Mommy22alyns Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 I am very much not a dog person, and that would probably be a deal breaker for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 There's a big difference in just barking though and a very aggressive, snarling, lunging type of aggression when a dog sees you. Yes, but still depends...one of mine does that to strangers she sees outside the door, in our yard, but is sweet to them once inside the house. And if she did get out (happened once) she barked but wouldn't go closer than 5 feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 Coming back to this thread, I'm just thinking about how your kids would have trouble having friends over. I would not be too keen on dropping my kids off to play and hearing the aggressive barking and snarling going on next door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer3141 Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 I would have no trouble going up the neighbor with the dogs and knocking on the door and saying, "Hey, I really like the house next door but I have a fear of dogs. Would you mind telling me a little bit about yours?" If they are GOOD dog owners, they will be able to go on and on about their dogs. If they are rude or defensive, you know something is up. If you start a conversation and things are going well, perhaps you can be introduced to the dogs and then go back to the backyard and see what happens. Perhaps they only go nuts at strangers in their (and your) backyard. You might value that someday! Let's face it - it'd be had to break into that house from the backyard!! Ask the neighbor how the dogs are with kids or other dogs because maybe, you'll want your own someday. Life is weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 Coming back to this thread, I'm just thinking about how your kids would have trouble having friends over. I would not be too keen on dropping my kids off to play and hearing the aggressive barking and snarling going on next door. That's an excellent point -- I hadn't thought about that, but it makes a lot of sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzymom Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 I wouldn't based upon our experience. We purchased a home and an adjacent neighbor had 3 rottweilers. I am not afraid of dogs, and prefer large dogs, so the breed/size were not an issue. But the way their yard aligned with ours, the slight hill of their backyard allowed their dogs to see into part of our yard over the 6' fence. Every single time we went out back, the dogs barked like crazy at the fence. It progressed to throwing themselves at the fence while barking, snarling, etc. These dogs would also go insane at the front windows of the house when anybody walked by, which was a problem because there was a bus stop one house away. The other neighbors were not happy. I went to the house after a really unsettling episode, and spoke to one of the owners. He, of course, assured me these were sweet, misunderstood dogs. He even showed up at our front door a couple of days later wanting to introduce the dogs to my kids while on leash. We did that. Dogs were still crazed. We would not go out back if the dogs were out, and often left the yard because he would let them out when I had a yard full of kids. After several years, they moved away. Hooray. But I would never, ever knowingly be in that position again. I always felt lucky we didn't have a tragedy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 Did I miss the part where the OP said they were pit bulls? I only remember her saying they were 'Large, dark colored' dogs, that doesn't mean pit bull. That could mean a lab too, or a great dane, or a newfoundland, or many other breeds. Nope... she said she didn't know what kind of dogs.... I was just using that as an example :) I meant it'd depend. Labs/German Shepherds... etc... can be the nicest pups.. or big... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live2Ride Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 Speak with the neighbors and let them know you were curious about their dogs. Ask if you could bring treats to share with them next time with the owners permission and supervision. Might help you both Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 I went to the house after a really unsettling episode, and spoke to one of the owners. He, of course, assured me these were sweet, misunderstood dogs. He even showed up at our front door a couple of days later wanting to introduce the dogs to my kids while on leash. We did that. I think this is the problem with talking to the neighbor, truly. Our back neighbors are intelligent, friendly people. The husband is an ultra high level academic who travels the world for research purposes, so we're not talking about your average jerk neighbors. They suggested that we give the dog treats and try to get to know him, and even gave us a bag of his preferred treats. We would toss them treats over the fence and the dog wouldn't touch them. He would just back away, growling and snarling, and they would just chuckle or say, "I guess he's just doing his job." They truly believe that there is no problem with this dog or its barking and only addressed when told to by the township, in spite of several neighbors making complaints, both politely and less politely. Personally, I simply wouldn't take the chance. Even if I thought I could protect my kids, I wouldn't want to live next to a barking dog and a persistently "clueless" dog-owner neighbor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricket Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 There's a big difference in just barking though and a very aggressive, snarling, lunging type of aggression when a dog sees you. :iagree: It would be a huge deal breaker for me if a dog was acting aggressively. And three of them? No way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 It's pretty normal for dogs to bark at a property line like that and doesn't mean they are aggressive dogs. There used to be two labs in our neighborhood who were contained by an invisible fence. They would rush up to the edge barking whenever my dog and I walked by. I didn't like it--not because I was afraid, but because I just didn't like being vigorously barked at. I didn't go attempt to make friends with them because they didn't live nearby and it would have been making a mountain out of a mole hill. I wouldn't like it if it happened every time I walked into my backyard, either. Then, I'd have to deal with it. In your situation, I would do what others have suggested and approach both the dog owner and other neighbors and see what the real situation is. You could even ask the realtor to ask the former owners. I don't think they are allowed to lie to you. It also might clear up the problem: if the dogs do bark at everyone in the yard of the house you want to buy and the sellers are losing money by not being able to sell their house, perhaps they could file a complaint with the county. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuirkyKapers Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Dealbreaker. Could be why the previous owners moved out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Dealbreaker. Could be why the previous owners moved out. Same here. It sounds like you are buying, so you also need to consider that you might have a difficult time selling it later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rawbanana Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 We own our house, the one next to us is a rental. The neighbors who moved out a few months ago had 2 dogs. One was a BIG barker and not friendly (he was an American Eskimo-they also had a burmese mountain dog who was very friendly). Anyway, whenever we went out in the backyard, the white dog would bark and bark and bark, but after about 5 minutes he would stop unless we got within 3' of the fence in between our yard and theirs. About 50% of the time, if hte kiddos went in the backyard, the owners would take the dogs inside Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 I would want to find out if the owner is in the habit of leaving the dogs outside the majority of the time, and not bringing them in when they bark. We have dogs. I do my best not to leave them outside unless they are quiet. When they get noisy, if they don't settle down after a couple of minutes, they come in. They are never ever left out when we are not home. I would not want to have a neighbor who left any dog out most of the time, regardless of the type or number of dogs. I would also want to find out if this owner has had any problems with the dogs escaping before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dancer_Mom Posted November 12, 2012 Author Share Posted November 12, 2012 OP Here. So we went over to the neighborhood again and my DH talked to the dog owners for about 20 minutes. They said their dogs are two labs and a "coon?" dog. They said that the dogs do bark some but should stop once they get used to us. She said that they try to keep them quiet and that they aren't always outside. She also said that if we were to hear them barking in the early morning it was probably because they were chasing a squirrel or something. She did say that they had been intentionally letting them into the backyard when people came for showings so that people would know they lived next door. She was extremely kind but to me it feels like she might have been trying to warn us in a nice way that there might be some noise issues? What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 She did say that they had been intentionally letting them into the backyard when people came for showings so that people would know they lived next door. She was extremely kind but to me it feels like she might have been trying to warn us in a nice way that there might be some noise issues? What do you think? They may be trying to avoid a situation of getting a new neighbor who didn't know about them, and soon after moving in, immediately starts complaining/making calls to the police about the dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzymom Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 What I would hear is "We have dogs. This is their yard. They will bark. Don't say we didn't warn you." Certainly not very reassuring. I would keep looking fwiw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Could they have said Cur and not Coon? http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/blackmouthcur.htm That is what Old Yeller was. I still would say NO! No house with 3 loud dogs next door would be a perfect house in my book. Dawn OP Here. So we went over to the neighborhood again and my DH talked to the dog owners for about 20 minutes. They said their dogs are two labs and a "coon?" dog. They said that the dogs do bark some but should stop once they get used to us. She said that they try to keep them quiet and that they aren't always outside. She also said that if we were to hear them barking in the early morning it was probably because they were chasing a squirrel or something. She did say that they had been intentionally letting them into the backyard when people came for showings so that people would know they lived next door. She was extremely kind but to me it feels like she might have been trying to warn us in a nice way that there might be some noise issues? What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 (edited) If they've got a coonhound, he's probably a barker. :D Let's just say that you and all of your neighbors will hear his distinctive bark every time there's an animal in the neighborhood... and not just raccoons, either. :tongue_smilie: On the bright side, labs and coonhounds aren't known for being particularly vicious, so at least that's a plus. But no matter how friendly the dogs turn out to be, three dogs can be LOUD, and they tend to rile each other up, so if one starts barking, it becomes a free-for-all. If you're still interested in the house, I think it's time to talk to the other neighbors. Edited November 12, 2012 by Catwoman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 If the other neighbors are unhappy they will most likely let you know about it. It would also give you the chance to see what kind of potential neighbors you would have! I have BIG dogs-- my puppy is close to 120 pounds and he just turned 10 months old. Puppy LOVES to bark at cars that drive up when he is outside. He sounds so mean and threatening.... it is ALL SHOW... he is actually a wimp. Puppy knows the UPS guy (thanks to Amazon Prime!) and doesn't let out more than a whimper-- he LOVES Fedex because that driver always gives him a treat! I have lived in neighborhoods with outside dogs that barked ALL. NIGHT. LONG. and I've also been around aggressive large dogs (and small dogs too)... If I were you I would try to find out more about the situation-- since you are not 'dog people'-- you really can't judge the situation... so if you LOVE the house-- ask the neighbors-- even the ones that own the dogs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Run away! We had a couple build next door to us. First, it was 2 dogs, then 3, then 5! They growled, barked, snarled and drove us crazy. And we had a 1 acre backyard! We could not have parties, and the children could not play in the backyard. Those dogs drove us out of the home. We had to move. And don't expect any help from government agencies. They cited our neighbors 50 times for noise pollution, disturbance, etc. It did nothing. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 (edited) What I would hear is "We have dogs. This is their yard. They will bark. Don't say we didn't warn you." Certainly not very reassuring. I would keep looking fwiw. What I heard is "We have dogs and we try our best to be conscientious dog owners and neighbors." But I think the only way to find out the truth with reasonable certainty is to speak with at least one of the other neighbors. And to consider what that neighbor's tolerance level may be and what your own is. Everybody has a different idea of what constitutes acceptable noise, both in terms of duration and loudness. We have never had any complaint about our dogs. But we have an RV, and in reading RV-related message boards I've been somewhat flabbergasted to find out that there are people out there who genuinely believe one bark is way too much and totally unacceptable. FWIW, these also seem to be the type of people who firmly believe children should be seen and not heard. So . . . just take that into consideration when speaking with the neighbors. Edited November 12, 2012 by Pawz4me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 We lived in a house once where the backyard neighbor dogs barked all the time. It drove us crazy. We rejoiced when they moved. My mom lives in a house where the neighbor dog (small yappy thing) barks all the time. It drives her crazy. I'd keep looking. We've had dogs. I don't like constant barking dogs and would never purposely move next to them. The snarling would be even worse, but that would likely go away once they got to know you. The barking at anything/everything is not likely to go away. It all depends upon your noise tolerance. The older I get, the less tolerant of excessive barking I get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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