Dogs and Neighbours

fend

My parents fully own and living in their home roughly 10/11years. Living in the country so we have a pretty decent amount of land with our house and also have 2 dogs (cocker spaniels) (Sometimes 3 if I comes to visit for a few days!)

The couple next door are renting and as far as I'm aware, Im about 90% sure they have dogs too. They've been living there a couple of months. Not exactly sure, but a hand-full of months.

Went out to put the window up in my car as it was starting to rain when I hear my very English neighbor roaring and shouting at our dogs shouting that hes going to "slit their throats" and that they never stop barking. Now the dogs don't bark that often, just the usual doggy barking things, like if they see a cat, a car pulls in or we're playing with them, Just the sort of general things like that. Nothing extreme! I stood there and listened for a few minutes as he called us every name under the planet and called our dogs every name. Not to mention threatening that hes going to "slit their throats", "poison them" and "kill them"

My father starts work from the house at around 7am Monday-Friday so dogs are let out in the mornings to do their business etc. The dogs are generally indoor dogs and are really only outside just to make their business.

Needless to say I was pretty shocked and appalled by what I heard from the neighbor (Who im not sure if he saw me standing their or not as there are a large number of mature trees blocking the view)
There is a relatively new fence erected by my parents to stop the dogs from wandering, and its been up for about 9/10months. Much longer than his tenancy. Our dogs have never trespassed on his property nor have ever caused ANY damage to him/his family/his property. It appears that he just does not like the barking, which I have mentioned above, is just not that extreme.

He has never said anything to my parents, or me in regards to the dogs, in fact none of us have ever even met him!! My parents are worried that he might do something to the dogs to harm them like set out poison or physically harm them. From the sounds of it, he is not a man who is willing to have a normal discussion regarding it as he seems pretty angry with the names he was calling us. We have never heard up until now him complaining about the dogs, as I mentioned earlier, our garden is quite a large garden and unless you specifically walk over to the fence, you wont hear him.

Any suggestions? Before my dogs get slaughtered What are my rights here? Talking calmly doesn't seem to be an option here and im feeling pretty abused at the name calling

EDIT: Just went outside there with the dogs to see if I could hear anything else, to which he was calling the dogs over and whistling and saying "cmere til i slit your throats"
Im scared hes going to hurt my dogs, but I know if I say something, a fight will break out. Plus im not one for getting involved with conflict, nor are my parents! If hes threatening our animals like this, and shouting all sort of abuse at us, we don't want to put our home/well beings in jeopardy

Pawwed Rig

Have a word with the local Garda station and say your neighbour is behaving in a threatening manner. They might pop up and have a word with him.

djimi

I think you might need to man up and have a word with him. If a fight breaks out then so be it; if this person is genuine in what they say then how much worse can it get than it is now? Try and remain rational and calm, say that you overheard what he was saying, that if there is a problem with the dogs you would appreciate it if he spoke to you/your parents about it to try and get it resolved. If he gets overly threatening or whatever then get the Gardai involved, but you need to try and sort this out yourself first.

handlemaster

He is entitled to his peace and quiet. Remember their your dogs so you wont notice everytime they bark etc but if your are annoyed by some noise you would be waiting to hear it. Just like the dripping tap at night. You say he talks to the dogs so maybe they understand the situation already ! I assume you only do human speak so perhaps introdu e yourself... mention nothing about the dogs... see what comes up

Arthurdaly

Your dogs are obviously barking and driving this man mental! Why else would he act in this manner? Regardless of how long he is there, renting etc he is entitled to enjoy his home in piece and quiet.

Two sides to every story.

Agreed you need to have a conversation with him before it gets out of hand, try pick a time your dogs have been quiet and the neighbour is not wound up.

Teyla Emmagan

He sounds absolutely nuts, I wouldn't go near him. Have a word with the Guards. Actually, try and tape him first and then go chat to the Guards.

foggy_lad

Arthurdaly wrote: »

Your dogs are obviously barking and driving this man mental! Why else would he act in this manner? Regardless of how long he is there, renting etc he is entitled to enjoy his home in piece and quiet.

Two sides to every story.

Agreed you need to have a conversation with him before it gets out of hand, try pick a time your dogs have been quiet and the neighbour is not wound up.

A few dogs barking a couple of times during the day is just normal countryside noise and if this madman has an issue with it he should move!

Arthurdaly

foggy_lad wrote: »

A few dogs barking a couple of times during the day!

And you know this to be a fact how exactly?

handlemaster

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Have a word with the local Garda station and say your neighbour is behaving in a threatening manner. They might pop up and have a word with him.

he hasnt spoken to the neighbour so how could he claim to.be treatened

foggy_lad

handlemaster wrote: »

he hasnt spoken to the neighbour so how could he claim to.be treatened

Talking about cutting the dogs throats is threatening behaviour

handlemaster

foggy_lad wrote: »

Talking about cutting the dogs throats is threatening behaviour

I dont think it is. If it were every farmer in the country would be in jail.As far as he was concerned he was just talking to the dog he didnt see the owner. I can imagine the guards having a good laugh at that one.... I over heard the neighbour of my parents talking to my dogs saying he would slit their throats..

foggy_lad

fend wrote: »

Went out to put the window up in my car as it was starting to rain when I hear my very English neighbour roaring and shouting at our dogs shouting that hes going to "slit their throats" and that they never stop barking. Now the dogs don't bark that often, just the usual doggy barking things, like if they see a cat, a car pulls in or we're playing with them, Just the sort of general things like that. Nothing extreme! I stood there and listened for a few minutes as he called us every name under the planet and called our dogs every name. Not to mention threatening that hes going to "slit their throats", "poison them" and "kill them"

<snip>

EDIT: Just went outside there with the dogs to see if I could hear anything else, to which he was calling the dogs over and whistling and saying "cmere til i slit your throats"
Im scared hes going to hurt my dogs, but I know if I say something, a fight will break out. Plus im not one for getting involved with conflict, nor are my parents! If hes threatening our animals like this, and shouting all sort of abuse at us, we don't want to put our home/well beings in jeopardy

This is not normal behaviour, OP you should have a word with the local Gardai and let them know this is going on and see what they think.

Arthurdaly

Garda will not do anything so point in contacting them. Keep your dogs quiet and have some respect for your neighbours.

wexie

Arthurdaly wrote: »

Keep your dogs quiet and have some respect for your neighbours.

How exactly are they disrespecting their neighbours?

OP, if your parents have lived there that long they may well know the owners of the house next door? May not hurt to have a quiet word with them to let them know quite what caliber of tenant they have.

Would definitely agree with previous poster saying to get a recording of the ranting and raving.

reach for the stars

Always notice in these type threads its what can i do about the bad neighbour.Its never how can i stop my dogs from disturbing my neighbours peace.

wexie

fend wrote: »

..... Now the dogs don't bark that often, just the usual doggy barking things, like if they see a cat, a car pulls in or we're playing with them, Just the sort of general things like that. Nothing extreme!

reach for the stars wrote: »

Always notice in these type threads its what can i do about the bad neighbour.Its never how can i stop my dogs from disturbing my neighbours peace.

If you want to live somewhere where there are no noises whatoever from anybody else go live in the middle of nowhere. If the dog's are just barking once every so often like OP says then the man is obviously deranged.

Dogs bark, as a matter of fact it's an important reason why many people in the country have them. If he can't deal with it he should go live somewhere else.

* that is assuming the OP is truthful about the dogs just being regular dogs that bark every so often

pwurple

Yòu say the dogs are indoor dogs. Do your dogs bark to be let back in at 7am? Mght be early morning thing.

dharma200

I wouldn't do anything. He Might have been having a really really bad day... Next take you see him maybe spark up a conversation.

Sometimes we all say things or shout things that we don't actually mean. I very much doubt he will slit dogs throats...

Also perhaps set a laptop up and record during the day so you might have an idea are the dogs constantly barking. I had no idea one of my dogs was barking for hours on end until a neighbour pointed it out years ago...

It could be the case when the house is vacant the dogs are incessantly barking or something... I am sure there is a way to sort it out for both of you without going to guards (as if they don't have enough to do lads, for gods sake) ...


Edit... Just read ops edit.... Yep that is odd, I'd have to have a word anyone, people like that are usually bullies, and balk when confronted. Tell him it is recorded on your phone......... And any more threats you will be reporting it and giving the recording over to the guards and the ispca....

nzylo

In a way i would suggest threatening behaviour back, if you own guns then let yourself be seen with one going hunting (like putting it in the car for when your going etc.. dont break the law though) But do a show of force so he would feel like he's messing with the wrong guy.

dharma200

D not do anything with guns.... My god people get a grip

Arthurdaly

nzylo wrote: »

In a way i would suggest threatening behaviour back, if you own guns then let yourself be seen with one going hunting (like putting it in the car for when your going etc.. dont break the law though) But do a show of force so he would feel like he's messing with the wrong guy.

Wow, are you for real? Some mental people out there alright!

nzylo

hehe sorry but things like this make me mad.

djimi

For the love of God people really need to get back into the habit of talking to their neighbours. If you have a problem (or feel that they might have a problem with you) then the first port of call is to talk to them about it, before going to the Gardai or considering rounding up an armed vigilante posse or whatever...

wexie

djimi wrote: »

For the love of God people really need to get back into the habit of talking to their neighbours. If you have a problem (or feel that they might have a problem with you) then the first port of call is to talk to them about it, before going to the Gardai or considering rounding up an armed vigilante posse or whatever...

Stop talking sense.

What with the recession there's hardly any entertainment to be had in the countryside....

I say bring back lynchings

anto9

Barking dogs in an otherwise quiet Country setting can drive one mad .I have experienced similar myself .

djimi

anto9 wrote: »

Barking dogs in an otherwise quiet Country setting can drive one mad .I have experienced similar myself .

Agreed. We are only hearing one side of this story; Im sure if you asked my neighbour about their little mongrel that never shuts up from one end of the day to the next you would probably be told something very similar to what the OP has said

fend

Thanks everyone for the replies. As you can see its a very split down the middle scenario. my parents have lived in cities all their lives and in the past 10 years have moved to the country. As home owners, they believe they have the right to let the dogs run and bark all they want. The garden is HUGE and they most certainly arnt the only dogs barking in the area. in face therr are people who leave their dogs out all night and let them bark. not to mention donkeys, cows, sheep, horses, cats etc... This particular neighbour callled us every name under the sun and screamed that we were basically horrific people.

OldNotWIse

Arthurdaly wrote: »

Your dogs are obviously barking and driving this man mental! Why else would he act in this manner? Regardless of how long he is there, renting etc he is entitled to enjoy his home in piece and quiet.

Two sides to every story.

Agreed you need to have a conversation with him before it gets out of hand, try pick a time your dogs have been quiet and the neighbour is not wound up.

I dont think there is ever an excuse for such violent outbursts, even if OP is in the wrong. He is entitled to enjoy his home...he is not entitled to scream abuse and threaten violence.

OP be very careful with your animals. I had a similar experience with a sc*mbag who loved near me. Had a problem with our cats. One of them just "disappeared" - I'd bet he had something to do with it.

Lemming

fend wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the replies. As you can see its a very split down the middle scenario. my parents have lived in cities all their lives and in the past 10 years have moved to the country. As home owners, they believe they have the right to let the dogs run and bark all they want. The garden is HUGE and they most certainly arnt the only dogs barking in the area. in face therr are people who leave their dogs out all night and let them bark. not to mention donkeys, cows, sheep, horses, cats etc... This particular neighbour callled us every name under the sun and screamed that we were basically horrific people.

Could it be that this neighbour is laying the blame for every dog barking at your dogs feet because they're next door? My parents had this problem with a woman that lived several doors down from the family home; she knew we had a couple of dogs and she associated every dog from the area (urban btw) barking with ours. Such to the point that she came storming down to the house one evening to complain about our dogs barking to be informed that sadly our dogs had been dead for a couple of years ...

Only thing for it is to talk to your neighbour. It'll either resolve the situation or not but either way you'll have tried and you will at least have an idea of where things stand between you and the neighbour.

foggy_lad

This might be of some value

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1986/en/act/pub/0032/sec0025.html#sec25

25.—(1) Where, on a complaint being made to the District Court by any person, it appears that a nuisance has been created as a result of excessive barking by a dog, the court may—


(a) order the occupier of the premises in which the dog is kept to abate the nuisance by exercising due control over the dog;


(b) make an order limiting for such period as may be specified in the order the number of dogs to be kept by the respondent on his premises;


(c) direct that the dog be delivered to a dog warden to be dealt with by him in accordance with the provisions of this Act as if the dog were an unwanted dog.


(2) Before any person makes a complaint to the District Court in relation to a nuisance caused by the excessive barking of a dog, he shall serve notice in the prescribed form, within such time as may be specified in the notice, of his intention to make such a complaint on the occupier of the premises in which the dog is kept.

fend

Update:

Just back from the Vet with my parents cocker spaniel. Shes been posioned with Rat posion. Pretty Bad. There is no posion kept on our property whatsoever. and the dogs cannot leave our garden.

Do the maths...

Vet says to go to the Guards but It s very hard to do something with no proof.