After I put my son to bed at 9pm, I could hear constant barking from what sounded like a small dog. Next door neighbours recently got a new puppy, so my first concern was that something was wrong next door, like if they were out and there was an intruder the dog was alerted to. Normally I never hear their dog, so it would have been a first. Once I thought of it that way I went out front to check and found that the noise was coming from down the street. It was constant, high-pitched barking.
Back inside I went, hoping the barking would stop. Finally at 10:00 after what seemed like an hour of yappy dog noise echoeing through the neighbourhood, I decided to MAKE it stop. Dressed in a fluffy housecoat over shorts/t-shirt I had been gardening in (too early to get ready for bed but I was cold), I hesitated and thought about changing. I decided not to-I threw DH"s polar fleece jacket on top for extra warmth and headed out down the street. I wasn't sure if I'd find a neglected dog in distress, or if I'd be face to face with an inconsiderate, irresponsible pet owner, but being dressed in a way that screamed INCONVENIENCED didn't seem like a bad thing at the time.
Going 4 houses down and crossing one street, I found the source of the barking. I don't know who lives there, but the place has been for sale for several weeks. As I walked up the driveway the little white dog on the upstairs deck was still barking. It was small like a maltese mix, and I was disturbed at how its owners could be comfortable leaving it up there at all since it could easily jump/fall to injury below, as the railings were uneven and widely spaced. (and if the dog was on a leash it would be hung, you know?)
I pressed the doorbell and waited, curious to find out what kind of person I'd be speaking to, although I had formed a pretty good impression already. A young woman answered, and within a moment a woman my age was there too. Off went my mouth: "I don't know if you know this but your dog is barking REALLY LOUD. I don't know if you can hear it in there but I live several houses down the street and I can hear it in MY house. My kids have to go to school tomorrow. I was just wondering when your dog is going to bed?"
There. It was done. She said something politely apologetic, I said "Have a good evening", and started back home. I got halfway by the time they went upstairs and brought the dog in. I still wonder how they could leave that dog barking out there for an hour-it's not like they were having a loud party inside and couldn't hear it. Maybe they are new to being pet owners.
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If it helps, my last dog used to bark at the neighbours if she couldn't see them. So if there was a fence in the way and she could only hear something going on she would start with the warning barks (usually because they are afraid and want whatever it is making that noise they hear to go away). I put a hole in the fence and showed her how to get up on the picnic table so she could see and that's all it took.
With my dogs I make sure they meet the neighbours and have a way to see in the yard (I've simply drilled a couple of holes at their eye level when there's been no other way). It does seem as long as they recognize who's in the yard there is no problem (other than a bit of whimpering at first to let them know they are there and would like to be petted). Ebony is pretty passive butmy last dog was very protective and it really worked for her.
the real nice part about this is when the dog does bark you know there is a stranger which really is one reason dogs are nice to have around.
Ugh, I feel for you. My neighbour has a yappy dog that barks constantly too. When we first moved in, they were on holiday for the summer, so it was peaceful and lovely. Then they came back with their furry little loudmouth in tow.
Their dog lets out a stream of barks for as long as anyone is in OUR yard. Whether we step outside for a moment, or spend an hour out there, the dog will be barking the entire time.
The owner stood on her deck and told me once, "Oh, he's just barking because he's excited to see people. It's ok."
Um, no, it's not. It's irritating to the point where I can't wait for them to either move, or for the yappy stupid dog to die. I know, it's not very nice, but neither is letting it bark at my family constantly and expecting us to be happy that it's excited to see us.
People are weird about stuff like, one of my neighbours is quick to critisize about my dog, but never seems to think how irritating her dog is to me when they look it out on the deck and every time I step out the back (with or without my dog) it starts yapping at me. Or everytime it sees or hears something (even sometimes at 10:30 in the evening) - funny how they can't see their own faults. Good for you for saying something - these things can be handled politely and hopefully it works.
PLain and simple, some people are just idiots and hopefully your raising their awareness will help.
Most of the neighbours seem to have newer windows, which probably soundproof their homes somewhat. I'm used to hearing noise from outdoors through my old windows. There are a lot of neighbours with dogs, many that bark from decks through the day at normal things like the mailman, a passerby, or the sound of emergency vehicle sirens, etc. but this was just overkill.
What I can never understand is how they can stand it when it drives everyone else crazy. Good for you to go and say something everyone in the neighbourhood was wanting to but didn't have the courage.