Help with a bad neighbor

Since the Tundras.com family has helped me with my Tundra I thought you all could offer suggestions on dealing with an a$$hole neighbor.

Here’s the story... I have two dogs I rescued and are great dogs. My yard backs up to a wooded lot and my dogs do bark a lot at deer or squirrels in the woods. We’ve tried to work with them but sometimes they can be a bit spirited. Anyways my a$$hole neighbor diagonal across the street has lit fireworks, blasts an air horn and has even called the cops twice about my dogs. They completely freak out at the fireworks and air horns and sends them into a frenzied panic.

It’s to the point my older dog is very scared and nervous and will bark at the neighbors whenever he sees them drive by - he knows.

I have video of the two cop visits and one time the cop blatantly lied that my dogs were barking for over 10 minutes (noise ordinance says dogs can’t bark for more than 10 minutes). When I told the cop I have video that shows him sitting on my street for about 2 minutes and no way he could tell they were barking for over 10 minutes, he got real quiet and knew I caught him in a lie and he left.

The other time my dogs weren’t even outside during the time the cops said the person complaining said they were.

I’m one more cop visit away from getting a lawyer and filing a harassment case against the police department and neighbor.

Any suggestions? Some might say “go talk to the neighbor” but I actually am cautious about going on his property to knock on the door. He bypassed “let’s talk it over” when he started shooting fireworks over my head. My wife who is usually level headed even said to not bother talking to the motherf**ker!

I’ve learned my lessons about living in neighborhoods... no more. My next house will NOT be near any neighbors.

 

People suck.

Document everything, cameras all around the house so that when a report of barking dogs is made, the time and date has to be documented and if you have video of your dogs not outside during that time frame it could help you.

You can try talking to the neighbor, in days gone by things could be worked out with a simple conversation, these days its a free for all almost.

If you can get video of the neighbor using a air horn and harassing your pets that could help as well.

Battles with neighbors hardly end well, been there done that, good luck.

If it were me I would have already filed a complaint on the officer who you claim lied about the time frame for your dogs barking, and requested the report under the freedom of information act.

Lastly they are your dogs in the end, so it is up to you to teach and train your animals for what is acceptable behavior and what is not. Not saying you are 100% at fault but in situations like these I believe everyone owns a part.

Good luck.

 

Unfortunately your in a Rock & A Hard Place as they say. It doesn't help that you have a officer that looks like he's not on your side. I have a neighbor fued going on right now, and I have been trying to calm things down.

I would wait to he's outside, and then approach him about the issue. Not a whole lot you can do, definitely don't want the expenses of a lawyer and court. Good luck, it's a unfortunate situation. Keep us informed

 

Well put. We’ve really tried to keep the dogs from being a nuisance. Ironically this morning the neighbor blew his air horn and I was outside with the dogs and they had been barking for a minute or two at a deer but nothing obnoxious.

Then a sheriff's office drive by - he didn’t stop but drove real slow by the house which wasn’t a coincidence!

 

You won't get anywhere trying to out-asshole him. My advice is to do the opposite...

A pacified neighbor is a good neighbor.

 

Just kidding, of course.

 

nobody loves dogs more than me, but I'd lose my mind if I had a neighbor with barking dogs... My advice is to stop the barking one way or another. Training/collars/etc.

 

Agreed , but if the dogs see a deer, their gonna bark. We have a neighbor that owns a corgi and she barks to no end. All of the neighbors are over it including us, but I blame the owner, not the dog.

 

Frankly, it sounds like you are the bad neighbor. Buy a shock collar for the dogs and put an end to the behavior that’s causing the problem.

 

Did you call the police and report him? I don't know the fireworks laws in your State but you said he directed them at you. That is reckless endangerment and he should be arrested. Also report that he antagonizing the dogs by blowing the air horn and using fireworks. DON'T approach him, he will say that you came over and threatened him. I wouldn't report the police officer, you want them on your side and help you with this .
Good luck with this.

 

Can you throw a fence up in the back so the dogs can't see what's happening in the woods?

 

I would do whatever I could to diffuse the situation. If it were me, I would look into a bark collar. Things could get bad quickly and once you have that label the police and neighborhood will always cause you issues.

Don't engage the neighbor, do your best to comply with the police/laws and try and quiet the dogs.

 

I had a German Shepherd that barked a lot. I kept her inside at night, during the day she was smart enough to know when everyone left and the chorus would begin. I reluctantly got a bark collar, it did work but would I do it again probably not. She seemed to really suffer from a lot of anxiety in her later years and I know Shepherds already can be plagued with these issues but I swear after so much time with the collar it exasperated the issue. But after so many neighbor complaints and her love of being outside I had to do something. I am a big dog lover and you are in a really tuff spot but I don't think the issue will get any better if the dogs don't get under control. I have a small dog now and until I can get into a more acreage lot I will not have a yappy dog. It is the cost of living in a neighborhood and being neighborly.

 

Try a citronella spray collar for the barking.

 

We’ve got 4x dachshunds and live on a .33 acre lot in a residential neighborhood. My neighbors all have dogs. My dogs definitely do their fair share of barking (they are very protective and run in a pack lol) and my neighbors dogs bark a similar amount. When my dogs bark excessively we always go out and make them stop (if we are home at the time).
What has worked for me is I just talk to my neighbors and tell them “my dogs will bark a lot but I will do my best to make them stop whenever I hear it”. I also tell them to feel free to holler at them if they want! This usually gets everybody talking, laughing and handling it in a friendly manner. Luckily my neighbors have all been pretty cool about it.
Good luck!

 

Thanks for all the input. My dogs bark what I would call normally - people walking in road, the mail carrier and UPS trucks and deer/wildlife. I work from home and spend a lot of time on the phone and spend a lot of time outside with my dogs - if they are barking incessantly I stop it or put them in. My dogs are NEVER outside when we’re not home. I’m sensitive to noise and don’t like it anymore than anyone else.

 

The house behind me probably has about an acre of woods with a chain link fence. We might put up that green netting you see around ball fields to limit what the dogs “see”.

 

I am a dog-less house in a neighborhood that I think I'm the only one who doesn't have noisemakers that aren't human. I really don't have a problem, but from my side of the fence, barking dogs can be a nuisance. It really is a matter of give and take. Animal control has been to my house to ask if I have had any problems with the dogs around me, I said that there was no prob, (with mild barking) just so long as they never come on my property. There is one owner that believes their dog has the right to shit anywhere and they don't pick it up. I told animal control about the rouge shitter (without naming) and asked what I should do. They said technically the 6ft of property at the roadsides are public property and I would have to file a formal complaint with evidence other than me seeing or claiming to see the act. Well wonderfully so, I was driving home one day and as I turn the corner... A dumping was in progress, on my grass, about 3ft in from the road. I stopped and confronted her in the most calm and reasonable manner (I had my phone recording from my truck). She gave me attitude and said the dog goes where it goes. I told her animal control is aware and now that my phone has her dog shitting on my grass and her NOT picking it up, that I would be forced to file a formal complaint. I asked her very nicely again to be considerate, but she gave me attitude and yanked her dog and started walking... without picking up the shit. I nearly lost it. I had to file the complaint, the video confirmed my end, (as well as a bucket full of shit I had collected over a couple weeks, animal control almost flipped when I showed that evidence!) And since then it has been fine.
So, get it on camera... It is the only thing that actually gets you somewhere when arguing your side with authority. Kill em with kindness until you can support your side. But it is up to YOU to care for your animals. There are many training techniques for this that will help. (Good friend, runs a rescue shelter) Unfortunately your neighbor is the problem, and that is a civil complaint. If your dogs are always barking I would file a complaint too, (animal control recommends this to have a history) I hated having to do it, and I have only had to file this one complaint, but I was left no choice.
BUT I would NEVER provoke them like your neighbor.
Sorry man, douchebag neighbor. Stay above his level and focus on what you can do... Train the dogs.

 

Won't matter. If the dogs hear stuff they'll bark.

 

Hate to say it but the situation is going to escalate! Get good cameras up ASAP! Look out for signs of poisonings? Bad combination of an asshole/coward.

 

I agree with what everyone has commented in one way, but I am also a little surprised nobody has questioned why you want to file a complaint of harassment on the police.
Law enforcement is just doing their job, enforcing the laws your neighbor has claimed you violated. It's their job to go investigate what has been said to them by the complaintant, if your neighbor called dispatch and said your dogs have been barking for 10 minutes straight, well they are going to tell you that your dogs have been barking for ten minutes straight until you can prove otherwise. If your neighbor called and said they were barking again when they weren't even outside...well the cops don't know that, they just go investigate what they are told.

I'll finish my rant now, but you should never feel like law enforcement is harassing you. You've already determined your neighbor is the @$$ they are just going off what he feeds them. LEOs are on your side, they give everyone an equal opportunity to explain themselves, that's their job. Buy a shock collar, build a fence where they can't see the deer, put them inside, you have a job to keep your dogs at bay also.

 

I did not report him when he lit off the fireworks - they are indeed illegal and that was my mistake. I have it on video of him lighting them off but it’s been a while. I have the air horn on video but just the sound - not video proof it was actually him

 

Well report him each time it happens, you need documentation on your side.

 

I agree but when a sworn officer of the law lies (and I have undeniable proof he lied) that’s harassment. I don’t want to be on the bad side of the police.

 

While I certainly 100% don’t agree with your neighbors tactics, I am sure he would offer a similarly biased account of the other side.

But when you break it down to the most basic facts, it is your untrained and disruptive dogs behavior that is the root of the problem. Therefore it is your responsibility to solve the dogs behavior since you both can’t resolve the situation together.

I am a dog owner / lover myself, but would drive me nuts if I couldn’t even walk outside or just relax outside my house without neighbor dogs barking at me / cars / anything and everything.

 

Man i didn't think of that...killing the dogs would be the next step for an extreme asshole.

 

I appreciate all the varying points of view. I fully expected to get input from both sides that I’m in the wrong or the neighbor is. My wife tells me that I’m the biggest a$$hole there is but not in the wrong on this one! Nobody ever wins Neighbor wars that’s why I was looking for suggestions. Keep ‘em coming - I enjoy the different points of view.

I also was worried that the neighbor would try to poison the dogs. That’s been a concern. We had neighbors years ago that poisoned another neighbors outdoor cat. People are just crazy.

 

I have a lot of experience with roommates. If you think a house neighbor can be a nightmare, wait til you're under the same roof. The worst one was a lady who flat out served me an eviction notice for changing the thermostat. Yep. No shit. The cop who served it to me gave me the best advice in the world: apologize and ask to work it out peaceful-like. I did and she rescinded the notice and I moved within the week.

Even if that person is in the wrong, you have to live with them until one of you moves. If you care about your dogs' lives, sanity, legal issues....it is worth it to play nice and work it out with the guy.

 

And this is why you need documentation and the police on your side.