NEED TO KNOW
- A woman says she wants to write an anonymous letter to her neighbors about their dog’s constant barking
- She says the dog barks “all day,” starting at about 6 a.m.
- The woman shared her story on a community forum, where commenters advised her to speak to the neighbors directly
A woman who says she is “dreadful with any sort of confrontation” wants to write her neighbors an anonymous letter about their dog’s constant barking — but she’s unsure if it’s the right move.
The woman detailed her story on the “Am I Being Unreasonable?” forum on the U.K.-based community site Mumsnet.com, a place where women can go to seek advice from other women about a variety of topics. In her post, the woman said that her neighbor “has a little dog that barks all day,” starting at about 6 a.m.
“[It] runs outside, barks for about five minutes solid. [This] will happen throughout the day, including if anyone walks past, pulls up, if anyone has a delivery, if anyone goes to their car or [trash] bin,” she said. She went on, adding that the dog typically does its last “round” of non-stop barking by “about 10:00 to 10.30 p.m.”
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“It’s been grinding on me for a while, but is immediately seriously pissing me off,” the original poster (OP) continued “When they first got this dog they’d occasionally say ‘no’ or ‘stop’ (which obviously didn’t work) but I am not sure if they have made any other attempts to do anything about this.”
She added, “I am dreadful with any sort of confrontation and would prefer to put an anonymous note through the door, saying I am not sure if they realize the frequency of the barking and is there anything they could do to please reduce [it].”
“[Would I be unreasonable] to do this?” the woman asked at the end of her post, adding that she would prefer to report her neighbor to their housing council.
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The vast majority of Mumsnet users told the OP they thought she should speak to her neighbors directly. “From personal experience, it’s a bit sh—y making someone paranoid and suspect the entire street. If you’re going to do it, go through the [the housing] council; that’s anonymous anyway,” one person said.
“Anonymous letters are weaselly and cowardly. Just talk to them,” someone else wrote.
“Talk to them,” agreed another person, adding, “Chat to other neighbors and encourage them to talk to the neighbor as well. The more people complain directly, the better. The dog needs training; it must be very annoying for everyone.”
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