Neighbor's annoying dog

[CowsPatoot]

I just wanted to share the humor of my situation with someone.  I thought about putting it in the OT section at Pennock's...but I think there are too many extremists over there that would take it the wrong way.  Here, most of you know me well enough to know I will pursue this in a calm and rational manner.

First, my situation.  The guy across the street has an adult female boxer.  She wanders the yard, kept in place by an invisible fence.  She barks.  Constantly.  She will bark at me when I am coming or going....or if I decide to sit on my porch and smoke a cigar.  She will bark at anyone that goes past the yard...either walking or in a car.  She will bark at the guy three yards down when he is in his driveway.  Sometimes I can't figure out what she is barking at.  The real issue isn't the fact that she barks at things...but once she starts, she won't stop.  She will continue to bark for 30 minutes...an hour...sometimes 2 hours or more.

I've had enough, and decided that it is time to do something about it.  Yes, all the evil solutions have crossed my mind (simply shoot the dog...sponge soaked in bacon grease tossed into the yard...antifreeze...etc)...but I am simply not a violent person, and wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did something to hurt an animal.

In the vast majority of situations where you have a problem with a neighbor...simply talking to the neighbor about it will solve the problem.  But...I can't walk up to the house to knock on the door because of the dog.  It stands its ground very well, and I do believe it would attack if I were to enter its territory.  So...what do I do?

My first step was going to be to show the neighbor why it was so annoying.  A couple weeks ago, at 2:30am, after the dog had been barking for 15 minutes already, I stepped out on the front porch and started filming it.  Now...it was dark out, and you cannot see the dog or the neighbor's house in the video...but you can hear it.  It is clear by the changing volume that the dog is wandering around the house barking...not barking at anything specific.  In my 15 minute video, you don't hear any other dog bark in the background, and there is a maximum of about 5 consecutive seconds without hearing the boxer bark.  At the end of the 15 minutes, I said (on video) "I have lived across from you for 5 years.  I have put up with this for 5 years.  It is time to do something about it."  I then burned it to a DVD and put it in case with a printed cover that said "Standard DVD, should play in any DVD player.  Please watch, and consider this official notification of the problem."  The dog was still barking 45 minutes later (now 3:30am) when I deposited the DVD in their mailbox.

I know that putting something in their mailbox is technically a no-no.  In hind-sight, I should have mailed it to them in a certified letter.  But regardless...that issue hasn't come up yet.  It turns out, Jason (the guy across the street) was on vacation when I filmed this.  He came home on Sunday, June 3rd.  On June 4th, I was packing my bags (I was flying home to Michigan that evening) when my next-door neighbor (Brent...easier to type a name rather than where he lives) knocked on my door.  Brent has also complained about the dog numerous times.  He also happens to work with Jason's mother.  Brent was there to inform me that Jason was pissed about the DVD, and intended to press charges against me when he got home that evening.  Brent said he heard Jason was going to try to get me for threatening him and for spying on him.  I laughed about this, and questioned if Jason was really foolish enough to pursue it.

I am still in Michigan until Monday...but I have heard there has been a sheriff knocking on my door multiple times.  So, apparently he is foolish enough.

This is where things sit now.  All that is left for me to do is get back home, talk to the sheriff, and then call the sheriff for a noise ordinance violation the next time the dog barks.  Then, we get to see how deep of a hole Jason digs himself into.

I hope when this is done, you will get as good of a laugh from it as I intend to.

[TopNotch]

Here's something to try:
Record the dog barking. Get a very loud, directional, bull-horn type speaker. Play back the recording with the speaker aimed at the guy's house.
A more sophisticated approach:
Get an audio processor with a one-second delay. Connect a microphone aimed at the neighbor's house to the processor. and the processor to an amplifier and speaker aimed at the neighbor's house. If the neighbor doesn't get the message, maybe the dog will.

[GrannyLinda]

Or as soon as you get back go to the police station and fill
out a formal disturbing the peace complaint against your neighbor  " And His Little Dog Too."     
I think in Gwinnett the ordnance is no loud noises  between 11pm and 6am.       

[CowsPatoot]

I like that solution, Pat...but there are three problems with it.  First...if his own dog doesn't bother him after two hours of barking...would the amplification of it bother him?  Second....this will annoy my other neighbors also.  Third...if he is going to file charges against me for something as simple as giving him a dvd...imagine what direction he would go with this.  Besides...then we fall into the classic issue of "two wrongs don't make a right."

Linda...that is going to be my next step...but so far we have failed to get a response.  Now that the sheriff is already involved in the situation...they will have to respond.

[sixgun6]

had that problem with my neighbor till I got me Lohman invisi-predator it drive them nuts especially the coyote call on it - I feel if they want to bark give them something to bark about -its got a volume adjustment that goes so low humans cant hear it but that dog can lol- at $35 its cheap fun watching them try to figure what the heck is making that noise should I bark or should I run

[Raydar]

I was thinking of something along the lines of the noise maker.
Every creature likely has a frequency that resonates within their auditory cavity that is just annoying as hell. Your friend the Boxer, included.
If you can find a frequency that is outside the range of human hearing, but annoying to the dog, you're halfway there. A little bit of experimentation is in order. You'll be able to tell when the dog reacts (since he seems to react to almost anything.)
If you can identify that frequency, then amplify the hell out of it, you can apply a bit of negative reinforcement.
I'm guessing there is software available that can be used to generate tones on a computer. Run your sound card output through an amplifier (an old stereo ought to do the trick) and through a piezo-electric tweeter. They'll handle large amounts of power and will operate to at least 30 KHz, IIRC. When the dog starts barking, give him an ultra-sonic blast. It won't take long for him to figure it out.

Check this out... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xpJKBMBNcc
You'll barely be able to hear it, but if it's loud enough it'll make your head hurt.

And this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmejVIQshMA

[sixgun6]

you could also use a training whisle if you want to stand there blowing on it at 3 am -

[CowsPatoot]

Would a training whistle or other similar sound irritate a cat as well?  Would that also irritate Brent's indoor dog?  I don't want to "punish" every animal in the neighborhood (the ones that are NOT annoying) in an attempt to train the one.  Maybe I will go ahead and pick up a whistle so that I at least have a way to ease my tensions.

[Fierofool]

Our next door neighbor's dog barks anytime we step out the door.  After I took a couple of shots at it with a slingshot loaded with marbles, he scoots back through the back garage door and barks from inside.  It doesn't bother the owners.  When they aren't home, we use the See-Oh-Two powered air horn.  Other cats and dogs that come wandering up put their tail to the street as they lowtail it out after a blast from the horn. 

I believe you have an air compressor?  Use the dog training whistle and find a way to attach an air line to it so it blows constantly.  You can tell when high frequencies bother a dog because they'll yawn or shake their head.  You can direct the sound by placing it in a 5 gallon bucket and pointing the opening toward their house.  I use high frequency sometimes when playing with our dogs by using a piece of celophane candy wrapper stretched tight and blow on the edge.  The higher the pitch, the more they yawn. 

As a former enforcement officer and someone who's worked with ordinances since '93, I can tell you that wherever you live, there is a noise or public nuisance ordinance, either for the city or the county.  Most ordinances I've ever encountered allow only 5 to 10 minutes of constant barking before they are in violation and barking without cause can be an instant violation. 

If you want to irritate the neighbor himself, get a 5 gallon metal or plastic pail.  Put a small hole in the center of the bottom.  Put some good strong string, like carpenters use to set up their corner boards, etc.  Put it through the hole and inside the pail tie it in the middle of a 2 inch piece of wooden dowel to keep the string from pulling through.  Next, using bees wax, wax the string very well.  This will give you a good grip on the string.

Have someone hold the pail while it's pointed at the neighbor's house.  Grip the string tightly between your thumb and fingers and pull, letting the string slip through.  Leather gloves only improve the effect.  The resulting vibration transmits into the bottom of the pail and the bucket directs a deep roar that can't be attached to any animals we have in the south.  A small galvanized foot tub works very well, too.  If that doesn't work, get a big bass drum and give it only 2 good strokes.  The first stroke wakes him and the second lets him really hear it.  Of course, you only use the these tactics sometime between midnight and 4am.  Any night of the week is as good as any other.

[Fierofool]

Your city doesn't have it's own Code of Ordinances but you're covered by St. Louis County Ordinance.  There is a noise ordinance covering just about any loud, disturbing noise, including barking dogs.  Here is the one you need to pursue the enforcement of.  If you can't get it enforced, go to your Superior Court and ask for a Writ of Mandamus.  That is an order for the responsible authorities to enforce the letter of the law. 

It is not illegal to record or video anything that is visible from any neighboring property or public property, so long as you do not take exceptional steps to accomplish it, like peeking through a knot hole in a wood fence, using high powered telephoto lenses and the like.  Even if your neighbor likes to make out with the windows wide open so you can see from your house, it's not illegal to watch.  It may not be something you'd want to watch, but it's not illegal. 

My experience with the various jurisdictions I have experience with (4), a dog is allowed to bark for 10 minutes within an hour without obvious reason to bark.  Nothing between 10PM and 6AM weekdays and Sunday, Midnight til 8AM Saturday night til Sunday morning unless there's just cause. 

716.075 - Disturbance of the Peace—Public Nuisance—Barking Dog.

—A person shall not permit a dog owned by him or within his custody or under his control to habitually bark thereby reasonably causing the peace of any person of ordinary temper and disposition to be disturbed. A dog which habitually barks thereby reasonably causing the peace of any person of ordinary temper and disposition to be disturbed is declared to be a public nuisance.

(O. No. 5392, 3-19-70)