Villas and barking dogs
 

You can’t pick your neighbor. Most of the time you are correct that dog owners are reasonable and responsive. “Most of the time” is the operative phase.

We move in on Sept 5th, and have large dogs (Great Pyrenees and Labrador) and while I can't speak to other dog owners, we are very concerned about our dogs and barking. They grew up on 11 acres and are used to "protecting" us from UPS deliveries, and other strange creatures that might approach our property.

We have been working on calming them down when strangers come over. Our plan is to put in video/audio monitoring so we can know if they get excited while we are out - with two way audio we will also be able to talk to them and hopefully calm them. If they are still a problem we will bring in a professional trainer to help.

Coming from the country with the nearest neighbor being over a 1/4 mile away, we take the change to a postage stamp yard, and the ability to borrow sugar by reaching out of the kitchen window seriously and want to make it as painless as possible for both us and our new neighbors.

You won't need video/audio monitoring, you will know soon enough if they bark while your gone by counting the sticky notes on your front door. The villas are really close together as you must know and the neighbors don't expect to hear dogs barking all day nor is it allowed.

We have a villa and a dog. Our neighbor to the east has two dogs and the neighbor to the west has one. I occasionally hear them bark but it has never been a problem. We are in a block and stucco villa and the sound level inside is very minimal. Our dog stays inside when we are gone and has never made a mess.

You post concerned me, so I went back and re-read the covenant which states clearly that each owner is responsible to ensure they don't interfere with their neighbors "enjoyment" of their property. It then further clarifies the meaning by stating that "noise" shall be no more than "moderate" between 10 PM and 1 hour before sun rise.

There is no mention of restricting dog barking, and no definition of "moderate". So, I guess from what I can see there is no limit on dog barking during the day and up to 10 PM at night. Some third party would have to decide if a dog barking is preventing someone else from enjoying their property, and if our actions to control and moderate the dog barking is insufficient.

Personally, I find the sizzling of a neighbors bbq grills to be quite offensive and disruptive of my enjoying a vegan meal in my lanai...

I think we all need to get along, and anyone purchasing a CYV that does not like dogs or dog barking would have to explain to an arbitrator why they bought there knowing there was going to be dogs, and the dogs are going to be barking, when the CYVs are sold as the solution to seniors that want dogs that bark.

You are the exception to the rule and I commend you for being a responsible pet owner. Just my opinion but I believe the majority of dog owners couldn’t care less if their dogs barking disturbs you. My personal experience when I approached a neighbor with a barking dog, “dogs bark, you’ll have to get over it.” I learned they were renters, I spoke to the homeowner, and the offending dog was evicted along with his owners. Having audio recording, from inside my home, of the dog barking from 1am to 4am really helped my case.

Some dogs have serious separation anxiety. When they are home alone they can bark non-stop for hours, I don’t know how the dogs vocal chords can handle it but somehow they can.

Thank you for the kind words. It is sad that we can't all get along - but it is what it is.

I understand and agree with you about dog barking can be annoying. I know that as I get older being woken from sleep can lead to not being able to get back to sleep - not enjoyable at all.

I have read many places how renters can and do have annoying habits - sad they are allowed in the same villas with residents, but I understand the economic incentives to some.

My reason for wanting AV monitoring while away from our house is so I know what is going on and with 2 way audio, I can try to calm the dogs by talking to them. And if it turns out they are barking frequently I know I have to take additional steps.

You forgot to check enforceable local ordinances regarding dog barking as well as county. They have come out to our neighborhood on several occasions with warnings before fines. I have a dog too, not against having them. Also, not all CYV owners have dogs, some of them have cats and many no pets at all just wanting to enjoy the privacy of a courtyard. I'm not saying that your dogs will not be welcome but if they were to cause a problem there would be no arbitrator, it would be a knock on your door by the local police or sheriff department. The covenant you refer to was not written specifically for dogs, that is mostly aimed at people that might have frequent parties and a sizzling grille would not fall into that category.

Grumpy, there used to be a BarkBusters trainer in the area. If they live up to their name, and if you find your dogs are barking, that might prove useful to you.

Thank you

We lived in a designer that was over the wall from a CYV village. One woman on the other side had the barkiest little dog. Then she got another one that was even worse--they got into fights. However, the barking was limited to the times the little yappers were let out into the yard, or left on the lanai. It wasn't a problem at night.


Dogs are not randomly scattered across TV; they are everywhere. You might want to visit a house you are considering a number of different times of the day to see if you hear any barking around it. But I find that most people keep their dogs inside unless they are outside with them, even in CYVs. But it will be the luck of the draw.

We have lived in our villa for 8 years and have never been bothered by a barking dog. I know some others have had problems but it usually gets worked out.

September 6th should have some interesting posts. [emoji6][emoji240][emoji251]


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I agree but maybe the 7th, for sure by 9/11.