Neighbours dogs barking when left

[Rosielx]

Our neighbours have six small dogs. They bark when left alone. They are left everyday for 4-5 hours but don't bark everytime. The issue is that once they start they don't stop for hours. We can hear them clearly in our detached house, even through double glazing.

This has been happening for years. I tried ignoring it. I tried speaking to them. I wrote a letter after council advice saying the impact it was having. We fell out and they don't talk to us. The number of dogs increased. They are not walked so they're entire lives are spent in house or garden. In the winter I can turn tv up and avoid using parts of the house. I dread summer because I want to be outside without headphones.

Does anyone have any advice? Partner refuses to move house.

 

[JoanneF]

I'd go back to the council, and have a word with your dog warden and / or neighbourhood mediation service. They will likely ask you to keep a diary so you might want to start doing that first in preparation. They may give you sound monitoring equipment to record the noise level.

I doubt that being kept in the house and not walked will be taken into consideration - its far from ideal, but if they have food, water and shelter, organisations like the RSPCA won't get involved.

Just on the matter of moving house - something is tickling the back of my mind that if you have a neighbourhood dispute, prospective buyers have some sort of right to know I think. So while your partner may not want to move right now, if they change their mind in future this may affect your sale.

 

[Rosielx]

Thank you. I think we are stuck here for now. Your advice makes good sense. I'm recording the barking yo see how often it happens.

 

[arealhuman]

Councils are obliged to act on noise complaints. Keep a diary, too - when the noises occurred, how long it lasted, how it affected you and so on. After a suitable amount of time (a couple of weeks maybe? You'll have to judge this), present this to the Council and state the negative impact it is having on your right to enjoy a peaceful and quiet home life and hopefully it will spur them into action. If not, ask about their escalation process.