The neighbors' dog constantly howls and barks: what to do according to the law in an apartment and in a private house

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Published: November 30, 2019

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Your neighbors have every right to keep pets on their premises. But do not forget that each owner is responsible for the behavior of his pet. If your neighbor's dog becomes a source of problems for you, you need to deal with it.

• Rules for keeping dogs in apartment buildings
• Legislative regulation of the issue
• Where to go if your neighbors dog is constantly barking To the local inspector
• To animal control authorities
• To court

What to do if your neighbors dog constantly barks in their apartment

Unscrupulous owners may say that they are not responsible for the loud howling and barking of their dog. In 2022, such excuses could still work. But the new edition of the Code of Administrative Offenses of 2022 added fines for barking dogs and faulty car alarms.

The dog in the neighbor's apartment is interfering with sleep

Amendments have been made to Article 14.6, which provides for a ban on noise at night. From the point of view of the authors of the edits, owners are obliged to control their pets.

What to do according to the law if a dog is making noise in your neighbors’ apartment, we will consider further. We will provide step-by-step instructions for owners of apartments in apartment buildings.

Remember where to go if your neighbor’s pet barks:

• to the local inspector;
• to the local branch of Rospotrebnadzor;
• animal protection organizations;
• administrative court.

At the entrance of an apartment building

Before writing complaints and filing lawsuits, prepare evidence.

What you need to do: record this barking and howling on a voice recorder and video camera (you can use a smartphone). You can make any notes in your apartment. Don't try to break into your neighbor's apartment to collect evidence. This will be considered a violation of privacy.

You can team up with other neighbors who are also bothered by noise. The support of neighbors will help not only have a psychological impact on the dog’s owner. They may testify on your behalf in court or file a class action lawsuit with you.

The list of things that can be done legally includes purchasing ultrasonic repellers or a whistle. Certain ultrasound frequencies cause dogs to remain silent.

The layout of an apartment building can drown out ultrasound. Maximum range of whistle or repeller: 14 meters. Some dogs do not respond to such stimuli.

How to determine the source of howling and barking

When you don’t know where the dog howls day and night in the apartment: above or below, try asking your neighbors this question. You can search for the dog's owner personally, in a group or on an apartment building forum.

Playing with a pet

If you have free time, you can keep an eye on your neighbors: which of the neighbors above, across the site or below takes the dog for a walk.

Legislative regulation of the issue

The issue of keeping animals and possible problems with them for others is regulated by the following regulations and federal laws:

• Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 25 on the rules for the use of residential premises dated January 21, 2006 (R. I. Part 6, R. II, Part 10, paragraphs “b” and “d”);
• for Moscow : Temporary rules for keeping dogs and cats in Moscow (Resolution No. 900-PP) dated October 7, 2008.
• Law of the Russian Federation No. 4979 on veterinary medicine dated May 14, 1996

The basic law on which to rely was signed by the President in December 2022. This is Federal Law No. 498-FZ dated December 27, 2018 “On the responsible treatment of animals and on amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation.”

It also makes sense to rely on No. 52-FZ of March 30, 1999 “On the sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population,” better known as the “Law on Silence.”

Almost every city or town in Russia has its own by-laws or special rules governing the time of noisy work, parties or playing musical instruments. The law does not directly apply to keeping pets, but can become a reference point for claims. A dog barking is classified as household noise and is subject to this law.

These laws will be relied upon by the district police officer or the court if the conflict cannot be resolved peacefully.

Complaint to the local inspector

If your neighbor's dog bothers you in an apartment building, you can complain to the district police officer. He is obliged to register a complaint and conduct a conversation with the pet's owners. If the local police officer is inactive for 2-3 days, file a complaint against him.

Penalty when a dog barks

First, the district police officer must talk to the dog’s owners and explain to them the consequences of breaking the law. If the loud barking does not stop after the first warning, file complaints against your neighbors again. In case of repeated violation, the district police officer is obliged to issue a fine for disturbing the silence in an apartment building.

The amount of the fine in 2022 is from 500 to 5000 rubles.

The more repeated violations, the higher the fine.

Causes of barking

Before threatening your dog owner neighbor with all the heavenly punishments, let's figure out the reason for this animal's behavior. It can be with:

• The psyche of an animal. Dogs whose type of GND is choleric yell for no reason. Believe me, the owners themselves don’t like it. But there is nothing you can do about it except get rid of your pet or come to terms with its behavior.
• Improper maintenance of the dog. If the dog is hardly walked, poorly fed or abused, it will howl, bark or whine. This is a natural phenomenon. In this case, the intervention of neighbors is necessary. It is their direct responsibility to rescue the animal from the hands of the owners-flayers. Because, as a rule, there is no one else to intervene. No one knows about the mistreatment of the dog.
• Illness. When a dog is in pain, he expresses the pain in accessible language. It is quite possible that the neighbors dog got sick. So he whines or barks protractedly, howling.
• Bad behavior. This requires the services of a professional dog handler. Changing behavior is a serious matter. And novice owners are not able to cope with this task on their own.

This is all very cool, but the neighbors dog is constantly barking: what to do in this case? Let's continue our conversation on this issue.

Complaint to Rospotrebnadzor

You can file a complaint about your neighbor’s barking dog with Rospotrebnadzor. Representatives of this organization can conduct an examination that will show that the permissible noise level is exceeded. You can attach the results of the examination to your application to the court.

Living room

A commission will come to the apartment with a special device (sound meter). Try to schedule the commission's arrival so that it coincides with the time of loud barking.

Otherwise, all measurements will be meaningless. The Rospotrebnadzor Commission will carry out measurements in accordance with GOST. The signed certificate of examination is handed over to the applicant immediately after the completion of the measurements.

Filing a claim with an administrative court

The most serious step you can take is to resolve the conflict in court. We recommend doing this only if all previous control methods have failed.

Loud barking

The following may be attached to the claim:

1. Audio and video recording of loud noise.
2. Copies of all complaints submitted to the district police officer.
3. Written responses to submitted complaints.
4. Results of the Rospotrebnadzor examination.
5. Testimony from neighbors.

It is advisable to consult a lawyer before filing a claim. When going to court, you can demand compensation for the purchase of medicines (if the noise caused harm to health) and compensation for moral damage, demand reimbursement of the costs of the examination and other costs.

The neighbor's dog constantly barks, what to do: private house

The requirements of the law on silence apply not only to apartment buildings. In the private sector, noise is also prohibited after 11 pm. Tips on what to do if your neighbors dog howls will be the same as in the previous paragraph.

On the street

You should file a complaint with the local police officer, animal protection organizations, or Rospotrebnadzor. You can file a claim in an administrative court. But we advise you to first try to resolve the issue out of court.

A neighbor's dog in a private house may bark because it is trained that way by its owner. Some owners believe that if a dog barks frequently and loudly, it will deter thieves. But a barking guard disturbs the neighbors, which you can report to the dog’s owners.

The most dangerous case is if your neighbors’ dog in a private house barks due to its aggressive nature. This can end in tragedy if the animal breaks loose. Start fighting the noise to influence the owner and force him to take action.

Private sector in the village

Why you shouldn’t eliminate your neighbor’s animal yourself and cause him harm

Often the neighbor's dog interferes so much with the neighbors' lives, and its barking is so annoying that the idea arises of poisoning it or calming it down by calling the dog hunter service. This should not be done under any circumstances, because you risk becoming a defendant in court! The penalty for this violation may be a fine or imprisonment.

A dog barking that interferes with a peaceful life is a very unpleasant phenomenon. This needs to be fought. There are many options for solving this problem. Start with a peaceful conversation with the animal's owner. If it does not give any results, and it is not possible to make the dog subside, you need to contact law enforcement agencies. You don't have to kill the dog yourself. It is important to remember that harming an animal will result in punishment.

Permissible noise level in residential premises

Each region of Russia has its own schedule for when you can and cannot make noise. But the noise level standards in residential premises are the same in Moscow and St. Petersburg, in Tyumen and Buryatia. SNiP and SanPiN standards operate at the federal level and are presented in the table below.

In St. Petersburg, night time is considered to be the period from 10 pm to 8 am. In Moscow, daytime lasts from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. If the examination shows that the noise level exceeds the established standards, you will have the right to demand silence.

Why can a dog bark constantly?

A folk sign says that if a dog constantly howls, barks and barks, then this promises wealth, a visit from guests, and good news. Howling and whining, on the contrary, promise trouble for the dog’s owner. People who suffer from loud barking dogs are unlikely to care about signs.

Pet whines near the window

From a scientific point of view, when a dog howls and barks day and night, this is not normal behavior for the animal. A happy animal will not bark constantly, late at night and early in the morning. When an animal whines and howls loudly, help is required not only for the neighbors for whom it disturbs their sleep, but also for the dog himself.

Dog handlers identify the following reasons for loud barking:

• lack of food or water;
• aggression from the owner;
• boredom during the absence of the owner;
• fear of being alone;
• the consequences of inept training on the protection of the house and site.

Ways to solve the problem peacefully

Dog repeller
Experts recommend starting with peaceful communication with the animal owner. Some people have no idea how their pet behaves while away. If the problem is not loneliness, but the four-legged one relieves itself in all available places, then the owner can be reminded of sanitary and hygienic standards and the subsequent fine.

Common methods of calming animals include:

• A special repeller - the device sends electromagnetic waves at a certain frequency, causing unpleasant sensations only in the dog. Immediately after the start of the dog concert, the device is turned on, directed to a strictly defined sector and awaited for a reaction. Over time, the quadruped will develop a conditioned reflex - it is unpleasant to stand after independently created noise and he is afraid to make too loud sounds.
• Tenants - if the problem is related to temporary residents renting housing, then it is solved with the help of the owner of the apartment or private house. Having described the situation, you can ask him to calm the tenants down or ask them to leave.
• Sound training system - works similar to a repeller, but is more accurate. The disadvantages of the device include high cost and impossibility of constant use. In the latter case, you can accidentally harm the animal, upset its nervous system, which will lead to round-the-clock howling.
• Barrier - suitable for living in separate housing. A barrier helps if movement in foreign territory makes the animal nervous. The second option is to close all the cracks in the fence so that an aggressive four-legged animal does not see strangers or cats or relatives running past through them.

Important! Pet stores sell special anti-bark collars. You can offer this option to your neighbor by purchasing it yourself.

Anti-bark collar

How to retrain a barking dog

You know what to do if your neighbor's dog howls and barks. But what should you do if your pet is a source of concern for your neighbors? Even a well-mannered dog can howl, whine and bark in the absence of its owner.

Puppy in an apartment in a multi-storey residential building

There are 3 strategies to deal with loud barking.

1. Teaching a dog to be alone. First, the owner goes out the door for 5–10 minutes. If the animal remains calm at this time, the owner should give it a treat. Gradually, the time the owner is absent increases. The classes end with the owner leaving for work in the morning, and the dog patiently waiting for his return all day.
2. The reason for barking may be an inability to tolerate loneliness. Dogs with a weak psyche are prone to this behavior. In order for the pet to wait patiently for its owner, it is necessary to create a shelter where the dog can rest and sleep, feeling calm. Having a companion can help you cope with loneliness. It doesn't have to be another dog: some dogs calm down when a cat appears at home.
3. Loud barking is often caused by boredom. Try spending more time with your dog. Increase the duration of your walk and diversify your route. Add physical activity to your daily routine. Breeds created for active exercise, such as hounds and huskies, can howl and bark out of boredom.

The most radical way to combat dog barking is corrective surgery on the ligaments. After the operation, the dog will physiologically not be able to make loud sounds. But in some countries such operations are recognized as mutilation. They negatively affect the animal's psyche.

If you love your pet, try to solve the problem in a humane way.

Illegal actions

It is worth warning those who have been so tormented by the barking of their neighbor’s dog that they are ready to take radical action. Anything that is done in violation of legislative acts will turn out disastrously for such citizens, and the law will not be on their side at such a moment. An attack on the life of an animal can bring an impatient apartment resident to the dock as a defendant both under the Administrative Code and under a criminal article.

Attention! According to Article 245 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, for cruelty to animals, which caused his death or injury - a fine of one hundred to two hundred times the minimum wage, an arrest of up to six months is provided.

For the same acts committed by a group of persons, punishment is provided - a fine from five hundred to eight hundred minimum amounts , possibly imprisonment for a term of up to two years. So you need to be patient if the owner of a dog that constantly screams does not meet his neighbors halfway, and resort to the only correct way to resolve the conflict - through the appropriate services. And at the same time, it’s worth studying the legal acts and sanitary standards well in order to see your mistakes in resolving the incident. Maybe you “went too far” in some way, so the troublemaker does not want to hear you and is simply doing it to spite you.