There are a lot of noises that can get on your nerves – especially if they’re constant. Different sounds affect different people, but anything from kids shrieking to construction noise, heavy bass in from loud music to loud cars can drive you round the bend, particularly if you’re hearing them frequently. So if any of these sounds are a daily part of life in your neighbourhood, there’s no doubt that you’ll get sick of it very quickly.

For the person in this story, the noise wasn’t constant – but when it was present, it was all the time. That’s because she lives next door to a holiday house, and while the usual owner is a pleasure to live next door to, one of the frequent visitors is nothing of the kind. The real issue though? The couple that visit sometimes have a dog – and that dog is constantly trying to make its presence known.

Read on to find out more about what’s going on here.

Barking deterrent in Europe

I live in a tiny village with very narrow paths, too narrow for cars.

The house directly opposite mine has a small porch less than two meters from every room in my house. It’s a holiday house owned by an elderly lady who visits occasionally with her grandson; they’re lovely.

Unfortunately her son also visits with his wife and daughter (early twenties) who have a completely untrained, unwalked and unneutered dog.

They sit on the front porch scrolling on their phones all night. They seem to come on holiday just to browse Facebook until 5am. And the dog barks and barks and barks and barks.

Let’s see what happened when she asked them about the dog.

They say it’s because of cats, but I can’t even walk in front of the windows without setting him off. My kitchen sink faces the barking, I can’t wash dishes or open windows.

I can’t hear the TV in the living room, and the dog may as well be in my bedroom. Earplugs, white noise, nothing drowns out the intensely piercing barking directed at every window in my house.

I tried talking with them but the daughter says it’s the dog’s holiday and he has the right to enjoy it by barking. They have a garden and covered terrace on the other side of the house, but insist on squishing into the front porch scrolling and barking.

I’ve called the police who came and spoke with them but they didn’t care. The police have to come from an hour away, so they know it’s unlikely anything will happen.

Now, she’s becoming increasingly stressed, as their next visit is imminent.

It’s coming up to summer holidays again and I already am stressed in preparation for the barking. I think I have PTSD from weeks of no sleep every time they visit.

Has anyone got any recommendations for an anti bark device? Do they affect cats? I’m willing to try just about anything.

I’m a huge animal lover, actually had dogs when I came here and I’m vegetarian, but I’d happily throttle that awful dog.

Of all the responses, to say “the dog has the right to enjoy his holiday by barking” is ridiculous.

It really doesn’t sound like the dog is happy at all, he’s being ignored by his owners all night.

The stress that this woman must be going through is off the charts, it’s so inconsiderate of them.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man who reported some missionaries after frustration over lack of parking boils over.

Let’s see what folks on Reddit made of this.

This person had a smart idea for discouraging the barking while the people would’ve been none the wiser.

While others had a more hilarious suggestion.

Meanwhile, this Redditor thought that out-noising them was the way to go.

The sheer disrespect of this couple to just let their dog incessantly bark is insane. They’re being so unreasonable, not even bothering to try to train the dog, while they know how much it is bothering the neighbour. It’s really unfair. Because the truth is, that dog is totally neglected and desperate for attention, which is probably a big part of why he is barking. This dog needs to be walked, he needs to play and chase a frisbee, and for his owners to show him love. Being ignored on the porch all night while they scroll on their phones is not what he needs at all.

As for the woman who is trying to live her life, trying to sleep and wash up, rest and relax – and all the while a dog is barking loudly, preventing her from doing all of the above? It’s really unfair, and needs dealing with properly. It’s harder because they’re not permanent residents (though she is undoubtedly very glad that they’re not) but that means that the barking is less predictable, and more difficult to do anything about.

If the couple were decent people, they’d deal with this. But clearly they’re not.

If you enjoyed this post, check out this story about a woman who was in love with her dream house – and then spring came and her neighbor’s trees caused her to question the purchase.