Completely Helpless!

Just the other day, Animal Control made another visit to our neighbors house because our neighbors dog has started up with its persistent barking. I'm not sure what to do next, and have sent an email to Animal Control. I'm not sure what else to do, its a upsetting to not be able to trust a neighbor, or worry about what they might do.

Below is my letter to Animal Control:

Thanks again for all your help. I did want to fill you in on the events that transpired after your response. The neighbor came over to my house, while my wife and son were home alone. He was not kind, and was confrontational. He told my wife that we need to stop reporting them. He also told us if the its such a problem, then we should move. Of course, this is not an option, and I do not have that kind of money. I called Animal Control before calling the Police, just to make sure I was within my rights. I am very upset, and concerned. We did call the police, and they came and talked to my wife. The police did go over to the residence, but no one was home when he went over.

We have now been confined to one room in our home, that is away from our backyard. Today, the neighbor left their dog out all day. And now the dog has barked consistently for over 3 hours. It is a slow bark, but it is a constant bark for attention, or to go inside. I don't know what else to do, and am very fearful of what this might escalate too.

The fact that someone came to my house, while I wasn't home, truly is upsetting. I am not able to protect my family, and feel helpless.

We continue to document, but are at a lost of what to do next. Is there anything else you can suggest. My wife is now also pregnant with our second child, and I don't want her stressed while she is pregnant. 

Any suggestions? I'm upset primarily, because now I am worried for my families safety. People can do funny things, regardless of who thinks they are right. When a person is upset, it makes for unpredictable situations. I love my family, and I only want to provide from them, all that I can. That includes a peaceful home to enjoy our time together.

Response from Animal Services

I received a promising response from my local animal services. The person I have been working with, has been very good about responding to my emails. She also makes it a point to confirm receipt of any complaints. It gives me some solace thinking that the person I am working with, at animal services, cares about my situation.

It's easy to dismiss noise pollution, or in this instance a barking dog, as a minor problem. But it is so far from a minor problem. When my wife, locks herself in the bathroom, with the fan on high in tears, because of the constant barking, I think there is a major problem. You would think that this type of emotional response might be reserved for traumatic experiences, like a terrifying storm, or maybe a prowler in the neighborhood. The reality is, nuisance noise can drive a person to go crazy, literally. My wife and I are now at the point, that when we hear a dog bark anywhere, we physically cringe. It's upsetting to know, a dog, has conditioned us to respond to barking in such a way.

I've been reaching out to the online community, and am finding more and more horror stories every day. As I have been reaching out, I thought, "How many of us, would it take, to make some change in how nuisance dog barking were taking more seriously". The only number I could come up with was 1 million. It seems to be a magic number. The million man march, 1 million dollars, and in this case, I believe 1 million of us that are fighting for the rights of humans, might be enough to have an impact on this problem.

Of course reaching 1 million people that are all in agreement with my cause, might be far fetched, but I figure it's a goal none the less. So I plan on starting small, and hopefully one day hit that number of followers, willing to stand up for this cause. So for now, my goal is to get 100 followers to my blog. These followers would constitute the population of people willing to fight for our rights to a quiet neighborhood. Free from nuisance dog barking.

Thankfully I'm not alone

I'm sorely glad, that I have found other people with the same problems my family has faced with nuisance neighbors barking dog. Lately I have been scouring the internet of stories, of nuisance neighbors and their dogs or other activities. My stories seem to pale in comparison to so many, but the end result remains the same. We live in what we would hope to be a quiet and peaceful place, and a thoughtless neighbor takes away our peace by allowing their dog to bark with no consequence. It's actually a terrifying examination of human nature, learning about these neighbors and the horror stories of how the neighbors react, to otherwise polite attempts to resolve the situation. I am glad though to find, I am not alone, and that their is some civility out there. I truly wish everyone to enjoy the fruits of their labor, and that includes ones own home, and the peace and quiet we should all expect to experience there.

Today I was thinking about what goes into licensing a pet. And I believe it is merely a formality by local government to keep track of animals and their dwellings. But then I thought, what a great opportunity to qualify an owner, to be a competent dog/pet owner. Wouldn't that just make sense. Not that I want to take away from dog ownership, but improperly raised dogs cause problems for the owners and the public. Unfortunately, I believe many people own dogs merely as a novelty. They like the company of the dog when it is convenient to them. But dogs require constant interaction and attention. With proper caring and training a dog is definitely a great companion to have. But without that caring and training, a dog is left to be a nuisance to the owner and others. Also, as a dog/pet owner, additional requirements might include, specific verbiage by local government holding the owners responsible for keeping their dogs from nuisance barking or nuisance behavior. Stipulations like this, might deter a person from owning a dog and truly consider all the ramifications of owning a pet.

I'm hoping to stay consistent now with what I started with my site, BarkFreeZone.com . It all started as a way to vent, but now I see it can be used to reach out and unite people looking for some relief from what is already a hectic world we're all part of.

It's hard to love thy Neighbor!

I've sat at my window thinking, "God, do you really want me to love this person, this person who cares nothing for his own animal? That they just leave it outside, and bring it in when it suits them. Do I really care to love my neighbor, since they show no regard to myself? The same neighbor who shows no consideration for anyone else, by having a yard full of junk. God, how do I love any neighbor in that case?"

I think many people have to, at some point, realize that one of our greatest commandments, is almost impossible for us to embrace. We would rather skip over this commandment, in hopes that it won't matter so much in the end. My only option to show any love for my neighbor is to pray for them. I know we all have our struggles, and I can pray for their lives, and peace on them. I think God asks us to be selfless, and learn to love like God loves. It's what makes us human though, and flawed.

I will keep trying to "Love" my neighbor, but when we aren't able to find silence, because of their nuisance dog, I feel only malice towards them, for not being considerate. I'll keep trying, and in the meantime, I'll pray for us all, because we're all here together, trying to just get by sometimes.

Almost a year of Nuisance Dog Barking!

I started this blog as a way to vent about our neighbors nuisance dog. I stayed pretty consistent for a couple of months, but then I faded. Not because the dog stopped barking, but because I think I was giving up. But I realized today, that I need to keep up with my posts. Nuisance dogs are a problem. I should really say, nuisance dog owners are the problem. My wife and I have been trying to enjoy our Holiday weekend, sitting around the fire, decorating the tree, and just enjoying family time. But our neighbor has managed to make it impossible to enjoy our own home. The neighbors dog had barked most of the day for extremely long durations. At one point the dog barked for over an hour straight, just because we were in the backyard. We tried the Dog Silencer Pro, but I don't think we had the patience to keep the dog barker on the full 2 weeks or more for it to become effective. One problem using the Dog Silencer Pro, or probably any other dog silencing device, is that there is an initial "Training Period" which means the dog will probably bark much more than before the device. Unfortunately for us, we couldn't handle the additional barking that the Dog Silencing device created.

My wife had to leave the house twice to get away and relax. She had to leave her own beautiful home to relax! On top of our attempts to use a dog silencing device, we've also stopped using our backyard. My son is almost two, and loves to be outside. But because of this dog, we have been unable to enjoy backyard time together as a family. We primarily play in the front yard, or he helps me in the garage. I love my family, and as a husband, I only want whats best for them. I feel helpless when dealing with a neighbors nuisance dog.

On top of our attempts at dog silencing products, we have numerous complaints in to our local animal control services. Including 2 citations. My last email to our animal control was more of a desperate plea. I'm posting a video this time, of the dog that has ruined our otherwise beautiful home. This is the dog barking for over a minute pretty much non-stop. This video shows what the dog does for very long durations, with no response from the owners. If anyone else has any suggestions, please, please offer them. Aside from trying legally to have the nuisance dog dealt with, we plan on putting in a privacy hedge next year. We'll see what happens, this week we plan on filing another formal complaint, which will make this the 3rd citation.

Was it a Full Moon?!

I started this blog primarily because I was, and still am frustrated with nuisance dogs. As I was outside this weekend, I was uspet to hear many dogs in the neighborhood that were barking non-stop. The only saving grace was most the dogs were far enough from our house, that when my wife and I went inside it wasn't so bothersome. But it made me think. Are other neighbors annoyed? Are they reporting these dogs? Are they doing anything? But I actually stumbled on something that made me realize, I must not be the only one. I always keep track of the visits to the blog, even though I haven't had any comments, I am getting traffic. Normally I have 10-15 unique visitors. That means people are searching for solutions to nuisance dogs. I sure don't have the end all solution, but I'm hoping to help people come up with some. This weekend I noticed a spike in searches for "silencing dogs" or nuisance dogs. Surprisingly this coincided with an increase in dog barking in my neighborhood. Coincidence or not, it made me realize people are suffering from peoples inability to take care of their novelty pets. I love dogs and animals just as much as the next, but if a person isn't able to keep their dog quiet, they shouldn't be allowed to have one.

If you are on the fence about reporting a nuisance dog to Animal Control or the appropriate authorities, I urge you to follow thru and report. It is important to report incidences of nuisance dogs to animal control. Part of their responsibilty is to educate people of properly handling a dog. That also includes educating pet owners of the real reason a dog barks.

Coming soon, I will start posting the contact information of your local Animal Control. If you know your local Animal control contact information, please let me know. I would like to compile a complete list of Animal Controls across the US and the proper procedures for reporting.

Letter to Animal Control for assistance:

My heart rate is up again, it's 9:30 pm, and my wife is trying to get baby down. Unfortunately, our neighbors dog is wide awake and left with no answer to it's plead for attention. We have already submitted our formal letter of complaint to Animal Services, but since it has only been a week, we're not sure if they have taken any formal action. I'm kind of upset...it is very frustrating. So to see if Animal Services can assist me in any way, here is my email/letter to them pleading for some help:


Hello Animal Services,

My wife and I recently filed our formal complaint with regards to address: Anywhere USA. We documented 3 months of activity. We continue to document. Is there any other steps we should follow moving forward. The yard is not very "tidy" either and for such a large dog, there really is no activity for it in there backyard. It is very frustrating especially in the evening. We have made it a point to leave our house most days after work, so not to be bothered. My wife and I are very upset that we live in such a great neighborhood yet we are not able to completely enjoy our own home.

Thank you for past assistance with regards to my original inquiry last year. The dog at the address you originally assisted with has not been a problem since. We grately appreciate the efforts of the Animal Services for that event.

Thank you again for any help you can be.

Frustrated Homeowner

I have received my Dog Silencer Pro back repaired. But I have not put it back up since we contacted Animal Services. I am waiting a week before putting it back up to see if Animal Services is able to remedy the problem. 

I plead to people, please own dogs responsibly. They are a huge responsibility and should not be taken in just because they are cute. They require much attention and care. And are full of energy that needs to be utilized. If not you end up with a dog with no way of expressing itself healthily, aside from damaging property or barking instantly 

Nice Weather, Bad Dog!

Well in my previous post I commented on how our neighbors nuisance dog had been pretty subdued because of the weather. Well beautiful weather is back, and as we went out to clean up the pool, true to form our neighbors dog decided to greet us with an onslaught of continuous barking. As for the Dog Silencer Pro, review will be coming soon, and I have a lot to say about what you get for the money. As for my plan to set up a hedge is still in the planning stages. I truly wish we could afford full size plants to create an immediate border, but our budget prevails and we'll have to wait for mother nature to fill in the gap once we decide to plant it.

I could use some suggestions on the hedge. I've seen what I want, and it is a year round hedge that right now in most places lots of its leaves have red tips to it. It's normally used as a low hedge, but if left to grow tall can reach over 15 feet. I've added a picture of what it looks like in my Dad's backyard for anyone to let me know what it is. I also like it because it only grows in about a 2 and a half feet deep area, letting use keep most of our yard.