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Deal with minor annoyances--not on my property we don't. I have the right to peace and quiet on MY PROPERTY. In public space, I will give you that part about dealing with minor annoyances (read my rants about people griping about cell phones), but on MY PROPERTY, I shouldn't be asked to deal with noise I didn't ask for that is optional, and dog barking is optional. "Dogs bark?" That's funny, mine don't. I SEE to it that they don't.
Well, given that I live in a condo, where the units are attached it's a given that we are going to hear our neighbors from time to time. My neighbor for example used to clean on Saturdays (again he is retired). One of the local radio stations plays polka music from 8AM until noon. Well every Saturday he would blast it, and we'd hear the base bouncing off of the wall. My wife and I would chuckle, and when I walked outside in the morning to smoke (in the summer he'd have all the windows open) I felt like "damn I feel like I'm at Oktoberfest, someone hand me a beer!" Now, if your property is separate, and someone across the street has a dog on their property barking, well that dog is on that person's property. Again they bark! That is what dogs do! Yes even the most behaved and well trained dogs do. It still isn't enough to get my panties in a wad, and call the cops, or cause a fuss over it!
Like I said, that noise is more than just a "minor annoyance." It's as intensely unpleasant and painful as having your head held underwater. As much as a burglar alarm bothers you, dogs barking more than a minute bothers me easily as much as that, probably more. People just don't understand that--and even when you do explain it, they don't care. You spoke of "reasoning"--well, that's the problem, most such people can't be reasoned with. Their dog is their God--and yes, loving your pet so much that you don't care how its habits affect other people, that is the same as being a pervert--and you can't reason with them even the slightest bit.
Yes some people are just a-holes. A lot of my neighbors are very cool, and we all tend to gather on my next door neighbor's patio in the warmer months to shoot the s*** and have a few drinks. And still some, are just absolute busy bodies that will complain about everything! I have a neighbor across the way who lives in a ranch style unit. They are at the edge of the woods and the swamp. Well, a beaver had taken residence in the swamp, which made the water level go up. Now, the benefit of the water level going up, was the water looked more like a lake, and not a crappy looking swamp, with stagnant water. Also, higher water level means the water isn't stagnant, which means the mosquito population goes down. Well, HIS NEIGHBOR complained about the beaver (which was a pleasure to watch BTW), so the Ohio Division of Wildlife trapped it and removed it! He also constantly measures the distance of the tall trees from edge of the woods to his home! Well, here is a thought! The beaver was there before we were! We're the ones that built on it's space! It wasn't bothering anyone! They aren't vicious! So WTF? Now it looks like a swamp again, and looks like s***! Secondly, if the dude was so concerned about trees falling on his house, why on Earth would you choose a unit close to the woods?
Like the person with PTSD who can't handle firecrackers pops even while such sounds entertain me, I probably have misophonia and it means I am HARD WIRED to not be able to tolerate certain sounds, barking being one of them. I can't "ignore" or "deal with" or "tune out" those sounds anymore than I could "tune out" or "ignore" or "deal with" someone holding my head underwater--and as a human, that matters more than a dog ever will. In public, I probably can't make any demands, I have to cope with ear-plugs, all of society shouldn't be asked to edit their life over my situation, but I'll be darned if I should have to live that way on my OWN PROPERTY. Your noise has no right trespassing into my space uninvited and unwanted. "Incidental" noises such as from your mower when cutting your grass (but not at 6 a.m.), okay, but a dog bark is totally unnecessary and can be prevented. Do it, or yes--it IS fair that you lose your house.
Except the problem is, you can't put a wall around your property to block out sounds. And noises alone should not be enough to have a home owner removed from their home! A renter? Maybe. Funny you mentioned someone mowing the lawn in the early hours of the morning. The way I see it, I love the sounds of summer, so while I'm not exactly a morning person, and a lawn mower may wake me up, if I didn't want to get up, I'd roll over and simply go back to sleep.
What do you all think? I've lived next to dogs that could drive me insane. What would you do if you lived next door to a dog that barked non stop? It's one of my biggest fears in owning a home. I plan to scout out the new home for extended periods during all days of the week and at all hours to see what goes on in the hood.
I do live next to those people. I have 3 different times.
It is an effing nightmare. You don't realize until you're there what noise pollution can do to your psyche. It can literally drive you insane and into a murderous rage. It's like constantly being poked with a sharp stick in your head over and over and over for days and weeks and months. It's terrible. Those people need to be dragged out and shot.
Luckily, this time we got a bigger piece of property and are further away from the dog that is always outside. We also reported them to the police and animal control and they are more circumspect about his constant barking. Also, they only live here part time and take him with them when they leave. Otherwise, I would have killed someone by now.
Except the problem is, you can't put a wall around your property to block out sounds. And noises alone should not be enough to have a home owner removed from their home! A renter? Maybe. Funny you mentioned someone mowing the lawn in the early hours of the morning. The way I see it, I love the sounds of summer, so while I'm not exactly a morning person, and a lawn mower may wake me up, if I didn't want to get up, I'd roll over and simply go back to sleep.
Your ability to ignore annoying sounds is good for you... Others don't exactly fair as well. Dogs barking is annoying after extended periods of time. A band next door playing loudly is annoying too, no one should have their quality of life diminished by annoying noises (for extended periods).
This is why laws exist regarding noise and reasonable expectations. "Barking" laws also exist.
In this case however, the problem here was the owner
A) Did nothing about the dog barking and
B) Ignored legal proceedings
Here's an example of this dog I'm referring to. This was 3 days ago at 1:30am. The mic on my phone doesn't do a very good job picking up the noise... trust me it was loud and clear!
Your ability to ignore annoying sounds is good for you... Others don't exactly fair as well. Dogs barking is annoying after extended periods of time. A band next door playing loudly is annoying too, no one should have their quality of life diminished by annoying noises (for extended periods).
This is why laws exist regarding noise and reasonable expectations. "Barking" laws also exist.
In this case however, the problem here was the owner
A) Did nothing about the dog barking and
B) Ignored legal proceedings
Being an adult (and also living in a condo), I realize there are going to be minor annoyances, such as dogs barking, the neighbors being loud, and other kids playing in the neighborhood. At any rate, some people will complain about anything, be it noises, or the way someone's property looks like when someone doesn't cut their grass, or the property is a little messy. Is it obnoxious? Sure. Am I going to raise a fuss about it, call the cops, call the city, ect....? No. I'm not that vindictive of a person! If you want to live like a pig, rock on! So long as someone doesn't trash my property, or cause me physical harm then live and let live! Now, if said neighbor is cooking meth, then I may be inclined to take issue, because with cooking meth one wrong step, and you'll blow up the damn neighborhood! We had someone in our neighborhood doing it, but we knew that it was a matter of time, as the county drug task force was on him for months, and were getting their ducks in a row to take him down! And they did. Like I said, for me it is important to try to befriend your neighbors, especially the ones close to you in proximity, because you never know when you need an ally. Secondly, there have been issues in the past, but they're solved a lot easier when one is not combative or confrontational.
BTW my neighbor's dog did not bark all hours of the day or night. He was loud though. Then again he was a big boy.
Being an adult (and also living in a condo), I realize there are going to be minor annoyances, such as dogs barking, the neighbors being loud, and other kids playing in the neighborhood. At any rate, some people will complain about anything, be it noises, or the way someone's property looks like when someone doesn't cut their grass, or the property is a little messy. Is it obnoxious? Sure. Am I going to raise a fuss about it, call the cops, call the city, ect....? No. I'm not that vindictive of a person! If you want to live like a pig, rock on! So long as someone doesn't trash my property, or cause me physical harm then live and let live! Now, if said neighbor is cooking meth, then I may be inclined to take issue, because with cooking meth one wrong step, and you'll blow up the damn neighborhood! We had someone in our neighborhood doing it, but we knew that it was a matter of time, as the county drug task force was on him for months, and were getting their ducks in a row to take him down! And they did. Like I said, for me it is important to try to befriend your neighbors, especially the ones close to you in proximity, because you never know when you need an ally. Secondly, there have been issues in the past, but they're solved a lot easier when one is not combative or confrontational.
BTW my neighbor's dog did not bark all hours of the day or night. He was loud though. Then again he was a big boy.
You can keep on with it, but we're going to keep on replying. You've heard from others that they can't deal with certain noises very well, and how failure to respect that can lead to problems. To that end, you keep saying that problems can be solved without police with neighbor cooperation. WE AGREE. The trouble is, the typical dog owner is UNCOOPERATIVE and they DON'T WANT to solve things in any cooperative manner at all. You go over there NICELY asking them to try and keep their dog's noise down, and THEY become combative, THEY do. They just don't care.
There will be "incidental" or "extraneous" noises that can't be helped, sure, and no one is saying people should have to be 24/7 whisper quiet to the point that the neighborhood is like a library. But dog barking is not "incidental," it can be CONTROLLED and SHOULD be controlled if it goes on for more than a minute or two. Period.
I agree about not griping about someone's property state, grass, etc, those don't affect how you live on your place. Dog noises do. They make it to where you don't use your own yard because you know if you do that idiot's going to start barking thinking you're in his territory and you don't that noise raining down on you. Such noise affects a person's psyche, and seriously so--not because they "let it," but because it just DOES. To say they LET it bother them is like saying I LET it bother me when I can't breathe. Please.
What do you all think? I've lived next to dogs that could drive me insane. What would you do if you lived next door to a dog that barked non stop? It's one of my biggest fears in owning a home. I plan to scout out the new home for extended periods during all days of the week and at all hours to see what goes on in the hood.
Quote:
Originally Posted by thunderkat59
Dog owners are urban terrorists.
Everyone suffers. Whether its the constant barking of one or two of them, or the feces all over the sidewalks, parks and our/your property, they effect everyones quality of life. And yes, "responsible dog owner", even though you are carrying that little spoon and bag, everyone sees you not using it unless you know someone is looking.
Why would the owner of that dog ignore a notice from the court? Sounds like she has some issues.
We had dogs but never did we allow them to bark for more than a minute in our fenced in yard
(which they were letting us know they wanted to come back inside) - it's called being a considerate neighbor.
First home - behind us a neighbor chains his dog outside. 13 years of hearing non stop barking- we sell.
Next house, before we make a bid, we drive around weekends and at night. It was quiet - no barking.
Few years later, people move and the cycle repeats -- lazy owners who leave Spot outside barking
non stop.
Now we rent and it's worse than ever. Almost 90% of the tenants have dogs. Some leave them
out on their deck (when it's very, very cold) and they bark from 9pm to 2am. Called management
and nothing is done. In addition they have poop bags which no one uses so when we are walking
to the car it's a mine field of feces (and no way can a person enjoy the nice grounds with grass).
There is one guy who has a large dog on his deck who never stops barking and he even leaves
his deck door open (it's open right now and the temperature is 8 degrees). That barking echos throughout
the apartment complex and the office staff said they will handle the issue but it's been several
months and no action taken.
It seems (at least where we are) that inconsiderate dog owners are the norm.
You can keep on with it, but we're going to keep on replying. You've heard from others that they can't deal with certain noises very well, and how failure to respect that can lead to problems. To that end, you keep saying that problems can be solved without police with neighbor cooperation. WE AGREE. The trouble is, the typical dog owner is UNCOOPERATIVE and they DON'T WANT to solve things in any cooperative manner at all. You go over there NICELY asking them to try and keep their dog's noise down, and THEY become combative, THEY do. They just don't care.
I guess I'm different about it. Hell, instead of confronting them, I'll try to get to know the dog. We have a ton of them in our neighborhood. Perhaps if people would befriend their neighbors more, there may be more mutual respect, and minor annoyances can be overlooked. OR that neighbor would realize "hey that guy is pretty cool so I don't want to do anything to p*** him off! So I'm going to be respectful"
There will be "incidental" or "extraneous" noises that can't be helped, sure, and no one is saying people should have to be 24/7 whisper quiet to the point that the neighborhood is like a library. But dog barking is not "incidental," it can be CONTROLLED and SHOULD be controlled if it goes on for more than a minute or two. Period.
I agree about not griping about someone's property state, grass, etc, those don't affect how you live on your place. Dog noises do. They make it to where you don't use your own yard because you know if you do that idiot's going to start barking thinking you're in his territory and you don't that noise raining down on you. Such noise affects a person's psyche, and seriously so--not because they "let it," but because it just DOES. To say they LET it bother them is like saying I LET it bother me when I can't breathe. Please.
If the dog is next door, why not try befriending it? Or the neighbor. Chances are it's not vicious, and if you're outside and acknowledge it, then chances are it won't bark as much. Put it this way, in the summer when we'd come home from work, our neighbor would have his front door open and the dog would come up to the door and start barking, and then stop abruptly, and the tail would wag as if to say "oh it's just you guys!" And we'd aknowledge him, and say "hi buddy!"
As an pro-animal person, I have nothing against dogs, even the ones who have bitten me. Dogs take on the personality of their owners. In the situations I've been in where dogs have been a problem, the owner of the loud, unruly dog is coincidentally the same guy with the loud motorcycle or something like that. The dog is just one of many ways to disrupt the quality of life of the neighborhood. It's no treat for the poor beast to be 'owned' by one of the lower rungs of humanity. I feel sorry for them and my animosity is directed at the human element.
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