Neighbor's dog barking

[Cocaine]

Funny thing is about a year ago my neighbors dog was barking a LOT like way past 3 AM. I chose to ignore it I start getting calls from Animal control telling me that I need to keep my dog quiet. I told them that i don't have a dog. I got a ticket for it like a week later. I didn't have to pay it after calling them again and saying I don't have a dog. I just felt like it was weird though because the dog was never in my back yard.

[NoOkie]

What city and what agency issued the ticket (police, City Action, nuisance abatement, etc.)?

Like I said before, we went through this with City Action and they never issued an actual ticket. When we went through OCPD they would. I've even seen people arrested over a barking dog complaint if the owner got too lippy.

I've seen a few small claims actions in OKC over barking dogs too.

Sorry for being so late to answer. It was OKC and Animal Control was the agency. The citation form was the same as you'd get from OCPD for a traffic ticket or whatever. There was never any threat to do more than the citation, but I'm not the sort to get rude with officers. My main beef was that there was no warning and my neighbor didn't try to talk it over with me. I'd lived here for over a year at that point, and while we're not best buds or anything, we've talked and are friendly enough. He has a chronic disease and I can only figure he was having a really ****ty day and the dogs barking just got to him.

It was pretty different from when I lived in the village. Some people in the house behind me chained their dog(A scotty or some sort of terrier) in the back yard 24/7. It would bark and howl and whatnot all night long and kept me up on more than one occasion. Nothing was ever done about it, despite a few calls. The thing just disappeared one day and was replaced by a pit mix with violent tendencies. The pit didn't bark all night, at least.

[warreng88]

Well, I will give you all an update on what has happened since I last posted. After I talked to the neighbors and told them we had contacted the action center, they got a bark collar and that dog stopped barking. Now, the other dog has started barking at about the same strength and frequency as the first one did. It wasn't as loud or as long as the first dog early on but over the last week, it has gotten progressively worse. My wife is going to call the action center today to tell them that we were woken up at 3:15am and ended up going into the spare bedroom at the front of the house so it wouldn't be as loud. I was still hearing it bark around 4:00 am this morning and then I finally drifted off to sleep. I think I am going to buy the egg thing and just hang it in our yard, facing theirs and see if it works. If not, they will end up getting a fine and at this point in time, I really don't care.

[PennyQuilts]

Let us know how the egg thing works - very curious about that.

Sorry about the lost sleep. I had a dog, years ago, that was the most wonderful girl ever whelped. But OMG, her bark would shatter glass. I tried my best to keep her from barking and she was such a sweet thing the neighbors loved her, too. But when she died, although they were all hugely sympathetic, I couldn't help but suspect some of them were secretly relieved.

The good news is that we kept her inside at night and in the evening so she didn't disturb anyone's sleep (except ours). If she was barking outside, she was brought right back in. My own ears nearly exploded, regularly (indoors). I never had a complaint that she was barking during the day and on the weekends and evenings when we were home, she usually didn't. But when she DID bark, good lord. It wasn't the frequency, it was the intensity.

I finally got her a citronella collar and she hated it but it worked. You aren't supposed to leave it on them unless they are supervised so we didn't. All I had to do was ask her if she wanted the collar and she would dip her head and hush. Poor thing.

The other dog would go stand next to her and bark to make it go off. She thought that was hysterical and my poor girl wearing the collar would just be miserable. We would, of course, put a stop to that but the other dog showed no remorse. The other dog is the only dog to ever go to hell.

[warreng88]

The other dog would go stand next to her and bark to make it go off. She thought that was hysterical and my poor girl wearing the collar would just be miserable. We would, of course, put a stop to that but the other dog showed no remorse. The other dog is the only dog to ever go to hell.

As frustrating as this whole process has been, this made me laugh out loud. I am not sure if you meant it to, but that was the effect.

My wife called the action center this morning and they transferred her to animal welfare. She explained the situation and the person said the next step is to come downtown (somewhere), sign a sitation and they will issue a fine. I think it is $175. This is fuel for our conversation with them after I get off work. I will tell them if they don't fix it, I will go down and sign the sitation. It's not something I want to do, but I will do it if it will get them to get the dog to stop barking.

[PennyQuilts]

As frustrating as this whole process has been, this made me laugh out loud. I am not sure if you meant it to, but that was the effect.

My wife called the action center this morning and they transferred her to animal welfare. She explained the situation and the person said the next step is to come downtown (somewhere), sign a sitation and they will issue a fine. I think it is $175. This is fuel for our conversation with them after I get off work. I will tell them if they don't fix it, I will go down and sign the sitation. It's not something I want to do, but I will do it if it will get them to get the dog to stop barking.

Glad you got a laugh - miserable dog neighbor situations are no laughing matter for the most part. Let me just say that I lived in fear that someone would complain about my dog and I'd have sold my house at a loss and moved if it meant having to get rid of her. Which, of course, is why she wasn't allowed to bark her head off so that probably was an attitude that slanted in the neighbors' favor. I think you are being more than reasonable in the way you are handling this. Perhaps the neighbors might be willing to buy the sonic egg and give it a try as one more attempt before you file. Let us know how it goes.

[warreng88]

Glad you got a laugh - miserable dog neighbor situations are no laughing matter for the most part. Let me just say that I lived in fear that someone would complain about my dog and I'd have sold my house at a loss and moved if it meant having to get rid of her. Which, of course, is why she wasn't allowed to bark her head off so that probably was an attitude that slanted in the neighbors' favor. I think you are being more than reasonable in the way you are handling this. Perhaps the neighbors might be willing to buy the sonic egg and give it a try as one more attempt before you file. Let us know how it goes.

I will bring it up. I am not sure how open they are to the idea though. From what I get from them, they don't hear the sound, so it is not their problem and that is what frustrates me the most. The funniest part about this whole thing I think is trying to follow their logic. Several months ago, I went over for the first time and told them the dog had been barking. They said their bedroom is at the front of the house and they don't hear it. A few weeks ago, I told them about it again and offered the idea of a bark collar or something of that affect. He said he wants them to be able to bark in case someone jumps the fence and is trying to break in the house or something. Let me know if you see the irony in that...

[PennyQuilts]

Yeah, they don't hear them bark all night but want them in case they actually DO bark. I don't know that trying to get into their head and follow their logic is a safe path. It sounds full of twists, turns and dark alleys. Carry a flashlight.

Are these dogs outside or inside? I "get" that they want to be warned about intruders but to be honest, I don't think a dog with a collar or the egg (assuming it works) would stand idly by if someone tried to get in the yard. Who knows, they might change from a watch dog to a guard dog. IMO, they should just bring the dogs inside at night, even if it means locking them in the kitchen. It won't kill them to wait until morning to go outside and do their thing.

[warreng88]

Yeah, they don't hear them bark all night but want them in case they actually DO bark. I don't know that trying to get into their head and follow their logic is a safe path. It sounds full of twists, turns and dark alleys. Carry a flashlight.

Are these dogs outside or inside? I "get" that they want to be warned about intruders but to be honest, I don't think a dog with a collar or the egg (assuming it works) would stand idly by if someone tried to get in the yard. Who knows, they might change from a watch dog to a guard dog. IMO, they should just bring the dogs inside at night, even if it means locking them in the kitchen. It won't kill them to wait until morning to go outside and do their thing.

They have two german shephards, one Alaskan malamute and two weenie dogs. All but the weenie dogs are outside and they are always outside. Even when the weather got down into the single digits they were outside barking. I can only imagine the translation of the barking was, "HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY! WE'RE COLD OUT HERE! HOW'S ABOUT LETTING US IN?!? HEY! HELLO? HEY!....." I appreciate people who get dogs from the pound before they are put down and everything but when you leave your dogs out in the cold all the time and really never play with them (we hardly ever see anyone back in the back yard with them or taking them on walks), I kind of think they would be better off with someone else as their owner. The dog that was the start of the problem was being taken to the pound by the lady who lives next door's sister and she said bring her to us instead.

[warreng88]

Another update: I went over to tell the neighbor on Monday after work that I heard her barking again Sunday night around 2am. He immediately got defensive and told us they have spent about $300 on different bark collars and noise boxes and they don't work on her. He doesn't know what else to do. I have not seen any of these items but he said either she gets used to the barking or she just barks through it. He said when I went over to tell them what actions we were taking, he felt threatened about me saying that the city could take the dog away. He said he would open up the gate and tell them good luck... He was a complete @$$ about the situation when I was just trying to be as patient as possible.

Well, Monday night, we didn't hear anything, so we thought they had figure it out. Tuesday night it barked for a little while around 5am. This morning around 5:30am it was barking constantly for about 15 minutes. We moved into the other bedroom just to sleep but I could still hear it around 6:15am when my other neighbor left for work (he always leaves at 6:15am). My wife went down and filed a formal complaint where they will be issued a citation and a fine. She said it is much like a traffic ticket where they can either pay it or we have to show up for a court date. At any rate, I have basically logged on this forum what the problem has been and what I have done to try to fix it. I also have e-mails with my wife where we talked about the issue. She has e-mails between her and the city action center filing a formal complaint. We are going to log all these together in case we are called to court for this. They did say it would take a few days for the ticket to be issued and then we will have the information where we can see if they have paid the fine or if they are fighting. From here, we can file another complaint and they can be issued another ticket if necessary. Not sure how many times it takes before they eventually just take the dog away from them. At this point, I think that would be the best option since they obviously don't care enough the permanently fix the problem.

[PennyQuilts]

Wait. I'm still back at the point of reading that they are keeping the heavy coated northern dogs indoors but kicking out the yappers. Jeeze, I can appreciate not wanting one of those coyotes snacks in my house (vbg) but leaving them out in the cold is awful. Did your wife report that? Take pictures of the poor things, next time.

Your neighbor is a self centered ass. That's probably too many dogs in the first place, especially when he isn't even bringing a couple inside. I feel sorry for those dogs. I can appreciate that he is frustrated - I would be, too. And scared of losing my dogs. But you can't go around bothering the neighbors and bringing them indoors is an easy fix.

[warreng88]

Wait. I'm still back at the point of reading that they are keeping the heavy coated northern dogs indoors but kicking out the yappers. Jeeze, I can appreciate not wanting one of those coyotes snacks in my house (vbg) but leaving them out in the cold is awful. Did your wife report that? Take pictures of the poor things, next time.

Your neighbor is a self centered ass. That's probably too many dogs in the first place, especially when he isn't even bringing a couple inside. I feel sorry for those dogs. I can appreciate that he is frustrated - I would be, too. And scared of losing my dogs. But you can't go around bothering the neighbors and bringing them indoors is an easy fix.

The bigger dogs are the ones outside, the weenie dogs are inside, just to clarify. From post #59: "They have two german shephards, one Alaskan malamute and two weenie dogs. All but the weenie dogs are outside and they are always outside."

He says that he thinks the dog has such a low bark that the bark collars don't register it or she just gets used to it. He said he could muzzle her but what happens if someone/something comes back there and she has to defend herself. At this point in time, I really don't care about them anymore. I will wave at them in the spring while mowing the lawn if they wave first, but I am not going to apologize for doing what we are doing. And if he gets violent (which is what I am afraid of) he could go to jail. He owns a gun (I assume it is registered, otherwise he wouldn't have told me about it) and he is a d!ck and I hope those two things don't come together on the wrong day. If he knocks on the door loudly and starts yelling, I will tell him I am going to call the police or he can step away and we can have an adult conversation.

[PennyQuilts]

Ah, my mistake - well, that makes better sense.

[PennyQuilts]

The bigger dogs are the ones outside, the weenie dogs are inside, just to clarify. From post #59: "They have two german shephards, one Alaskan malamute and two weenie dogs. All but the weenie dogs are outside and they are always outside."

He says that he thinks the dog has such a low bark that the bark collars don't register it or she just gets used to it. He said he could muzzle her but what happens if someone/something comes back there and she has to defend herself. At this point in time, I really don't care about them anymore. I will wave at them in the spring while mowing the lawn if they wave first, but I am not going to apologize for doing what we are doing. And if he gets violent (which is what I am afraid of) he could go to jail. He owns a gun (I assume it is registered, otherwise he wouldn't have told me about it) and he is a d!ck and I hope those two things don't come together on the wrong day. If he knocks on the door loudly and starts yelling, I will tell him I am going to call the police or he can step away and we can have an adult conversation.

Did he bring up the gun to intimidate or in the course of the conversation regarding security? Or some other time? I hope things don't escalate. Lots of jerks out there, unfortunately.

[warreng88]

Did he bring up the gun to intimidate or in the course of the conversation regarding security? Or some other time? I hope things don't escalate. Lots of jerks out there, unfortunately.

I knew about it several months ago when he and his grandson were playing in the front yard and a stray dog came over to intimidate him. He told me he started carrying his gun out when he does yard work and sees that dog. I understand that as the stray was very agreesive.

[PennyQuilts]

Gracious. That sounds like the Wild West for animal control!

[NWOKCGuy]

Warren, I put an article about the city policy in the Crestwood Chronicle. We're having it printed tomorrow and should be out to the neighborhood by the end of the month.

[warreng88]

Warren, I put an article about the city policy in the Crestwood Chronicle. We're having it printed tomorrow and should be out to the neighborhood by the end of the month.

Thanks for that. I e-mailed the Crestwood Chronicle asking for clarification on that matter. I am glad to see something happening here.

[OKCRT]

Thanks for that. I e-mailed the Crestwood Chronicle asking for clarification on that matter. I am glad to see something happening here.

At this point I would just start calling in on the dogs everyday. It appears that you have wasted too much time on this problem and it's now time to let animal control take it over.

[RadicalModerate]

If you don't want to make the trip over to that PetStore on May to buy a Sonic Egg (from Sunbeam, that really does work, on most dogs) I will loan you mine. All I need is the 411 on how to do that.

[Mel]

My immediate neighbors have barking rats and their squeaky noises is beyond my range of hearing now-a-days.

[RadicalModerate]

Thanks for that. I e-mailed the Crestwood Chronicle asking for clarification on that matter. I am glad to see something happening here.

If the Crestwood Chronicle isn't too glossy might they consider an ad for The Sunbeam Sonic Egg ala Pet Smart?
Should that fail, perhaps the Oklahoma Gazette?
(no sh!t: The Egg does the trick.)

"Crestwood Chronicle" (heh, heh, heh) . . .
Re-Urbanizaion at it's finest . . .

[blangtang]

someone mentioned 5 dogs in one yard...

thats a lot...

another town in the metro requires a "kennel license permit " for above " x # of dogs " per residence...

I've seen annoyed neighbors pursue this approach successfully, if the barking thing doesn't pan out...

[BBatesokc]

What not to do....

Fed up neighbor uses gun to threaten owner of barking dogs

Honestly, I feel for the guy who pulled the gun. Sounds like the dog owner is a real ass and that people have tried a more calm approach with the city to no avail.

I can see where this would drive a home owner over the edge - unless you've lived next to 24/7 barking dogs you have no idea the misery.

While his gun stunt was ill advised, I hope his lawyer sticks to a strategy of 'my client felt his life was threatened when the home owner began beating on his car and he was simply try to get him to back away so her could retreat.'

That stance will probably get him a deferred that will go away eventually.