New neighbour, barking dog

LFCFan

We got a new neighbour around 5 months ago. A middle aged couple who seem(ed) friendly and approachable. They also brought their German Shepard dog which is probably no more than a year old. They have a huge cage with a bit of a run built out the back for her. Pretty much every single day since they moved in the dog has been barking. Like clockwork from around 7-8 in the morning, a regular intervals during the day and at night at different times, waking up the whole house. We have a 13 year old in 2nd year constantly being woken and it's affecting his sleep. We let it go till now because it's a pub and I thought it might die down. Today my gf approached the neighbours about it and they denied that the dog every barks and that they sleep at the back of the house and hear nothing. Blatant lie. The dog would wake the dead she's at it so much and not a whiny bark either, a deep loud irritating bark. She explained about her son in the back room and even though they deny the dog barks, they suggested we swap rooms with him. I really thought they would be more approachable and willing to listen. They have CCTV installed at the front and back of the house and 'Guard Dog' signs up too. They seem to be paranoid about security and seems the dog was bought with this in mind. Make no sense as the estate we live in is a very quiet estate with mostly young, working home owners.

I'm going to start documenting all the barking with video etc and approach them again in a few weeks but I wanted to get any advice at this early stage of the problem as we really don't want this to escalate. Thanks.

Ken.

Do not point a camera into your neighbours back yard or you could be in trouble.

LFCFan

ken wrote: »

Do not point a camera into your neighbours back yard or you could be in trouble.

Ok, so I'll just record out the window pointing at my own garden and record the sound of the barking. They can just claim then that it's some other dog then. How do I document the barking without evidence?

They have a CCTV camera out their back. How do I know the full coverage of that camera? It could be recording part of our back garden for all I know?

Deise Vu

Dog owners are required to give up a dog if it is making excessive noise:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/environment/animal_welfare_and_control/control_of_dogs.html

However, like everything that turns adversarial in this country I can only wish you luck.

tk123

I'd record it and show it to them along with a log of when the dog is barking and if still no joy tell them you'll be taking it further. You've really already done your "duty" by being civil and approaching them first.

Autonomous

Get an anti-barking device, give it a blast every time it barks. It will associate the discomfort with its barking and learn to stop....hopefully.

Knine

Do you know your new neighbour's background? The reason I ask is that I had a break in last week & if you have been fortunate to never experience that horror & violation you feel then you won't understand their need for feeling secure in their own home.

Btw my own estate is very quiet too. I never thought it would happen to me.

Record the dog barking & play it back to them.

italodisco

10 nurofen will do the trick

DBB

italodisco wrote: »

10 nurofen will do the trick

No, no it won't.
But what will do the trick is a forum ban for you, because that's what happens when people breach the forum charter by advocating poisoning pet animals.
Thanks,
DBB

codie

ken wrote: »

Do not point a camera into your neighbours back yard or you could be in trouble.

A permanent cctv camera probably yes but not a camcorder.The OP is standing in their own property-you can do whatever you want once in your own property and the reason is to build a case against the dog owners.

surpy

LFCFan wrote: »

Ok, so I'll just record out the window pointing at my own garden and record the sound of the barking. They can just claim then that it's some other dog then. How do I document the barking without evidence?

They have a CCTV camera out their back. How do I know the full coverage of that camera? It could be recording part of our back garden for all I know?

for their camera, if they aren't being civil -
http://www.dataprotection.ie/docs/Data-Protection-CCTV/242.htm
fines for non compliance are high and the DPC investigate this stuff thoroughly

for your own issue, if they genuinely believe the dog isnt making much noise, they may accept the cctv recording when presented with it.

if they dont accept it, the council will investigate properly when you make a formal complaint and can confirm whose dog is making noise etc

codie

Contact the dog warden.They will tell you to have a chat with the neighbors first and if not resolved get back onto them and they will pay a visit.You have all ready done this and it hasn't worked out so I'd ring the dog warden.A visit from the warden might do the trick and let them know you are not prpared to be messed about.

DBB

Deise Vu wrote: »

Dog owners are required to give up a dog if it is making excessive noise:

That is an absolute worst case scenario. There are several less extreme options available to the judge before ordering the removal of the dog. It could take years to get the op's problem resolved via this step.
OP, you've taken the first step by approaching them about the problem.
The next step, if necessary, is to fill out a complaint form with the county council.
This may, depending on the council, elicit a call by the warden to the dog owners.
If no joy at this point, it escalates to court, so gathering evidence (legally!), which includes contemporaneous notes via a diary, is a good idea.
The crappy thing about these situations is that the poor oul dog often suffers, because instead of addressing the underlying cause (boredom, loneliness), they stick a bloody shock collar on the dog to try to quieten them. As a result, that underlying anxiety is not only not dealt with, it's often made worse because the dog now has a shock to the neck to deal with when it tries to express its anxiety.
Female sheps are generally not the best guard dogs in any case. It'd be kinder of them to rehome her, or bring her inside for some social contact, and get themselves a very good monitored alarm system.

codie

DBB wrote: »

That is an absolute worst case scenario. There are several less extreme options available to the judge before ordering the removal of the dog. It could take years to get the op's problem resolved via this step.
OP, you've taken the first step by approaching them about the problem.
The next step, if necessary, is to fill out a complaint form with the county council.
This may, depending on the council, elicit a call by the warden to the dog owners.
If no joy at this point, it escalates to court, so gathering evidence (legally!), which includes contemporaneous notes via a diary, is a good idea.
The crappy thing about these situations is that the poor oul dog often suffers, because instead of addressing the underlying cause (boredom, loneliness), they stick a bloody shock collar on the dog to try to quieten them. As a result, that underlying anxiety is not only not dealt with, it's often made worse because the dog now has a shock to the neck to deal with when it tries to express its anxiety.
Female sheps are generally not the best guard dogs in any case. It'd be kinder of them to rehome her, or bring her inside for some social contact, and get themselves a very good monitored alarm system.

Agree totally with your post but notes in a diary aren't going to stand up in court at the end of the day.Who's to say you didn't make it all up .You need hard evidence and that is video and even at that it will get dragged on for ever, hearing adjourned and so on then the dog owner will probably get a
chance to sort it out .Probably dog will get replaced by another in time.Call the warden ,its the first step and might frighten them.

DBB

codie wrote: »

notes in a diary aren't going to stand up in court at the end of the day.Who's to say you didn't make it all up

Recordings are fine to use, but so are diary entries. Contemporaneous notes are considered pretty good corroborative evidence by the court, remembering that when notes and recordings and (legal) video are used as evidence, they are all given under oath... The argument that someone can "make it all up" could be used in multitudes of cases, but corroborating evidence, including diary notes and dates, given under oath by a coherent plaintiff is pretty powerful stuff.

Ashbx

If you could get other neighbours to back up your claim (or even if they initial the diary entries (as mentioned in Codie's comment) by way of proof), you will have a lot more to stand on....even just ONE other neighbour would be a great help for your case.

Best of luck!

LFCFan

Thankfully, our neighbour called in and accepted that the dog was barking and they have decided to bring her in at night and muzzle her during the early morning when she's let out to stop the barking. Really glad they turned out to be as decent as we first thought as I didn't like the prospect of a running arguement with them for years as as happened in other cases. Thanks for the advice but hopefully I won't be needing it

cocker5

LFCFan wrote: »

Thankfully, our neighbour called in and accepted that the dog was barking and they have decided to bring her in at night and muzzle her during the early morning when she's let out to stop the barking. Really glad they turned out to be as decent as we first thought as I didn't like the prospect of a running arguement with them for years as as happened in other cases. Thanks for the advice but hopefully I won't be needing it

Glad all ended well op!

My only issue is for the poor dog... Muzzling her during the morning isn't the answer nor is it fair on the dog...

ElKavo

Surely a decent trainer could help with the constant barking? Perhaps Op could suggest it if they are approachable?

DBB

Glad you got it sorted OP, but this bit is pretty upsetting:

LFCFan wrote: »

muzzle her during the early morning when she's let out to stop the barking.

As I said in my above post, this sort of thing is merely putting a plaster over the wound, it's not addressing the dog's loneliness and boredom.
There are two types of muzzle they might use.
One is the basket-style muzzle, which won't stop barking.
The other is the tubular, fabric-type muzzle, which is downright dangerous to leave on a dog for longer than a few minutes for a quick vet visit. The dog cannot pant properly with one of these on, and therefore cannot lose heat. In addition, they cannot drink properly. On a warm day, let alone a hot day, they could end up with a dead dog pretty quickly.
Dogs can still howl and yip whilst wearing these muzzles. I would not be at all confident that a muzzle will solve the problem here, quite apart from the welfare issues
Poor dog.
You might suggest that they exercise her properly if they don't already, and give her some interactive food-filled toys to keep her occupied whilst she is alone for such long periods of time.

Frigga_92

That poor dog. It would be kinder of them to give her up to someone who'll give her the attention and activity she obviously craves.
Our 2 GSDs are excellent guard dogs but they are family first and foremost and get treated like family.