# Neighbour screaming out of control kids making dog bark



## Vinney (1 May 2013)

Just wondering what others would do in this situation. A bit of a rant really.  My dog is a border collie two year old bitch.  She is kenelled during the day and we have a large garden with an attached neighbour.  The neighbour has two children one 9 one 4 that for some reason cannot play nicely and spend most of the time they are in the garden screaming especially when they are on the trampoline.  My dog seems to think this is great fun and starts barking at them.  I have tried to stop her when I am there and she will keep going back to the fence when they start making a noise again. Anyway to cut a long story short the neighbour has sent me a note complaining.  I went round to see her to try to sort this out but to be honest her attitude seems to be that its all the dogs fault.  When I mentioned the kids screaming she said that, thats what kids do.  I said that dogs bark but she expects me to keep my dog quiet so why shouldnt she make some effort to control her kids. Needless to say it didnt go well.  She made the statement that she is a single parent now so was having a few problems.  In all the time she has lived next to us she has been arrogant and rude and to be honest I can count the number of times I have spoken to her on one hand as she is so ignorant.  On the day she and her husband moved into their house I welcomed her to the village and offered a hand of friendship and she turned her back on me and ignored me completely.  Her ex husband is a very nice friendly man and until he left things were fine as far as the kids go. Not sure where to go from here.  I have shut the dog into a smaller part of the garden today, but am not happy at having to do this as she likes her freedom. She is also there to guard out property as we have had several burglaries and some metal stolen in the village over the last few years. Well rant over not looking for sympathy or rude comments just some friendly advice.


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## EllenJay (1 May 2013)

Not a lot you can do really.  Children do make a noise, and dogs do bark.  In your shoes I would make sure that my dog was only making a noise when her children do - and not all the time.  I think then that there probably isn't a lot she can do - although be aware that she can complain about excessive dog noise, so you may get a visit/letter from the council.


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## MerrySherryRider (1 May 2013)

Young children playing nosily is a part of life with neighbours. While it impacts on your life, they aren't there all the time, so limiting your dog to a part of the garden when the children are around is an acceptable compromise.

 Your dog barking will affect other neighbours too, unfortunately. Two of my neighbours both allow their terriers full freedom of the garden and they bark constantly all day, especially when anyone walks past. It amazes me that the owners think this is acceptable, but everyone around here is very tolerant despite how annoying it is.

 Even when you're unlucky enough to have a rude neighbour, its worth compromising rather than risk bad feeling escalating.


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## Vinney (1 May 2013)

I do appreciate your replies regarding the dog barking at the kids and that it may affect others, but we are out in the countryside not on a housing estate and this has only starting within the last few weeks.  We have a 6ft fence between the main part of the garden and at least 10ft high of Laurel hedging that covers the rest of the garden.  We are not trying to make trouble and my point is that she could at least make some effort to keep the kids a bit quieter especially when they are fighting and jumping on the trampoline screaming at the tops of their voices. I dont find this acceptable even if I didnt have a dog I would say this is out of order.  Dont get me wrong I dont hate children. My biggest problem with this woman is that she can write me a note but can't come and talk to myself and my partner about it sensibly. Her husband has always been so approachable and if he were still there would come round and talk to us about it.  Last year they had a cockerel that was free ranging around the garden and it spent the dawn crowing under everyones windows. They were very put out when the neighbour the other side of them complained about it.  Guess who had to find it a new home for them (us).  Horserider, how come they dont have to stop the terriers barking? Just a thought.  As far as I am aware our dog doesnt bark all day only when the postman comes and as far as I am concerned she is alerting anyone around that there is someone on  our property.  All boundaries are fenced and gates locked so she isnt able to see who is walking up the drive.  We had some metal stolen a few years ago so feel justified that we have a deterrent in the dog.  Most of our garden is bound by open fields, just the one fence and garden next door.


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## Nikki J (1 May 2013)

Vinney said:



			Just wondering what others would do in this situation. A bit of a rant really.  My dog is a border collie two year old bitch.  She is kenelled during the day and we have a large garden with an attached neighbour.  The neighbour has two children one 9 one 4 that for some reason cannot play nicely and spend most of the time they are in the garden screaming especially when they are on the trampoline.  My dog seems to think this is great fun and starts barking at them.  I have tried to stop her when I am there and she will keep going back to the fence when they start making a noise again. Anyway to cut a long story short the neighbour has sent me a note complaining.  I went round to see her to try to sort this out but to be honest her attitude seems to be that its all the dogs fault.  When I mentioned the kids screaming she said that, thats what kids do.  I said that dogs bark but she expects me to keep my dog quiet so why shouldnt she make some effort to control her kids. Needless to say it didnt go well.  She made the statement that she is a single parent now so was having a few problems.  In all the time she has lived next to us she has been arrogant and rude and to be honest I can count the number of times I have spoken to her on one hand as she is so ignorant.  On the day she and her husband moved into their house I welcomed her to the village and offered a hand of friendship and she turned her back on me and ignored me completely.  Her ex husband is a very nice friendly man and until he left things were fine as far as the kids go. Not sure where to go from here.  I have shut the dog into a smaller part of the garden today, but am not happy at having to do this as she likes her freedom. She is also there to guard out property as we have had several burglaries and some metal stolen in the village over the last few years. Well rant over not looking for sympathy or rude comments just some friendly advice.
		
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You sound like a very nice, reasonable person and this unfriendly neighbour should be glad that she lives next door to such a tolerant and lovely person as yourself!  I think she is being extremely unreasonable for several reasons.  Firstly, why do children always have to be top priority in these modern PC times.  Why is it reasonable and acceptable for them to scream their heads off and make an unreasonable amount of noise, but not for your dog to bark?  Children scream and make a noise, dogs bark and make a noise.  Both are perfectly entitled to do so on their own property, within reason of course.  But it seems to me that your neighbour thinks that it is perfectly OK for her brats to make a racket and that it is YOUR fault that this excites your dog and makes her bark - naturally this will happen, especially bearing in mind her breed, for children read sheep - she is trying to control them, round them up, all perfectly acceptable.  It is not as if she is posing a threat to them in any way.  In addition, this woman should be glad of such a good guard dog living next to her.  We live next to 2 gorgeous GSD's who are amazing guard dogs.  One sleeps outside in the garden, and he will often bark furiously in the night if he hears something that he thinks may be an intruder or a threat.  Often this wakes us up, but personally I love to hear him bark - after all, he may be driving off some scrote is trying to break into our shed!  I appreciate a barking dog can be very annoying, but there is give and take on both sides.  I do not accept that you should have to shut your dog away, or deny her access to her garden just because the kids next door scream and excite her.  Perhaps this woman may like to consider shutting her kids away?!!


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## MerrySherryRider (1 May 2013)

*vinney* I do think you're the good guy here, and your neighbour is a PITA, but I guess, the fact is that she is difficult, perhaps more so right now due to the stress of her breakup.
 Perhaps just by compromise, it will take the heat of the situation or at least won't make it worse, particularly if she reports you to the council or dog warden. At least you have the moral high ground by being the reasonable one and quite frankly, the agencies are well used to fruitcakes reporting their neighbours and try to mediate.
 It also means that if you sell your property in the future, you haven't got a dispute to disclose on the forms.


As for my neighbours with the dogs that bark for 12 hours a day...well, we're just too nice to complain. LOL.


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## Vinney (1 May 2013)

Quote :You sound like a very nice, reasonable person and this unfriendly neighbour should be glad that she lives next door to such a tolerant and lovely person as yourself! I think she is being extremely unreasonable for several reasons. Firstly, why do children always have to be top priority in these modern PC times. Why is it reasonable and acceptable for them to scream their heads off and make an unreasonable amount of noise, but not for your dog to bark? Children scream and make a noise, dogs bark and make a noise. Both are perfectly entitled to do so on their own property, within reason of course. But it seems to me that your neighbour thinks that it is perfectly OK for her brats to make a racket and that it is YOUR fault that this excites your dog and makes her bark - naturally this will happen, especially bearing in mind her breed, for children read sheep - she is trying to control them, round them up, all perfectly acceptable. It is not as if she is posing a threat to them in any way. In addition, this woman should be glad of such a good guard dog living next to her. We live next to 2 gorgeous GSD's who are amazing guard dogs. One sleeps outside in the garden, and he will often bark furiously in the night if he hears something that he thinks may be an intruder or a threat. Often this wakes us up, but personally I love to hear him bark - after all, he may be driving off some scrote is trying to break into our shed! I appreciate a barking dog can be very annoying, but there is give and take on both sides. I do not accept that you should have to shut your dog away, or deny her access to her garden just because the kids next door scream and excite her. Perhaps this woman may like to consider shutting her kids away?!! 

Thanks Nikki J, most people seem to think the dog is always at fault.  We are quite happy to compromise and try to keep the dog quiet but apparently this happens when the kids get home from school and I am at work.  I dont get home until 7.30 - 8.00 in the evenings as I work full time and then have to do my horses at a livery yard several miles away.  I had a day off sick on Monday and spent most of the day with the Television turned up to block out the screaming 4 year old. He spent hours screaming and crying and I could hear it through the wall.  When I mentioned this to her she said 4year olds do cry and scream.  My comment was that she should have calmed him down and stopped his tantrums from affecting others and that they dont usually do it for hours on end.  Our dog is walked and put into her kennel at dusk and we dont hear anything from her until we let her out in the mornings.  She isnt waking anyone up at night.  The neighbour the other side of her has two children of similar ages and they play quite nicely and I never hear my dog bark at them.  I think the kids are actually winding my dog up but without being there to see for myself I cant be sure. Any way we will have to wait and see what happens.  She has threatened to send the council round and if they are as efficient as when we had a dog being ill treated and left to bark and whine at the back of where I work I dont expect too much from them.  The dog warden actually said if the dog isnt being dangerous and not on the street they didnt want to know.  We had to get the RSPCA to intervene.  The poor thing was left in a postage stamp garden all day with no water and got itself tangled up in a clothes line. (same council)


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## Fellewell (1 May 2013)

Being kennelled all day is quite a big ask for a young high-drive collie. How is she kept at night? When do you work her?

Just read above post, she's in kennel all night. This has to be a wind-up, surely?


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## Vinney (1 May 2013)

Fellewell, The dog isnt in the kennel all day, this is part of the problem. She has the run of 3/4 of an acre during the day and we walk her over the fields at night.  She also has lots of ball throwing and playing in the mornings before work. My partner is often there during the day with her.  When we are at home we dont hear anything from her until the kids start next door. The neighbour in question wants me to shut her up during the day and I am afraid this isnt going to happen without a fight.  Horserider, We are unlikely to be selling our house in the near future but she might be as she doesnt work and large houses on mortgages have to be paid for.  We will just find something else and rent this one out as we have the money to do so.  This woman has got history for being unpleasant and her husband was her saving grace as far as the neighbours are concerned.  I dont want a war, just to be able to enjoy my home, my garden and my dog.  That is the reason we moved to the countryside.


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## bonny (1 May 2013)

I can't help but think you are on very dodgy ground here and if your neighbour does call in the council you will be found at fault, not the playing kids, no matter how noisy they are when they play.  That's what gardens are for, they are not supposed to be where you leave your dog all day as it's convienent for you.
Could you not take the the dog with you to do the horses, better for the dog and would let your neighbours have a more peaceful evening.


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## MerrySherryRider (1 May 2013)

Without sounding too critical here, just worked out that your dog is kennelled during the day until 7-8pm, and then again at dusk over night. If you do the horses as well in the evenings, the dog seems to get very little interaction during the week unless your husband works from home ?
 The dog might be more settled if she was busier ?

Ah, sorry cross posted, just seen your last reply.


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## Archangel (1 May 2013)

This might be a bonkers idea  but could you spend some time in the  neighbours garden (have a nice cup of tea with neighbour *shudder*) when the kids are playing so the dog actually sees what is going on and therefore twigs its not that exciting and not worth the bark?  Would that work?


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## Superhot (1 May 2013)

Is it possible to slightly relandscape your garden, so that you incorporate a  new fence which keeps your dog well away from the dividing fence?  I don't think it would be a fair thing to do, but you could get a special collar that emits a high pitch noise that deters your dog from barking.  Seems a shame to have to resort to this, but it might be an interim solution until your horrible neighbour moves.
We back on to a public park, and often get kids coming to wind our dogs up through the fence.  In this situation, OH is able to tell the kids to stop upsetting our dogs!!
Is it possible to desensitize your dog to the noisy kids?


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## Fellewell (1 May 2013)

Vinney said:



			Fellewell, The dog isnt in the kennel all day, this is part of the problem. She has the run of 3/4 of an acre during the day and we walk her over the fields at night.  She also has lots of ball throwing and playing in the mornings before work. My partner is often there during the day with her.  When we are at home we dont hear anything from her until the kids start next door. The neighbour in question wants me to shut her up during the day and I am afraid this isnt going to happen without a fight.  Horserider, We are unlikely to be selling our house in the near future but she might be as she doesnt work and large houses on mortgages have to be paid for.  We will just find something else and rent this one out as we have the money to do so.  This woman has got history for being unpleasant and her husband was her saving grace as far as the neighbours are concerned.  I dont want a war, just to be able to enjoy my home, my garden and my dog.  That is the reason we moved to the countryside.
		
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Your first post says she's kennelled during the day. This is not a breed that can be left to their own devices. Generations of breeding do not produce a 'clockwork' collie as many have found to their cost. She needs more input from you IMHO.


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## NeverSayNever (1 May 2013)

i totally feel for you, give me dogs over kids any day...  and i have both 

hate to say it though but this is the reason we would never have a house adjoining another, even adjoining gardens, you never know what the neighbours will be like.

for all those jumping on you regarding kenneling and how much input she gets - no amount of stimulation is going to stop her barking at and being stimulated by screaming kids leaping around


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## Vinney (1 May 2013)

Actually bonny I disagree with you. Gardens are not just playgrounds for kids, some of us actually grow out own vegetables and keep chickens in them.  We also like to grow flowers. Also as I paid for the privilege I expect to let my dog have the run of the garden.  It is not just convenience for me while I am at work I think a dog shut in a house all day is just as bad.  I have heard many of them barking and howling when in a house and in some ways if the neighbours have this to contend with they would be just as annoyed.  Horse rider, my other half does spend quite a lot of time at home with the dog and she isnt in a kennel all day the has the run of the garden all day.  This is part of the problem. She has a dog flap and access to food and water in her kennel. Usually she spends her day sleeping either down the garden in one of our open sheds or in her bed in the kennel.  She has plenty of interaction and walks and I cant take her down the stables as she gets car sick and hates cats.  There are several at our yard and I dont think the owners would be too happy if she spent all her time chasing them.  I wont leave her in a hot car as this is not fair and could become a welfare issue. Personally I think this is getting out of hand I only asked for some advice not a witch hunt.  The dog has been with us for just over a year and this has only just materialised when the woman next door became a "single parent".   I will be retiring soon and then the dog will have company all day.


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## lachlanandmarcus (1 May 2013)

The problem is that because in theory people can rehomers dogs, rules are created to say you must stop the noise. Because they can't do the same thing with kids, there are no rules!!

If you are retiring soon and the issue will lessen, I would try to let go of the it's not fair co it's the kids causing it and they make as much noise element and just try for playing for time until you retire, tell them that in x months/ years the dog will be quieter and probably so will their kids.......)


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## Vinney (1 May 2013)

Thanks never say never.  When we bought the house the neighbours were similar age to us with grown up children.  They were'nt the most quiet of people but we rubbed along together just fine.  I know children and dogs can be noisy and if the neighbour would accept that both can be noisy together then so can I. The dog was actually my sons dog and his young daughter but they have had to go into rented accomodation with no dogs allowed. We have just tried to give the dog a home and make sure my granddaughter can see her if she wants. 
Thanks for the idea RebelRebel, but this woman is antisocial in every aspect of the word.  She has fallen out with her neighbours the other side and has had to change the older childs school due to falling out with the teachers.  I have tried over the past four years to be sociable but you can only try so many times.  I'm sure if I asked her to do as you suggest she would just be rude to me.  She is the person that insisted on a 10ft high laurel hedge round the garden not us.  We used to talk to  her ex husband down the garden before the hedge grew and he was a very friendly chap. She used to call him in for some mundane task just to stop him socialising. We have helped them sort their garden out, helped her get back into her home when she locked herself out and my other half being a builder has helped them with no end of things for free.  We have always chatted to the older child, a girl and when my granddaughter was round they would play together.  I have no real problem with her I just find her hard to deal with.  I would be happy to compromise if I could actually have a conversation with her.


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## MerrySherryRider (1 May 2013)

Lachlanandmarcus; depressing thought, but the kids may not get better as they get older. The play loud music and have motorbikes and don't go to bed at 8pm anymore.

Vinney, I suppose the best you can hope for is that horrible neighbour has to move. We're currently looking for a house and our main specification is no neighbours within half a mile. Bliss.


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## Vinney (1 May 2013)

Horserider, the truth of the matter is that we are currently looking for a smallholding or similar.  We have a smallholding at the moment but it is in the 
middle of a market town and we cant live there as my OH's mother has the house. We keep pigs and cows and are thinking of selling this place for building land (it has been deemed as such) and putting all our eggs in one basket so to speak. We will hopefully have the pigs, cows and horses all together and then we will have as many dogs as we want.  At the moment there are only 8 houses in our road and all the other neighbours are fine and we get on with them really well.  We also belong to the village garden club and get on really well with most of the other people in the village.  The neighbour makes no effort to join in with anything.  She did join the local running club for a while but that was short lived.  

Lachlanandmarcus; you make so much sense in your comments.  Yes loud music and motorbikes may be in the future, but you can bet if I were to complain they wouldnt be very happy about it.  Mind you the neighbours the other side have a quad bike and he runs a mobile disco. My other half built the shed/workshop for him and he tries some of his music out in there.  No one seems to have a problem with this!!!


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## Cinnamontoast (1 May 2013)

I feel for you, OP, we have had similar with four kids two doors down seeming to just scream at the top of their voices, row with each other and swear their heads off til 10pm every day it doesn't rain. I went out to bring the dogs in when they were barking and told them off for barking: the kids started barking! I'm afraid I did shout across to them to stop encouraging the dogs and at one point, I went to the neighbours and complained. It was constant!!

I don't see how you can change the noise but hopefully it will lessen as they get older, our lot have.


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## NeverSayNever (1 May 2013)

like i said, i sympathise...   we bought a lovely house in the country but it was a steading conversion and although in the middle of nowhere, it was a semi. We had a massive garden and a paddock and when we first moved there it was fab. The neighbours were an older couple who loved dogs and had their own. However, really really sadly and unexpectedly they actually both passed away. The family then appeared and rented the house out. I was so stressed out with all the comings and goings and not knowing how the new people would get on with our dogs being over the fence that we sold ours and moved. I said from then on, it had to be a detached property with no immediate neighbours.


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## Bedlam (1 May 2013)

I have this issue as well. We have a tiny garden and 2 children next door who kick footballs against the fence, shout and scream and generally annoy the terrier.

Nice parents to be honest though, and although I wish they wouldn't shout so much (parents as well as children!) they are reasonable. Doesn't sound like your single mum is quite so understanding, but then it sounds like she's had a bit of a tough time and compromise is needed on both sides.

We've spoken about the children winding the dog up and they apologise but I agreed with them that they couldn't expect the children to play quietly all the time and that my dog was particularly easy to wind up. We have tried getting the children to make friends with the dog through the fence and he wags his tail and is friendly, but as soon as they start playing loudly again he's off again. 

I think there's a degree of desensiting training required on the part of the dog owner in this situation. We never leave the back door open or the dog outside if we are not here to call him in. They make sure the children are quiet after around 7pm, and during schooltime now the oldest boy is there fulltime they're not there during the day so the dog can have all day outside if we're there except a few hours in the evening most days. The summer holidays are a little harder, but then he's often at work with me anyway.

I think you both have an issue really and it's a shame that things can't be sorted amicably. At the end of the day I think that children have every right to play in their own garden and if pushed I would say that their rights come over those of my dog I'm afraid. I would hate to think that my neighbours were on tenterhooks every time the children got noisy incase I got annoyed that my dog barked........


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## Horse_Sam (1 May 2013)

I doubt you have anything to worry about legally as barking by dogs has to be chronic for it to be against the law - there are different levels for different cities that define this eg. some areas if a dog barks for a full 30 minutes then it's breaking the law etc. but it's usually much longer time periods for country estates. A dog that only barks for short periods (in situations where realistically you'll be able to prove that it was provoked) is not likely to be considered a nuisance by any small claims court.

I'd be more worried about the stress the dog's under - anyway you could keep the dog in or take it for a walk when the kid's are at their most noisy? Barking often starts as excitement but can be an indication of frustration, sometimes it's just better if you can remove it from such situations. If the dog is running up and down a fence line, this is often a sign of over-excitement and frustration and it may be an idea to re-route the fencing to try and make it more difficult for it to do this.


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## Honey08 (1 May 2013)

I would leave a video recording all day when you're out, if at all possible, filming what is going on in the garden.  To prove to anyone that needs it that the dog is only barking when wound up by the children.  If possible do this on a few random days so that nobody could dispute it.  Offer to play it to the lady next time she complains, showing her that her kids play a part in the noise..


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## CorvusCorax (1 May 2013)

Horse_Sam said:



*I'd be more worried about the stress the dog's under* - anyway you could keep the dog in or take it for a walk when the kid's are at their most noisy? Barking often starts as excitement but can be an indication of frustration, sometimes it's just better if you can remove it from such situations. If the dog is running up and down a fence line, this is often a sign of over-excitement and frustration and it may be an idea to re-route the fencing to try and make it more difficult for it to do this.
		
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This.


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## Nikki J (2 May 2013)

bonny said:



			I can't help but think you are on very dodgy ground here and if your neighbour does call in the council you will be found at fault, not the playing kids, no matter how noisy they are when they play.  That's what gardens are for, they are not supposed to be where you leave your dog all day as it's convienent for you.
Could you not take the the dog with you to do the horses, better for the dog and would let your neighbours have a more peaceful evening.
		
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Sorry, but I totally disagree you.  Private gardens are just that - private.  We can all do what we bally well want in our own gardens.  If you want to leave your dog in your garden all day, you can do so.  If he barks excessively as a consequence, then that's a different matter, but provided he only barks at passers-by or whatever, and then shuts up, there can be no issue here.

Our next door's GSDs are left in the garden for hours sometimes.  They bark furiously at anyone who walks down our drive, or walks past their garden at the back where there are fields, but soon settle down again.  My OH works from home, but our 2 are out all day in our back garden when the weather is nice and they bark and howl at people walking past in the field also.  No-one ever complains, because this is reasonable dog behaviour.


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## Nikki J (2 May 2013)

NeverSayNever said:



			i totally feel for you, give me dogs over kids any day...  and i have both 

hate to say it though but this is the reason we would never have a house adjoining another, even adjoining gardens, you never know what the neighbours will be like.

for all those jumping on you regarding kenneling and how much input she gets - no amount of stimulation is going to stop her barking at and being stimulated by screaming kids leaping around 

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Absolutely!!  Just bear in mind the breed in addition, and you have your answer.


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## CorvusCorax (2 May 2013)

But it's a breed known for getting stressed easily so it would be good for the OP to minimise that stress as there is little influence she can have over the other side of the fence 
I know, I had a stressy bitch, so I isolated her as best I could from the source of the stress as she was not strong enough to work through it. JMO.


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## Nikki J (2 May 2013)

Honey08 said:



			I would leave a video recording all day when you're out, if at all possible, filming what is going on in the garden.  To prove to anyone that needs it that the dog is only barking when wound up by the children.  If possible do this on a few random days so that nobody could dispute it.  Offer to play it to the lady next time she complains, showing her that her kids play a part in the noise..
		
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Excellent idea!!


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## littlemisslauren (2 May 2013)

There is one child on my street who has reduced me to tears this past week with the amount of noise he makes. 

Ok it may be the fact that I am about to pop out a baby that is making me more prone to tears but if he was a dog I would have no problem marching round there and biting someone's head off. Why is it ok for a child to make SO much noise? I would rather listen to a dog.


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## Twinkley Lights (2 May 2013)

I feel your pain op I can't stand 2 out of 4 neighbours as they are all crims and tax dodgers.  Hope it works out for you as you are entitled to quiet enjoyment of your own property.  I would get a rap cd with lots of swearing and play it loud in the garden so she takes the kids in  (joke before anyone gets upset)


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## firm (2 May 2013)

There is a difference between a dog just generally barking and a dog barking at you. I used to have a neighbour who had a collie that was left in their large garden all day. I love dogs and barking normally passes right over my head but this dog started to bark at me everytime I was in the part of my garden where it could see me.  If I was weeding for example the dog would stand 10 feet from me and bark at me non stop. The longest I put up with it was for 2 hrs hoping it would give up but I had to go inside.  I looked it up and the council where I live does makes a distinction between the case of general barking against barking aimed at one person  ie neighbour. It may sound a bit mad but believe me it is mucn more irritating when you are the sole endless focus of a dog barking. 
Maybe the kids wound your dog up and it is barking at them now or maybe your dog wound the kids up by barking at them.  It is a nuisance for both parties and hopefully a compromise can be met.


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## Nikki J (2 May 2013)

littlemisslauren said:



			There is one child on my street who has reduced me to tears this past week with the amount of noise he makes. 

Ok it may be the fact that I am about to pop out a baby that is making me more prone to tears but if he was a dog I would have no problem marching round there and biting someone's head off. Why is it ok for a child to make SO much noise? I would rather listen to a dog.
		
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I love children ... but could only manage one at a time!  Only joking ... seriously, I love children, they are fascinating and so interesting to talk to ... as long as they are well behaved!  These days though, the little blighters just seem to have taken over - the world revolves around them, their wants, their desires.  Some children, well, let's be reasonable, most children are lovely, but you get some that are just allowed to do what they want.  They run amok in public, but God help you if you come near them with your dogs on leads, well-behaved, but nonetheless you often get shrieked at "take them away, take them away, little Jonnie is allergic to dogs, is terrified of dogs, hates dogs, etc. etc."  They have the problem, and yet somehow it becomes YOUR problem.  

I'm an old bag of 59, so I was brought up in a time when children were seen but very definitely not heard.  God help me and my brother if we screamed in the house and made a noise.  Even playing in our very large garden, with no neighbours, we were not allowed to scream too loudly, we always were expected to play reasonably.  In public, we had to mind our manners, only speak when we were spoken to, get up when adults came into the room, say grace before and after meals, not put our elbows on the table, sit up straight, say please and thank you.   Never ever ever would we be allowed to run in a public place, or make a noise.

We even had a woman come up to us once at a village fete.  The heavens had opened, and everyone piled into this barn where they were serving refreshments.  Our 2 boys are massive and take up a lot of room, so we took them through the crowd of people milling around the refreshment area to sit them down in a corner at the back of the barn well out of everyone's way.  This woman started shrieking like a banshee at us, screaming her daughter was allergic to dogs and to please take our dogs outside!  I explained we were trying to get through the melee as quickly as possible to get them out of the way, but she was having none of it.  She kept screaming at me to get them out into the pouring rain, where presumably she wanted me to stand holding onto them getting absolutely drenched!  I told her that perhaps she and her child might like to go outside as they clearly had a bit of a problem, and she shut up.


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## Vinney (3 May 2013)

Just an Update. First I would like to thank everyone who has been supportive and offered good advice.  I have taken some advice on board to try to sort this out.  Firstly I have shut the dog away from the part of the garden that seems to be causing the problem.  Secondly I have started taking the dog to the livery yard with me so that she is'nt around all evening.  She has to stay in the car most of the time that we are down there but is in the shade and gets a walk around the fields afterwards.  Thirdly we are in the process of putting a second fence between the gardens to keep her away from the original fence. I am hoping this will sort things out.  At the moment it seems to be working.  Also the childrens father seems to be around in the evenings and as he is a good parent that spends time with the children and keeps them under control perhaps they will calm down a bit.  I would like to add that I have been thinking about this a bit more and think that the kids are probably baiting the dog when they are in the garden.  They are not the most animal friendly children. I would say they can be quite cruel to animals.  I say this because a few years ago when the older child (a girl of 8 at that time) had a Guinea pig. I caught her bashing it over the head with a heavy bowl. It died a few days later. They have been through no end of small animals some of them being squashed to death. They have never shown any remorse. They quit openly say what they have done.  Also only a few weeks ago I saw both children in the garden pick up their chickens and put them in a rabbit pen on the grass and then proceed to poke them with sticks and hit the top of the pen with a large piece of wood. The chickens were very frightened but as usual mummy was nowhere to be seen, probably drinking tea and watching TV while her kids are chucked out the garden.  Sorry if some of you think I am anti-children, I can assure you I am not.  I spend most of my weekend and evenings with my four grandchildren and we have quite a few youngsters down our livery yard.  I let some of them ride our pony and always chat to them, I just don't do hooligans and future yobs.


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## Vinney (3 May 2013)

NikkiJ, your upbringing seems very similar to my own.  I am a miserable old bag of 62.  I am one of six children and my parents would never have let us behave in such a way. We always had a dog and spent hours playing with him. We would never have got away with what these horrible little ****'s get away with.  I have partly bought up my 14yr old granddaughter and when she lived with me she was respectful and well behaved with good manners. This dog is actually hers by rights and she adores her, but cant have her at her own home as it is rented and no dogs are allowed. She even played with the older girl in question for a while but got fed up with her because she was so demanding. Pippa thats the dogs name will if told to, go and lay down and is very well behaved.  Something must have upset her.  The neighbour actually said this had only just started to happen and we have had the dog in the same situation for about 18months.


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## Amymay (3 May 2013)

few weeks ago I saw both children in the garden pick up their chickens and put them in a rabbit pen on the grass and then proceed to poke them with sticks and hit the top of the pen with a large piece of wood. The chickens were very frightened
		
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You have reported this to the RSPCA haven't you?


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## Vinney (3 May 2013)

Amymay, I told the mother and she says she will keep and eye on it.  The pen is turned up on its side now.  Don't worry I will  be keeping a good eye on them.


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## Spring Feather (3 May 2013)

I've had border collies all my life and I have 2 atm, and they have all been exceptionally clever dogs and very trainable.  I also have children who, when young, did the same as any other children; making noise, bouncing on trampolines, whizzing around on bicycles, skateboards etc.  My border collies have all been very capable of learning not to bark at children's noise.  I have 7 dogs altogether and they don't have a lot to do with children as ours are grown up now, however we do on occasion have small children come to the farm and they want to go on the swing, bounce on the trampoline, ride their little bikes ringing their bells and splash about in the swimming pool.  My dogs do get a little inquistive when the children first arrive and start making all this noise that my dogs aren't used to, but the dogs take their cues from me and do as I ask.  No problems at all however I'm sure the dogs are as relieved as I am when the loud little loves go on home again and peace and quiet is restored 

As for the alleged goading and cruelty to their small animals, if you saw them doing these things would you not speak to the children and help to teach them that this is not acceptable?  I certainly wouldn't hold back, and if necessary yes I'd tell them off for hurting animals.


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## Vinney (3 May 2013)

Spring Feather.  I did say something about the small animals, both to the parents and the children.  The father told us about the squashing of some baby rabbits.  He said that the children had been out to the rabbit hutch and picked them up without his knowledge.  This was last year.  They  just keep going out and buying more animals and you dont hear anything about the loss of them until way past when it happens.  As for the things I have seen myself I have said my piece. They had 6 chickens and 2 lovely white ducks a year ago that were "free range" meaning no where to go for a while. We showed them how to make a hen house, so that at least the chickens had somewhere to roost and lay eggs but they did'nt bother to go and shut them in after dark and the fox had the lot.  They now have 3 out of 5 left of the latest batch.  They are complete losers really. I have never seen them go and clean out the hen house or nest boxes.  We have a chicken run with a high fence round it and 15 hens.  It is completely fox proof and we havent lost any.  We have kept chickens for several years now. I'm afraid they just havent got a clue because they live in the countryside but dont make the effort to learn about the workings of it.


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## mandwhy (4 May 2013)

I really feel your pain! I live in a flat and it goes like this:

7am mother screams blue murder at child to get up (pleasant awakening for all in earshot)

Thunderthunderthunder all day on my ceiling

Ooh, sun is out, things seem quieter, wait I can hear screaming... Child comes back with many more children, theyre out in force, they've got bikes! 

Unfortunately my flat has a circular route for cycling high japes directly around it, my flat is inside a race track. 

Evening, seems quiet for half an hour.... Then they start what I assume is playing on a Wii with rhythmic thumps. Mum and dad shout.

I dream of living in a house with only a garden next to other people, and you tell me they will come to ruin your life even then?! There's no hope!! I'd be up for bark collars on kids, just saying.


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## Booboos (4 May 2013)

To be honest the kids sound as stressed as your dog. It can't be easy for the children to see their parents getting separated and it can't be easy for your dog to be wound up by the children. I suspect this won't really get resolved unless both parties make changes to how they look after their charges.


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