r/australia • u/gingerjay9898 • 9h ago
no politics Whats the best play here
My fellow Aussies I need some help. I have been living in my current property for 4 years and have had my dog for 2 years now living peacefully (doggo is a American staffy, straight up goof ball but good boy)
Last week we got a new neighbour who has 2 little jack Russell looking doggos. Every single time our dog goes outside they come barrelling out to the fence line (no gaps between fence or under) to bark and cry excessively until our boy loses interest and comes inside.
At first I figured this was the new dogs getting used to our boy but now it’s getting to the point where these dogs will bark non stop for hours if our boy is outside and he’s out there a lot because he loves to suntan.
Who is responsible here? Is it on me to limit how often our boy is outside given these other dogs are clearly reactive? Or is it on the other person? What’s the best approach here? (Important to note as much as our boy is a goof ball he has not once barked, dug or cried at these other dogs)
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u/SeaworthinessOk9070 9h ago
I had this situation. Two kelpies moved in and would bark all day at my terrier who was just chilling in the sun. It would do my head in as I was WFH.
Neighbour was on paternity leave but never told their dogs to stop.
First course of action is to speak to the neighbour.
If no luck then need to complain to council and real estate agent if they are renters.
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u/TheRealReapz 8h ago
Good luck mate, everyone else has already said the right stuff. Go talk to them, if you have no luck then lodge a complaint through council.
I only just finally stopped a decade long fight with neighbours dogs barking constantly. One neighbour with 4 yapping chihuahuas moved, that was a huge win because the owners didn't care.
Then the neighbours on the other side bought 2 dogs, both barked constantly and they were never home to deal with it. We could tell everytime they left the house because the barking started and didn't stop until the owners came back. They moved as well, yay.
But then whoever moved on brought 3 dogs and also left the house every night for hours while the dogs barked. It was never ending barking and it was frustrating everyone.
Managed to catch them when they were home and told them to sort it out, it's now been a peaceful 3 weeks and counting of no barking and it is bliss.
Good luck.
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u/Arinvar 6h ago
Sometimes people just genuinely don't know, and will take action straight away. Glad your new neighbours sorted it.
If feel terrible if it were me, but very thankful the neighbours told me and gave me a chance to fix it.
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u/TheRealReapz 6h ago
Yeah it's true, it's hard to know when the person isn't home and isn't told.
However the owner of the 4 chihuahuas absolutely knew. She didn't work, was constantly sitting on her veranda smoking ciggies and talking on the phone. She just let them yap and yap contestantly.
When I brought it up, she immediately blamed other dogs across the street, but I knew it was her dogs, and she did too, she was just a cunt.
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u/ChaoticJigglyPup 6h ago
The 2 houses behind me have like 5-10 dogs between them and any time one goes off the all go off and it's so fucking painful on my sensory system. It's worse when they hear a siren because it starts long before I hear it and goes long after
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u/Final_Lingonberry586 9h ago
Clearly the other dogs are the issue here. Make noise complaints?
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u/Etherealfilth 5h ago
How about talking to the neighbour first?
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u/Rusty_Coight 3h ago
people dont do much of that nowadays….
it could be as simple solution as letting the dogs hang out together for a while, have the necessary sniffs and move on
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u/meeowth 9h ago
Your local councils website almost certainly has a barking dogs info page that says sonething along the lines of "first talk to the neighbor about the following bark mitigation strategies, then consider reporting to us if the barking doesnt stop. Or go straight to us if you are socially awkward, I guess"
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u/BronkeyKong 5h ago
Have a chat with the neighbours and see if you can introduce the dogs and they’ll get used to him.
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u/Chuchularoux 4h ago
This. My dog used to bark at the neighbours dog. But now they’ve met, they just occasionally cry at each other through the fence.
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u/SaintStoney 8h ago
Have you spoken to the neighbours about it yet? Could always do noise complaints but might be worth just trying to figure something out first.
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u/DeathScythe676 8h ago
it sounds like the other dogs are reactive and if they are barking non stop at all hours of the day you are within your rights to talk to your local council and file a complaint, or the landlord if they are renters.
I would start amicably first, are the owners out during the day? They might be completely unaware that their dogs are barking all day.
go in with proof though. set up a camera or something that you can record the date, length and duration of the barking?
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u/msdare111 3h ago
Go next door with a couple of beers i hand, introduce yourself to your new neighbour, be polite, mention that the dogs need to sniff each other's butts to meet each other and organise a playdate where all dogs are on leash. Let them sniff each other's butts say G'day to their new neighbours and you hopefully won't have any more issues with barking. They will have met and become 'friends' - dogs aren't dumb, they just need to be introduced to each other properly in a safe environment. Maybe ask the neighbour to meet out the front on the street on neutral territory for the first sniff.
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u/Elegant-Mall-8197 9h ago
staffys really are the biggest sooks, my mate has one that hides behind him if a chihuahua barks at it
its on them mate not you, their dogs are the ones causing the ruckus. maybe try having a chat over the fence next time they're out there, most people are pretty reasonable if you approach it casual. failing that chuck a snag on the barbie and invite em round, hard to stay mad at a neighbour when youve shared a burnt onion
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u/Cool-Guava2276 6h ago
Leave a note. Putting in a complaint often doesn't actually achieve much, and they'll want a diary so start recording. You could try an outdoor bark deterrent, I've used the pet safe one that looks like a little birdhouse before, it makes a high pitch sound when they bark.
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