police's time was endemic to where I live or if people in general just don't feel like they can approach their neighbors any more. What do you think? What have your experiences been? Would you approach your neighbors about a situation, or just nark on them?
Last edited by CantStandTheHeat; 04-16-2011 at 12:08 PM..
Reason: Type-o
I think it depends on the kind of unruly neighbor I'm having a problem with. If they seem scary to me (which would take real trying since I don't find very many people scary) then I'd skip trying to talk to them and go straight to calling the cops. But if they seem like regular (not creepy or demented) people, I'd talk to them and see what they say.
But, IMHO, people need to pick their battles. Seems like people complain about the stupidest things these days, I don't get it. I'd only complain if it was something that was happening all the time and disrupting my life to the point that I couldn't be comfortable in my home anymore. I'd never complain about noise unless it was an issue more than 1/2 of the time, or often enough that I started dreading when it was going to happen again.
Hi there!
I think everything depends on specifics of a particular neighborhood. I live in a socio-economically diverse neighborhood, which is more the norm here in PDX than the exception as neighborhoods go. What I am trying to say is, some of my neighbors are very middle-middle class, some are highly educated but don't have the income nor the desire to live in a more upper-middle class, homogenous neighborhood, some are renters but most are home owners. We are a mixed bag. The common thread in my hood is that it's mostly quiet. I have annoying neighbors who break the law by letting their dogs bark at night during the Summer months. It has pissed off many of us but we haven't called to complain though we will see about this upcoming Summer. I have called to complain about loud music playing during the Winter months since it was clearly breaking code- music at 2am being played outside. I would never approach these neighbors personally. It is not a matter of being passive aggressive but for my own personal safety plus should I take my small children outside at 2 AM to talk to men that I have only said hello to a few times. These days in urban settings, we call the police because who knows if your neighbors are going to get physically violent. My neighborhood is mostly mellow but we do have transient hipsters who I have never met. Portland has many neighborhoods that may be mostly families but there are apartment buildings and duplexes everywhere, too, except a few of the more homogenous, upper middle class neighborhoods that I referred too, earlier. I guess what I am saying is, most middle class neighborhoods in PDX will be a mixed bag of people and their lifestyles. I am not passive aggressive but there is no way I am going to risk my safety and my family's safety by speaking to neighbors who could possibly be high or drunk, mentally ill, or whatever. Calling the police to report a disturbance is very common here. I like the idea of living in one of the more exclusive neighborhoods because, sure, mostly everyone knows everyone on the block, and so you have less of a chance of people being disrespectful....BUT... I also don't like the "Wisteria Lane" mentality either. Hence, the main reason I love my neighborhood. For the most part we all respect each other but most of us don't want to have altercations with our neighbors for very practical reasons. Hope this helped albeit a bit long winded... sorry...
Who knows why they chose to write a note instead of coming over in person; maybe they've had bad experiences in the past such as the scenarios described above.
If your dogs barked for the better part of a week, that's too much. You describe that as an isolated incident--your neighbors had no way of knowing if it was isolated or not but it seems fair to me that if they were barking for most of a week to assume it would possibly be an ongoing problem. If you're putting them outside to bark while you have guests out of consideration for those guests, you're not showing consideration for the neighbors. A better solution would be to find a part of the house where the dogs could be contained during situations which are might cause them to bark.
They've let you know that it's a problem and while their way of letting you know wouldn't be my way, they're giving you a chance to deal with the situation before they get the law involved. Fair enough, I think.
They've let you know that it's a problem and while their way of letting you know wouldn't be my way, they're giving you a chance to deal with the situation before they get the law involved. Fair enough, I think.
This exactly. Add to it that many believe people in Portland tend to be on the passive-aggressive side so I can definitely see your potential neighbors here handling this problem the same way yours have there.
We had a barking dog problem in my neighborhood. Many neighbors complained to the authorities but not one actually talked to the owner of the dog. He wasn't scary or threatening; just not very good at keeping his dogs quiet. He may not have even known the dogs' noise was bothering people until animal control called him with a report of complaints.
I think this kind of behaviour is just human nature. Most people don't like what they perceive will possibly turn out to be a confrontation. As far as how your neighbors in Portland will behave in a given situation, people are people. I don't think geography has much to do with it.
.... I swear, my dogs don't bark unless there are highly a-typical events. They don't even bark when someone comes to the door. They are worthless as guard dogs. After the second letter I was irritated that our neighbors are too cowardly to come over and say hi and let us know if our dogs are bothering them. At least sign a name to the notes, for goodness sake. These neighbors are fairly new (we are original homeowners and know all our other neighbors)...
I am going to take another track in response to your Post....
From what you describe, the dogs only barked on a few occasions, and during daylight hours. I presume the barking was not the full fight-or-flight aggressive full snarl barking; but more of the "hey, what is this?.. Where is my sofa and blanket, it's time for my nap **INDOORS**..." or "Why Can't I join the P-A-R-T-E-E-E??" type of barking.
But the Key, IMHO, the barking occurred during the Day, when people (and children) are allowed to make noise (within some reason.)
You didn't mention if any other neighbors were affected, or received, anonymous letters complaining about noisy children, cars, or outdoor barbecue smoke & aromas. Nor did you mention if the dog barking was directed at anyone (or any other pet) specific, like a child, cat, or elderly person sitting in a lawn chair, so I assume it was just random non-aggressive dog barking.
My experience is that for some reason, one of your neighbors is so prejudiced against you they are invoking some sort of mild harassment against you and yours. I saw this in one of the communities I lived in back east. (It was a religion thing.) No matter how minor the incident (in one case, retrieving a newspaper on the lawn in a house coat 'n slippers) the harassed lady was accused of flaunting her "Mormon ways" in the 'aggrieved' (read: Baptist) neighbor's eye. Very Rust Belt behavior, BTW.
Depending on the specific neighbors you meet in Portland, I don't think many will care as long as your dogs are not aggressive full fight-or-flight all teeth showing snarl against people (and especially against children) who just happen to walk by your home on the sidewalk or street. And the dogs don't bark after bedtime every night.
But, dealing with wet dogs who come inside after playing in the mud and soggy grass and great a visitor in you home in the way that house dogs tend to do, well.... you're on your own there.
Right. Everyone works banker's hours and everyone sleeps the same schedule at night.
Whoever it was that complained about the dogs during the day were obviously there to hear them...it just could be that they work swing or graveyard shift. Or perhaps they work at home. Maybe they have cancer and are undergoing chemo and need to rest more than what is normal. Maybe they've got a new baby. In other words, without knowing who they are, it isn't reasonable to say that just because it's happening during the day time it's all right. I don't think that the barking dogs law specific to Multnomah County says anything about time of day (I think that the 10 PM time frame only comes into play if there are no local laws concerning barking dogs). Their manner of barking---aggressive or not so much...isn't quite the issue; the noise is the issue. And a quick check into county ordinances show that you would not be well advised to take the stance that since it's happening before "bedtime" that it's okay.
I do feel for the OP, having three dogs myself. But if they bark for any length of time at all during the day, they're coming inside.
Unfortunately some people are just complainers though, and if these are isolated incidents there shouldn't me much to worry about. It couldn't hurt to keep a log of all of these complaints in case it becomes ridiculous and actually does reach the point of being "harassment".
Last edited by Metlakatla; 04-16-2011 at 04:45 PM..
Regarding my story, the aforementioned dogs were not at all aggressive. If you met the owner and the dogs walking around the neighborhood, the dogs would be well-behaved and the neighbor polite. It was only when the dogs were left alone in their yard that they barked their heads off.
I think this would definitely be a problem between you and your Portland neighbors if they felt the barking to be a nuisance. The point I am trying to make is that if your dogs wind up bothering people, don't expect your neighbors to react the way you want them to react especially if you are new to the area. This is not the way to get off on the right foot in a new town.
This is the reason I won't live in "cookie-cutter" homes. With walls only a few feet away from each other, and small yards (again, I'm generalizing,) it's hard not to hear all kinds of extra noises that wouldn't be present if the properties were just a bit bigger.
Somebody puts dogs outside, one of the times for “the better part of a week,” where they bark and disturb the neighborhood. Somebody anonymously sticks a note on the dog owners door to complain about the noise......and I’m supposed to believe that this is the person who is not neighborly??? Sorry, dog owner, I can’t seem to do that.
Somebody backwashes their pool filter, which releases a lot of filthy water (I used to have a pool so I know this), possibly creating an unsanitary condition for a neighbor or neighbors. Somebody complains to the authorities.....and I’m supposed to believe that this is the person who is not neighborly??? Sorry, pool owner, I can’t seem to do that.
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Who, here, is the bad neighbor????.
