Neighbor's Barking Dog

Ok...I need some advice.

My neighbors have 2 dogs - one of which barks incessantly while they are not home. It's a mini schnauzer and it just yaps all day long.

We've lived next door to them for 1.5 years and last year, we went over to tell them that the barking was waking us up (our bedroom is on the first floor right next to their house) and disturbing our quality of life. They were grateful that we went to talk to them directly and acknowledged the issue. The barking stopped for MAYBE a week, then continued again. Mind you, the dog is INSIDE their house and I can still hear it in MY house. They told us that the dog doesn't like being in a cage while they aren't home and that is why it barks. I don't care why - I just want it to stop!!

We had another talk with them a few months later about how the barking is continuing and that even though it's not nearly as loud, we can still hear it inside our house. Nothing changed.

The dog barks all the time - we can't enjoy our yard or our home. I drafted an anonymous letter to them but I'm afraid to send it because they must know that it's us writing it since we've talked to them before. I'm in the Town of Hempstead and there is a code re: this but who do I call to enforce it, and can it be enforced? I don't want to get into legal action here, I just want the darn dog to shut up.

There was another incident this past summer where the dog started barking, so my dog ran towards the noise (she's not socialized and hates other dogs - she's a rescue) and her tie-out wiped my feet out from under me and i came literally 1 inch from slamming my head on the concrete. Granted, it was my dog that did that, but it was a result of my neighbor's barking that I was already beyond annoyed with so I yelled over to "shut his ---ing dog up" - bad, I know - but I just broke down and couldn't censor myself. I literally almost cracked my head open and I had whiplash for days and a huge gash on my ankle.

What can I do to get through these people's thick heads that they need to control their dogs barking for the quality of life of the neighborhood?????? It's a very dog friendly neighborhood - neighbors behind us, across from us, etc. all have dogs that don't make a PEEP except for normal dog barking. This dog is just ruining my enjoyment of my home. This is our first house and we put a lot of money into getting it and sprucing it up but this dog just sucks the life right out of me.

Please help :)

Re: Neighbor's Barking Dog

Sounds EXACTLY like how I feel about MY neighbor's dog! They have one of those little hot dog types, and it seems like they leave that dog out all day - both when they're home and when they're not. When we first moved in (a little over a year ago), the woman told me that it's her mom's dog but the mom moved to an apartment and can't keep it. I had told her that my puppy barks and is annoying sometimes, just as a friendly thing since we were talking about dogs, and she goes, "So why don't you take it back to where you got it?" Excuse me?! So from that, I determined she's not a dog person, and hence why her dog is outside all day. I've seen her put the dog's food outside, so it seems like she doesn't want him in the house - ever. Anyway, for a little dog, he's got a VERY loud bark, and, like you, I can hear it from inside my house, outside my house, down the street, everywhere. Last night, I got so annoyed that I turned my tv on full volume just to drown it out. When we first moved in, they went on vacation, and the mother was watching the house and dog. We noticed that the dog was outside a lot, so we mentioned that and the constant barking to the neighbors when they returned. Their response - "Oh, yeah, that's my mother watching him. It's fine." NOT FINE! It's annoying! So that was our attempt at trying to tell them the dog is bothering us. Not to mention that when he starts barking, it gets my dogs going, and then I have to calm them down. One time we called the town to see if there was anything that could be done, and they said that they could send someone over to investigate. We didn't want to start trouble (and he's a police officer), so we let it go. But I totally feel your pain, and think it's incredibly unfair that I bring my dogs inside the SECOND they start barking, but I have to close my windows and doors just to not have to hear a neighbor's dog.
You could call your town, and hypothetically ask what they would do in this situation. Maybe they'd send someone over, or maybe they'd get a warning or something. But I agree with you that they'd know it was from you. That's how it is with me, and that's why I don't want to call someone to do something about it. Maybe you can try talking to them again, and hope they're willing to come to a compromise. Tell them it bothers your dog and gets him upset. I think I'm at my wits end with my neighbors and am going to try the nice approach soon since I'm still listening to the barking every day