The neighbour who always complains about the dogs
By Porcospino
@Porcospino (31366)
Denmark
August 11, 2012 2:43pm CST
My parents and my uncle live in the same area and it is an area where there are many dogs. One of people who live there hates dogs and he constantly complains if one of the dogs is barking. My mother is a little scared of him because he has visited my parents house a couple of times and he was very angry and yelled at my mother because their dog barked in the garden. My parents dog does not bark all the time and it doesn't bark more than an "average" dog, but this man doesn't tolerate any kind of noise from the dogs.
My uncle also got a visit from this man because one of his friends visited his house and his friend had a dog. Again the man was very, very angry and refused to listen to my uncle when he tried to explain that the dog didn't live in his home.
Most of uncle's neighbours know the man and they are all tired of his complaints. No one else thinks that the dogs are too noisy.
What would you do in this sitiuation? Did your neighbours ever complain about your dog? How did you handle the situation?
1 person likes this
15 responses
@Christine637 (358)
• United States
12 Aug 12
I think I'll approach this from both sides. I own two dogs and they are in the house for the most part, the only time they bark is when they want to come in and I don't let that barking go on for more than a minute or two. So, know that I love animals but...I really don't like people who do not take proper care of their animals and leave them outside to bark, or let their cats roam the neighborhood damaging people's property.
I would never condone harming the animal, it is not their fault - it's their owner. So people who threaten to harm animals are just idiots. This neighbor of your parents is just an angry man and if it weren't for the dogs he'd have to find something to rant about. Maybe your parents and/or uncle should mention to the guy that they're considering speaking to the authorities about his harassment.
2 people like this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
20 Aug 12
I think that you are right about that. This man seems like a complainer and if the dogs weren't there he would probably find something else to complain about. No one else thinks that the dogs are a problem, and they really don't bark that much. Like you I really don't like people who don't take care of their pets. Something like that makes me angry. I think that every pet is a responsibility and when you have chosen to have a pet you must take good care of it. I have many pets myself and our pets are an important part of the family.
1 person likes this
@jaiho2009 (39142)
• Philippines
12 Aug 12
I am thankful that my community don't hate dogs.
Almost every household have dogs here in our place and yes, dog barks because that's normal.
I won't take care a mute dog anyway.
About the man who hates dogs- if he happens to be my neighbor I will make sure the next time he come to my house, my dog will attack him before he can say a word (hahaha- just kidding)
Well- I will just ignore him, if he won't listen to my explanation, then I won't ever listen to his nagging...:xxx
2 people like this
@bhabycatch013 (9150)
• Philippines
12 Aug 12
hi porcospino,
Well if I am the neigbhoor I will tell him it's a dog naturally it will bark you will get scared if you hear them hissing 
Seriously my neigbor are like this but I just ignore them complain as long as they want I have the right besides there is no rules in my community that I can't have a dog.
happy mylotting
Seriously my neigbor are like this but I just ignore them complain as long as they want I have the right besides there is no rules in my community that I can't have a dog.
happy mylotting
@jaiho2009 (39142)
• Philippines
12 Aug 12
but I have read from another myloter that his dog is making sounds like...bukkkbukbokkk....
do you have any idea what sound it is?
do you have any idea what sound it is? 
@factorial (977)
• Philippines
12 Aug 12
Yes, to hear a dog hissing is too scary because it might bite you with a venom plus rabies...
1 person likes this
@ravisivan (14079)
• India
11 Aug 12
Perhaps the dogs are really noisy!! People who may not like pets will say so. In our flats in chennai there was a lady who had a dog. The dog was going to the terrace and others were complaining that the dog was spoiling the terrace by urination. When I went to her house and referred to dog as dog she got angry and said "you know he knows more than us--he knows when daddy will come and when daddy is angry..do not call him dog".
I returned home quietly.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
11 Aug 12
It is funny that she didn't want you call him dog. It might be a very clever dog, but it is still a dog, and I don't think that is wrong to call him a dog. Yes, there is no doubt that the man thinks that the dogs are very noisy and I know that he doesn't like dogs at all. It is quite funny because he always criticises the noise that the dog make, but he is not exactly quiet himself. His grandchildren are extremely noisy and the neighbours can always hear them when they play in the garden. The children's noise is not a problem for the neighbours, but it is a little funny that he complains about the dogs all the time and let his own grandchildren make as much noise as they want.
@riyauro (6421)
• India
11 Aug 12
well I still not have had a neighbor like that in Fiji. All my neighbors like dogs and they have one each. But here in Goa I had a dog and my neighbor is my mother in law. She was always complaining of it. And one day when my husband met with an accident and I had to be in hospital with him, I came home to take soup for my husband, I saw that my dog was puking black liquid. I think my mother in law gave my dog poison. All other neighbors were telling the same and I know it is true because she did not like my dog. I was very sad. To tell you the truth, I don't like her anymore. It was so not humane.
Take care of your dog from this neighbor, some people are crazy. Maybe he is having paranoia. Show him that it is not your dog barking that much but it is some other dogs. good day to you. 
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
11 Aug 12
Did your dog survive or did it die from the poison? 
Giving a dog poison just because you don't like it, that is a terrible thing to do! It is easy for me to understand that you don't like your mother-in-law anymore. In your situation I would be extremely angry at my mother-in-law and disappointed in her and don't think that I would be able to hide it. You are right, it is not a humane thing to do and it is not something that I would be able to forget and forgive. Yes, I think that my parents should be very careful and keep the dog away from this man. I don't know trust him, and he might try to hurt the dog.
Giving a dog poison just because you don't like it, that is a terrible thing to do! It is easy for me to understand that you don't like your mother-in-law anymore. In your situation I would be extremely angry at my mother-in-law and disappointed in her and don't think that I would be able to hide it. You are right, it is not a humane thing to do and it is not something that I would be able to forget and forgive. Yes, I think that my parents should be very careful and keep the dog away from this man. I don't know trust him, and he might try to hurt the dog.@ravisivan (14079)
• India
11 Aug 12
royaauro:
what happened to your dog? Did it die-- you say you do not like her anymore. very sad. mother-in-law -- there is no need for another reason not to like. !!
1 person likes this
@tetris15 (539)
• Philippines
11 Aug 12
It's really very hard especially that your neighbor's finger always point in your direction even though it's not really your fault. Of course dogs will bark because they are designed to bark. I would be surprised if I hear them meow. lol. Kidding aside, you should have a talk with your neighbor explaining that you are doing the best you can so as not to bring about any disturbances caused by your dogs and besides there are also other dogs from other houses. Explain to your neighbor that dogs communicate with other dogs through barking. If one dog from the neighborhood barks, it sends a signal to other dogs thus making them all barking at the same time.
@ravisivan (14079)
• India
11 Aug 12
I like this sentence very much:
"I would be surprised if I hear them meow". super.
basically people who are not used to pets do not like them whether it is a dog or a cat or a rat or a tiger or a snake..(i have heard some people keep even these wild animals as pets)
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
13 Aug 12
I hope that the neighbour will understand that the dogs don't bark because the owners want to annoy him as much as possible, but because it is their way of communicating. My parents do what they can to keep the noise down and the dog does not spend all day in the garden. It is quite hard to talk to this neighbour in a normal way, because he is always to angry and he doesn't really listen to the things that my parents or the other people say. He would prefer to live in a neighbourhood without any dogs at all, but the reality is different and there are many dogs in the neighbourhood. By the way, I like your avatar, it is a really cute picture 
@Jshean20 (14349)
• Canada
11 Aug 12
Luckily my dog is pretty quiet for the most part, the only time he will really bark is if he's outside on our porch and another dog walks by. In this case, I bring him inside to be on the safe side because I don't want a complaint. I've heard from others in this apartment complex that a lot of senior citizens here complain of other dogs barking all the time, sometimes people rightfully complain and other times they complain because they have nothing better to do. It's too bad that you're uncle had to put up with someone so upset over dog barking, why can't people see real problems in life and leave natural things alone?
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
13 Aug 12
I think that is very common for dogs to bark when another dog walks by. When I take my dog for a walk the dogs that we pass (inside the gardens) usually bark. Our dog doesn't bark when other dogs walk by, because there is a door between the front yard and back yard and he can't see the other dogs from the back yard. It is annoying when people complain because they have nothing better to do, I have met that kind of people, too and sometimes I wish that they would find another interest. My uncle had just moved into when the neighbour showed up and started complaining, not exactly a pleasant way to say "welcome"...
@lynboobsy11 (11343)
• Philippines
12 Aug 12
It seems that this man is very love to visit once neighbor just to complain about the dog bark. If he don't want the dog don't visit any neighbors who has it. I will just stay away my dog to him.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
13 Aug 12
Yes, he visits all of the neighbours who has a dog because he wants to complain about the noise from the dogs. Unfortunately he has a very unpleasant way of expressing his complaints and he is very rude. My mother is afraid of him because it he so angry. Their dog doesn't really bark that much, but this neighbour doesn't tolerate any kind of noise from the dogs.
@nangisha (3496)
• Indonesia
12 Aug 12
Hi Porcospino...!
I never had people complaining about my dog bark. I live in neighborhood who mostly don't like dog (or just fear it). I had store at home there are few people who never buy again since I had dog but I also had many customer who come just to my store merely just because I had dog.
When I walk him is usually I had to face people who react to much, my dog were on leash and its short leash. But few people see him from 3 meters away scream and just run (its not make sense for me
). I see it as overacting or such as drama queen (its 3 meter distance for heaven sake!). That's just my dog react because I don't feel comfortable.
He rarely bark at customer, he only bark when my relative come. He know he can not bark at costumer with few exception if he feel the customer had bad attention. I always alert if dog bark at my customer.
). I see it as overacting or such as drama queen (its 3 meter distance for heaven sake!). That's just my dog react because I don't feel comfortable.
He rarely bark at customer, he only bark when my relative come. He know he can not bark at costumer with few exception if he feel the customer had bad attention. I always alert if dog bark at my customer.
@Suggar (3606)
• Bulgaria
12 Aug 12
Well you should tell this neighbor it is completely native attitude for a dog to bark and if the law is on your side and allows you to have dogs or any pets, your neighbor must accept you and your pets. It's not like you have a dog shelter or something, so he better stay quiet.
I would never allow someone to mess with my personal life and my rights. We are living in a building with many flats and the walls are very thin. We already made a small compromise with our neighbors by not trying to teach our dog sleep away of us. He grow up bigger and he can jump on our bed, because all the time we were trying to leave him sleep in another room or out of our bed, he was crying and I believe it wouldn't stop crying all night long being away of us. To not bother our neighbors with dog cry we left it sleep with us. Just because we are renters here and making this extra noises would cause problems for us. But we can't stop him barking. It's alive and makes noises as everyone else.
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
13 Aug 12
In my parents case the law is definately on their side. They own their house, so they don't have to follow the rules that you have to follow when you rent a place. Yes, it is nothing like a dog shelter, my parents only have one dog. This neighbour is the only person in the area who has a problems with the dogs, and I think that he is overreacting a lot. Like you say the dog is alive and it makes noises like everyone else.
I understand why you chose to let your dog sleep in your room to avoid problems. I think that when you live in a rented place you have to be a little careful because it could have consequences for you if you make too much noise. Some of the tenants from the apartment block where I lived in the past were kicked out because of noise.
@Octav1 (1419)
• Romania
17 Aug 12
Hmm, I suggest your parents to ignore the guy. As long as they try to pay excuses for the dogs' barking, that guy will make more and more noise about dog barking.
But if they ignore him, he will realize all his complains are in vain and he won't bother them. He will concentrate on another thing that will give him satisfaction.
So forget about the guy's complains and go on.
1 person likes this
@Jezabeth (82)
• Philippines
12 Aug 12
Actually we don't have dogs of our own, but our neighbors have.
I always get upset every time their dogs barked at me while
passing by.Sometimes its so annoying because one of my neighbors
have this very big dog & his so scary.I'm afraid of dogs because
dogs bite.If they will bite me I'll bite them too.
@nangisha (3496)
• Indonesia
12 Aug 12
Dog usually dog bark at good people unless they sense fear from you. I think they really good in reading our body language. Never made eye contact if you fear them and move calm and as natural as possible never run cause they surely will chase you, they think its game when you run).
Or you can always try this trick, its work on every dog what ever they breed. Always bring cheese biscuit or small slice meat, threw them a piece every time you passing bye. You will got difference reaction every time you passing bye and plus a happy wagging tail. Even many dog owner will not like it if you do it, because they afraid someone will poison their dog, but if you explain they will appreciated it.
1 person likes this
@Prajeesh007 (60)
• India
12 Aug 12
he doesn't know the importance of a dog...they have to be honoured.....
@bm1b4by (82)
•
11 Aug 12
I know many people who have this same problem, and they all deal with it in different ways, but i'm not sure any of them have ever been of any use.
We recently got a new neighbor and we heard her the other day on the phone saying 'if I see another cat in my garden I'll strangle it'
If she touches my cat, i'll have to strangle her. Probably not the best way to handle it but when you love your pet and someone threatens it, it's hard not to want to hurt that person.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
11 Aug 12
What a horrible thing to say, I mean the thing about strangling the cat 
I hope that she was just angry and didn't mean it. Unfortunately some people do mean the things that say, I experienced that in my childhood. My family has been talking care of stray cat for a while. One day it crossed the fence and ended in the neighbours' garden. The neighbours hated cats and killed the cat 
I think that was a totally horrible thing to do and I have never forgiven them for that.
I hope that she was just angry and didn't mean it. Unfortunately some people do mean the things that say, I experienced that in my childhood. My family has been talking care of stray cat for a while. One day it crossed the fence and ended in the neighbours' garden. The neighbours hated cats and killed the cat I think that was a totally horrible thing to do and I have never forgiven them for that.
