Anyone gone down the route of formally reporting this sort of 'noise pollution' as it is termed?
We have the loudest alsation in the world across the road, kept outside all the time, goes berserk if it hears anything and everything..... MEANS MY GARAGE IS RELATIVELY SAFE, BUT I'M TOO TIRED TO RIDE!
Mrs S doesn't want me to approach the neighbours about this 
so formal route it is....
Our neighbours have a bloody great big Rottweiler who sleeps right next to our garage. Very handy he is too...
...if he barks for whatever reason, I'm up like a shot.
only thing to bear in mind is that the council will record the report and release it if a potential purchaser does a search when you come to sell.
What do your other neighbours think - might be worth canvassing opinion for a 'group' visit/lynch mob.
neighbours either side of me and them (who happen to be good friends of mine) are all pi55ed about it.... I've been awake since 2.26am and can't get any more coffee down me....
I think you shoudl all go and visit - it makes it clear it's a common problem and not just you being a pain and it also means there's less likely to be a row.
I'd go for that before contacting the council. If you don't get a good reaction then go down the council route and he won't be able to pin it on any one of you.
My next door has little terrier things which constanlty yap, but not at night. How about your normal diplomacy such as giving them a round of effs and kicking the dog to death?
Otherwise its reported to councils environmental health dept.
Very tricky one - and I speak as someone whose neighbour has complained about our dogs barking.
IMO your best bet is to approach your neighbours in a very friendly and reasonable manner. Perhaps ask if they have any ideas on how to limit the dog barking at night??
You are in a stronger position if you are reasonable - my neighbour has lost the plot, and in my eyes any credibility, and likelihood of a reasonable response...
get, or make, a noise activated dog whistle/siren which goes off everytime it barks, causing it discomfort.
it should eventually stop, maybe?
friendly chat is the way to go. how would you feel if someone shopped you to the council without even letting you know there is a problem?
I can't think of a better way to sour a neighbourly relationship than refusing to speak to them and calling the noise police.
By all means, if they laugh in your face, or act like tossers, then go to the council, but you've got to try it first.
Dave
You dont live in Bewdley do you. There is one mean Alsation round the corner from us and it is noisy. Although the dog is often quiet through the night he makes a racket up till 11pm/12.
I spoke with the owner and he pretty much said its my problem not his. The dog has had a few snaps at people and other dogs so I do belive its days are numbered before he is forced to have it put down. He has had several official warnings from the police.
My neighbours too have barky dogs, but when they start barking you can hear the neighbours go down stairs to address the issue, i.e bring the feckers into their house rather than leave then in the conservatory.
Go talk to them. Getting to know the neighbours is a good thing to do anyway. We got a letter from the council years ago about barky dogs. We think it was mistaken identity though as we did have barky dogs in the house behind ours, but their dogs were never out, just kept in garden and frustrated, whereas ours were out and about with us and visible, but not prone to barking unprovoked. The letter did make me fume a bit that someone didn't approach us directly.
my neighbour has lost the plot
speaking from experience;
peopel sometimes leave it a long time before they'll talk to neighbours about issues with moise. By the time they do they're already very stressed and, as a result, likely to get agitated if what they feel is a legitimate issue is met with denial or played down 'oh, it's only occasionally, surely'.
it doesn't mean they don't have a legitimate complaint and it isn't a reason to dismiss them out of hand.
hence my advice to get as many households involved as possible - it's less likely to lead to a raising of voices (on both sides) and will have mor eimpact with the person on the receiving end.
You are in a stronger position if you are reasonable - my neighbour has lost the plot, and in my eyes any credibility, and likelihood of a reasonable response...
Thats not the spirit, im also tortured by a yapping dog in the adjoining house and it makes life a misery.
If your neighbour seems unreasonable its probably because your dog had driven him to distraction.
I struggle to think of anything that winds me up more than inconsiderate people, and noisy neighbours top that list.
There is no need for a dog to bark constantly if trained properly.
get, or make, a noise activated dog whistle/siren which goes off everytime it barks, causing it discomfort.
I have actually successfully trialled a similar method to deal with groups of noisy kids who liked to hang around outside our block. I created a tone in Garagebaynd which pulsed between something like 16 and 18kHz; too high for most adults to hear, but within the range of hearing of teenagers. Played it at very high volume through a speaker on my balcony. Worked a treat. 
Against the Geneva convention or summa though. 
my neighbour has lost the plotspeaking from experience;
By "lost the plot", I don't mean to dismiss the issue as irrelevant - just that their requests have become more and more unreasonable and detached from reality.
I'm entirely happy to make "reasonable" adjustments to how we keep our dogs (and have done), in response to reasonable requests.
Once the requests went beyond reasonable (ie detached from what our dogs do / don't do, ignoring noise from other dogs, times of day & duration etc) and progressed to harrassing mrs rkk01, my inclination to respond in a "reasonable" and neighbourly manner was somewhat diminshed.
The advice from a friend in "law enforcement" was to tell the neighbours to **** off - oone that I haven't yet bothered with, as I still like to try and have the high ground
ETA
There is no need for a dog to bark constantly if trained properly.
They don't - they will sometimes bark at the end of the day before we get home. Mainly because lots of other people are getting home, walking their dogs by our house or loitering around our house etc.
They never bark nightimes / unsociable hours, and very rarely resort to barking during the day.
We decided to keep the dogs in to placate the neighbours - reasonable response to an initially reasonable request. Their own dogs bark more than ours FFS... Ironically, these neighbours are two houses away - next door don't have a problem
pepper spray the bastard he will run away and probably never come back
The advice from a friend in "law enforcement" was to tell the neighbours to **** off - oone that I haven't yet bothered with, as I still like to try and have the high ground
ahh, the good old bill. Just the kind of response i'd expect from them also.
"only thing to bear in mind is that the council will record the report and release it if a potential purchaser does a search when you come to sell."
Not true. The vendor has to declare a noise dispute if asked. It doesn't get revealed on a local land charges search.
We've just got a dog & I'd hate to think we were keeping anyone up at night or annoying people during the day, by his barking. If one of our neighbors approached us about the noise I'd be devastated about the inconvenience caused and sort it out straight away - you can teach a dog to stop barking.
It may be a case of ignorance your neighbor may be a heavy sleeper & not there during the day - be polite and just high light you concerns if they ignore you then take it further...
be polite
You've not met the OP then...
I've just spoken to the council EH guy and he has advised me to politely raise the issue with them. Bloody do gooders, I have been awake since half 2!
Do you want a medal ?
cyanide...
When you file a report they actually state that you should record the times you went round to complain. If you've not been round they'll question it.
Honestly, go round and talk to them. Lots of people who create noise don't realise how much it affects other people. When I finally snapped with our next door neighbour and complained, she was dead gobby at the time but was round that evening apologising and wobbling her huge breasts in front of me. She's been as tgood as gold ever since.
Thing is, with a dog, what are they going to do? It's hard to stop them barking at everyone. Do they exercise it much? That's the usual reason for dogs being over-territorial, not enough walkies.
A neighbour of ours has three yappy terriers that never leave the house/ garden and so are very prone to barking at anything that moves nearby. One chewed it's way through a fence in both my garden and a neighbours. The response I received from the owners was a load of abuse and the fact I was shouting at their dogs was scaring their kids.
In an effort to not disturb their kids, each time I'm woken by their dogs, they are woken by a 900 lumen bike light on strobe through their bedroom window. This results in them actually shutting the dogs up rather than sleeping straight through.
A work mate had the same problem. Both him and his wife both worked shifts so sleeping during the day with next doors dog barking all day was a nightmare for them both. Tried talking to the owners but it fell on deaf ears. In the end he let the dog out of the back yard ( which it spent most of it's life in ) and put it into his car. He then drove 40 miles to another town and kicked the dog out. Seemed a bit ott but he said he had enough.
Shmikuk earlier
Tell you what people who have dogs that bark and have them locked up all day or just keep them outside and think its ok for them to bark are just inconsiderate wastes of oxygen. If you get a dog then most people fail to realise its not an hamster or guinea pig! The amount of people who buy Jack Russell dogs and other small terriers as they think a small dog is easier to look after is a joke. All those sorts of dog do when left alone all day is bark either in the house or outside!
Dog owners are some of the most inconsiderable people on the planet. (I do own and love dogs myself) My dog never barks unless someone is
coming in the yard or my house.
My advice is if it a next door neighbour and you are in a semi then find out what time they go to bed and chill out and maybe go stop at someone else's house and stuck a nice loud stereo system on on a timer to keep coming on all the time while your not there.
The amount of people who buy Jack Russell dogs and other small terriers as they think a small dog is easier to look after is a joke. All those sorts of dog do when left alone all day is bark either in the house or outside!
guy a couple of doors down got a jack russell after break in at his neighbours - only the 2nd break in in road after 20 years of living here - but then leaves it in shed in garden all day - annoys me if i'm garden but then again usually cutting grass or hedges with headphones on
back to OP and environmental health - suspect next thing will ask you to do is keep a diary so i'd start now
It is worth approaching the neighbour because the dog may well be barking when they are out and they are unaware of it. Your local Environmental Health department can assist. They will probably ask you to keep a record of the times of barking for a couple of weeks and then assess the problem so it is as well to do that before approaching them. They may well have a dog warden that deals with noise complaints and are able to go to the neighbour and offer help in abating the problem. If it is considered a big nuisance and an Noise Abatement Notice is served on the offender then that will show up in a Land Search should you put your house on the market.
Funny that, I read it as the noisy neighbour had a dog...
A friend of mine has a dog that goes mental and barks like crazy when anyone uses the loo. She always pees before she goes out like most sensible people, so it has learned to associate the flushing with impending abandonment.
You might be able to train dogs but seems like you can't train owners.
Sorry not very helpful - just an amusing story !
gone down the route we did, sign up for loads of dog training brochures - dog silencers etc and get them sent to the neighbours house, you can sign up for loads online. this seemed to work as they got the mesage. cowards way but sod it, stealth mode is much less hassle and more of a laugh. if you talk to the neighbours (especially if their nutters or stupid) you'll end up being public enemy number one.
ive heard of people copying the local councils logo, made up a fake letter of complaint from neighbours saying you have a month to sort it out and take action, faked a signature phone number etc and the neighbours sorted their dog out as they sh*t themselves. (this might not work with astute neighbours who have more than one brain cell)
Yep, we put up with it too long, finally complained to council, they were great and very supportive, they came round for a chat, gave us recording equipment and asked us to keep a diary. We gathered enough evidence for them to proceed with a formal warning, which worked. They've now moved thank god cause they got a bit moody, anyway get this, they guy was a vet and he used to bring the unwanted dogs home, if they made too much noise he used to drug them, sick bar steward.
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