Monday, October 19, 2015

Turning People Against Dogs

I'd like to start this post by saying that I used to be a dog lover.

What caused me to change my mind about dogs? Well, I'll spell it out, slowly and carefully, so that there's no misunderstanding:

B-A-R-K-I-N-G

And, yes, I have tried to talk to the owners of these dogs. Fat lotta good that did.

To a man and woman, they were indignant that I would dare to bring up such a thing. After all, I was criticizing the sacred utterances of their fur baby!

Officialdom was no better. I've lost count of all the barking dog reports I've made to animal control. You know what they do? They send a Sternly Worded Letter to the dog owners.

Things go downhill from there.

Along the way, you can experience the joys of keeping a barking log (nothing like victimizing the victim even further), optional mediation with the dog owner (been there, done that, and it was a waste of time), and, if you're really lucky, there's a hearing with the dog owner that maybe-just-maybe will result in fines.

If there's any good news in all of this, here it is: I'm not the only one.

Unlike 10 years ago, when I first became concerned about this issue, there's quite a movement. Call it the Quiet Homes Movement if you want. We aren't coalescing around a single activist website like DogsBite.org (happy 8th birthday, DBO), but our numbers are growing.

15 comments:

  1. Good article. As per my 2nd to last post (http://www.animaluncontrol.blogspot.com/2015/10/nirvana.html) I'm at a point where I prefer to be in a place that is dog-free as much as possible. Due to all of the hardships imposed upon me by dogs and dog owners, I require a space free of them.

    Problems? My career as a volunteer hike leader was turned into ground up shit by malicious doggers - and NOT PIT BULL OWNERS IF YOU ARE SO INTERESTED TO INQUIRE! Nope, just your run of the mill, belligerent, toxic, bellicose DOG OWNERS! Fido had to be the arbiter of every outcome ahead of law, civil rights, reason, and common sense EVERY TIME... because FIDO is the most wonderful thing in creation!

    Then, there was the neighborhood block war... also started by a NON PIT OWNER.... over the right of everyone on the block to control the noise level in their OWN HOME. That was FOUR MONTHS OF PURE HELL. That had a good outcome... the foul dog worshipers moved away and we have peace.... FOR NOW. For now... until the next set of entitled malicious dog fanatics move in with the intent to destroy everyone else's life with their DOGS.

    Of course, the above is on top of all of the vacations that have been ruined and other abuse heaped upon me by nasty, foul, criminal canine supremacists. To hell with them all. We absolutely require spaces free of them. Dog free parks, neighborhoods, and businesses.

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    1. I have confounded more than a few members of the pit bull non-fan club. Why? Because I tell them that there are bigger problems with dogs than pit bulls and the mayhem they cause.

      Have found that too many of that crowd is of the "My Fifi is wonderful, but those pit bulls are icky!" persuasion.

      Methinks that they need to look at the big picture. And there they will see the inconvenient truth about the negative consequences of out-of-control dog worship.

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    2. Indeed, many of the Pro-BSL folks lack integrity. This is a nice way of putting it.

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    3. My problem with the pro-BSL crowd is their refusal to look in the mirror. As long as it's okay for Fifi to yap nonstop for several hours straight, then they're part of the problem.

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    4. YQN - Absolutely. This isn't a per se problem of nuisance barkers or fighting dogs. Its a per se problem of the narcissistic, entitlement attitude prevalent among dog owners. They think that owning a dog gives them complete control over everything and everyone.

      Indeed, many BSL folks think its fine for Fluffy to keep the entire neighborhood awake all night, and NO ONE had better complain about THAT! However, that very same dog owner wants a ban on pit bulls because they are afraid Pibbly Wibbly will take a chunk out of the Fluffster mid-barkathon.

      Here is the thought for the day - Proliferation of Pit Bulls may be making our neighborhoods QUIETER due to the threat they pose to the barking lawn ornaments?

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  2. You're not the only one! No civilized society should allow non-stop barking, or useless barking. Much better to have no barking at all, and we have the technology to accomplish it (debarking or anti-bark collars).

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    1. Useless, non-stop barking just deprived me of another good night's sleep.

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    2. Debarking done by a competent veterinarian is a capital idea. The problem are the dog foamers who consider the practice barbaric. They also consider the use of anti-bark collars barbaric. In fact, they consider anyone who does not want to hear the Voice Of Dog 24 hours per day to be a barbarian!

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    3. i don't know anything about barking collars but surgical debarking does not always (and possibly may never) deliver the peace and quiet desired. the debarkers that i have encountered, admittedly only two, still were yappers but they sounded hoarse and the volume was not quite as loud. in an apartment or small city lots, possibly even suburbia, they would still be a nuisance.

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    4. @scurrilous: I know what you mean. Happened to a couple of friends. After their neighbors' yapper got debarked, they could still hear it.

      So, they decided to fight that useless noise with some of their own. They were remodeling their house, and guess where the central air conditioning unit went. On the outside of the house nearest to the hoarse yapper.

      Then they moved away. Problem solved.

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  3. I honestly worry about going to jail over my neighbors loud yard ornament. I suffer from misophonia and barking is my major trigger. Any barking and my blood pressure goes up from instant rage. Like most people with this disorder you learn to deal with your triggers and if it was a couple barks here and there I could cope but that's not the case. This...THING...barked 5 hours straight starting around 9 in the morning and has now resumed where it left off.

    I hate saying this because I like animals but I wish I never went the legal route. The only way to get peace is for the dog to have an "unfortunate accident" but I now have a trail of complaints leading back to me. Shooting trespassing dogs in my state is legal so Im waiting for my chance.

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    1. I also have misophonia. I was run out of my house because of the non stop noise. I thought I was gonna lose my mind and go Rambo or something.
      No matter how many I rehomed (they escaped into my yard a LOT) new ones always popped up.

      Now I live in apartments with strict and enforced, rules about noise. Renting may be a waste of money, but until I find a strict HOA or townhouse association, not run by doggers, I am NEVER moving. One bark here means one call. 2 complaints and they get 15 days to get rid of the problem. It's so quiet.

      Practice your aim, your turn will come.

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  4. I've come to the conclusion that formal complaints also do nothing but point a finger in your direction when something happens to the yapper. The worst offender in my neighborhood is lucky to be far enough away I can't throw far enough to reach his yard. So I just curse at him and his dog when they're out. The barking doesn't go on as long as it used to. My final solution is to retire and move to a piece of property big enough that any neighbor dog will be too far to hear but close enough to shoot if it wanders onto my property. I'm done with stupid dog owners.

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    1. Me? I want to retire to a pet-free community.

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    2. There are quite a few once you're 55 (here, anyway), but you have to really check their "therapy" dog policies and strictness on noise issues. And visit as often as you can to ensure the quiet isn't just when they are showing a home.

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