But presumably you would want to sort it out if the dog IS annoying neighbours? Have you tried the camcorder yet?
Seeing as my OH has been at home this week and only been out to take me to & pick me up from the train station which takes 5 mins we haven't had the chance
Not sure if this message was meant for me, but if so then thanks for thinking about it, I did too, but determined that I haven't really posted anything that private on here, and no one should be able to view very much of my profile or pics without me adding them as a friend!
Oops, no, it was for the OP. I forgot to quote her.
Just to play devil's advocate - my next door neighbours dog used to yelp and bark pretty much the whole timethey're out. It' was annoying as I often work from home, and could hear it in most rooms of my house. And you could also hear it from other houses on the street.
I contacted my council (not to complain, but it was getting to that stage), who said that they time of day the dogs bark is irrelevant - so if it's 2am, or 2pm, it doesn't matter if the noise is excessive.
I had two concerns, firstly for myself and my dog (I did not want her to become distressed by the other dog and start barking herself), and secondly, for next door's dog - it definitely did not sound happy! I thought it could be separation anxiety as the dog doesn't make a noise when the owners are in.
Other posters have said that the council can't/won't do anything. I wouldn't be so sure. Whilst they are unlikely to remove the dog, they can and will fine you (here it is up to £1000) for noise nuisance. My local paper regularly has articles about exactly this happening.
As long as your dog is not barking after 9pm i think it is until 6.30am the following morning then you have nothing to worry about.
<snip>
Good grief - surely you can't think it's OK for a dog to bark from 6:30am until 9pm? Or for other people to have to live with the sort of noise that can create?
I think you have taken that a bit to literally.
What i was meaning is the fact that noise pollution can occur between 6.30am till 9pm, (thats the rules for my local council) for example if someone wanted to play music during the day then there wouldn't be alot you can do about it, unless its outside of those hours.
Obviously any noise pollution including a dog barking all day cant be pleasant for the neighbours or animal, but the OPs dog sounds pretty level, in the fact that he sounds like a normal dog without excessive barking, so therefore the OP will be ok as the dog is allowed to bark during the day, its a dog, they bark! But if a dog was to bark regularly during the night, which woke the neighbours on a nightly basis then you could have a complaint with the council.
My dogs bark, they bark when the posty comes, they bark when the next door neighbours children kick on the dividing wall for hours on end, they bark when someone walks down the snicket at the bottom of the garden, i would rather they did bark to warn people i have a dog than not. Just like they did the other night when someone was trying to break into my next door neighbours, her house isnt even attached so my dogs have extremely good hearing, if my dogs hadnt barked then i would not have heard them and a 81 year old women would have been confronted by a gang of hooded teens at 2am in the morning.
She has bought my two little fluff balls plenty of biscuits as a present to say thankyou to them.
It gave me ample time to scream like a girl out of my window at them and call the police.:D
So in the grand scheme of things dogs bark, if its excessive im sure you will do everything in your power to sort it out, you dont seem like a bad owner by the fact you have come on here, its a terrible feeling though because you feel like you are being judged as being a bad parent to your dogs as though you arent looking after them properly!
Maybe have a word with the neighbour, ask her when do they bark, how long do they bark for, has she noticed something triggering it like the dustbin men making noise and then sam goes off on one, if you take that approach you will give her the impression that you want to sort this, which you do, but if it turns out to be that sam is just being a dog and the neighbour is being overly sensitive then there isnt alot you can do and neither can the council or dog warden.
A cheaper way of recording your pooch is to get a dictation recorder thing for like 15 quid, set it to voice activated recording then you wont be sat there watching hours of video, instead it will record only the barking, i did that on numerous occassions and on a full day by themselves there was just over a minute of barking, but yet my neighbours still found that excessive, what annoyed me is the dictation machine even picked up my neighbour screaming at the kids with the kids kicking the walls and that totalled just over 3hours of them making noise, i have even looked into getting those people out who inject your walls with this special sound proofing material, but not because my dogs bark to much just so that i cant hear my neighbours!
I have just checked my councils website about noise nuisance this is what it says:
Noise we do not investigate
We are generally unable to investigate complaints about normal road traffic, railways or aircraft. However, if we can not help directly we will try to put you in touch with an organisation who can.
In addition normal, everyday activity - even if noisy - would not generally be considered to be a nuisance unless it was being carried on in some unreasonable way. This could include such things as:-
Mowing the garden through the day,
Using domestic appliances, such as hoovering, using washing machines etc., during the day,
Children playing or babies crying,
Doors banging.
Q How will my complaint be investigated?
A
The Council has a legal duty to investigate complaints of alleged statutory noise nuisance under the Environmantal Protection Act 1990. This duty is carried out by officers of Environmental Health Services, who are independant, and will investigate your complaint to help resolve the noise problem.
The first stage is usually to bring the complaint to the attention of the person or company who is causing the noise. Initially this is usually done on an informal basis in order seek a solution to the problem.
If the noise problem continues, evidence will be gathered of the noise disturbance including the frequency, duration and level of noise. Your input in this process will be vital and you are likely to be asked to keep written records of when and how you are being affected by the noise.
If officers determine that the noise complained of is a statutory nuisance and the person responsible has not responded to our informal approach to resolve the problem, then legal action will be taken against him/her or the company concerned. This will be in the form of a legal notice - called an Abatement Notice - that will require nuisance to be abated within a specified time period (sometimes immediately).
It is a criminal offence not to comply with an Abatement Notice, and anyone found guilty can be prosecuted and fined. Council officers also have powers to seize noise making equipment, such as hi-fi's etc. and this action will be taken with persistent offenders.
Q What can I do to stop my dog barking?
A
Barking comes naturally to dogs, but constant barking or whining of a dog can be disturbing or annoying for neighbours. Common reasons why dogs bark include:
Loneliness
Boredom or frustration
Attention seeking
Defending territory
Medical problems
Training is important to avoid unnecessary barking - and training should be started as early as possible, but it's never too late. Dogs often bark when they are left alone and it's a good idea to get your dog used to you going out. Start with relatively short periods to start with and gradually build up to longer periods. Praise your dog when he/she has been quiet for a period of time after being left alone.
Other things that may help include:
Make sure your dog has sufficient fresh water and has been exercised before you go out.
Leaving a radio or television on at low level with human voices on so as to provide reassurance.
Obscuring the dog's view to passers-by, through fencing etc.
Leave some toys out for the dog to play with and make sure that there is a comfortable bed or basket to settle in.
Leave a light on if it's dark, or if you will not be back until dark.
If you continue to have problems you can seek advice from your Vet or you may wish to contact a specialist animal behaviourist. Further information can be sought from the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors - see our list of useful Web-sites.
Q What can I do about noisy neighbours?
A
Many noise problems, particularly those involving neighbours, can be resolved informally, for example by explaining the problem you are experiencing. Your neighbour may not even know how they are affecting you and may be glad that you have brought the matter to their attention. If you approach your neighbour, do so in a polite and calm manner - this is best done soon after the problem has occurred, but not in the heat of the moment!
If you continue to be disturbed by noise, you can make a formal complaint to the Council's Environmental Health Service - see How will my complaint be investigated?
If the person making the noise is a tenant of a Council House, Housing Association or Private Landlord you may also wish to contact the landlord to see if action can be taken under the terms of their tenancy agreement.
No details of on the spot fines on this councils website but yours might be different, to me it sounds like my council will investigate if they believe it needs to be investigated, but then if you are shown as trying to resolve the issue (if there is one) then you will be fine.
Maybe check you local councils website with regards noise nuisance.
Don't mention slamming doors as well as asking us not to leave our back door open as it makes her house cold she also asked us if we could close our back door quietly as it disturbed her!!!!
There was no barking today as we were both off work and drove down to Hampshire with the dogs to pick up a Bonsai tree
Don't mention slamming doors as well as asking us not to leave our back door open as it makes her house cold she also asked us if we could close our back door quietly as it disturbed her!!!!
There was no barking today as we were both off work and drove down to Hampshire with the dogs to pick up a Bonsai tree
The joys of annoying neighbours. It reminds me of my mums neighbour who rings her at 2 am in the morning because the outside light is too bright. It is a latern style with a 40 watt bulb, and the chuffing neighbours bedroom is on the opposite side of the house so how she sees it is a mystery. Just let your moaning neighbour get on with it. Some people have nothing going on in there lives so like to make something happen.
What's that saying 'how can I sore like and eagle when Im surrounded by turkeys!'
its actually about one of the most common complaint people ring up Environmental Health about. I must admit theres a dog near me doing my head in from barking all the time - to the point of im going round to see the owners soon, but id rather do that than report the person straight to the council. In my case though its obvious the owner just chucks the dog outside to get rid of it for a while.
I often leave the tele on when i nip out for abit just so my pets feel abit more relaxed it may help, i wouldnt worry though I CANNOT imagine seeing the council or dog wardens coming around and removing your pets you will get tons of letters and paperwork first, always be a step ahead of them lol
Talking to one of our other neighbours yesterday it seems that a few of these letters have gone out to dog owners in the street some of who I didn't even realise they had dogs - he has only heard our dog barking when I come home from work when he is working outside the front of the house
perhaps the person complaining just doesnt like dogs or dislikes you for some reason.
That is a problem i have had with someone in my street.But they complained anonymously (is that spelt right) there complaint was that my dog and other neighbours dogs where left out and fowling the road etc which was a lie.The dog warden came to see us.Then some months later the same thing however some weeks later another complaint was made same thing.When the warden was spotted knocking on my door a neighbour who also has a dog spoke to him and he explained to her that they had received another complaint about my dog fowling however on the day this is suposed to have taken place and the day the warden called my neighbour told him wher i was (i was a 1000 miles away on holiday)and my dog was 10 miles away in kennals. We have not been botherd since.
Well we've had another letter from the dog warden and apparently the complainant is now going to be asked to keep a log
The odd thing is my husband has been off work for the last month recovering from knee surgery so he's been at home most of the day for the last month although Sam did bark once last week in the early hours of the morning when he heard a noise in the back garden which turned out to be one of our koi which had jumped out of the pond.
I admit Sam does bark sometimes usually when he's excited because we're going out and if the postman or visitor comes to the front door but that's what dogs do.
Apparently the next step after that is for them to set up recording equipment at the complainants which will be interesting as when we set up our camcorder when we went out to the cinema the other weekend all we recorded was the dogs going upstairs to sleep on the bed and then Sam barking when he heard the car door slam when we came home
Further update - we've had yet another letter saying logs are still being kept but the annoying thing is they still haven't told us when this barking is supposed to be happening and they are still addressing the letters to "the occupier" although we've had a home visit and have lived in the same house for the last twenty years - oh and our neighbour has started catnapping our cat during the day
Defra would have put something in thier leaflet if that was the case.
The dog warden can't do anything about barking.
The next step would be for the neighbour to complain to Environmental Health about the noise at which point they would notify you and may monitior the noise levels. If they can collect enough evidence they can go to court for an abaitment order. If the noise continues the only sanction is a fine IIRC.
All that said, 'normal' barking wouldn't be a statutory nuscense. Record the dog for your piece of mind, but it is for your neighbour and the council to prove that there is a noise, not for you to prove that there isn't.
A recent law was passed that actually makes it an offence to prevent an animal from carrying out normal animal behaviour.
That said, many years ago I reported a neighbour to the police for letting her dog bark continuously when I was off work ill and trying to rest.
They came out twice, the first was really helpful and spoke to the neighbour, but the noise persisted.
After I called them a second time, the policeman more or less said that they wouldn't normally come out for such things, but would speak to next door again as he was here anyway.
Thankfully, this worked. But it just goes to show that, instead of ignoring what they class as trivialities, the police etc can prevent things escalating as, having tried the correct channels on two occasions, I would have taken matters into my own hands the third time.
OP - Just to clear up what the dog warden can and can't do.
It depends on your local council, but there are basic controls that are in place as standard
1) they CAN and WILL fine you if they deem there is too much barking, upto £5k in some cases.
2) if you fail to keep the dog quiet after a fine, they can take measures to have the dog taken from you, but more likely they will re-fine you, and continue to fine you until it is sorted.
I only know this as we had a dog warden come into uni last week to chat to us and we had a conversation about this very thing.
OP - Just to clear up what the dog warden can and can't do.
It depends on your local council, but there are basic controls that are in place as standard
1) they CAN and WILL fine you if they deem there is too much barking, upto £5k in some cases.
2) if you fail to keep the dog quiet after a fine, they can take measures to have the dog taken from you, but more likely they will re-fine you, and continue to fine you until it is sorted.
I only know this as we had a dog warden come into uni last week to chat to us and we had a conversation about this very thing.
I'd already found that out but what they haven't told us if when the dogs are suppose to be barking - if we don't know when they are barking how are we suppose to stop it
We've set up a camcorder a couple of times when we've been going out and they barked when someone knocked on the front door for about 5 mins apart from that all we see is them sneaking upstairs to sleep in the bedroom - yes they bark when they hear me come home from work but it's for seconds
now we know where this complaint will have come from (the same person that complained about us leaving our back door open during cold weather as it made her house cold)
ours is a terraced house although offset and when I get up in the morning and open our back door to let the dogs out whilst I have a shower & get dressed it apparently makes her house cold.
Another complaint we had recently was that when we went away for a week in October I forgot to switch my alarm clock off so every morning while we were away the alarm clock went off - so we came back to a nice snotty note through our front door asking us to remember to switch our "damn alarm clock" off in future
ours is a terraced house although offset and when I get up in the morning and open our back door to let the dogs out whilst I have a shower & get dressed it apparently makes her house cold.
Another complaint we had recently was that when we went away for a week in October I forgot to switch my alarm clock off so every morning while we were away the alarm clock went off - so we came back to a nice snotty note through our front door asking us to remember to switch our "damn alarm clock" off in future
I've received a rather curt, nasty note through the door in the past because my dogs were barking. It was very upsetting and I think it's a cowardly thing to do :mad: Your neighbour should at least have talked to you directly. In my case, the barking wasn't even that bad. I think the neighbour was just in a bad mood that day.
ours is a terraced house although offset and when I get up in the morning and open our back door to let the dogs out whilst I have a shower & get dressed it apparently makes her house cold.
Another complaint we had recently was that when we went away for a week in October I forgot to switch my alarm clock off so every morning while we were away the alarm clock went off - so we came back to a nice snotty note through our front door asking us to remember to switch our "damn alarm clock" off in future
My previous neighbour (who was an old witch) reported me to environmental health for scooping my dogs poop and putting it in the bin in the park!!!! Apparently she felt that was unhygienic and I should take it home....and put it in my bin next to hers. Mad old cow.:mad:
When another neighbour died of liver failure she told everyone it served him right as he was an alcoholic. he wasn't he'd been born with liver problems, had a transplant as a child that failed later and was waiting on another. A drink would have killed him. Didn't stop her spreading her bile though.
I've received a rather curt, nasty note through the door in the past because my dogs were barking. It was very upsetting and I think it's a cowardly thing to do :mad: Your neighbour should at least have talked to you directly. In my case, the barking wasn't even that bad. I think the neighbour was just in a bad mood that day.
I think I'm in love with Sam :o
what does make me laugh at the moment is she's taken to catnapping our rather elderly cat during the day so I have to spend some time shouting for her on an evening to come in for her tea but I've noticed that she (the cat) has taken to using her flowerbeds as her toilet rather than her litter tray
I'd already found that out but what they haven't told us if when the dogs are suppose to be barking - if we don't know when they are barking how are we suppose to stop it
We've set up a camcorder a couple of times when we've been going out and they barked when someone knocked on the front door for about 5 mins apart from that all we see is them sneaking upstairs to sleep in the bedroom - yes they bark when they hear me come home from work but it's for seconds
Have you considering buying, or even better borrowing, something like this voice activated recorder.
You can leave it running when you're out of the house. Check it when you come back and if you have, say, 10 minutes of recording, you have 10 minutes of barking dog.
Note it all down in a diary. That way you will have peace of mind over what's really happening. And if the worst comes to the worst and the council visit you again then you will have your own record of what has happened.
ours is a terraced house although offset and when I get up in the morning and open our back door to let the dogs out whilst I have a shower & get dressed it apparently makes her house cold.
Another complaint we had recently was that when we went away for a week in October I forgot to switch my alarm clock off so every morning while we were away the alarm clock went off - so we came back to a nice snotty note through our front door asking us to remember to switch our "damn alarm clock" off in future
My neighbour did that and it was really bl&&dy annoying being awoken by his clock radio every day for a fortnight. I left him a polite note about it.
However your neighbour sounds like she's barking (:D) It is impossible for your open back door to make her house cold unless she has got a secret tunnel dug between the two of you.
But if she is going to be filling in a log it would be a good idea to set up the camcorder again so you will know for sure what's going on, and will have your own evidence in case you need it.
If your dog is annoying other people, then sort it out
I believe they use that sound as a form of torture.
Agreed. We have a dog next door that barks all day and the dog warden has done nothing. Despite the fact that it was driving our two small dogs potty and in turn making them bark excessively.
We had to keep noise logs for 9 months and only then was action taken and that was in the form of a warning letter from the council's neighbourhood housing officer. The dog still barks but luckily, we have trained our dogs to ignore it.
Sadly, I personally think that our local council is one of the more ineffectual ones.
Comments
Seeing as my OH has been at home this week and only been out to take me to & pick me up from the train station which takes 5 mins we haven't had the chance
Oops, no, it was for the OP. I forgot to quote her.
I contacted my council (not to complain, but it was getting to that stage), who said that they time of day the dogs bark is irrelevant - so if it's 2am, or 2pm, it doesn't matter if the noise is excessive.
I had two concerns, firstly for myself and my dog (I did not want her to become distressed by the other dog and start barking herself), and secondly, for next door's dog - it definitely did not sound happy! I thought it could be separation anxiety as the dog doesn't make a noise when the owners are in.
Thankfully, it seems to have quietened down!
Noise we do not investigate
We are generally unable to investigate complaints about normal road traffic, railways or aircraft. However, if we can not help directly we will try to put you in touch with an organisation who can.
In addition normal, everyday activity - even if noisy - would not generally be considered to be a nuisance unless it was being carried on in some unreasonable way. This could include such things as:-
Mowing the garden through the day,
Using domestic appliances, such as hoovering, using washing machines etc., during the day,
Children playing or babies crying,
Doors banging.
Q How will my complaint be investigated?
A
The Council has a legal duty to investigate complaints of alleged statutory noise nuisance under the Environmantal Protection Act 1990. This duty is carried out by officers of Environmental Health Services, who are independant, and will investigate your complaint to help resolve the noise problem.
The first stage is usually to bring the complaint to the attention of the person or company who is causing the noise. Initially this is usually done on an informal basis in order seek a solution to the problem.
If the noise problem continues, evidence will be gathered of the noise disturbance including the frequency, duration and level of noise. Your input in this process will be vital and you are likely to be asked to keep written records of when and how you are being affected by the noise.
If officers determine that the noise complained of is a statutory nuisance and the person responsible has not responded to our informal approach to resolve the problem, then legal action will be taken against him/her or the company concerned. This will be in the form of a legal notice - called an Abatement Notice - that will require nuisance to be abated within a specified time period (sometimes immediately).
It is a criminal offence not to comply with an Abatement Notice, and anyone found guilty can be prosecuted and fined. Council officers also have powers to seize noise making equipment, such as hi-fi's etc. and this action will be taken with persistent offenders.
Q What can I do to stop my dog barking?
A
Barking comes naturally to dogs, but constant barking or whining of a dog can be disturbing or annoying for neighbours. Common reasons why dogs bark include:
Loneliness
Boredom or frustration
Attention seeking
Defending territory
Medical problems
Training is important to avoid unnecessary barking - and training should be started as early as possible, but it's never too late. Dogs often bark when they are left alone and it's a good idea to get your dog used to you going out. Start with relatively short periods to start with and gradually build up to longer periods. Praise your dog when he/she has been quiet for a period of time after being left alone.
Other things that may help include:
Make sure your dog has sufficient fresh water and has been exercised before you go out.
Leaving a radio or television on at low level with human voices on so as to provide reassurance.
Obscuring the dog's view to passers-by, through fencing etc.
Leave some toys out for the dog to play with and make sure that there is a comfortable bed or basket to settle in.
Leave a light on if it's dark, or if you will not be back until dark.
If you continue to have problems you can seek advice from your Vet or you may wish to contact a specialist animal behaviourist. Further information can be sought from the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors - see our list of useful Web-sites.
Q What can I do about noisy neighbours?
A
Many noise problems, particularly those involving neighbours, can be resolved informally, for example by explaining the problem you are experiencing. Your neighbour may not even know how they are affecting you and may be glad that you have brought the matter to their attention. If you approach your neighbour, do so in a polite and calm manner - this is best done soon after the problem has occurred, but not in the heat of the moment!
If you continue to be disturbed by noise, you can make a formal complaint to the Council's Environmental Health Service - see How will my complaint be investigated?
If the person making the noise is a tenant of a Council House, Housing Association or Private Landlord you may also wish to contact the landlord to see if action can be taken under the terms of their tenancy agreement.
No details of on the spot fines on this councils website but yours might be different, to me it sounds like my council will investigate if they believe it needs to be investigated, but then if you are shown as trying to resolve the issue (if there is one) then you will be fine.
Maybe check you local councils website with regards noise nuisance.
There was no barking today as we were both off work and drove down to Hampshire with the dogs to pick up a Bonsai tree
The joys of annoying neighbours. It reminds me of my mums neighbour who rings her at 2 am in the morning because the outside light is too bright. It is a latern style with a 40 watt bulb, and the chuffing neighbours bedroom is on the opposite side of the house so how she sees it is a mystery. Just let your moaning neighbour get on with it. Some people have nothing going on in there lives so like to make something happen.
What's that saying 'how can I sore like and eagle when Im surrounded by turkeys!'
That's what I tell myself anyway!
mad in the garden. Patrick says "To hell with this!" and storms off.
He comes back upstairs 5 minutes later and his wife asks "What did you do ?"
Partick replies "I've put the dog in our garden. Let's see how they like it!"
I often leave the tele on when i nip out for abit just so my pets feel abit more relaxed it may help, i wouldnt worry though I CANNOT imagine seeing the council or dog wardens coming around and removing your pets you will get tons of letters and paperwork first, always be a step ahead of them lol
That is a problem i have had with someone in my street.But they complained anonymously (is that spelt right) there complaint was that my dog and other neighbours dogs where left out and fowling the road etc which was a lie.The dog warden came to see us.Then some months later the same thing however some weeks later another complaint was made same thing.When the warden was spotted knocking on my door a neighbour who also has a dog spoke to him and he explained to her that they had received another complaint about my dog fowling however on the day this is suposed to have taken place and the day the warden called my neighbour told him wher i was (i was a 1000 miles away on holiday)and my dog was 10 miles away in kennals. We have not been botherd since.
The odd thing is my husband has been off work for the last month recovering from knee surgery so he's been at home most of the day for the last month although Sam did bark once last week in the early hours of the morning when he heard a noise in the back garden which turned out to be one of our koi which had jumped out of the pond.
I admit Sam does bark sometimes usually when he's excited because we're going out and if the postman or visitor comes to the front door but that's what dogs do.
Apparently the next step after that is for them to set up recording equipment at the complainants which will be interesting as when we set up our camcorder when we went out to the cinema the other weekend all we recorded was the dogs going upstairs to sleep on the bed and then Sam barking when he heard the car door slam when we came home
A recent law was passed that actually makes it an offence to prevent an animal from carrying out normal animal behaviour.
That said, many years ago I reported a neighbour to the police for letting her dog bark continuously when I was off work ill and trying to rest.
They came out twice, the first was really helpful and spoke to the neighbour, but the noise persisted.
After I called them a second time, the policeman more or less said that they wouldn't normally come out for such things, but would speak to next door again as he was here anyway.
Thankfully, this worked. But it just goes to show that, instead of ignoring what they class as trivialities, the police etc can prevent things escalating as, having tried the correct channels on two occasions, I would have taken matters into my own hands the third time.
It depends on your local council, but there are basic controls that are in place as standard
1) they CAN and WILL fine you if they deem there is too much barking, upto £5k in some cases.
2) if you fail to keep the dog quiet after a fine, they can take measures to have the dog taken from you, but more likely they will re-fine you, and continue to fine you until it is sorted.
I only know this as we had a dog warden come into uni last week to chat to us and we had a conversation about this very thing.
I'd already found that out but what they haven't told us if when the dogs are suppose to be barking - if we don't know when they are barking how are we suppose to stop it
We've set up a camcorder a couple of times when we've been going out and they barked when someone knocked on the front door for about 5 mins apart from that all we see is them sneaking upstairs to sleep in the bedroom - yes they bark when they hear me come home from work but it's for seconds
How does that work then?
ours is a terraced house although offset and when I get up in the morning and open our back door to let the dogs out whilst I have a shower & get dressed it apparently makes her house cold.
Another complaint we had recently was that when we went away for a week in October I forgot to switch my alarm clock off so every morning while we were away the alarm clock went off - so we came back to a nice snotty note through our front door asking us to remember to switch our "damn alarm clock" off in future
I've received a rather curt, nasty note through the door in the past because my dogs were barking. It was very upsetting and I think it's a cowardly thing to do :mad: Your neighbour should at least have talked to you directly. In my case, the barking wasn't even that bad. I think the neighbour was just in a bad mood that day.
I think I'm in love with Sam
My previous neighbour (who was an old witch) reported me to environmental health for scooping my dogs poop and putting it in the bin in the park!!!! Apparently she felt that was unhygienic and I should take it home....and put it in my bin next to hers. Mad old cow.:mad:
When another neighbour died of liver failure she told everyone it served him right as he was an alcoholic. he wasn't he'd been born with liver problems, had a transplant as a child that failed later and was waiting on another. A drink would have killed him. Didn't stop her spreading her bile though.
what does make me laugh at the moment is she's taken to catnapping our rather elderly cat during the day so I have to spend some time shouting for her on an evening to come in for her tea but I've noticed that she (the cat) has taken to using her flowerbeds as her toilet rather than her litter tray
Have you considering buying, or even better borrowing, something like this voice activated recorder.
You can leave it running when you're out of the house. Check it when you come back and if you have, say, 10 minutes of recording, you have 10 minutes of barking dog.
Note it all down in a diary. That way you will have peace of mind over what's really happening. And if the worst comes to the worst and the council visit you again then you will have your own record of what has happened.
My neighbour did that and it was really bl&&dy annoying being awoken by his clock radio every day for a fortnight. I left him a polite note about it.
However your neighbour sounds like she's barking (:D) It is impossible for your open back door to make her house cold unless she has got a secret tunnel dug between the two of you.
But if she is going to be filling in a log it would be a good idea to set up the camcorder again so you will know for sure what's going on, and will have your own evidence in case you need it.
Agreed. We have a dog next door that barks all day and the dog warden has done nothing. Despite the fact that it was driving our two small dogs potty and in turn making them bark excessively.
We had to keep noise logs for 9 months and only then was action taken and that was in the form of a warning letter from the council's neighbourhood housing officer. The dog still barks but luckily, we have trained our dogs to ignore it.
Sadly, I personally think that our local council is one of the more ineffectual ones.