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I moved into a shared house where the landlord lives with us and is one of the roommates. She had some dogs that wouldn't stop barking. Generally speaking communication has not been good but for whatever reason the dogs were not in the home for about a month. Now they're back. The barking is so excessive I believe it may be illegal as it's a form of noise pollution and prevents people from quiet enjoyment. I just had a phone interview right when she brought them in the house and it really screwed me up.

She makes no effort to control the dogs and they bark for minutes on end and during the night and day.

I've been surprised when I hear barking and the dogs don't stop I assume no one is in the room to tell them to be quiet and I walk into see the owner sitting right there doing nothing.

What should I do? Should I tell her this is illegal or should I complain to the city right away? Is it fair if I ask her to communicate if/when the dogs are staying in the house?

Laurel
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refbobby
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  • Does she care about the dogs? Interact with them much? Play with them? – DaveG Aug 24 '18 at 01:11
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    Have a look at StackExchange Pets. There are many questions about dogs barking, maybe you can find something you can do to stop it if the landlord doesn't. – Elmy Aug 24 '18 at 04:22
  • Have you already asked her about the barking? Or talked to her about the dogs in any way? – Jeroen Aug 24 '18 at 06:54
  • Is the landlord the dog owner or one of the other roommates? – cheshire Aug 24 '18 at 20:02
  • Isn't any question in a sense asking "what should I do"? Could someone explain why this is off topic? – refbobby Aug 26 '18 at 18:14
  • Hi refbobby, please read the meta post linked in the close reason description, it explains it more clearly than a single comment can. You need to decide on a clear goal first, e.g. decide if you want to ask her to communicate when the dogs are around, before we can help you figure out how to accomplish that goal. – Em C Aug 27 '18 at 00:00

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I wouldn't recommend complaining to the city right away, this level of escalation will probably result in more conflict.

Instead, communicate to your roommate that the barking dogs are annoying you. Explain how the noise is getting in the way of you doing your work, getting sleep, etc. Bring up the phone interview as a concrete example of how the dogs are affecting you. I think it's fair to ask for her to notify you when the dogs will be staying in the house.

You might also want to look in your contract to see if there are any agreements about pets or noise. Of course, I am not a lawyer and this isn't a law site, so you would need to contact someone with more expertise were you to go the legal route.

Also, in your other post you mention having two other roommates. Are they also bothered by the noise? Would they talk to your other roommate with you?

zanahorias
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