Folks have been writing letters complaining about my behavior for years. Elementary school…can’t sit still. Middle school…grabbed some 7th grader’s ass. High school…worst French student we’ve had in the past 20 yrs (true). Post Grad…epic party excedes established Cedar Lake rules for volume and bourbon…and so on.
But this letter is bullshit. My family has been away from our home in Rochester for most of the summer, save a handful of days. When we returned home today we found this is in our mailbox. And sure, we’ve put our dog Fisher outside (twice) on a very long leash when we’ve been home, to let him soak up some summer and get his tan on. And yeah, there have been some minor concerns about his obnoxiousness, but we’ve come to realize that his incessant, high-pitched yelp isn’t a cry for help…he’s actually bragging!! But now we’ve got this to deal with…and notice how shrewd the writers use of BOLD is…
Ohhh I got one of those from the neighborhood association about picking up poop! I’m a faithful scooper so I know exactly how you feel!! Good luck!
Neighbors suck!
Tell them to yip and yelp off….
Our recent note left on the door was “Muzzle thy mutt”. WTF
Neighbors can be such a pain. Write them back. Dear Neighbors, you live in a city. You cannot expect silence. If you want total quiet, please, PLEASE, move to the country.
Wait, you linked to a post in which you acknowledged that you yourself find the dog’s incessant barking annoying. It’s no shock that your neighbors find it even more annoying, and it’s obnoxious to subject them to it. They should have talked to you about it in person rather than mailing a letter, but you are the one in the wrong here.
I have to agree with Sarah here. You admit that your dog has a “high pitched bark that is driving you bonkers.” Well, imagine what it must be like for your neighbors.
Let me say that I have a dog, and I live in the suburbs with neighbors who have dogs. It is your responsibility to keep your dog entertained. A dog who barks is usually:
• bored
• under/over stimulated
• under-exercised
Dogs need a job to do. They need something to keep them busy. They need toys, bones, something to distract them.
If your dog is barking, whether indoors or out, you need to RE-DIRECT them. Take him by the leash, away from whatever he is barking at, give him a nylabone, give him a toy. Get his focus on something else.
Also, play fetch with him, let him run around, and do this BEFORE you put him on a long tie out. A tired dog is a well behaved dog.
I don’t think your neighbors were being rude. I think they wrote the letter as a way to inform you how they felt, as opposed to confronting you which could be awkward.
I have to agree with #6 and #7 — my first thought was — I think you’re in the wrong here. I have three, yes three, dogs. I live in the city of Albany. One of my dogs occasionally barks. When he does, and he is outside, I immediately rectify the situation by either bringing him inside, or playing with him. I am hyper-aware of how annoying that could be to the neighbors.
I also have to say, I have learned a lot about dog behavior in the last few years, and I don’t think they like being chained or tied out, since they’re social animals. I have read that that leads to anti-social behaviors and aggression.
Given that you are a first-time dog owner, there is a lot to learn. I know with my first dog I made lots of mistakes. Yes, dogs bark. But they shouldn’t be allowed to bark non stop.
Best of luck to you. Fisher is really cute! If we lived closer, I’d invite him to a play date. :-)
I tend to agree with #6, #7 and #8. However, we went through a similar situation a couple years ago and our dogs were NOT barking (I swear). We ended up getting an ($80) digital recorded and recording every day until our crazy neighbor called the cops again, which didn’t take long. When the animal control officer came over my husband played the recording for the time the woman said the dogs were barking (it was time stamped). The dogs barked for a total of 10 seconds. The animal control guy was very annoyed with our neighbor and said that he would take care of it. We never had any other complaints after that.
Just a suggestion in case your dog actually isn’t barking that much.
Yup, I agree with your neighbors. And I think they were very polite in their letter.
Yikes, terrible situation. If someone had confronted you personally it would have been less offensive. The nature of this note is super crass and the unfriendly tone would probably cause me to blast a continual track of dog barking from my bedroom window.
There is a dog (99% sure it’s a beagle) that lives two streets over from me and is CONSTANTLY barking that classic beagle low-pitched-sounds-almost-like-a-bullfrog-croak yelp. SUPER annoying! What’s more, I think he is actually INSIDE a house that I haven’t been able to single out so sending a letter is impossible at this point. I’ll find out where he is sooner or later! Unfortunately, I think your neighbors are right in being annoyed. My $.02
The neighbors are right if the dog was barking for more than 5 minutes at a given time without owner interaction. When my dog barks outside i immediately go to see what the cause is and its usually my boy protecting HIS yard. Instinct yes acceptable no!!!! I don’t care if I am only wearing a towel it is my responsibility to ensure he is acting properly. I appreciate that he lets me know someone is by the yard but for my neighbors sake the behavior is controlled. I love my animal but he has no right to disturb neighbors. Scare the occasional passerby sure fully within his rights, bark till the neighbors are annoyed never.
Consider yourself lucky they notified you not animal control.
You might consider fencing an area for Fisher. An active dog left unattended on a leash could get injuired by getting tangled or choking when chasing something and reaching the end of the leash at full speed.
I think dogs can be trained to be quiet- I taught my older dog a quiet command and I’m teaching the younger one as well. That type of barking doesn’t sound like happy barking to me, not if it’s incessant. Could be sign of separationg anxiety or something along those lines. I really don’t think there is such a thing as a confirmed barker or should be – if you can replace almost any other inappropriate behavior with an appropriate one why not barking? However in my experience more smaller dog owners tolerate the nonstop yapping than larger dog owners. Just saying..
David- Some breeds bark more than others. This, as many have suggested, CAN be corrected (in a positive, re-direction kind of way). But you have to be HOME to do it. If you are not, then it will be difficult.
I currently and in the past have fostered many dogs. Last year I raised a dog for guiding eyes for the blind. There are things you can do to make the barking stop. If you want I’ll send you the videos we produce to help this specifically. But again, as much as you all will disagree with me, it can be a breed issue and take more TIME than most to correct (but it can be done). A trainer can also help you if you and the fam do not have time to try to hinder it than they will help you all learn their methods so you all are successful w/out them. Don’t know any in your area, but can ask one of the ones I work with here in Alb to see if she does. You can email me privately if you wish incase you do not have it- ask Matt for it.
Hope you and family (dog included) are well.
I dont know the exact situation or how bad your doggie yips and yelps.. however, I can completely understand where this person is coming from. Where I live, in a neighborhood, is absolute doggie hell. We have two, mind you, that bark occasionally, as dogs will do. But they are never left to the point of incessant barking. It is annoying, rude and irresponsible. I’ve called the cops several times… after 30-45 min or even an hour of barking, its ridiculous. BUT like I said, I dont know your exact situation.
If I was your neighbor and experienced the same situation, I would most likely write you a letter too
Maybe they sent you the letter instead of confronting you because they were afraid for your safety! I know I had neighbors that used to leave their dog out to bark incessantly and I wanted to strangle the owners! It was crazy. They would put him out at 5:45AM so that he could bark at every single early morning walker or jogger. If I confronted the owner face to face I was unsure I would be able to control my anger. So in a nicely worded note I told him how annoying it was and gave him a few simple suggestions like: walk your dog instead of keeping him on a 5′ chain, keep him inside, or put him in the backyard so he couldn’t see everyone walking by. After getting the note the owner did nothing!!! Just shows how inconsiderate some folk are. Take a hint and keep your dog indoors or exercise him – don’t make your problem your neighbor’s problem.