Neighbors with a Dog Whistle

[bears_dad]

The condensed version is that we are having a legal dispute with our neighbors. They are not very nice people and are willing to lie on court documents.


Anyway….

I believe they are blowing a dog whistle when our dogs are outside or visible to them through our patio door. Bear is very noise sensitive and will jump at any sudden noise. Recently, he will randomly jump and get nervous when I take him out to potty and I have had a few instances where he is outside and will run to the door and do circles with head and tail down. I think they are blowing a whistle and its hurting his ears or causing some sort of confusion.

We had a computer that had a power supply with a capacitor leak. Very high pitched and drove me nuts but no one else could hear it. One of the times it was quite,no traffic, chirping birds or crickets making noise, I think I may have heard it. This is when I began to think they had a dog whistle.

Anyone ever encounter this situation?

 

[Jeff in Ottawa]

Wow! That's ridiculous! Is there any way you could get/rent/borrow some equipment that would allow you to detect if someone is blowing a dog whistle? I ask because my first thought is that you have to establish that that is what is happening before you do anything else. I guess the next step would be to try to determine that it's your neighbours who are doing it.

 

[wrknnwf]

But...why would they do that? What point are they trying to make?

 

[BLCOLE]

I believe they are blowing a dog whistle when our dogs are outside or visible to them through our patio door.

Unfortunately, there is an old attorney saying that applies to this situation. It goes "I know what you THINK, but what can you PROVE?" I don't know what else to tell you unless you have video or some other evidence...

 

[hawk]

Have you tried recording maybe using a digital recorder or some other similar device? Might be able to pick up frequencies not readily audible to most folks. Just a thought....

 

[bears_dad]

But...why would they do that? What point are they trying to make?

They have been trying to get me to violate a bogus temporary protection order. Nothing else has worked so now they are harassing my animals. Even if I get a decibel meter I would be hard pressed to prove where it is coming from. I guess I am at my wits end looking for that magical piece of advise.........maybe the spell lady that posted a while ago(kidding!).

Our house is for sale, hopefully it will sell soon and we can just move away from the problem.

 

[AngusMcDubhsMom]

I'm with Hawk...maybe research if there's a device that would pick up a dog whistle sound and zero in on where it's coming from. As Sue is fond of saying...ya can't fix stupid. I'd add you can't fix vindictive either. Hope you sell your place soon. Good luck.

 

[new_2_newf]

the only other thing I can think of is to go out and buy a dog whistle and get them used to it..teach them to sit or something when they hear it. it does nothing to deal with the issue of your neighbors, but might help keep them from upsetting the dogs. My passive aggressive self says teach them to pee on the neighbors grass when they hear it, but clearly that's a bad idea...you don't want interaction with the crazies, just remove their ability to bother you and yours to the best of your ability.

 

[wrknnwf]

Personally I think they will give up after a while. As long as Bear doesn't act aggressively or start nuisance barking (all of which could give them some kind of ammo), they can't be gaining much from it. It's a novelty that will probably wear off.

Can you take him out another door to go potty where they can't see him? Or cover the patio door? Or switch around your potty times? That would take the fun out of their little project. At the very least, I would video Bear when he's outdoors and reacts. Then you would have evidence of his fear, if not the actual sound or direction. I'm pretty sure it would be helpful to have should push come to shove.

If not, be certain you are out there with him and making fun time with lots of rewards when he isn't reacting to the noise. Try to engage him in play or try to associate the noise with something he loves and can't resist. You might try giving him a stuffed Kong outside or a really good raw bone. If he's really fearful, he may not want them, but I think I would try several times before giving up. Make these special treats that he only gets when he's in the area where he reacts.

I also agree that you could try to desensitize him to a dog whistle by getting one and associating it with a command (sit, come, down, etc.), or play time. Be very upbeat if you try this and don't overload him. Start with a short blast and an immediate reward and praise. Lots of VERY silly praise. If he does well, then try another time. If not, then don't terrorize him by trying to flood his senses with it. Just let him calm himself and then play with him. Start inside and if it works, then take him outside and work with him there. It would be sort of funny if he sits or lays down when they blow the whistle, but you would need to be there to reinforce the correct behavior.

As for detection devices, you could check with an electronics store, like Radio Shack or somewhere else. You might come up with something.

 

[YorkvilleNewfie]

If relations are as poor as it sounds, I'd also never leave Bear alone in the yard and always watch him diligently. You never know...there are some really sick people out there

 

[NewfDad]

I think a decibel meter is the way to go. You only have to prove enough to get an animal control person to witness. Then they can start the investigation. If you can get video evidence that everytime your dog goes out someone blows a whistle then the control folks then follow up and determine who. Video your dog going out with the meter in the foreground of the video. It is harassing an animal to do that. On the technical side you need to make sure that the meter works in the frequencies of the whistle (23Khz to 54Khz according to one site).

 

[YorkvilleNewfie]

I think a decibel meter is the way to go. You only have to prove enough to get an animal control person to witness. Then they can start the investigation. If you can get video evidence that everytime your dog goes out someone blows a whistle then the control folks then follow up and determine who. Video your dog going out with the meter in the foreground of the video. It is harassing an animal to do that. On the technical side you need to make sure that the meter works in the frequencies of the whistle (23Khz to 54Khz according to one site).

Yeah, what he said! :lol:

 

[BoundlessNewfs]

Wow. Nothing worse that having jerks for neighbors. Is there a short-term alternative for your dog? Can you "board" him with friends or relatives for a bit, while you're trying to sell your home? (This may also help sell the house faster, as some people are put off by animals in the house they are considering).

On the home sale, too, have you staged the house for optimal showing? Remove ALL personal items, clean everything, fresh coat of neutral paint, new bedding in neutral tones on beds, new towels in bathrooms, houseplants in nice pots, etc. These things make a huge difference in how people see the house, as they walk through. Pretend you are going to run a Bed and Breakfast, and set it up to look pretty and welcoming to guests. We staged our home (on our own, not hiring someone), and sold it in a little over a month, in a bad economy, for more than we were asking. Just sayin.

 

[NewfieMama]

Wow. Nothing worse that having jerks for neighbors. Is there a short-term alternative for your dog? Can you "board" him with friends or relatives for a bit, while you're trying to sell your home? (This may also help sell the house faster, as some people are put off by animals in the house they are considering).

On the home sale, too, have you staged the house for optimal showing? Remove ALL personal items, clean everything, fresh coat of neutral paint, new bedding in neutral tones on beds, new towels in bathrooms, houseplants in nice pots, etc. These things make a huge difference in how people see the house, as they walk through. Pretend you are going to run a Bed and Breakfast, and set it up to look pretty and welcoming to guests. We staged our home (on our own, not hiring someone), and sold it in a little over a month, in a bad economy, for more than we were asking. Just sayin.

Yea on the staging. We boarded dogs and cat and removed all animal bedding and rented a pod for storage. Kicked the furniture that the dogs slept on to the curb/freecycle. I guarantee your house smells like animals to non-animal people and that can absolutely cost you $$$$.

Sold our house in 4 days with multiple bids over asking, in September 2011.

 

[TerriW]

Can you treat with a vet-prescribed dose of Xanax or similar, until you can move? And I 100% second the notion of not leaving the dog out alone - ever - if you even do.

Ben has severe noise anxieties and has associated the front yard with the sounds. He is ok going out the back (onto the deck and into the yard) but out front, I would have to literally pull him if I wanted him off the porch. I feel for you; this is a bad situation.

 

[KodysGrandma]

Hijacking for a moment- those of you staging your homes for sale- Are you living in urban/suburban environments?

 

[NewfieMama]

Hijacking for a moment- those of you staging your homes for sale- Are you living in urban/suburban environments?

We lived in suburban Boston - on the T about 7 miles north of downtown.

We also staged and sold a more urban house outside NYC in NJ and got $50K over asking.

 

[ElvisTheNewf]

We sold our house last year in Morgantown, WV. It took us 6 months, but given the current state of the WV housing market we got off very, very lucky. We de-personalized as much as we could but we left Elvis there during showings (in his crate). Half the time he didn't even wake up, and the other he sat up and greeted everyone with a tail wag. Our realtor told us his picture must be on about 35 different cell phones because everyone who came through the house snapped a picture of him.

We took down pictures and had the carpets professionally cleaned. We never did paint over the original builder beige, so we already had very neutral decor and I think that helped a lot. I can't tell you how many houses here in Ohio we didn't even get all the way through because they were so cluttered with junk it made it impossible to see the "bones" of the house.