Barking dog

Wibbles

One of our neighbours has a dog - they work odd hours (like going out at 6pm and not returning home until 7 am) - the dog is left alone for this time and obviously it barks and barks and barks……..and finally when it quietens down, a noisy car drives past and starts it off again.

It appears to be shut IN the house for 12+ hours at a time.

It is now starting to affect me and my wife, negatively and we are considering ANONYMOUSLY reporting the owners to the "authorities."

The house is privately owned.

This has been going on for a good 3 months.

Some of the other neighbours have tried to talk to the family and got nowhere

Who would listen to us ? RSPCA, Council ….. ?

Bluebell21

Hi @Wibbles I would suggest your Council. Good luck.

judie

You could try an anonymous, polite letter stressing your concerns for how miserable the dog seems to be (they may be unaware) and also mention that it is causing stress for the neighbours too.

Jimm_Scope

If you've reached a place where you're very uncomfortable and worried for the dogs wellbeing I would consider reaching out to an organisation about it. The RSPCA has a guide about it here:

Report Cruelty | RSPCA - RSPCA - rspca.org.uk

Wibbles

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/898863#Comment_898863

I don’t think that it is animal cruelty – more neighbour cruelty. The owners obviously are unaware that the dog is continually barking when it is left on it’s own.

OverlyAnxious

Not sure there's an RSPCN. 🤔

Jimm_Scope

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/898898#Comment_898898

Ah, one of the options is "neglect" and it sounded like it was a form of neglect. Perhaps, if you know them to be reasonable people, a letter or something else anonymous could be used to let them know of the problem. If nothing changes, then I think you could probably say there is a form of neglect and call an organisation?

Steve_in_The_City

People need to be taught how to socialise dogs so that they don't bark unnecessarily. Leaving a dog alone for hours on end is beyond cruel. My last dog entered The Universe in 2011 and I wasn't in a position physically or financially to have another one. None of my dogs have ever barked without reason (usually when the doorbell rings). I see people on the park with dogs, and the people have no idea how to handle them. Anyway @Wibbles to stay on-thread, I fully understand your frustration. I had neighbours who had barking dogs and it is enough to drive you up the wall. I don't think anything can be done about it. So I am sorry I can't help in any practical way but I thought it may help for you to know that other people (including dog owners) have this problem too. My sister has a yappy Yorkie and I thank my lucky stars that I don't have to live next door to her.

Meg24

Former Environmental Health professional here - noise nuisance is an extremely difficult thing to deal with from a private residence, what you have to prove is that the noise constitutes a 'statutory nuisance' and that cn be a subjective judgement, especially with a noise that comes and goes. The Council can issue a warning letter and will probably ask you to keep a diary, but realistically there's not much chance that they will have the power to do much more. You might have better luck with the RSPCA, or maybe just having a friendly chat with them informing them that the dog is upset, it's possible that they don't know that and are assuming because it's nighttime that the dog sleeps. They might be motivated to sort it out if they love their dog, I would. Good luck.

Albus_Scope

I'm agreeing with Meg24 here, I'd say the first thing to do would be to speak to the neighbours, they may be unaware that their dog is so distressed when they leave. Any good dog owner would be horrified by that thought.