Dear Dog Owners and Miss Manners,
I have a dilemma.
I have new neighbors upstairs. I live in what can conservatively be called a ginormous apartment community. I like almost everything about it and I have come to terms with the fact that the walls are thin. A while back the people upstairs from me liked to play Dance Dance Revolution until 11:00 at night and I am pretty sure they all weighed at least 200 pounds, so I should note in advance that my new situation is not the worst it has ever been. But.
The new upstairs neighbors have a dog. It seems like they are gone from the apartment in the mornings, and they return at some arbitrary early afternoon time. For the entire time they are gone, the dog barks and howls.
Since I work from home frequently, this is more than a little distracting. I can put on headphones and tune it out, so all is not completely lost. The bigger problem is that for the entire time the dog is barking and howling, Ham is going apeshit nucking futs. He has torn up a corner of the carpet in the hallway closest to where the sound originates (yes, the dog is upstairs and Ham is digging into the floor -- I never said he was bright). When he is not destroying the carpet he is running from one window to another at breakneck speed, usually taking the Saska's Head Expressway. When the dog stops barking, he flops down exhausted and sleeps like the dead until just after dinnertime, when he is ready to just be generally crazy again until 2 a.m.
I don't want to be a bad neighbor. I don't want to be rude. They did just move in and I know everybody is getting settled, but since the dog does not bark and howl when they are home, I don't think they know it does it.
So dog owners: what kind of constructive suggestions can I give these people? I don't want to go to the management of the complex without first talking to them directly. I'm just not that sort of person. I want to suggest something helpful, as opposed to just saying "your dog drives my cat literally up the wall, make it stop barking when you are not here." If someone had this issue with your dog, how would you want it brought to your attention?
Comments
On the other hand, if they are bangin' crackheads, you may want to jus' avoid them...;)
Follow the advice and make the suggestions above and if you do not get any response from them, take it to management. Or find new digs.
brownamazon's advice is everything that I would have thought to say (eventually...)
Plus --- DOCUMENT everything. : the dog's actions (day/time/duration) your actions/owner's actions - That way, if you DO end up going to Management (which you have EVERY RIGHT TO DO) you will be able to give them a complete picture of what's going on.
Good Luck. (bad neighbors are one of the worst parts of apartment living...) &:o(
Thanks all! I am glad to hear reinforcement of the radio/tv idea. I had heard it before but I thought it might just be a crackpot theory that a dog owner would laugh at me for suggesting.
@Marketing Canapes -- heh. No way in hell do I move out of the apartment I've been in for two years, within stumbling distance of my office and walking distance of my son's school, because my neighbors are at fault.
In other words, if one of my neighbors noticed something amiss with Sampson, i would really like them to let me know. Its tough, because you have to be sure that you're presenting it in a 'I'm a concerned friend' light, not a 'you're doing something wrong' light. From this standpoint, if i were you, i might take the time to introduce myself as their new neighbor before i launched into the dog issue, and i'd also take the time to wave, say hi, and otherwise appear friendly after the fact, too.
It does sound like separation anxiety. There are a number of techniques that can be used to address separation anxiety. Something as simple as a web search would turn up a bunch of them.
Its possible that the neighbors already know there is a problem, but aren't in a position to do anything about it. The sad truth is that one has to go to work. However, talking to them should reveal this. If they know whats going on and are trying to fix things it may give you the boost you need to ride it out for a while. If they just don't care, its probably time to talk to the manager.
There is no way for us to know if he sits around and howls all day, or if he" sleeps all day."
Right! Leave a bit early - park a half-block away and walk quietly back and use your ears. Simple. Or drive back during the day, if possible, do the same. Ask your neighbors! There are many ways to find out if one really cares to know. Sorry about sounding harsh, but excuses are excuses. BTW, I have found that most neighbors respond positively to notice that their dogs are carrying on all day and take steps to stop it. Most US communities have noise ordinances and fines can range up to a couple hundred dollars a day. A simple copy of our local ordinance and the fines brought an indifferent neighbor to heel in a flash.
Look -- I was going to say "with all due respect," but the truth is that you haven't shown much respect in your comments, so I'll just say:
Look, you don't know Megan at all, or anything about her house, or her neighborhood. I do. Personally. I know her dog. And your comments are out of line. I'm not sure if you're one of those people who just comes across poorly in text or if you're trolling, but this is a blog frequented by my friends. The fact that it ended up plastered all over the net a couple of weeks back doesn't make it a place where people can come in here and be rude to my friends without my saying something about it.
(From a dog owner in an upstairs apartment :D)
(Hopefully not the one above yours)
And... it looks like the dog has awaken Ham's killing instincts.
Did you ever leave that note? What happened?
(I need closure!)
Heehee. So.
The neighbors upstairs are Japanese. I do know a bit about Japanese culture and politeness, so I left a note basically saying welcome, etc., my son and I have noticed you have a dog -- my son loves dogs, he'd love to meet yours. During the day sometimes the dog howls. Have you thought about leaving a radio or the TV on for it, as I've known many dog owners who said it helped their dogs be less lonely when they were home alone?
I never got a response from them directly (again, this is very Japanese), but the dog howls less and someone is also home more often. The wife, who I do not think speaks a great deal of English, is very friendly and sweet to us and when she was out walking the dog she stopped and gestured for my son to pet her.
The dog is a big, gorgeous Golden Retriever girl. She seems very well behaved and I think she just likes to be with people. But it has toned down to the point where I don't think I would be justified in complaining.