Ceaseless Barking For No Obvious Reason

June 9, 2008 10:40 PM

My neighbor's two dogs have been barking non-stop for well over an hour.

These are yappy dogs, but nothing remotely like this. I'm not a snooping neighbor, but I went over and looked into her house. Nothing looks amiss and both dogs appear to be fine. We live in small 1920's bungalows; I can see most of her house from the windows. I can't see into the back bedroom, but I can tell the TV is on there from the flickering light. Her SUV is not in the driveway. I'm not angry about the dogs barking, but more concerned. Is there anything I should do? It there a way to quiet the dogs? She sometimes stays at her girlfriend's house and I'd hate to have the dogs barking frantically until the early morning.

posted by 26.2 to pets & animals (16 comments total)

Call the cops (911, or the local number would be even better). Tell them about dogs barking, and something seeming weird. The cop on patrol near the area will checkup for you. Don't try to do it yourself.

Good luck.
posted by hal_c_on at 11:03 PM on June 9

I say call the cops too. Just be a concerned neighbor and let them look into it.

Cross your fingers your neighbors don't grow dope our you'll never be invited over to another BBQ again.
posted by pwb503 at 11:07 PM on June 9

Seconding what others have said. If your police department has a non-911 number for regular calls, use that. If not, go ahead and call 911. Tell them that your neighbor's dogs have been barking ceaselessly for over an hour and you're concerned. They'll send someone over to check it out. They'll knock on the door, and if someone answers, they'll say "Hey, quiet your dogs"... If no one answers, they'll investigate further.
posted by amyms at 11:15 PM on June 9

I agree with Hal C On - except don't call 911. 911 is for immediate emergencies. Call your local PD directly and explain the situation (or, if you live in LA, dial 311).
posted by Unsomnambulist at 11:20 PM on June 9

Yeah, just call dispatch (not 911), they'll come out and give the house a go around and knock on the front door.
posted by iamabot at 11:21 PM on June 9

Just wanted to pop in to clarify the "call the police" suggestions. If you are truly worried about your neighbor (rather than just the barking) don't call it in as a "barking dog" call, make sure you say something along the lines of "The dogs are barking and this is unusual and I'm really worried that something might be wrong"... I don't know how big your city is, but in my husband's department, "barking dog" calls are a low priority (EVERYONE calls in to complain about barking dogs, especially at night). But, if the barking dogs are a symptom of your knowledge that something is "wrong" then that might get a higher priority.
posted by amyms at 11:32 PM on June 9

Thanks everybody. We just had an ad hoc neighborhood meeting (on my back patio away from the dogs). We all agreed something is strange over there. Police are on the way.

amyms thanks for the tip about clarifying that it's a "Hey we're worried" call as opposed to "Damn Dogs!" call. Hopefully, that'll get the community officer here sooner.

Poor dogs are still barking.
posted by 26.2 at 11:47 PM on June 9

For most dispatch systems nowadays, 911 is the point of contact for *everything*. I've called the regular police number and been scolded, "Just call 911."
posted by notsnot at 3:54 AM on June 10

OOh, what happened?
posted by taff at 4:08 AM on June 10

This is kind of late, but if the police do have to enter, is there someone who can take the dogs? If something has happened, and they are upset, going to animal control won't help. Also, I'd hate for them to end up in the general sheleter population because of sloppy paperwork.

Your neighbor should be grateful for the dog sitting, if it comes to that.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 4:57 AM on June 10

"For most dispatch systems nowadays, 911 is the point of contact for *everything*. I've called the regular police number and been scolded, "Just call 911."

I'm not sure where you are, notsnot, but here in San Francisco area and a lot of other places too they ask to call the "Police non-emergency" line for all things non-life threatening.

Around here, 911 is for for police, fire and medical emergencies only -- I'd love it if they'd adopt a 311 number like some cities.

So 26.2, what happened last night?
posted by trixare4kids at 6:29 AM on June 10

Here's the update -

Police officer came and did a through check of the exterior of the house and looked in all the windows. Everything was secure and there was no sign of any struggle inside the house. The police didn't have cause to enter the house. They offered to issue a noise citation, but we declined.

Dogs barked continuously until she came home at about 4 this morning. We had left a note on her door, asking her to get one of the neighbors to enter the house with her since they dogs were really freaked by something. There was nothing wrong in the house. The dogs and cat were fine - food, water, toys. It's a mystery what set the dogs off on 6 hours of non-stop barking. She was incredibly apologetic.

BTW - San Diego does have a non-emergency number. It's [phone]. The officer was very helpful.
posted by 26.2 at 8:40 AM on June 10 [1 favorite]

Oh, and thanks everybody for the advice to call the police. I was worried that it would be a nuisance call or that we'd get my neighbor in trouble, but the officer was great.
posted by 26.2 at 8:44 AM on June 10

It was probably an animal such as an opposum. That is the one thing that will make many dogs go off nos-stop. The animal might have been cornered and not able to escape. Therefore it was a stand off.
posted by Vaike at 8:56 AM on June 10

Thanks for the update, 26.2.

Trixare4kids: SF does have 311, though it's obviously not well-publicized, and it's unlcear whether it also functions as a police non-emergency number.
posted by rtha at 9:53 AM on June 10

rtha: 311 in San Francisco is not meant to be a police contact, rather it is for government services and information.

The San Francisco Police Department has the following numbers on their homepage.

Emergency:
dial: 911
Non Emergency:
415-553-0123
posted by trixare4kids at 9:13 AM on June 12