Complaints of My Barking Dog

Complaints Corner
1
Oh where shall i begin ?

To tell the story of the neighbors?

I moved into a beautiful apartment, top floor, downstairs neighbor a nice elderly man with a family, nice wife, small barking dog, piano,

i thought, perfect!

Almost a year down the line and a neighbor, a motorcycle dude and his younger mate complain directly to the landlady

I rented from a nice elderly gentleman,

little did i know he has a wife from hell

every week i receive registered letters

with new laws

i must never ever leave my dog alone

i did not pay the rent on time, and must pay a fine ( not true, easily proved and sent copy of payment slip)

etc etc

I contacted mieterverband but have little hope

my dog DOES bark when i am not there however the dog beneath me

is a howler too, except he is quieter and all the time, and only i can hear him

it is like a drill, constant yepping,

the people who live beneath me are very nice and confessed had trouble with upstairs neighbor before me but never landlady

she has threatened me with animal protection unit

My dog is hardly alone but now that i got this letter i am afraid to ever go out or anything

I have to search for work but how ?

I am stressed out as this woman is really mean , talks rough

and often does not even listen to what i have to say..

the motorcycle dude does not talk directly

I pay a lot for rent and am not happy

should i move out?

advice really needed

i cant afford to take the dog to a pet sitter every time i want to go out to the movies etc

i found a nice lady with a family who is willing to do an exchange but i need a backup for when they are away

my dog is very sweet just needy

thanks

star and dog

2
I am so sorry Star, but you need to seek help from a dog club/society to stop your dog barking. I just love dogs- and yet it would drive me mad and distress me to hear a dog barking all the time. Most dogs are really not meant to live in flats and spend much time on their own, I am afraid. It's difficult to comment without knowing the circumstances, dog's history, etc- but you must get this sorted out properly. You are in fact very lucky to have found a flat to rent with a dog. I really hope you can find help. Viel gluck dabei.

3
The biggest issue is your dog's barking. You mentioned there is another dog in the building - which dog starts the barking? It usually takes one dog to start the other off and before you know it, its chaos trying to shut the both of them up.

The reason why I am asking is because the barking might not be your dog's fault. The other one might start it and your dog joins in. Alternatively, its your dog who starts it first, which, you will then need to ascertain the cause of the problem - lack of exercise hence boredom? Separation anxiety? etc etc. Sort that out and I am pretty sure most of the complaints will stop. A dog's barking is one of the most annoying things a neighbour has to put up with - and thats coming from a dog owner.

The other issue is the motorcyclist - what are his complaints exactly? You were pretty vague about that. You also mentioned that you've spoken to the mieterverband - again, vague details there. What have you been advised?

4
This is only my experience but when my dog was moved to our new house they both barked when I went out.

I then decided to put them in their "area" and pretend to go out.

When they barked I corrected them but left them in the area.

It's an ongoing process. Once they know that you will be coming back they are happy to settle down.

I have no problems really any more.

Saying that though, if my dogs heard another in the building barking they would certainly join in.

Maybe there is strength in numbers and you and the nieghbour may need to send a letter to the biker.

Good luck

5
thanks but

although there is strength in numbers

no one is brave to take a stand

they have no interest to risk complaints too

so i am on my own on this

yes the crate is an excellent idea

i have to get one

i only worry the dog might get more nervous

she is very nervous and afraid of new things

i will search for a dog training center online now

thanks all

good night

star and doggie

6
Hi Starshine,

Have you seen this thread? It's from someone else whose neighbors complained about the dog... might be some good advice on there for you.

Noise complaint about dog barking, what to do?

7
I feel your pain, but I really feel like starting a thread complaining about you complaining about somone complaining.

8
First of all, I love the freeform, poetical structure of your posts, though it has an air of dog-gerel.

Second, and more important, I lived next door to a barking dog once, and it drove me utterly nuts. Being British, I moved out rather than present the dog, or his owner, with a petition.

I can sympathise with you, but please don't underestimate how maddening a barking dog can be to a neighbour.

9
Doggerel, you say?

My neighbour had a little dog

- I don't know why she got him-

He barked and barked and wouldn't stop

So I went round and shot him!

10
DB, this is a serious thread!

Be serious for once, can you?

If I find out you've really gone and shot this poor dog dead

I'll ban you.

11
He didn't say he shot it dead - he only said that he shot it. It was probably just a shoulder/lung hit to make it drop its shotgun... it's all the fashion at the moment, apparently

12
...just a tranquilizer dart of course, what else?

We have a neighbor we like a lot, and he has a big dog we love to bits, but sometimes I could ship her a dart or two when she rips loose in a barking fit.

Dear OP, watch a few chapters of The Dog Whisperer on Discovery channel...

13
Starshine, I certainly understand how difficult this is - I am living in a similar hellish situation. One of my dogs barks too much.

In the old post linked, I spoke about maintaining cordial relations with neighbors - this worked well with me for 12 years. Unfortunately, we have new neighbors now who are not amenable to any of my approaches, and who will not tolerate any noise at all.

As hard-hearted and mean-spirited as these folks are, in the eyes of the law they are in the right.

First thing to understand - Swiss expectations of acceptable everyday noise, as well as of canine behavior, are indeed different than in other countries. As much as we feel that - given our cultural norms - restrictions here might be unfair to our dogs, as much as we may feel that Swiss notions might not allow a dog an 'artgerecht' life, we dog owners have to accept Switzerland for what it is, and find solutions. We cannot expect the Swiss to change.

There are three possible solutions:

Train the dog not to bark.

Never leave the dog alone.

Move.

Training a dog not to bark is a long term process. This should be your goal, but in the short term for the sake of neighborhood peace you need to put a management process into play.

I have had stunning success with the first solution with four of my dogs. I am currently working on it with one, but it's hard going. My old guy, whose barking I thought I had solved, recently has shown moments of what is perhaps the start of senile dementia - including the odd few minutes of confusion barking. This is one I probably cannot train out.

For me, that means I must resort to solution number two. I can never leave my dogs alone. I cannot leave the house, even to run an errand, unless I have a dogsitter in. Which means that I'm pretty much under house arrest. Yes, it is extremely difficult, yes, it costs an absolute fortune, yes it means that I cannot lead a normal life - but that is unfortunately the reality of living in Switzerland and having a dog who barks.

My barker is terminally ill. The problem is (sadly) not a forever one, so I can cope for the next months or year. However, as adopting elderly dogs is my thing, it is likely I will encounter this situation again. So there is really only one long term solution: move. Which I am working on...

Got to run now, as I'm expecting a repairman shortly and I need to get the dogs squared away so that they don't bark when he rings the door , but I'll pop back with some tips that have worked for me in training a dog not to bark.

Wishing you and your dog well.

14
Looks to me like Meloncollie didn't link the post. Maybe she meant this one about dogs barking .

Our Meloncollie is so know knowledgable about all things canine, that it's well worth spending an evening just reading through her various Threads and posts.

15
Some years ago while living in rural Kent I did actually shoot my neighbours cockerel not because of niose in truth but because he kept pecking my vegetable garden to bits. 12 bore versus cockerel. 12 bore wins every time.

Now I ́m an animal lover especially dogs

16
Close. It should be:

My neighbour had a little dog

It's driving me up the wall, sir.

He barked and barked and wouldn't stop

So I went round and shot her !

17
Ok guys. Funny, but a bit off-topic.

The OP really does have a serious problem.

18
Fair enough. But the details are vague and rather confused.

I moved into a beautiful apartment, top floor, ...the people who live beneath me are very nice and confessed had trouble with upstairs neighbor before

So there are two apartments on the top floor and the biker lives in one of them?

downstairs neighbor a nice elderly man with a family, nice wife, small barking dog, piano ... the dog beneath me is a howler too, except he is quieter and all the time, and only i can hear him it is like a drill, constant yepping,

So the biker in the apartment next to you can't hear the nice family below's dog barking? And where did the accusation of not paying rent on time come into this? Is this a case of tenant harassment by the landlord over more than just the dog? Is the dog just an excuse? What are these new "laws" (I assume you mean "rules", I note English isn't your first language ).

Understand, just because a landlady sends a letter, even registered post, it doesn't necessarily have any power .

It seems to me the way forward is to get your dog trained to not bark, get feedback from the Mieterverband. And suggest to them that perhaps this is a concerted campaign to get you to move out. Maybe the landlady wants her son, for example, to move into your apartment.

Can I also suggest you learn the use of the full stop, and capitals at the beginning of sentences? It's actually quite hard to read what you've written.

19
good idea

or, buy an apartment then you are fairly fireproof

20
So, back on-topic.

Executive Summary

A: "My dog's barking is causing big problems. What should I do?"

B: "Train it to stop barking."

A: "Never thought of that - what a good idea!"

Err, that's it.