Community Chat

[HLP]

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@Ladygray wrote:

I want to begin by stating that I'm a dog lover.  I love all animals.   I grew up with collies all my young life.  I don't have a dog right now because my landlord doesn't allow them.

My next door neighbor (who moved in last year) have 2 dogs, a small one and a German Shepherd.   I've been very welcoming to these neighbors, I introduced myself when they moved in and left a holiday card on their door in December.

At first a few things started to bug me.  They have yet to trim any trees in their yard since moving in.  The house was sold for over $550,000 so it's not like they cannot afford to keep up the yard.   The lovely lady who used to live there kept the yard so nice.

Now, one of their trees is growing over the wall onto my yard.  At this time, a year later, it's almost to the ground.  I've left it there as evidence should I need it.   They have a rose bush that is covering the kitchen window.  It's really pretty funny, they can't see out of their window and they hire a guy to blow out the yard but never trim a tree.

Ok, so now I'm dealing with their German Shepherd, whose name I don't know because these neighbors never talk to me or have made an effort to get to know me (I've rented in the complex for over 20 years), so the dogs don't know me at all.  My collies knew our neighbors and if someone they didn't recognize was at my house, they would bark.   

Now the Shepherd scares me to death by barking at me when I'm in my yard. The privacy of my own yard.  He growls and shows his teeth and barks non-stop.  The weird thing is, these residents never walk their dogs.   They let them roam the yard and they poop in their yard.   They never take them on walks.  It's beyond bizarre.   So, it seems their dogs have no experience around others so they bark at anyone.  

It's becoming so annoying that I can't even be outside with the non-stop growling and barking.   When it happens, the man just rushes them inside, but never apologizes or says a word.   I'm a renter, so complaining about homeowners is not easy in my complex.   Even with seniority of living here, I don't rate.  I'm just a renter.

Today I screamed really loud when the dog barked at me at 5:30 am when I went on my walk.  I was not expecting it.  The owner was out there with them and looked surprised that I screamed.   I'm just so sick of having neighbors like this and the irony is owners always complain about renters.   The fact that the dogs poop in the yard is gross to me... just beyond normal.

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You sound like a busybody to me. None of your buisness how these people keep their yard up.  Glad your not my neighbor. So it's better to walk your dog and let it poop in someone elses yard.? So you have set rules for how people should live.?

[Kalli]

@Ladygray I think there are lots of good suggestions here to try.  But sometimes neighbors just don't see things the same way as we do.  Living in close proximity can be challenging.  I think you may have to look for ways to compromise with your neighbors.

I seldom walk my dogs.  We let them out and they do their business on our property but we have 10 acres. When the weather is nice I allow my dogs to remain outside unless my sheltie starts barking.  Then I bring them in.  They're only outside when I'm home and don't leave our property.

Obviously my situation isn't the same as yours but we have had times when the neighbor's dogs have been roaming our property.  I will admit that bothers me but it never lasts for long.  Also, without our permission, I've seen small cat "homes" set up on the wooded part of our acreage out back which is about 3.5 acres. No one ever asked if they could do this but I don't complain since it might give needed shelter during the winter. 

[Jacie]

What neighbors do in their yard is their business. But, if they won't control a barking or charging dog, it becomes a complaint. 

I do draw the line at nuisance pets, barking and charging is unacceptable.

I love all animals, it's people that are the problem. Since they won't train them, you can.

Get yourself a Dog Dazer II  It's just point and click.

Stops charging dogs and stops barking. I used to carry one when I went on early morning walks or bike rides, won't hurt the dog and you won't get hurt. 

People! Train your animals! 

[gidgetgh]

@Ladygray - please clarify something for me.

When you are outside and the dogs, especially the German shepherd, are barking and scaring you, are they on a leash, held by the owner?  Chained (can't quite think of the word I want to use here) to something in their yard so they can't run free?  Or are they just loose in the yard, free to go wherever they choose?

If they were just loose in their yard, that would scare me also.

In my county, dogs have to be on a leash at all times.  If that's the same in your county or town and they're allowed to roam freely, I would call the proper authorities to deal with that.  

On the tree hanging over into your yard, I would just trim, or have someone trim the branches that are on your property.  

[SeaMaiden]

@Ladygray     I totally hear you. I have some neighbors to my left that bug me too. We have been neighbors for 30 years now. Yard always a mess... when they throw anything away it just gets thrown into the back yard... at least 3 derelict cars in the back yard... just rotting away... a refrigerator... bags of garbage..  rotten fence falling down.  I put up a new fence just to keep the view out of site... 

They had dogs years ago mistreated... always chained up in the back yard for HOURS barking non stop.  They just recently purchased two pit bull puppies... when I was out walking my dogs, they were out with the owners on leash lunging and acting like they wanted to kill us... they have no fenced yard so the dogs are always chained up.  I worry someday they get loose and attack me or someone else... WHY DO PEOPLE NEED PITBULLS???????

[JeanLouiseFinch]

Sounds like we have a Gladys Kravitz among us. 🤷‍♀️  It reminds me of an old neighbor who used to track our comings and goings or call me to report on what my kids were doing in our yard, when they were just playing. 🤦‍♀️

[skatting44]

 Good idea to  complain to Landlord, if your landlord is the type to be responsive.

If your landlord is the type who does not like to hear trivial complaints , and this may  make the landlord think they might not renew your lease ,  I would keep silent .

 I don't see how  anyone can keep a neighbor's dog from barking .

Just yell at the dog to hush as you would have your own dog and see if that helps.

[qvcaddition]

I have lived in my home since it was built 46 years ago. The neighbor next door was not even born.  His family moved in when he was 5, now 41 yrs old I think.

His mother was my supervisor when i worked at Kaiser.  The Father died and she remarried and moved, but let him rent the house when he was 19.  Well, he and his homies lived there and a lot of in and out traffic selling drugs. 

The house was an eyesore from outside, i could imagine the inside. This is a nice neighborhood of families with kids at the time.  He was head of a gang and one night another gang member from another city came and we had a drive by shooting in front between his house and mine.

The house got so bad the back yard had broken toliet, barbecue pit, mattress, just a mess, you get the picture.

I finally called the city because i was afraid of fire when he barbecued and the health mess, plus two pit bulls trying to break down the fence.

I lived alone at the time, my husband had just died and my kids had marriied and moved. I didn't move, had tried, but couldn't afford it really, and my home just big enough for me and well kept, plus he brought the value of my home down.

Well the city red tagged his house and he had to clean it up.

I will say his homies and it was a gang were respectful to me, never bothered me. 

His one pitbull came into my kitchen one morning. i was in the back room and my sliding door was open. I ran out of the house needless to say. He was growing weed in the back yard so the bulls were to protect them.

He finally grew up, fixed up the house and became respectful.

He did get a couple more pit bulls and I built a fence ontop of his to protect myself when I had to go empty garbage or walk down the breezeway on his side.

He also had a big tree and the branches were over my roof, and he wouldn't trim them, so I wrote a letter to the Ins. comp. sent one copy to him and one to his ins. comp.  He took the whole tree down.

Last year my son fixed the part of the fence that the pit bulls were bouncing against and growling. My son threw the old fence pieces in his yard. That night, the fence pieces were in my driveway, so I picked them up and was throwing them back in his driveway, and by the way at this point I am 85 years old.

He came out screeming at me,, I suspect he was on something.  He started to break up the boards all the time yelling.  He said that is part of my fence and I said, yes and you got the rotten boards in your yard and your mother must be proud of you, fighting with an 85 year old women. Why didn't you do it when my son was here yell at him?

So this doesn't get any longer, last week, he came up to me as I pulled in my driveway and said, I WANT TO APOLOGIZE TO YOU FOR THE WAY I ACTED.  That was nice. I'm suspected the 12 step program, but still nice and he has since moved.

He also said to me as we continued talking, you are one tough lady.  Yes, I have been on my own enough, i don't take it from anyone.

Our neighborhood is very nice and his house is now in good condition, but he has two kids now and a wife and it's not big enough for him.  So after 40 years, he is gone.  Haven't seen his mother in years, she still owns house.

I was not a neighbor that was protecting my property from fire and the neighbors and my roof from getting distroyed with the big tree branches over it.  Sometime you have to take steps to protect your property, but not small things. That you have to let go, no matter how much it bothers you. These were not small things. People around me would complain, but were afraid because of him, he was scary looking and mean.

Anyway, he now looks like a nice family man.

He grew up very privledged. Spoiled.

[Karie2022]

I don't understand why you thinks it's abnormal for a dog to poop in it's own yard? Growing up we had a lot of dogs and rarely took them for walks, they played and pooped in the yard. As an adult, my dogs are walked sometimes but mostly I let them out in the yard where they do their business.  I'd say that's pretty common.  Unless you live in the city.

[Glitter51]

sounds to me like you are a busy body and it bothers you that your neighbors don't talk to you or are considered friendly, by your standards. What people do in their own yard is none of your business.