Neighbour complaints about my dog

[ireneadler]

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Hi everyone, I'm new.

I just wanted to get some advice/feedback about an issue I'm having with my neighbours. Bit of backstory: new neighbours moved in 2 months ago. They seemed ok but not that friendly. Anyway, I recently got a letter from the council stating that a complaint had been made about my dog barking excessively and causing a noise nuisance. I contacted the warden and he asked if it was alright to pop round for a chat. I said, thats fine. We have a 10 year old yorkie who is a very placid, sweet girl. She barks once or twice at the postman but that is it, she is not a "yappy" dog by any stretch of the imagination. So, warden comes round, (our dog doesnt bark even once during his entire visit). He tells me that the neighbours claim that "your dog goes mad every time you go out and barks for hours and hours on end. It only happens when you're out and you often go out for HOURS at a time". Well firstly, that isnt true. I am a stay at home mum and I am at home pretty much most of the time save for maybe a one hour visit to the gym or when i pick the kids up from school which takes like, 20 mins. I dont go out for "hours on end"- where the heck would I even go for "hours on end"? lol. Warden was completely satisfied my dog was being cared for and left. Being a reasonable person, I decided to film my dog whilst I am out, just in case. I am not one of those people who think their precious dog can do no wrong so I wanted to see her behaviour for myself when I am out. I set up a video recorder and so far, Ive recorded her on two separate occasions for approx 1.5 hours each time. Having watched the footage back- its clear she is snoozing in her bed 90% of the time. A couple of times she goes outside (we have a doggy door) for a wee but then comes straight back in, back to sleep. There is no barking whatsoever in any of the footage. I feel really really upset about this. I dont understand why the neighbours have made such a nasty complaint when it is clear our dog is NOT doing the things they have accused her of. I will record her one more time to make absolutely sure then keep the footage as evidence if its ever needed in the future. My concern is that they wont let this drop and will continue moaning to the council about her. Has anyone else been in this situation? if so, what eventually happened? I really wish the neighbours had spoken directly to me about this issue, it just feels really horrible having a warden come round even when you havent done anything wrong

 

[thebookworm]

Do you think that your neighbours may be mistaking a dog they can hear barking somewhere for yours ? Its just that near me there are a couple that bark a lot but I can never tell which it is !

How about approaching them to apologise and tell them that you cant understand why they think its your dog when you have a dog cam that shows it isn't ? It could just be mistaken identity.

I would have assumed that if they are officially accusing your dog of barking incessantly then they would need to produce evidence to the warden, which obviously they cant. It sounds like the warden was satisfied so I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[ireneadler]

I also wondered this since we live right near fields where plenty of people walk their dogs. I mentioned this to the warden but he said no, they said it was definately YOUR dog, your address. Its baffling TBH. I thought about approaching them but the warden said the complaint has to remain "anonymous" so I dont know if I should. It has to be them though as we dont really have any other neighbours near us. I'm not worried about getting a fine or anything since if the council install listening equipment it will become obvious that our dog isnt barking. I think I'm just upset that someone would blatantly lie about something like this. It disturbs me KWIM

 

[lurcherman]

If ur dog dosnt do what's your neighbours say it is doing then there will be no problem, if the council want to take it further then it's proof they will need and that will be hard to find if there's no proof to find so put your feet up and relax but keep in mind not to trust your neighbours ever.

 

[ireneadler]

You're right. Will do. I definately dont trust them any more and will be much more cautious about any future interactions with them. Thanks!

 

[gypsysmum2]

Just one thought. Could your dog be barking at something that only happens intermittently? Things like aircraft or thunder or a noise from your neighbour? I would continue to film her when you leave the house to see if this might be the case.

I would, also, keep a diary of the dates and times you leave the house and return. This could then be used to see if those times are the same as those times your dog is accused of barking. It could all be malicious nonsense from your neighbours. The more evidence you have the better.

I am sure that nothing more will come of it after the dog warden's visit though.

 

[caroline_burt]

I've had a similar complaint from my neighbours. Which recording device did you use? I'll do whatever I can to prove it's not my dog .... however I am on a budget. I tried a voice activated recorder but I can't be certain it is accurate. Having said that I also don't want to have to sit through footage of the dog fast asleep lol. I really don't know what to do for the best.

 

[ireneadler]

gypsysmum2- I wondered this too but we dont have aircraft near us and the weather has been gorgeous here for ages now. I have now filmed her a total of three times at different times of the day, on different days of the week for at least 1.5-2.5 hours at a time- still no barking. I'm not doing any more than that. If she really was barking for "hours on end" every time we go out, as they claim, it surely would have picked up at least something by now. Great idea about the diary- will do that

Caroline- I used the photo booth feature on my macbook. I plugged the charger in so it didn't run out of battery, and just let the video feature run. It will record as long as the hard drive memory allows and the picture and sound is crystal clear and very very sharp. When watching, you can easily fast forward through the parts where she is sleeping and it will show every frame as it goes so you can be sure you arent missing any barks. Does your cell phone have a recording feature/dictaphone on it?, if not could you borrow one?

I really recommend you do it for your own peace of mind- the camera/recorder doesnt lie and its really the only way to know the objective truth. Plus, its actually quite fun to see what they do once you go out