Barking Dogs!!

[zk]

But where’s eavesdropper? (Christopher Walken): “We need more eavesdropper!”

[svelte]

Please post a follow-up telling us the paths you chose and what the outcomes were, Ox.

I am sure we are all going to encounter a similar problem again in the future – data from you will help us too…

[Aecetia]

California Penal Code Section 415

Legal Research Home > California Laws > Penal Code > California Penal Code Section 415

Any of the following persons shall be punished by imprisonment
in the county jail for a period of not more than 90 days, a fine of
not more than four hundred dollars ($400), or both such imprisonment
and fine:
(1) Any person who unlawfully fights in a public place or
challenges another person in a public place to fight.
(2) Any person who maliciously and willfully disturbs another
person by loud and unreasonable noise.
(3) Any person who uses offensive words in a public place which
are inherently likely to provoke an immediate violent reaction.

http://law.onecle.com/california/penal/415.html

Since she refuses to control the dogs’ barking, she is disturbing your peace.

The local ordinance is probably sufficient. I would keep a log of the duration and time of each noise disturbance (if this is possible) and also record the dogs barking in case you end up in court. If the code folks are going to do their job, they will want this information.

There also might be grounds for a civil action.

Good luck.

[spdrun]

Mens rea would be difficult to prove in this case under the law you cited. Does CA have any specific laws that cover keeping of nuisance dogs?

[Aecetia]

I am unaware of any. However, various municipalities may have muni ordinances re. dogs. Some places allow chickens in the city and some do not. Usually most codes involve fines while violations of the penal code may be considered criminal. I am sure the dogs want attention. German Shepherds are smart dogs and they usually are easy to train if someone will take the time.

[JC]

*cough* *cough*

a little info on dog barking from a somewhat reliable 3rd party: http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/understanding-why-dogs-bark

i have kind of the opposite problem which is a bit comical. my two current dogs are essentially “angels”. my first dog had separation anxiety and was not. (i still miss her, but she was not easy).

i live near balboa park in a home that has what you might call a half block behind it. this means that my back yard is about 2.5 feet and about the same for my neighbor. i had a great realtor who advised going by at all times of day and night to be sure i was ok living in this area. (i was. i have lived in more cramped quarters before but it was GOOD advice and I carefully considered this before moving here).

about six months ago or so, a new guy moved behind me who HATES dogs. (i have cutesy dog signs in front of my house to be very upfront that my kids are canine as I think no one likes surprises and after one actual break-in and one attempted break-in, the signs seemed like an actual safety item too). note the dogs were not here when the break-ins happened/ were attempted. no one bothers me now that the dogs are here.

so, my new neighbor has passive aggressively slammed doors at me for months every time i make a noise or my dogs do (yo, i got the message). i live alone and work 12 hours a day or more from home so i am pretty damn boring/quiet. last week, he stormed by to threaten to file a complaint. my next door neighbor was appalled by his behavior and offered to sign an affadavit about how quiet my dogs are. (i am SO lucky to have awesome neighbors on all other sides).

so, my dogs bark during the daytime when strangers come by (so, i do my best to make sure no one stops by unannounced) and they bark when my dog hating neighbor works on his house with power tools or when he has other workers crawling around on his roof). um, i dont know many dogs that would not bark in that situation? and, he has people working on his house since moving in. this is totally his right. i would never complain even if the noise is not always convenient for me as we live in close quarters.

so, i have spent thousands (yes, thousands) on dog training (the neighbor is often a topic of discussion), calming dog supplements, calming dog music (yes, they really make these items and they do help), i close doors and windows when he is home, and do everything possible to be a good neighbor. even so, he likes to slam doors in protest if they so much as utter a playful peep.

i have to say, at this point, a little sugar would go a long way. (just for those of you who have neighbors that you would like to send a message to). some of us are willing to be quite cooperative, so maybe try a little sugar before go for the threats.

just talk to us like we are humans and we care. frankly, if this guy was not being such an ass with the slamming doors and the threats, i would try to figure out what his schedule was to see what else i could adjust so we could all be peaceful.

heck, when he first moved in, i let his plumber come into my house like 3 times which was really inconvenient since i work like 12 hour days and such and my dogs are afraid of strangers. interestingly, he did not mind when it was for his benefit….

in San Diego, you are allowed to have up to 5 dogs. I stopped fostering just to try to appease this guy. interetinly, as he was yelling/threatening me last week, he acknowledged that the dogs were much better now. huh??!!?

this kind of negative reinforcement for trying very hard to be a good neighbor kind of makes me want to stop trying. especially, since none of my other neighbors even notice as they never utter a peep during quiet hours…

now, i have lived next to neighbors who just leave dogs outside unattended for days. first, i dont understand how you could do that to your dog. second, that can be a nightmare. my neighbors dogs would howl ALL night long. even in that extreme, i still think talking to the owners first is a good first step. if they don’t take action or try to work with you, i can see taking that to the next level. so, i do empathize with those of you that are in that situation.

so, i guess the point of my unfocused rant is to encourage you to talk to your neighbors first. i think most people are pretty nice and try pretty hard to work with each other. we have rules and codes in place for those people that dont, right?

[Oxford]

Nice post JC. And good advice.
Regarding my situation, I did speak with the owner of the dogs and wrote a heart-felt, polite anonymous letter. She said she would “do the best she can”.

The dogs have continued to bark as much as before — if not more. She, unlike you, is a nut-case.

OX
…nutcracker

[JC]

Ox, I am so sorry that you did not get a better reply to your polite note. So, I have this awesome dog trainer that has given me all sorts of great ideas. For instance, my dogs bark at strangers in my house. Well, I will need to have strangers in and around my house in a few months to do foundation work and I can’t take my dogs to boarding. (I have one dog that is “special needs” and a flight risk and I already went through one episode of not sleeping for 76 days as I tracked her down to bring her home safely. Really can’t do that again). Anywho, I have to have the dogs here for the foundation work and I do not want to bother any of my neighbors so I am going to sound proof my garage so I can have them in there while they do the major work. (I will properly ventilate and such first too). My trainer has sent me info on materials that might be useful for the sound proofing that I could share with you if that might help you in your home? I was thinking of suggesting this to my neighbor too, but I am afraid to bring that up with him since he is so volatile. My trainer had another suggestion that might be useful on my side and my neighbor’s side which is heavy drapes on the side of the house that faces his. And, what works for me in general whether it is power tools or the neighbors i had with the howling dogs — white noise. It won’t completely block the sound but it certainly helps. Good luck to you! PM me if you want the sound proofing info.

[Oxford]

Thanks JC. But I am not interested in sound control. I am throwing all the code enforcement at this and even taking it to court if necessary. There is nothing nice about this woman or the situation.

As far as I consider it, it is ON.

OX
…on

[Coronita]

[quote=JC]*cough* *cough*

a little info on dog barking from a somewhat reliable 3rd party: http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/understanding-why-dogs-bark

i have kind of the opposite problem which is a bit comical. my two current dogs are essentially “angels”. my first dog had separation anxiety and was not. (i still miss her, but she was not easy).

i live near balboa park in a home that has what you might call a half block behind it. this means that my back yard is about 2.5 feet and about the same for my neighbor. i had a great realtor who advised going by at all times of day and night to be sure i was ok living in this area. (i was. i have lived in more cramped quarters before but it was GOOD advice and I carefully considered this before moving here).

about six months ago or so, a new guy moved behind me who HATES dogs. (i have cutesy dog signs in front of my house to be very upfront that my kids are canine as I think no one likes surprises and after one actual break-in and one attempted break-in, the signs seemed like an actual safety item too). note the dogs were not here when the break-ins happened/ were attempted. no one bothers me now that the dogs are here.

so, my new neighbor has passive aggressively slammed doors at me for months every time i make a noise or my dogs do (yo, i got the message). i live alone and work 12 hours a day or more from home so i am pretty damn boring/quiet. last week, he stormed by to threaten to file a complaint. my next door neighbor was appalled by his behavior and offered to sign an affadavit about how quiet my dogs are. (i am SO lucky to have awesome neighbors on all other sides).

so, my dogs bark during the daytime when strangers come by (so, i do my best to make sure no one stops by unannounced) and they bark when my dog hating neighbor works on his house with power tools or when he has other workers crawling around on his roof). um, i dont know many dogs that would not bark in that situation? and, he has people working on his house since moving in. this is totally his right. i would never complain even if the noise is not always convenient for me as we live in close quarters.

so, i have spent thousands (yes, thousands) on dog training (the neighbor is often a topic of discussion), calming dog supplements, calming dog music (yes, they really make these items and they do help), i close doors and windows when he is home, and do everything possible to be a good neighbor. even so, he likes to slam doors in protest if they so much as utter a playful peep.

i have to say, at this point, a little sugar would go a long way. (just for those of you who have neighbors that you would like to send a message to). some of us are willing to be quite cooperative, so maybe try a little sugar before go for the threats.

just talk to us like we are humans and we care. frankly, if this guy was not being such an ass with the slamming doors and the threats, i would try to figure out what his schedule was to see what else i could adjust so we could all be peaceful.

heck, when he first moved in, i let his plumber come into my house like 3 times which was really inconvenient since i work like 12 hour days and such and my dogs are afraid of strangers. interestingly, he did not mind when it was for his benefit….

in San Diego, you are allowed to have up to 5 dogs. I stopped fostering just to try to appease this guy. interetinly, as he was yelling/threatening me last week, he acknowledged that the dogs were much better now. huh??!!?

this kind of negative reinforcement for trying very hard to be a good neighbor kind of makes me want to stop trying. especially, since none of my other neighbors even notice as they never utter a peep during quiet hours…

now, i have lived next to neighbors who just leave dogs outside unattended for days. first, i dont understand how you could do that to your dog. second, that can be a nightmare. my neighbors dogs would howl ALL night long. even in that extreme, i still think talking to the owners first is a good first step. if they don’t take action or try to work with you, i can see taking that to the next level. so, i do empathize with those of you that are in that situation.

so, i guess the point of my unfocused rant is to encourage you to talk to your neighbors first. i think most people are pretty nice and try pretty hard to work with each other. we have rules and codes in place for those people that dont, right?[/quote]

I think it this particular situation, you should bark with the dog just to annoy the neighbor. Or invite a really loud/crying baby that cries all the time.

sometimes people don’t appreciate things until they experience something worse.

[JC]

LMAO — that is funny and tempting, but not really my style. I’ll keep trying. I usually give people at least 3 or 4 tries before I give up. Of course, I did consider how awful it would be for him if I had teenagers in that back bedroom. I am pretty sure that would be far more annoying?!?!? In fact, if he keeps making being at home tiresome, I might start dating again and at my age they come with teenagers. Hmmm……KIDDING!

[Aecetia]

JC,

Your neighbor is a jerk. I bet he hates people and dogs.

[Author]

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