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You have a dog? Your many dog-hating posts on this and other threads make this rather hard to swallow.
Not really. When they behave, I do very well with them (any which I have tried out but didn't like I had no problem rehoming them). It's no different than people who are great parents but still hate loud & noisy kids in a nicer restaurant or movie theatre etc. Heck one of my best friends is a dog lover and is surrounded by them, yet I've visited him and even done overnights at his house and never have been bothered. He's a huge dog lover, even volunteering for free at a local dog rescue place, and isn't as sensitive to barking as I am, yet even he will order his to knock it off if it goes on for an extended length of time. When it's like that, I am totally cool.
I also disagree with people elevating their pets to human-levels of importance, that goes for cats too. (To me that is in fact a large reason much of this sort of thing happens, that and apathy.) In like matter, I find I do very well with our kids but still get irritated when kids are noisy in places like nice restaurants, which is on the parents--control your kids, parents.
OP, I think you ponder a little too much. The sign says to me that they don't want some yuppie types planning to move next door and build a McMansion. And there goes the neighborhood as the song goes. Being an animal lover, I'd worry hearing a dog barking for a long time especially if it's very cold or hot. Blame the person not the dog. Contact the owner, be civil, act concerned the dog is OK rather than be confrontational. Don't leave anonymous notes or make threats of any kind. In the city one can call about firecrackers, loud people and children screaming at the top of their lungs and the behaviors still continue. When you move plan on getting a large enough buffer you won't hear much from the neighbors. Funny you don't mention the large farm machines and the noise they can create. By the way, pigs are very smart and certainly can be trained. In fact they claim they could be taught sign language if they had digits. Maybe you don't remember Arnold the pig from Green Acres.
This has turned into a rant about pets. So really your post is in the wrong forum. You say "live and let live" yet your opinion is the only one right? People could care less what you think about how they view their own animals. It's their life, not yours. You will find that most on the forum dislike know it all types and those that post to rile others.
Now I remember where I first met you, OP. It was in the pet forum where you were talking about how you really did not want to get another dog, but your wife did. You also stated that your current dog is outside all of the time, tied up because it has to live under strict rules in your household. You see dogs as an annoyance and messy. See, now, that would bother me as your neighbor. Especially your "requirements" for a dog:
Quote:
[The dog] is going to need to live in a designated fenced-in area that's about 50 feet in diameter, except when the kids are in there playing with it or my wife etc, or if I'm walking it, which I can be compelled to do maybe twice a week. It needs to not bark or whine, and it needs to not be so upset about being in the fenced-in area and trying to get out. It needs to ACCEPT that situation, and keep its mouth shut, or it can't stay here.
Completely unrealistic. But that's why you weren't going to get another dog. However, it seems that you expect everyone else to treat their dogs the same. So I say again, that is not even realistic, nor is it humane treatment of that dog.
I'm also not too fond of this statement that you made on another thread:
Quote:
There is entirely too much pet worship going on in this country and it's blatantly ridiculous.
That was in response to a news article about how a cop killed someone's dog when it was standing in its own driveway, not harming anyone. I think that you really don't like dogs, and as I stated in the pet forum, you really shouldn't be owning any dog at all.
I have lived in the city, and I have lived in the country. I would much rather listen to a dog "yapping" all day and night than I would the disgusting, obnoxious, stupid sounds that humans make on a daily basis, all day, every day, non stop, in the city. Let's see...dog barking all day, idiotic drunks screaming at the top of their lungs at 2 in the morning...hmmm....
Guess what? Dogs bark. That's what they do. Dogs that live out in the country don't typically sit at home, lounging around all day. They have jobs. Those jobs require communication. How else do you think a dog is going to communicate? That barking that you hear is not the same barking that you hear from a bored dog, living in the city, sitting outside all day and night because the owners think it's a filthy animal that should not be indoors....ahem.
Dogs are pack animals. They will communicate with the pack. They will warn the pack. They will "discuss" the comings and goings of other animals or beings. In some cases, they will warn about impending disaster. They do that by barking. It's not like they can stand on their hind legs and use their front paws for sign language, they have to communicate vocally.
Further, if you think that living in the country doesn't have a lot of loud noises, then I might ask what section of country have you been living in? Heck, way out in the Everglades it wasn't even quiet. Between the frogs, the gators, and some animal, (forget what it's called), that screams like a woman being murdered, it isn't quiet. And I've heard cows. They can get awfully loud, and I think someone else mentioned that it's not a gentle, soft, "moo". Hardly.
People in the country generally are nicer than people in the city. What you won't get in the country is people putting up with a lot of horse spit from people from the city. You say that you are a "live and let live" type of person, but the fact is, when you start complaining about something natural, like a dog barking, you are not living and letting live. (For the record, I don't consider 1 1/2 acres to be "country living", but we all have our own definitions, I suppose.)
When you're in the house, turn on a fan to block out some of the noise. That's what I have done in the city. When you're outside, instead of looking at it as, "this blasted dog won't be quiet!", why don't you look at what you do have, learn to appreciate and enjoy nature, including all of her animals, such as the dog, and as soon as you stop concentrating so much on what you hate about dogs, you can start learning to be more tolerant.
You think I don't understand, but I do. See, I cannot stand the sound of little children screaming at the top of their lungs on a playground. It drives me nuts. There is a reason it drives me nuts, but all I will say is that my entire system instantly reacts as if there's danger, no matter how many times I try to tell it that it's just kids playing. So guess what? I make it a point not to live anywhere near a school, park, or other places where I might commonly find small children. When I look for a new place to live, I look for evidence of them. It's not hard to find, most people leave kids toys out in their yard all the time. So, yes, we all have our great dislikes, but your dislike seems to go much deeper because you have responded, on a few threads, just exactly what you think about dogs, in general.
You have two choices: learn to deal with dogs, and understand that not everyone else views dogs as objects that can be put away when they are tired of them and "want to be left alone", or go back to the city. The way you view dogs is not going to make you a lot of friends out in the country because those people rely on their dogs for many things. They see their dogs as commodities and companions, as well as co-workers if you want, you see dogs as an annoyance. You're not going to be happy in the country.
And I state one more time: Please rehome your current dog. That life you are giving it is no life for a dog. You're being completely unfair to that dog, and you need to find it another home so that it has a chance for a happy life. What you've given that dog is a prison sentence through not fault of his own. There's no excuse for that.
I do appreciate the responses & I am trying to keep mine shorter.
Simply enough, I believe what Consumer Reports said years ago--noise pollution isn't taken seriously enough in the US at times. That's really it right there. If something is a bothersome noise, then if possible it needs to be dealt with as such, not excused with the complainer being told "get over it" or "oh well you moved next to a farm/factory/airport" etc. It needs to be taken more seriously, it really is a problem for the person suffering from it.
Now granted, there are times a person needs to be told "get over it," at times. There is a balance to this--I mean, what if someone said the noise of planes bothers them but this person then moved next to a long-established airport, is the airport to be expected to shut down for that one person? I would say such a person is one that should be told "hey, you moved next to an airport, it's going to be this way." At the same time, I think that there are things can be done sometimes. For instance, train horns. Why do they have to blow them seemingly 10 times in a 30 second period at a given intersection? Wouldn't 2 or 3 toots be enough? Instead they blow that horn over and over and over and over at the same intersection. Is that really necessary?
Also, although it's not a noise pollution issue, I think it rings similarly. To wit: light pollution and smoke. The former: there are places where people consider light to be "pollution" so much that if you were to have a "security light" on in your yard, practically the entire neighborhood would throw a fit. It's taken so extreme I've seen places where people were trying to show me something in their barn and were compelled to use flashlights, scared to even turn on the barn light, for fear the entire place would freak out about "light pollution." However, if a person who liked darkness moved to rural communities where everyone uses a security light, their wishes aren't going to be met.
Smoke: if someone had issues with smoke and smog (think of a person with allergies/asthma etc), they may leave the city for the country figuring on cleaner air, only to be shocked at all the smoke from people burning leaves in their yard. There are options, though, without them having to live in the city with all its traffic and HOA nonsense etc. New Mexico, for instance, as I understand it, disallows any form of home-based outdoor burning. In my case, not that I should have to take it that far, but I understand Italy (or parts of it) take dog barking seriously enough that if you have a dog that barks a lot and there are complaints about it and you don't fix the issue, you can actually go to jail. (Frankly, I think that should be the law on every square inch of the entire planet, but I digress.)
Basically: as long as there are options, and they don't involve something ridiculously expensive and/or cumbersome etc, it's all good. The main thing is that excessive noise needs to be looked at as a pollutant to be eradicated, not as something that's inevitable that needs to be tolerated or "tuned out," that's horse spit, I don't care if it's a city or country person saying it.
The only person who can do anything about this, really, is your landlord (or the tenants themselves, but the chances of that seem already damaged). That's the person you need to talk to. If going on about the problem on a message board makes you feel better (as opposed to making it worse by perseverating) that's cool, but it's not really an abstract issue or indicative of a wider phenomenon. You've got a neighbor with a yappy dog. That's about it.
The only person who can do anything about this, really, is your landlord (or the tenants themselves, but the chances of that seem already damaged). That's the person you need to talk to. If going on about the problem on a message board makes you feel better (as opposed to making it worse by perseverating) that's cool, but it's not really an abstract issue or indicative of a wider phenomenon. You've got a neighbor with a yappy dog. That's about it.
Yes, that's pretty much it, isn't it?
I'm pretty much ready to retire this, but anyway: I wasn't looking to upset any rural residents, and I do agree to an EXTENT anyway that you should be mindful of an area's culture before just moving in assuming it's going to be a certain way. Heck, sometimes the culture or environment itself means things will be a certain way and either you take it or you don't. You don't move to a city with a million people and think that the roads will be easy and laid-back like in the country, for instance. You don't buy a house next to a factory and then act surprised at the presence of 18-wheelers, same thing somewhat.
At the same time, as I said in another thread, people should be open-minded about options and ways to do things etc, and not automatically dismiss ideas just because the ideas are coming from a transplant from the city. That goes in reverse, too--for instance, a HOA is a way different atmosphere than a cabin on 50 acres out in the country, yet even in the HOA environment I think a certain amount of butting out is in order. Where do they get off bugging people about their grass or what color their house is painted, for instance, what business is that of theirs, HOA or not?
Lastly, noise often-times is out & out pollution and during times when it is it should be dealt with as such--not always, mind you. (For instance, that baseball stadium half a mile away from here--that's a "the way it is" type of thing I'd say.) Whether it's city noise, country noise, farm noise, partying noise, traffic noise, barking noise, any noise that can be helped without completely shutting an industry down or making people walk on eggshells, the pollution it can create should be more seriously considered sometimes. (For instance, traffic noise can be helped somewhat by not allowing noisy exhaust pipes and requiring mufflers.)
You haven't been annoyed until you've been kept up all night with stupid cows. They don't have a cute adorable "moo", they can scream at night. Loud screams. Most annoying and disturbing sound I've ever heard.
I can top that (though we hear mooing many nights, and days, as well). Try donkeys. And, just like there's a doggie net, there's a donkey net - the donkeys for miles around will talk to each other over the miles just like we do here, except they do it with sound.
noise pollution
As you talk about noise pollution, here is a commonly accepted definition of it.
noise pollution, human-created noise harmful to health or welfare. Transportation vehicles are the worst offenders, with aircraft, railroad stock, trucks, buses, automobiles, and motorcycles all producing excessive noise. Construction equipment, e.g., jackhammers and bulldozers, also produce substantial noise pollution
Something that has changed in rural America where there are real farmers ( fulltime farmers who make their living farming )
As of 10 years ago, every farm had at least one or 2 dogs. I realized by the time I sold my dairy farm to my son ( 2 years ago ) not a single farmer near me had dogs anymore.
Maybe it had something to do with the liability issue as in any given day there are many people entering that farm.........milk truck, feed truck, veterinarian, breeding tech, DHIA tester, fuel delivery truck, etc )
Many farmers do not want to keep their dogs tied up and realized having a dog was a hassle . After their last good dog died, they quit replacing it.
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Your many dog-hating posts on this and other threads make this rather hard to swallow.
