Yapping dogs, can anything be done??

[speccy1]

Does anybody know from a legal point of view??

There is a biggish farm behind my house which has 2 or 3 collies which bark, non bloody stop around the clock, and it`s driving me nuts. I can`t sleep with any windows open, any work/gardening I do outside is ruined by it etc etc etc.

I know that if I go to the council they will just say "well have you asked them nicely to stop the noise?".............................NO, I`m not doing it, I drove up their lane once before and the farmhouse looks like the original Adams family outfit, with rotting Landrovers/tractors etc everywhere, I found it intimidating.

Short of getting up a petition, or moving, I don`t know what else to do........................

 

[Drago]

It's a job for the Environmental Health dudes.

 

[speccy1]

Don`t they refuse help unless I have been to the culprits??

 

[Drago]

Nope, they have a statutory duty, but they may well suggest it.

 

[vernon]

Short of getting up a petition, or moving, I don`t know what else to do........................

Ask @Drago if he knows anyone with a gun....

 

[speccy1]

Nope, they have a statutory duty, but they may well suggest it.

Thanks, that`s a job for tomorrow

 

[speccy1]

Ask @Drago if he knows anyone with a gun....

I wish!!

 

[vernon]

I wish!!

So does Drago.

 

[slowmotion]

Are there other people who might have cause to complain about the dogs? If so, go and ask them how they feel about it. With luck, you may have some allies. I think you should broach the subject with the farm, preferably in person, but by phone or letter would be an alternative. Then go to the Environmental Health people. Their attitude will be that they need some kind of evidence of a noise nuisance, logs of when you complained to the farm etc. I went through all this fifteen years ago with a very noisy pub. It was a long and painful process. My best bit of advice would be to enlist the support of others affected.

Good luck.

 

[Jayaly]

I used to work in an environmental Health noise team. They have the power to deal with it as long as they can witness it and deem it to be a statutory nuisance. That isn't always straightforward if the noise is intermittent. They might ask you to keep a diary sheet with dates, times and descriptions to support their own observations. You could start that now in case it takes a while for the case to be investigated. A lot of environmental health teams have been pared to the bone, like many other public services so I doubt they'll be able to respond immediately.

I would just note that asking nicely often solves problems better in the long run. Environmental health won't disclose your name unless it comes to providing evidence in court, but your neighbours could well be upset that someone got the council involved before letting them know you have a problem. They'll still have to deal with it however hurt they feel, but then they're more likely to raise their own grievances with other people. I can't tell you how long I've spent trying to mediate "Their music is too loud", "Yes, well they park across my drive", "And they cut my tree back without asking", "Well tell them to clear up the rubbish in their garden".

I had a problem like this a few years ago (yeah, irony set to maximum) and I was grateful to the neighbour who told me my dogs were barking while I was at work.

 

[jack smith]

Record it on your phone and make sureit has the date and time on, get as many as possible

 

[Smurfy]

Record it on your phone and make sureit has the date and time on, get as many as possible

This is what I would suggest ^^^^^^^

 

[perplexed]

Yapping dogs are an absolute pain. Possibly the most irritating pointless noise there is. OP, I feel your pain.

 

[Moon bunny]

Farmers are not above the law. Noisy dogs are a nuisance and should be controlled. If you are intimidated by the farm a letter could be sent first


Dear Neighbour [or insert name]



This is a friendly note to make you aware that I am being disturbed by noise from barking dogs at your property [insert address]. I wanted to let you know that the noise is disturbing my family by [insert example of how the noise affects you, e.g. keeping us awake].



Please do not take this personally, but I thought I should let you know how the noise is affecting us, as you may not have realised. To resolve this, I would be grateful if you could [insert example of what you would like them to do].

Yours sincerely

Incidentally, the reason personal contact is recommended is that the council getting involved can often cause bad feeling and lead to feuds, there is no legal need and if a council employee tries to tell you otherwise they are wrong and you should insist that they should actually do the job they are well paid to do.

 

[John the Monkey]

I had a problem like this a few years ago (yeah, irony set to maximum) and I was grateful to the neighbour who told me my dogs were barking while I was at work.

Yep.

Our dog used to bark when he was playing with his football in the back garden (only in the afternoons, and only when we were around, for, at most, 30 mins or so).

Someone posted an anonymous note about it through the door, and we spent a good few weeks wondering which of the neighbours had been spineless enough to feel unable to talk to us about it. (The letter wasn't vehement, but made a lot of assertions about how a dog that barked "like that" must be being maltreated). It poisoned the atmosphere - we'd have been more than willing to sort it out, and apologise to the person who had found it so unbearable, had they only raised it with us themselves.