Barking Dogs Thread (Howe: gated, air pollution, rated)

[L210]

I think you're making this more complicated than it has to be.

[RedNeckRick]

Thought I would post this little blub from our SAFFE officer at out last annual meeting.


Barking dogs that are considered a nuisance (as well as loud music) can be reported at any time of the day. To get help with a dog that's constantly barking, a police report needs to be filed. You can call the non-emergency police number (207-SAPD).

Per Officer Moses Berban, SAPD SAFFE Officer.

[SAAggiemom]

Soviet, I can't help but wonder if you live in my neighborhood??? We have a very responsive HOA, guard house, and night patrol. The same thing happened in one of our neighborhoods last week! Only thing, when the patrol arrived the dog was inside the house and the residents were asleep.
Ouch. Lots of angry people the next morning!
As many people have said the best route is your HOA, then Animal Control, then police in quick order. The pet owner will be angry but you will get results.
I've been on both ends of this so I know

[Bo]

Originally Posted by SAAggiemom

As many people have said the best route is your HOA

And as someone who has served on an HOA board, I say leave the HOA out of it, unless barking dogs are specifically covered in the governing documents of the association. If it's not included in those governing documents, the HOA has no more right to dictate whether your dog barks than it does to dictate what brand of vehicle you drive.

[SAAggiemom]

Ours addresses noise nuances which would include barking dogs.
Generally our patrol can end the problem with a maximum of 2 visits. But I realize not every HOA has a patrol.
The police may seem heavy handed but definitely get results in most cases.
Just my opinion.

[love roses]

Originally Posted by larrytxeast

I am not officially SUGGESTING violence, we have to stay within legal bounds, but I am going to say, I think if a person does out & out kill a dog for barking after exhausting every other remedy, it should be 100% legal for them to do that. The OWNER should be the one prosecuted for cruelty to animals because, to me, they put the victim in the position of HAVING to do that in order to get the peace & quiet they HAVE to have.

Just like if a dog owner had their dog attack someone & the person being attacked shot the dog for self-defense, the victim could do so free & clear while the dog owner would still be criminally liable for using their dog as a weapon. Yes the dog was innocent, but that doesn't supersede the victim's right to protect themselves. To me, the same thing should apply here with the noise situation. To me, a dog owner letting their dog bark & create stressful noise for their neighbors is every bit as much an act of aggression as using their dog as an attack weapon, and just as you can defend yourself from a physical attack free of legal consequences (with the OWNER having to take those on), so should you be able to defend yourself from a NOISE attack.

Peace & quiet are a MUST, it's right up there with oxygen. In other words, if someone was suffocating you, wouldn't you naturally scratch & claw at their arm to get the air you needed, and not care much that you had to get violent to get the air you needed, because well you HAVE to breathe, and after all person was strangling you? I consider dog noise to be that serious & necessary, I MUST, MUST, MUST, MUST be spared of it, NO MATTER what I have to do. It really is that awful.

That's another problem--noise complaints aren't taken seriously enough (unless it's cell phone "noise," which I think is taken WAY too seriously, but anyway), you're typically told to "tune it out." Especially if you have misophonia, as I think I do, you can no more "tune it out" than you can "tune out" someone going upside your head with a sledgehammer. The elimination of the noise isn't something you'd LIKE to make yourself comfortable, it is a MUST. And when things are at that level of being a must, a person can be pushed to do things they otherwise would not, if there is no other way of relief from it. Such people need plenty of proper ways of getting this relief so they aren't tempted or push to do it the IMPROPER way.

LRH

I disagree vehemently. I'm sorry that you suffer noise sensitivity..I really am. My daughter is also sensitive to loud noises, as is my stepdad. However, it is not up to the rest of the world to walk on eggshells around you. It is your responsibility to learn coping strategies when noise happens. A specialist can help too. But wielding a gun and shooting things because they are noisy seems lazy to me. Maybe live somewhere more rural, I don't know. My daughter freaks out if the smoke alarm goes off, but she realizes it's a necessary noise that can alert her to danger. She covers her ears during fireworks displays or if a firetruck goes by. She tells the doctor and us that it only seems to be in only one ear, everything seems "normal" in her other ear. White noise therapy seems like the path we'll take to retrain the one ear.

I think the OP should first try and talk to the people in as friendly a manner as possible and if that fails, call the proper authorities.

[love roses]

Originally Posted by Soviet

Haven't heard any annoying barks last night nor tonight & it's midnight. Hope the morons wiser up & are keeping their dog inside so THEY can be annoyed.

To those who recommended earmuffs & whatnot....the onus shouldn't be on me to Change my lifestyle or the way I sleep. It's the onus on the neighbor (who just moved in not too long ago into a newly-built home) to avoid being a nuisance in public in the middle of the night.

Glad they've started keeping control.

Maybe someone else beat you to the punch and already approached them.

[love roses]

Originally Posted by Soviet

....and it begins anew. 1:10 AM. Are you freaking kidding me?

I've been discussing with my family the best way to go about this. How should we start the discussion?

"Hi, we're your neighbors. How are you? I'm afraid that your dogs have been barking in the middle of the night and woken up my wife, sons & daughter."

What does one say after that?

If they act defensive or negative, I was recommended to say "Okay, thank you for your time." and then move on to administrative/legal avenues.

1. Talk to them
2. If that doesn't work, write a letter to HOA
3. If that doesn't work, call SAPD non-emergency number

Sound good?

My neighbor did that with us, although we were already on good terms. He works nights at a downtown hotel and sleeps in the day. He asked if we could keep our dog in until about 10 because his barks would wake him up. My husband had previously been letting him out at 6 or 7 am when he woke up, so now we either wait until 10 or he gets taken for a walk if its before 10.

[Soviet]

Originally Posted by love roses

Maybe someone else beat you to the punch and already approached them.

Haha, no, not at all. I believe I had already posted an update that I had gone to the security guardhouse and they basically took care of everything a while back. My whole family's been sleeping great lately!

Unfortunately, I have to dig up this thread because of something that just occurred this morning. My grandmother and I returned from the pharmacy & we exited our car & were just hanging around the driveway when lo & behold, the freaking dog WALKS UP OUR DRIVEWAY!! And this was the more aggressive dog, not the calmer one!

Somehow it got out and just walked right up our property. I immediately snapped a couple of pictures and a 6-second video of it moving around as evidence if I needed it. A minute later, a worker who was working on their property comes up to the dog (while he himself was still on their property) and starts yelling "HEY!" It takes 30 seconds for the dog to get the $#&* off my property.

My question is this: if the dog was running loose on our property, that doesn't count as trespassing, does it? And if this happened when my little brother & sister were on the driveway and the dog attacked them, what can I do? Could I smash it's head with an axe and be within my rights? What are my rights if the dog attacks my family right then & there?

Thanks in advance. I feel disgusted that I even have to resurrect this thread.

[Pancho-Villa]

You do what you have to do in order to stop the attack. Humans before dogs.