Need some information about a disturbing the peace citation related to dogs

[NoOkie]

I just had animal control pay a visit to my house to issue me a citation for my dogs barking. As it was explained to me, the complaint was generated by my next door neighbor and carries a surprisingly large fine(He said it would probably be somewhere in the neighborhood of $175) for a 10:30am noise complaint.

This kind of blindsided me, as I've chatted with both of them before. The extent of the conversation about my dogs was them asking what my dogs names were, and a mention that the larger one had a loud bark. If it was a complaint, it was the most passive aggressive complaint ever and probably over six months ago. No other mentions, no asking me to keep them quiet, etc.

We do leave them out during the day, if the weather's not bad, but they're inside when we're home. No endless barking in the middle of the night, or anything like that.

When I calm down, I'm going to go see if I can't talk to them and work something out. Failing that, am I just screwed? If I go to court over it, how much weight will an attempt to resolve it independently or the fact that the neighbor never mentioned that it was bothering him carry? I'm not a perfect neighbor or anything, but I'm a reasonable person and would seek to accommodate my neighbors. Never been to court before, and all the information I can find online about the particular statute is about filing one, not being the guy on the other side of it.

[rezman]

There should be an an arraignment date on your citation where you can go to court and plead guilty, not guilty, or no contest. Plead not guilty and you and your neighbor will receive a court date for a hearing to discuss your case. You will also have to post bond on your citation at that time. When you have your hearing, you and your neighbor will have the opportunity to state your cases to the judge.

I would defiantly let the judge know that you were unaware that there was a problem and were not given the opportunity to remedy the situation.

[BoulderSooner]

Where the dogs barking when they showed up?

[NoOkie]

Where the dogs barking when they showed up?

They barked when he knocked on the door(They were inside). The animal control officer specifically said that they don't take that into account, as all dogs bark at the door.

[BBatesokc]

Couple of things.... One, as a home owner who has had to deal with neighbor's with barking dogs, I'm not really sympathetic to your plight. I'm astonished how some dog owners can simply ignore the fact their dog is outside barking. More than a minute is too long when homes are only 30-40' apart.

I don't know how you are with your dog, but obviously your neighbor was annoyed. But, i also realize that some neighbor's just like to complain about anything.

While your neighbor probably should have let you know they were fed up prior to calling the city, there is no legal requirement for them to do so.

Was your dog inside or outside when the city paid you a visit? If the city showed up and the dog was barking then, then the officer is most likely the complaining party. Otherwise, it means your neighbor was so annoyed they agreed to sign a complaint and show up to court to testify against you.

If it was the city, then you're probably out of luck. If it was signed by your neighbor then you could possibly work this out and avoid the date with the judge and/or fine.

I would keep your cool though or a hostile visit to your neighbor could escalate to a witness intimidation charge.

I've delt with this a few times. Twice all it took was a visit with the neighbor and letting them know I was recording their dog's barking and would sign a ticket (only got to that point when the neighbor acted like a jerk). The third resulted in the city showing up and heard the barking for thmeselves and issued a ticket. The dog owner got rid of the dog a day or two later.

[NoOkie]

Couple of things.... One, as a home owner who has had to deal with neighbor's with barking dogs, I'm not really sympathetic to your plight. I'm astonished how some dog owners can simply ignore the fact their dog is outside barking. More than a minute is too long when homes are only 30-40' apart.

I don't know how you are with your dog, but obviously your neighbor was annoyed. But, i also realize that some neighbor's just like to complain about anything.

While your neighbor probably should have let you know they were fed up prior to calling the city, there is no legal requirement for them to do so.

Was your dog inside or outside when the city paid you a visit? If the city showed up and the dog was barking then, then the officer is most likely the complaining party. Otherwise, it means your neighbor was so annoyed they agreed to sign a complaint and show up to court to testify against you.

If it was the city, then you're probably out of luck. If it was signed by your neighbor then you could possibly work this out and avoid the date with the judge and/or fine.

I would keep your cool though or a hostile visit to your neighbor could escalate to a witness intimidation charge.

I've delt with this a few times. Twice all it took was a visit with the neighbor and letting them know I was recording their dog's barking and would sign a ticket (only got to that point when the neighbor acted like a jerk). The third resulted in the city showing up and heard the barking for thmeselves and issued a ticket. The dog owner got rid of the dog a day or two later.

I've been on the other side of this, with an annoying dog that barked all night long, so I'm sympathetic to the other side. That being said, dogs barking during the day don't really bother me, there's plenty of noise from everything else. I'm mostly offended that he didn't come to me to try and work something out in the year that I've lived here. My dogs bark, the two houses behind us with dogs bark. I've had these dogs for years now, and neighbors at the other places I've haven't complained or mentioned anything.

The animal control office said it was specifically the neighbor, so I'm going to talk to him when I'm less annoyed. The money isn't ruinous or anything, the situation is just frustrating. I don't want to start a feud with my neighbor, and I don't want to be a jerk. If it's a big deal to him, I'm willing to work out some sort of resolution.

[rezman]

"If it was signed by your neighbor then you could possibly work this out and avoid the date with the judge and/or fine."

NoOkie has received a citation, so the fuse is already lit. Going over and talking to the neighbor will do nothing to avoid the citation. Going to court will be the only way at a chance to avoid paying the fine.

[NoOkie]

"If it was signed by your neighbor then you could possibly work this out and avoid the date with the judge and/or fine."

NoOkie has received a citation, so the fuse is already lit. Going over and talking to the neighbor will do nothing to avoid the citation. Going to court will be the only way at a chance to avoid paying the fine.

The officer said if we worked something out and the neighbor agreed to not show up(Or just didn't show up) the citation would be dismissed. I'm willing to try to handle this like rational people without the courts. The officer was pretty friendly, which was pretty different from some of my friends encounters with animal control(Admittedly, there were probably other circumstances with their dealings).

I mean, I'm not home during the day usually. When I am, I haven't noticed much barking(I send them outside when I'm on calls and such). Maybe my dogs are freaking out at something that wasn't at my last place and barking endlessly. Maybe the guy's disability is making him exhausted during the day and he's trying to sleep or something. I just don't know, because he hasn't brought anything to my attention. I'm just not happy about having to pay a fine for something I was unaware was a problem.

[BBatesokc]

"If it was signed by your neighbor then you could possibly work this out and avoid the date with the judge and/or fine."

NoOkie has received a citation, so the fuse is already lit. Going over and talking to the neighbor will do nothing to avoid the citation. Going to court will be the only way at a chance to avoid paying the fine.

The original poster was given the correct info from the officer. All the neighbor has to do is not show up and the case and ticket goes away. However, you better be sure he really isn't going to show up - otherwise he does and you don't and you lose by default.

No idea what it is with some neighbors. I have neighbors that I get along fantastically with, and then I have those whom we can't stand each other. Then there are those who only live feet away from me for 15 years and i have no idea who they are.

Had a crazy neighbor call the cops once because a television van was parked on the curb next to their home. He called the cops and they apparently ignored the call. 20 minutes later he called and said if they didn't show up he was going to handle it and he owned a gun. That escalated the call and three patrol cars and the helicopter showed up. Of course they saw no laws were being broke and then the neighbor denied calling 911 when they questioned him. Complete freak.

[rezman]

The neighbor, or complaintant, does not have to show up at the arraignment. Only the defendant. If the defendant pleads not guilty, then the neighbor needs to show up and the next court date if they want to be heard. And your right. If the neighbor doesn't show case dismissed ... minus court costs of course.

If NoOkie goes over and talks to the neighbors, and they come to a resolution, and the neighbor agrees not to show up for court, then NoOkie still needs to go to court to get his money back.

[rezman]

BBates, I too have no use for excessive barking dogs. And for the llife of me, I can't understand how the dogs owners can't hear it. Maybe they're oblivious to it. But it is a nuisance. Day or night, people have a right to peace and quiet in their own home.


Where I currently live, all residences are on 5 acre tracts. I had problems with barking dogs on both sides of me. The neighbor to the south of me started a puppy mill, and it was constant yapping day and night. This, in addition to the ginnies,
peacocks and roosters that he had. His response to my complaints to the barking dogs was ... "well, that's what dogs do"
The other neighbor lives three lots to the north, with the two lots between us vacant. At the time, he had three large dogs, two of them hounds that he keeps penned up, and never lets them out. The barking was very loud and carried all the way to my place unchecked. It was impossible to sit out on the porch and enjoy a beautiful day or evening with the constant racket coming from these neighbors. I went and talked to both of them. The neighbor to the north worked on correcting the problem. It still occurs, but not as often. The neighbor to the south could care less. It finally took multiple complaints from many of the other neighbors before he finally did something about it. This guy has been and still is a major problem in our neighborhood.

[betts]

How does one get one's dogs to stop barking? I've tried a couple of things, without success.

[Plutonic Panda]

Shock collars usually work. It might sound mean, but I've used them twice on two different dogs and they only have to wear them once for about 1 month. They will get the message.

[PennyQuilts]

I was once told that if you have a barking dog and want to know if their bark is bothering your neighbors, don't ask the neighbors if the bark "bothers" them. They'll typically hedge and it can lead to a bad situation. The suggestion was made that you should ask your neighbors if they could "hear" your dog barking and then track down when and how often it was happening.

I am a big dog lover and it is very hard to be objective about your dogs. My heart dog used to have the most ghastly bark and I worried that she was bothering people. I don't know what I would have done if someone had complained because, frankly, I have no idea how I would have been able to stop her barking when I wasn't home. I'd have moved, swear to god, before I would have given her up.

And that gets back to the situation at hand and trying to seek a resolution. If there is a question of whether the dogs are actually barking, that is a question of fact. Perhaps they really aren't being a nuisance but you won't know that if you really don't know how much they are barking when they are left alone. You need that information if you want to fight the accusation. Anyway to record them? It is hard to prove a negative, unfortunately.

And on the other hand, assuming the dogs really are being a nuisance, I would be at a loss how to deal with it. It isn't fair to disturb your neighbors and if your dogs or kids or the like are being unceasingly unpleasant, that's not fair. It isn't being a good neighbor.

Shock collars have limited value. Setting aside that I don't like them - I don't see how they could be used to train a dog to not bark when he doesn't bark unless you're gone. Shocking them when you are home and they are barking at the door or when they are playing with you is just mean and useless to teach them to not bark during the day - possibly out of boredom.

I don't mean to be negative. Looks to me like if you DO have barking dogs, it is going to take more than just getting the neighbor to overlook it. Perhaps you could look into a dog behavioralist but, again, getting dogs who are used to barking to stop when you aren't there to keep them from doing it is a trick. Doggie day care? That would be pretty pricey. Do you have a friend who could keep your dogs during the day?

What kind of dogs are they? How old?

Don't mean to be pessimistic. This is a situation that I feared would happen with my own dog.

[NoOkie]

I was once told that if you have a barking dog and want to know if their bark is bothering your neighbors, don't ask the neighbors if the bark "bothers" them. They'll typically hedge and it can lead to a bad situation. The suggestion was made that you should ask your neighbors if they could "hear" your dog barking and then track down when and how often it was happening.

I am a big dog lover and it is very hard to be objective about your dogs. My heart dog used to have the most ghastly bark and I worried that she was bothering people. I don't know what I would have done if someone had complained because, frankly, I have no idea how I would have been able to stop her barking when I wasn't home. I'd have moved, swear to god, before I would have given her up.

And that gets back to the situation at hand and trying to seek a resolution. If there is a question of whether the dogs are actually barking, that is a question of fact. Perhaps they really aren't being a nuisance but you won't know that if you really don't know how much they are barking when they are left alone. You need that information if you want to fight the accusation. Anyway to record them? It is hard to prove a negative, unfortunately.

And on the other hand, assuming the dogs really are being a nuisance, I would be at a loss how to deal with it. It isn't fair to disturb your neighbors and if your dogs or kids or the like are being unceasingly unpleasant, that's not fair. It isn't being a good neighbor.

Shock collars have limited value. Setting aside that I don't like them - I don't see how they could be used to train a dog to not bark when he doesn't bark unless you're gone. Shocking them when you are home and they are barking at the door or when they are playing with you is just mean and useless to teach them to not bark during the day - possibly out of boredom.

I don't mean to be negative. Looks to me like if you DO have barking dogs, it is going to take more than just getting the neighbor to overlook it. Perhaps you could look into a dog behavioralist but, again, getting dogs who are used to barking to stop when you aren't there to keep them from doing is a trick. Doggie day care? That would be pretty pricey. Do you have a friend who could keep your dogs during the day?

What kind of dogs are they? How old?

Don't mean to be pessimistic. This is a situation that I feared would happen with my own dog.

You raise a lot of good points. As far as recording them being a nuisance(or not), it's irrelevant to the issue of the citation. It specifies a specific date and time. The Animal Control officer even stated that one of the problems with the statute was that there was no firm definition of what a disturbance was, and it was entirely up to the person reporting. This is about something in the past. I may be able to talk the neighbor into backing off if I try to resolve the issue, at which point recording may help. Or if this turns into a feud sort of thing(I hope not).

As far as resolving the issue, the only thing that immediately springs to mind is my gates. The house has a privacy fence, but the gates in the back yard are chain link gates. There's a drainage canal on two sides of the yard, and dogs are in the yards on the other sides of the canal behind chain link fences. They may be barking at each other. Maybe putting up some privacy fence-style gates, or some other sort of obstruction may help. As far as shock collars go, I'm not a fan of negative reinforcement training techniques, they only work for so long and often have a detrimental effect. I also don't trust the audio activated automatic kind when the dog isn't supervised.

The dogs are both mutts. One's a lab/something mix(The shelter said wolfhound, but she doesn't have the size so we're not sure) who's about 6 and the other, little one is a spaniel/terrier mix of some sort who's 4-ish. The little one is mouthier, but the big one can be really loud when she barks. Historically, they're not endless barkers. There might be some barking at the mailman, or the dog on the other side of the fence for a minute, then they shut up and go sniff for squirrels.

[rezman]

There are training collars that are bark activated. Every time the dog barks, it gets a buzz. They are effective, but the down side is if it is left on the dog when it is home alone. If the dog needs to alert to problem, say a tresspasser, it can't because of the collar.

[JayhawkTransplant]

I have a citrus spray collar that I occasionally put on my dog when she is outside. It is bark activated and sprays a nice lemon scent whenever she barks. Dogs don't like the scent, and learn quickly not to bark. Some smart dogs learn to keep barking until the little spray canister runs out of scent, though. I only purchased it for times when I have a repair person or guests over...my dog is an overly-friendly dog that will not leave guests alone, but sits and barks outside in jealousy if you put her outside.

Moving forward, though, you should probably just leave your dogs inside during the day.

[BBatesokc]

As to a future solution - it really depends on what's setting the barking off. I had one neighbor whose dog only barked at night and it appeared to be because it was either bored, scared or simply wanted inside (where it was kept during the day). They had to get rid of the dog. Another neighbor had a pack of tiny yappers. She'd let them out 'to do their business' and they'd bark the entire time. I was okay with that because they were only outside for a few minutes. However, she started getting lots of guests over and she'd put the dogs outside while she had company over. She now appears to put them in the garage.

We've always had inside dogs. If I let them out and they start to bark at a neighbor, etc. I bring them inside immediately.

Our new house is on 2.5 acres and comes with an underground fence. Seems like a lot of neighbor's in that neighborhood use those (lots of big dogs that never leave their yard and rarely bark. I've never used an underground fence. I'm told I can call the company who installed it and they will train our dog. We'll see how that goes. Would love our dog to have the run of the place, but I'm fearful he will run to the curb every time a jogger goes by and bark at them.

[PennyQuilts]

I haven't read the statutes but in many places, whether a dog is being unreasonable has to do with the time it barks, how long it barks, etc. A dog that alerts on a lineman on the outskirts of the yard is one thing. A dog that goes out in the night and barks at a wondering cat is annoying, but if its owner promptly puts a stop to it, that is often enough to be considered reasonable. A dog that barks, and barks, and barks, and barks is a different kettle of fish.

I had one of those citrus sprayers for my dog, Jezebel, and had "some" success with it but the instructions make it clear that you aren't to leave it on the dog when the dog isn't being supervised. I have to say that it was pretty traumatic for her - she would get very upset and I still feel bad about that. Thing is, she never got the idea that she shouldn't bark, period. She'd start barking and if I told her "do you want to wear the collar?" she'd look horrible and stop. But absent that prompt, she'd keep barking.

My other dog, who was a rascal, would stand next to Jezebel when she was wearing the collar - being good and quiet. The other dog would bark right at her to set it off. She had a wicked sense of humor, especially when the joke was on Jezebel. Jezebel may be the only Samoyed I've ever had that felt guilty about anything.

[RadicalModerate]

If you are on the receiving end of the endless barking of a neighbor's dog, this thing called a "Sonic Egg"--made by Sunbeam and available at Pet Smart--works just like it says (and you hope) that it will. It is perhaps the best $45 or so that I've ever spent for a little peace and quiet.

[NoOkie]

As to a future solution - it really depends on what's setting the barking off. I had one neighbor whose dog only barked at night and it appeared to be because it was either bored, scared or simply wanted inside (where it was kept during the day). They had to get rid of the dog. Another neighbor had a pack of tiny yappers. She'd let them out 'to do their business' and they'd bark the entire time. I was okay with that because they were only outside for a few minutes. However, she started getting lots of guests over and she'd put the dogs outside while she had company over. She now appears to put them in the garage.

We've always had inside dogs. If I let them out and they start to bark at a neighbor, etc. I bring them inside immediately.

Our new house is on 2.5 acres and comes with an underground fence. Seems like a lot of neighbor's in that neighborhood use those (lots of big dogs that never leave their yard and rarely bark. I've never used an underground fence. I'm told I can call the company who installed it and they will train our dog. We'll see how that goes. Would love our dog to have the run of the place, but I'm fearful he will run to the curb every time a jogger goes by and bark at them.

The bigger of our dogs hasn't historically been a barker, but we used to have a full privacy fence and not this partial one. My wife used to work from home and would put them out for a while during the day to run around, so we have observed their behavior out in the yard, during the day. The problem with those invisible fences is that if the dog goes over it(Like if it was chasing a squirrel and didn't slow down), it may not come back in as it doesn't want the shock.

Really, my biggest peeve with this whole thing is that the neighbor didn't come to me with the problem. I've got no desire to piss my neighbors off, and would have done something. On the other hand, I've got no desire to pay a $200 fine, either. I get the impression he's a little unhappy about the house being rented out, especially since my land lord and I can't come to an agreement about fixing the damaged zeroscaping in the front yard.

[HangryHippo]

How does one get one's dogs to stop barking? I've tried a couple of things, without success.

A spray bottle of vinegar water. 1 part vinegar, 3 parts water. Spray in the dogs face (it won't hurt their eyes) and they'll quit barking immediately. Keep it up for a week and they learn. I prefer this method because, well, I'm just not into shocking dogs.

[HangryHippo]

I would defiantly let the judge know that you were unaware that there was a problem and were not given the opportunity to remedy the situation.

Would the judge appreciate being told defiantly? Seems like that might not be his best course of action. However, I'd definitely tell the judge your side of the story.

[rezman]

Would the judge appreciate being told defiantly? Seems like that might not be his best course of action. However, I'd definitely tell the judge your side of the story.

Spelling patrol are we? .... Great!

[BBatesokc]

Would the judge appreciate being told defiantly? Seems like that might not be his best course of action. However, I'd definitely tell the judge your side of the story.

You can certainly give it a shot, but don't hold your breath. I sit in on city and county court all the time. While it certainly comes down to the individual Judge, I find these things are pretty cut and dry. If your neighbor says it happens all the time (or with any sort of regularity) and is willing to show up in court, then the judge will most likely give little weight to, "but your honor, I had no idea."

That said, i saw where a man's unleashed dog attacked a mailman and the judge gave him the dog back and very little fine.

Best course of action is to work it out with the neighbor. If you have to go to court, consider getting another neighbor to come with you to testify that your dog does not bark regularly (a letter - even notarized - can be meaningless with some judges) and don't ask your other neighbor to lie (that's just tacky and bad karma).

Also, if you get to state your case, be sure and have a plan for moving forward to keep your dog from barking while you are away and clearly express that plan to the judge (like keeping your dog inside).

Also, if you're in Oklahoma City, call City Action and request a history of calls to your address. This is good info as it will show how many times neighbors have called in on your dogs. This can work for you and against you depending on the info.

I did this a few years ago when myself and a couple of our neighbors went to court over a problem house. We finally signed tickets against our neighbor when City Action just kept giving warnings. We showed the judge that this address had over 40 complaints called in, in the last 18 months. The judge gave him several fines totaling around $2,000.