Neighbor problems... Getting rather frustrated. :(

[SilverPhoenix]

Thank you to everyone who posted thoughts and suggestions! I'm so glad to see all these different opinions and ideas and support (and occasional devil's advocate/disagreeing, which is appreciated too).

Just to clarify, my mom and I are night owls BUT we do not do anything disruptive at night other than taking the dogs out. I go to shut the chickens in once it's dark, a very quiet activity, and that's it. Usually we just watch TV at night, stay inside, and talk. We do not play loud music, use the lawnmower, or do anything else noisy at all. Other neighbors blast music audible from both of our properties, often until past midnight, but (as far as I know?) she isn't bothered by that. To be honest we don't do anything disruptive even in the day. We do have (small) fairly quiet roosters and a few guinea fowl, but the guinea fowl hardly "go off" at all. No one has complained about the chicken noise, they're in the middle of our property to try and buffer any noise.

Also, like I said, sometimes we take them out late but it's not a regular thing. Usually I take them out the last time at 11 PM, trying my best to keep them quiet, and that's it. Sometimes, though, we've been out for a long time and get home late and they need to go out, and our border collie is extremely weird about eating and sometimes won't eat at all until 10 PM. (Yes, we've tried and tried to change her schedule and she won't have any of it!) And then she has to go out really late and won't accept no for an answer.

We have a small area of fenced yard in the back of our property, facing away from SN, that we are trying to utilize, but it really is a small space, and my disabled duck stays back there and when I let the dogs out into that yard they spend the entire time scrounging for little bits of duck food instead of doing their business. I'm going to make an effort to use that more, though, in addition to trying to train the dogs not to bark when they go out the door and trying not to take the dogs out late.

We've talked to our other neighbors, including one who is as close to us as SN, and she is not bothered by the dogs at all. One of our other neighbors said "What barking dogs?" when asked if our dogs bother them.

I agree that I think she is stressed-out and/or a light sleeper and/or a little crazy, and possibly alcoholic or something. At one point her nephew was living in the house with her mother and he would have screaming matches of which the intensity is unmatched. It was scary stuff!

He was also apparently a drug addict and stole SN's mother's car. So I know there is some degree of dysfunction in the family. Also, her mother apparently will no longer speak to SN at all because SN said something nasty to her. I don't actually think SN has a job at this point--she keeps holding plant sales and garage sales and she seems to be home at all times. (I'm home a lot as well, I'm a college student but currently taking a semester off.) Our handyman knew her growing up, and when we mentioned that she screams about the dogs he wasn't surprised at all and said that was "Just like SN."

We've tried to do the kindness approach and just going to her to talk, but she does not take well to it. As I said we were on good terms and helped her out quite a bit before this all went down, now she even was yelling at us when we looked at her property a few times out of curiosity when she was having a garage sale and screaming and swearing at someone as a result of that.

Anyway, thanks so much to everyone who offered advice or thoughts, regardless of which "side" you're on! It gives me plenty to think about (and I was amused by the silly comments as well--perhaps I should get a whole flock of long-crowers?

) and helps a lot.

 

[redhen]

I dont think letting a dog out at 9pm or even 11pm is late at ALL...
Heck..i bring my dogs out a 2 am some nights....
When they have to go..they have to go... period.. thats the bottom line.
I'm not going to make my animals suffer and hold their urine until they start pizzing in MY house... because of some wacko neighbor...

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Some long crowers' crows don't even sound like a rooster crow.

and

or

 

[HeatherLynn]

I had to check real fast where you lived to see if you were my sisters neighbor. Your not, thank GOD, I would not be able to apologize enough. Anywho I have a sister who is a super light sleeper. She has to wear earplugs because apparently she can hear everything anyone within a mile of her is doing. Somehow she knows when the neighbors ( we are one of them) almost a mile down the road are watching movies late and keeping her up. I have yet to figure how she knows what anyone is doing but anyway. For Christmas I bought her a large supply of quality ear plugs and some nice herbal sleep aids. I don't know if they helped but she sure shut up afterwards.

 

[sunflowerenvy]

Quote:
okay, if you let the dog out at night and you are hear other dogs barking too. your dog is tell the other dogs, i am here, and if this happen every night then SN should get use to it.. no it is not to late to hear a dog bark up to 11:30 pm if u living on 1 ac or more. i hear dogs, coyettes ,cows, maybe bulls though the night or early moring i sleep right threw it. but a helicopter is another situation or when my mother calls me or we have a cat fight in the house and they run across the dam bed
laura

 

[welsummerchicks]

I can't believe how mean some people are - put up an air horn. I had a job that was a 110 mile drive round trip each day. I went to bed at 8:30 and got up at 4:30 to do the chores, physical therapy and then drive there. The neighbor's dog was barking at night and keeping me up. I went for months like that, until I could barely even do my work at work.

One night I was woken up at 10, at 11 and at 12, two loud barks each time. Yes, one acre lots. This was my neighbor and it was plenty loud enough, and no I am not a light sleeper, I sleep like the dead, and it was not summer, and the windows were not open. People cannot control what wakes them up or what doesn't.

The morning, I was so tired I drove off the road into a ditch. Think about other people for once, instead of your miserable 'pride' and 'rights' and 'i'll go read the law and make sure I'm following the letter of the law' and 'I'll measure bark decibles and decide if she has a right to complain or not'.

The law is not about being decent to people and considerate.

instead think about other people's feelings. If the shoe was on the other foot you'd be calling the police. Don't be surprised if in 30 years, a dog license costs 600 dollars a year.

 

[Boyd]

Quote:
I'm sorry you are kept up. If this had bothered you that much for months that it totally disrupted your rest, why did you endanger yourself, and potentially your family? What measures worked/or didn't? I know the noise ordnance in our area late at night (new property not the old one) barking dogs get 10 minutes outside before you get in trouble. Doesn't matter how many or how loud, it's timed.

Now I do agree with Maven, some dogs are yappy. My mom has yorkies and poms. self propelled soccer balls in my opinion. They yap and yap and yap and yap yap yap yap.... My dogs (jack russel included) don't bark unless somebody is on the property or in the case of my JR, a snake. If you hear my boy barking, there's somebody there and he's either warning them away or letting me know he's about to eat somebody. I know it's sad that I know the difference but I am a long term dog owner.

From a short story though (The origional post) I would side with the OP on this.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Yes my dogs are my responsibility. Yes, I try my darndest to make sure that they are not annoying other people. The barking annoys ME and I love these dogs dearly. But, the dogs are merely doing what dogs do. Mine bark when let out at night. They bark at coyotes and deer and hawks and sometimes invisible things that only they can see. They also bark at the neighbors' dogs, at the teenagers making a lot of noise and, inexplicably, at tractors. Apparently we have issues with John Deere. My dogs go out at night right before I turn in for the night. Sometimes that is 10pm. Sometimes that is 2am if I have worked late. Do mine bark when they go out that last time? You betcha. Lots of scary things are afoot late at night. Interestingly enough, in the two and half years since I got the chickens, I have NEVER had a predator loss, despite being surrounded by coyotes, raccoons, possums, etc.

While I try to be sensitive about annoying my neighbors, I have to admit that I don't lose a lot of sleep over the dogs barking. Am I an insensitive clod? Perhaps, but I don't think so. I just think that part of being a good neighbor is putting up with each other. It really annoys me when the neighbor runs his tractor at what I consider the crack of dawn (as a night person). It really annoys me when his buffalo get to banging the food trough around at 5am. It super, duper annoys me when people bring their kids to the ball park across the street and let them run around screaming like banshees. The teenagers that like to zoom up and down the road? Yup. Really aggravating. The neighbor down the street that rides a motorcycle with a bad muffler. Annoying! The guy that likes to ride a 4 wheeler up and down the street, shirtless with his guy hanging out? Annoying and a bit nauseating. Blech. Have I complained to anyone about any of this? Nope. Because part of being a neighbor is leaving people alone. The shirtless guy, while annoying and blechy, has a heart of gold and would do anything for anyone. I just close my eyes and wave when he drives by. The people with screaming children? I come in the house and turn up the fan or music to drown them out. They'll go home eventually (that is actually what I'm doing right now). The teenagers- well, either they will smash themselves into a zillion pieces or they will outgrow it one day. The buffalo has become ground meat and the guy with the tractor is just trying to get his hay in before the weather changes. Not a one of them has complained about my dogs either. Is my sleep interrupted by some of this? Yup. It is annoying. I mentally gripe about it and then I roll over and go back to sleep. Or I turn on the ceiling fan so I can drown it out. Or I turn on some music. In short, I cope and deal with it.

Having one's sleep interrupted is annoying. If your dogs were outside all night and barked all night long, I would suggest bringing them in or figuring out what was setting them off. Barking a couple of times on a random potty break? Eh. It happens. Your neighbor needs to get over it. If it bothers her, she needs to invest in ear plugs or a noise machine. You have done all you can to fix the problem. At this point, she is just trying to cause trouble.

 

[babylady4]

Exactly, play some 'white noise' in the background while you are trying to sleep. It should drown out everything else and you should sleep soundly. If you know you are going to be awakened easily it is your responsibility to take measures to get some rest. If your hearing is so sensitive you can hear what is going on a mile away you should see a doctor.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Quote:
Or consider becoming a superhero.