[woollyval]

Can anyone here advise please!

My 2 big dogs live outside.....they have an insulated 12 x 6 kennel and run and love it as they can see everything going on. They also get about 5 miles of walks and loose play in our fields and woods.
However, they very occaisionally bark for a minute or 2 and occaisionally they do it in the night if they hear a strange noise for which we are grateful as having sheds with chainsaws etc plus other outbuildings and being in a very rural area prone to rural burglars!

However there is an attached house to ours.....we have 9 acres and they just have a garden....and no pets/animals...

They are continually complaining about our dogs, that they can see them, that they woof at them if they go in their garden...they don't! That they occaisionally wake them up at night....

They don't complain about my cockerel that makes a din all day n night! nor the buzzards across the road whose young mew continually from 5am not other neighbours down the tracks dogs that bark all day...just ours who are quiet as mice unless there is something serious...

What is the legal position on this...does anyone know?

[cairnhill]

Some folks have nothing better to do than complain!  I would get in touch with your local dog warden to see how you stand. 

[kingnigel]

best advice from me would be to try and work through the problem with your neighbour. talk to them and ask what they would like you to do to sort out this problem, it might be no more than screening your kennels from their garden, we have dogs and i love to hear them but i could imagine that if i lived next door to me and i wanted to sit in the garden and watch the day go bye i wouldnt be impressed if someone else s dogs started barking at me. it doesnt have to happen often but those times it does happen matter.
i would say you wouldnt have any trouble legally but being seen trying to help makes it more difficult for them to push it further, when i had close neighbours they used to go to the end of their garden and howl at my lot to get them to sing because the liked the spectacle, but they had to make the effort to see them, rather than the dogs being visible to them all the time.
kn
ps hope you get it sorted amicably 

[doganjo]

best advice from me would be to try and work through the problem with your neighbour. talk to them and ask what they would like you to do to sort out this problem, it might be no more than screening your kennels from their garden, we have dogs and i love to hear them but i could imagine that if i lived next door to me and i wanted to sit in the garden and watch the day go bye i wouldnt be impressed if someone else s dogs started barking at me. it doesnt have to happen often but those times it does happen matter.
i would say you wouldnt have any trouble legally but being seen trying to help makes it more difficult for them to push it further, when i had close neighbours they used to go to the end of their garden and howl at my lot to get them to sing because the liked the spectacle, but they had to make the effort to see them, rather than the dogs being visible to them all the time.
kn
ps hope you get it sorted amicably 

Doesn't work - I tried.  He went to the fence and deliberately made noises so my dogs would bark as they couldn't see him and didn't understand what was going on, then reported me to the dog warden.  I was lucky that I knew her well and she advised me to keep a diary fro a week whenever I was in the house - every time a dog barked write down what time it was, how long they barked for, what else was going on at the time.  I tried to get him round by offering eggs - he gave them to someone else because he was sure my hens were eating dog poo!  What I couldn't understand was that he bought the place from me knowing full well where my kennels were going to be.  Some people are just born troublemakers.

[sabrina]

My dogs bark as soon as they hear a car coming up our road which is 250 yards long. No one can get near our place with out the dogs letting us know. It should help to make your neighbour feel safer in their beds but some people just like to make a fuss. We once had a neighbour who used their cottage for their holidays. He complained all the time about our cats, ponies ,sheep but he got his fingers rapped when he fell out on the local farmer for leaving muck on the road when he was lifting his tatties. We were given some wise words from our local council man, plough a strip and muck spread to your hearts content. Did think about it but I am not that evil

[HappyHippy]

Dogs bark, same as cows moo and farms smell  Folks who don't like that shouldn't live in the country 
I wouldn't think legally there's much that could be done, unless he can prove they are above a certain volume or for prolonged periods of time. Maybe if the breeds could be classed as 'dangerous' and were intimidating him or running loose he'd have a leg to stand on, but dogs in their own garden, under control and keeping guard, no chance ! Sounds like he's just being a bit of a moaner 
Hope you get it sorted soon,
Karen 

[Rosemary]

best advice from me would be to try and work through the problem with your neighbour. talk to them and ask what they would like you to do to sort out this problem, it might be no more than screening your kennels from their garden, we have dogs and i love to hear them but i could imagine that if i lived next door to me and i wanted to sit in the garden and watch the day go bye i wouldnt be impressed if someone else s dogs started barking at me. it doesnt have to happen often but those times it does happen matter.
i would say you wouldnt have any trouble legally but being seen trying to help makes it more difficult for them to push it further, when i had close neighbours they used to go to the end of their garden and howl at my lot to get them to sing because the liked the spectacle, but they had to make the effort to see them, rather than the dogs being visible to them all the time.
kn
ps hope you get it sorted amicably 

Doesn't work - I tried.  He went to the fence and deliberately made noises so my dogs would bark as they couldn't see him and didn't understand what was going on, then reported me to the dog warden.  I was lucky that I knew her well and she advised me to keep a diary fro a week whenever I was in the house - every time a dog barked write down what time it was, how long they barked for, what else was going on at the time.  I tried to get him round by offering eggs - he gave them to someone else because he was sure my hens were eating dog poo!  What I couldn't understand was that he bought the place from me knowing full well where my kennels were going to be.  Some people are just born troublemakers.

I'm with kingnigel on this. It might not have worked for you and your neighbour, Annie, but it might work in this situation. These neighbours don't seem totally unreasonable - and not everyone likes dogs. It's a free country. I'd always give mediation a go with the best intent. No point in getting difficult. The local Council may have mediators who will help if you can't sort it out yourselves.

[woollyval]

Thanks guys....I am going to keep a journal of woofing....which to be honest they dont much! These people are beyond nice negotiating unfortunately! They have lived there for the past 5 years and made our life misery from the word go when they found they had unknowingly purchased a house with our septic tank in their garden! They immediately said move it, we said sorry but you bought it with it and they said we will in that case block it up so it comes out in your house!!!!!!....not a good start!

So it has gone on and our dogs are great big slobbering friendly dogs....a hound...yes we still have him, a gordon setter and a jrt who only goes out there sometimes and also dosent bark much!

The dog run is visible from their windows but covered in virginia creeper so not THAT visible! It is about 60-70ft from their windows and the issue is that frstly they don't like the idea of 'caged' dogs and secondly we are causing them a problem .....occaisionally being woken up!

I rang the council who said not to worry so long as we were doing everything we can to avoid woofing.....

hey ho

[Sandy]

We have neighbours that seem not too bothered about anything, live and let live. We sent our ducks to a lovely new home as we were worried they made so much noise that was also annoying, also some nights, our dogs, well one of them, will woof.....woof....woff, on and on until I get up to see whats wrong, I think one wants the position in the bed another has, and they get on my nerves but alls been fine as they have children, noisy people on the other side with dogs and they also keep chickens. We do not intend to be noisy and they dogs don't do that every night but they certainly make me angry if they bark!!! Hope it all goes well...never had horrid neighbours but I suppose we each should look through others perspectives, the reasons they get mad may be all sorts, they cannot sleep, suffer from ill health or depression etc, have poor hearing so the dogs drown out sounds they want to hear or they may be having a bad time!! Always worth a chat with people, you never know, you may be bestest of friends one day!!

[plumseverywhere]

Oh for goodness sake! Some people    We don't have dogs at the moment but to be honest I actually like having our neighbours dog so close by. She only woofs when someone is coming up the  drive so its a good tip off for me that someone may be at my door trying to get my attention if I'm out back. I also feel more secure having a woofing dog as a deterrent and the fact she probably keeps the fox at bay is a bonus.
go with mediation, it could help. Sounds to me like your neighbours perhaps have a touch of green eyed monster!!

[Beewyched]

Some people are never happy unless they've got something to moan about - if it wasn't your dogs it would be what day you hang your washing out    Some good advice here, keep a journal & if they step it up get a CCTV set-up (just make sure it only covers your side of the garden though).  We had a problem with one particular neighbour in our old house - even though we'd had dogs for over 15 years (& they had their own, which was often out on it's own pooping on the pavements  ) they didn't complain until we started showing & another neighbour told her our young dog had qualified for Crufts.
As plums says - a touch of the green eyed monster 

[Penninehillbilly]

My dogs used to bark at walkers as they came over a footpath 3-400yds away, a friend commented why did I put up with it, I said I didn't live in the middle of the village, and I was glad of the advance warning there were strangers about, your neighbours should be glad of the security alarm, false alarm or not (and how do you know it's false, if a potential intruder changes their mind because of the noise?). when the poice came to check on me to renew shotgun certificate, he explained his boss was happier if applicants had a dog or 2 on the premises, let your neighbours know your dogs are protecting them as well?
Try telling them the dogs are caged so they don't go and dig holes in THEIR lawn
off topic - As to the septic tank - didn't they have a survey or a local 'search' for any relevant factors? Is there anywhere else to put it if they pay for it moving?