Vent - Newborns and dogs...

This morning I received a text from my next door neighbor. (The same one whom has wrong grass/violations etc...). They request that I keep my dogs from barking at night because they have a newborn. Mmmm....

Let me break this down to you all... I bought a car just for my dogs. That is because of the other neighbors constantly posting complaints about dogs. Which many are irrational. Example: A dog is loose because of bad ownership. There are no "accidents" like someone opening a gate or dog digging out... Let us not begin about the dog poop... or even a dog walking across a yard... etc...

So I drive my dogs 10 miles to nearby parks to walk. Rarely walk them in my hood unless they have pooped. Make sure no other dogs out. They are leashed. Walk them in the road to avoid yards. I try to keep them limited to no further than sidewalk/mailboxes. Warn anyone with a dog that my dogs are NOT dog friendly and walk away to avoid interactions.

There are 2 dogs living to my back right my dogs like to run up and down the fence with. They do bark at them if out but I tell them to quiet down or pull them in. Sometimes my dogs will bark when going out the back door to hear if those dogs are out. After no response they stop barking. This is during the afternoon hours or daytime. After 10 - 11 PM at bedtime, I let my dogs out for 5 minutes to go to the bathroom. They may or may not bark. Can't control that. Usually outside long enough for me to go to the bathroom too. My dogs will wake me up sometimes at 3 - 4 am to go out. However, they don't tend to bark or stay out but a minute. Usually let them out around 5:30 am again for 5 minutes till I come home at evening. Again they are not morning barkers. My neighborhood gets quite active around that time anyways.

Now my neighbor text me that they want me to keep my dogs inside at night or not barking because they have a newborn. I responded my dogs go out 2 times for 5 minutes. If my dogs bark, I call them in. If they are hearing dogs barking they are NOT mine. Keep in mind my dogs are inside from 10 till 5:30 am. Reasonable hours are they not?

AITAH because I let my dogs out for a whopping 5 minutes??? Even I hate my dogs barking. My mindset is if they say anything else to tell them to make a police report. I will stay up for the police to arrive. Thank you. It's gotten to the point where it's beginning to be unreasonable to live here with some of these neighbors... You have a newborn. They cry because you flush a toilet. My dogs going outside for 5 minutes at regular noise allowed hours? Get over it... Vent over.

Hence why I only let my dogs out for 5 minutes and not all night. I do not define all night by 5 minutes or less at 10 pm.

I let them out long enough for me to go to the bathroom. My door being in next room 20 feet away.

Welcome to new parenthood. The world does not become quiet because you have a baby. Why not keep your baby from crying? Same for my dogs barking. Honestly I leave them out at 10 long enough to pee or poop. They do not like being outside at all if not being walked. Most of the time they come in after 30 seconds. Frustrating.

I am out with them except when I go to bathroom. Plus no they do not bark at 5:30 am. I leave my back door open at times too. I barely hear my dogs barking in the back yard. We have brick houses and not many windows.

They have a dog too. Seen it. My dogs will bark if they know it is there. However that is in afternoon time not night.

Overall I do not think dogs barking for less than 5 minutes at reasonable hours is a huge issue.

I believe this would be a good response as well.

To me, your response sounded more defensive.

Again should be noted my dogs do NOT bark early in the morning. They may bark briefly for less than a minute if neighbors dogs are not out. Otherwise they do NOT bark.

I am venting. These neighbors are ones whom break multiple rules... Including blocking traffic...

I went through a similar situation at my prior house with my previous dogs. My neighbor started reporting me for dog barking to the police. He did not like me having 4 dogs. Plus he thought the Border Collie was a BIG dog and scared of it. Mind you he had 3 - 4 biting pom-poms that yippity yacked. We happened to live behind the animal control officer. So he could witness everything and did.

He forced me to put down one dog and give another to the shelter due to his complaining. I have it on video tape showing my dogs clearly NOT barking. Matter of fact they stayed on the OTHER side of the yard to avoid his dogs. Even Animal Control saw and heard it was NOT my dogs barking. Even my other neighbors around me said my dogs were NOT barking. It was HIS dogs!!!

I had ankle surgery and was on bed rest. Due to not being able to get up, I left my back door open for my dogs to go in and out. Keep in mind my dogs were NOT barking and kept to themselves. However, he called the police. Why? He did NOT like the fact I was leaving my back door open!!! One of my dogs escaped when officer showed up at my door. I had to go chase the dog on crutches and a walking boot.

So to say I am being "defensive" is an understatement. I had to lose 2 dogs over a neighbor complaining when my dogs were NOT the problem. I have the ability to recognize my dogs being annoying. That is why I don't let them out at night for no longer than it takes them to go to the bathroom or myself.

You're not the AH the neighbor is a MEGA AH. I had the same maggot AH that complained about my dogs, the one in particular would bark when I left for work in the morning, and they
barked inside. This was the same maggot that posted on ND that he had no problems going in someones's backyard, taking the dogs and leaving them 50 miles into the desert.

Stay the course, screen shot and keep any communications, monitor any FB group postings, ND etc.

Funny story... I was talking about this at work. Someone whom has had a newborn said "They need to get that baby used to the noise". It's not like the world around you changed or is going to change for you. The baby going to have to adjust to hearing noises. It's better for them.

No I am not "bark deaf" when it comes to my dogs. Not in the least. My one dog has a "Oof" bark that drives me nuts waking me up. It's just a random out of the blue "Oof". They both do bark but it's usually at the dogs next door or a noise. I can usually just tell them to "hush". Plus I am no longer allowing them access to a room that causes the most reaction. It has the window to the front yard.