Removing foul cat pee odor
Barking Neighborhood Dogs
Dec 1999
Please help me with a barking dog in the neighborhood that wakes us up
in the middle of the night and barks at us when we are in our backyard.
I have already called the Walnut Creek police to ask the owner's to bring
the dog inside because it was barking at 4:00 a.m. and woke us up again.
The owner does not seem to care that his dog bothers other people. I just
called animal control because the dog barked last night from 3:00 a.m.
to 6:00 a.m. All animal control said they could do is send out a letter.
If the owner does not respond then another letter will be sent out. And if
that still doesn't work then a third letter will be sent out and we
could discuss the problem with an arbitrator. We could probably deal with
the dog barking at us while we are in our backyard however, not in the middle
of the night. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.
I can't help you on dealing with your neighbors, but I did just see a
program talking about a humane way to stop barking. Its a collar that
goes off when the dog barks, but instead of a shock, it spays a citrus spray
in the air. Apparently, dogs really don't like the scent, and it works as
behavior modification. Maybe your neighbor can be talked into making the
dog wear the collar, especially since its so harmless? Just a
thought....
We had the same problem a few years ago with a very uncooperative neighbor.
We first called them a few times when the dog would wake us up and they were
very hostile. (we later learned that they may have been fighting the poor
dogs who were pit bulls.) Hopefully your neighbor is not like this. The
tactic we used was to say that the dog was creating a nuisance. There is
probably a city ordinances that talks about nuisances in Walnut Creek.
Generally, there are times of the day when you can make noise, after which
your noise becomes a nuisance. A nuisance can also be anything unreasonable
that interferes with your use and enjoyment of your property. Our tactic was
to contact the landlord of the dog owners whenever we were woken up (and he
lived on the East Coast, so we'd call him in the wee hours of the am.)
We also called the dog owners but they became so hostile that we were scared
that they'd retaliate against our dogs, so we stopped calling them.
Throughout this time they refused to do anything, and even added new
dogs to their small back area. we also called the police, and they cited the
owners a few times for violating the noise/nuisance ordinances. It would
take a while for the police to arrive, but they would, eventually, and were
sympathetic. Then we told the landlord that we would file a claim in
small claims court unless it stopped, (again, for creating a nuisance) and we
began this process, when the dog owner finally just moved away. We had to be
very confrontational because both the dog owner and property owner refused to
compromise in any way. Hopefully this would all be last resort things for
you, but they are options if your neighbor won't come to mediation, or just
work it out. good luck.
Oct 1998
Can anyone tell me the legal approach to getting a neighbor to quiet their
dogs. I have a neighbor who allows her two dogs to bark, sometimes through
the night, in a residential neighborhood. Everyone in the neighborhood has
complained and she has refused to get collars to prevent to barking. She
feels the dogs keep her home secure by barking. My children are awakened
nightly. I lose sleep constantly. What legal course of action to I take?
I'd like to know the response about the barking dogs, as well. I live in
Oakland, my neighbors have three dogs that bark all the time. I've sent them
letters asking politely for them to keep the dogs inside the house, until at
least 7:30a.m and no later than 9:30p.m.. On and off they have done what I've
requested, but wouldn't speak with me afterwards. I don't want to have a bad
relationship with my neighbors because of their dogs but it's too hard to have
three dogs barking non-stopping all the time. I am hoping that my neighbors
have some common sense, however this struggle has been going on for 5 years
now. What should I do?
For the person complaining about the dogs: first of all, I sympathize
deeply with you. It is actually physically disturbing to listen to that
EVER, but to have it going on relentlessly at one's home is just this
side of torture.
Not knowing where you live, I can't cite the ordinances, but in Contra
Costa, the law is that more than one person whose dwelling is not
contiguous to/with the dwelling where the barking is happening must
complain to Animal Control. You might want to get with their counterpart
in your county and ask their laws. If you have several neighbors in your
corner, that's a bonus.
Best of luck to you. WHAT a bummer.
Mari
You don't say what city you live in. I live in El Cerrito and the police
department does a very good job of cracking down on noisy dogs. Once
someone complains, the officer given the assignment will come around the
neighborhood to find the offending canine. They will time the dog's
barking. If it continues in the presence of the officer for 10 minutes the
officer will knock on the door of the house from which the barking is
emanating. He/she will give the owner a warning and ask the the owner to
keep the dog quiet. Usually, it doesn't take more than a couple of visits
from the local police to change the owner's behavior and the dog is no
longer heard from. Have you tried your local police department? Margo
hopefully im not your neighbor. I have two barking dogs. The first time
I was informed they barked while im at work (certainly not when im home or
in the middle of the night) was when an annonymous neighbor put a very
nasty note on my door. I did by a shock collor, and now when there is
barking its because someone took it off or put the dog out without it.
That however didnt stop the nasty notes and eventual call to animal
control. When animla control came i paid th 1$ to get a copy of the
compliant so I could talk to which ever heighbor had the problem. the
complaint stated my dogs bark very early am every am. As i have been home
with my new babay and during my preganacy i realized that wasnt us but
another dog a few doors up the hill, nonetheless my dogs do bark alot the
collor was warranted and it wasnt worth quibbling about. all this is to
say please be sure you approach your neighbor. it may be she is unaware,
it may be that on this particular incident it isnt even her dog. My dogs
are now blamed for all the barking i the hood, and no i havent approached
the neighbor who complined, but i did approach everone after the first
note and everyonew sAidf oh no it wasnt me we dont mind etc. so much for
community huh? were all missing the boat in my neighborhood
Kimberly
To the anonymous person who was disturbed by a neighbor's barking dogs:
Nolo Press, the legal self-help book publisher, has a book called "Dog
Law". You can probably get it at Cody's or at Nolo's outlet on Parker and
9th in Berkeley. Becky
Nolo press has a good book which talks about what to do with many types of
neighbor conflicts. The name escapes me right now. It includes subjects
such as encroaching trees, problem fences and "nuisances" like barking
dogs. The book might give you some insight in how to deal with your
neighbor. I helped two neighbors resolve their differences over cutting
down a tree merely by showing each of them the book. However, If you
live in Berkeley, you may also take advantage of it's "noise ordinance"
which specifically includes barking dogs. Good luck! Jeanne
Jeanne
I really feel for you, trying to deal with non-stop barking and an
unresponsive and clearly inconsiderate neighbor (at least as described),
but the responses you've received so far might well be helpful. I
suggest, before you lodge a formal complaint with the police, that you
record the barking on a "typical night." Having physical evidence of
what you (and, I hope, your also-complaining neighbors) have to put up
with should help strengthen your case.
Wendy
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