Have you ever tried to speak to the neighbours? Have you ever tried calling the SPCA for help. the local animal organisations if they can help? The SPCA? Have you ever done any of these things. I think not.

ok, it looks like everyone agrees on a few things:
the dogs are not being 'bad', they are bored, lonely, and/or distressed at being left alone for far too long
the owners are neglecting the needs of their dogs and their neighbours
it is annoying and upsetting for the neighbours
the owners need to do something about it - Izarra, I'm amazed that people could sit and ignore their barking dogs while they watch TV. I'd want to put a brick through their window.

It's easy to get angry and blame the dogs, but the solution lies in communicating with the owners. I know from experience that it's hard to be rational when you are being driven mad by unnecessary noise.
I truly sympathize with you all, but driving the dogs even madder is not the answer.
I agree that some of these people should not have dogs and re-homing might be a solution if a home can be found, but the rescue organizations are all swamped with dogs that need homes.
I'm sure some members of LAWC would help with translation if necessary.

Thank you Dogstar!

Dogstar Tigger Etc.

You two don' t suggest any practical solution. (maybe throwing a brick through the window of the owner, that will bring sens to some people).

The only way, is to form a solid front, to have a big group of people who can stand together and say: Uncontrolled dogs barking is unacceptable in Lamma and a person who complain is not automatically a dog-hater and should not be tagged as a trouble maker. At the moment NO neighbor want to be the first to complain and get into cross fire. I can't see any other human way. At the moment dogs have priority over human.

How would you know, you have never even tried any of the suggestions.

Maybe you should work on your reading skills.

I'm bored with you now.

Do you really think your brilliant ideas are original? Oh who would think about going to the owner of the dog and talk to him, that's a first class Nobel price wiener, call the police or any organization..did you ever try your ideas? they are useless, naive, childish.

Tigger means well; but she tried the direct approach with her neighbour and it didn't end well.
I heard them yelling at each other and later the police were called. But the police don't care about barking dogs. SPCA has no power and can only report to AFCD in case of gross cruelty.

Neighbourhood problems like this are what the village reps are supposed to handle. But they don't care about anything except developing real estate for the old village families. The rest of us should just pay our rents and shut up.

People have been complaining about this for decades.
You can put up with it, or move.

ok, orihippo, you obviously just want to be angry and attack anyone who doesn't support you. We also offered sympathy and understanding, but it seems you just want to throw it all back at us because you say it's not realistic. I didn't realize I was supposed to sort your problem out for you.

I have been there, and know the rage this kind of thing can bring up.

Another neighbour at one time had NINE cockerels in their garden, I can tell you it is a complete myth that they only crow at dawn... all night at roughly hourly intervals. I slept with ear plugs and a noisy air con running just to try to block some of the noise. I had many screaming matches with this neighbour at various hours of the early morning and if I had got hold of one of them, I don't doubt I would have killed it. What worked in the end was going round WHEN I WAS NOT IN A RAGE and calmly talking to the neighbour and offering solutions. After this, they would round up the birds at roosting time and put them in pet crates for the night.

This is the last I have to say int this thread, good luck

Damn, I came back...

one last comment, If you are driven to leave your home by this, make sure and tell your landlord the reason.
If you see new people viewing apartments in the area, tell them about the problem, put posters around to let people know. If landlords can't rent their properties, they might put some pressure on the owners. Money is the thing that talks loudest here.
Ok I'm out of here

On the contrary,.. bar the argument, things turned out well.

Your post is true. Yes, myself and an irresponsible dog owner yelled at each other, but this was nothing to do with HER dogs!! LOL,..

Her FRIEND'S dogs were left in a very small cage, on the patio, in direct sunlight with no cover, no water when the temperature was 32C. I went onto the patio, put water in the bowls, and covered the cage with a sheet, and called the animal organisations and the SPCA.

The argument started because when I passed her on the street, she accused me of trespassing on her friend's private land, although technically it was public, and trying to hurt the dogs?? We had an argument. She called the Police on me, but they were OK with me, as apparently she calls the Police all the time for the slightest thing.

This owner (of the dogs always in cages on the patio) made a change, and the animal shelter where she took them from agreed to take them back, as she couldn't look after them.

The lady in question (who you saw me argue with) the one that 'used' to leave her dogs inside the house all day barking, has now gotten herself a helper, and the dogs have exercise She was tired of all of the neighbours making official complaints I guess.

Two situations where I took action, and two situations were the dogs are in a much better situation, and the village is quieter.

To me it's simple... don't give up until you have at least TRIED to rectify a bad situation. I give up many times, but at least I try to make a difference first.

Being a woman though you're unlikely to be told to fuck off with threats of violence if you don't.

The only times I've actually felt physically in danger here is from dog owners.

Have been told to fuck off many a time, but it's usually from Prats that don't take care of their animals. As long as the dog/cat is OK at the end of the day,.. I can handle it. No time in my life for whiners and/or irresponsible dog owners.

You know Alan,.. years ago I would have agreed with you to a certain extent regarding violence to women, but today in 2013, that concept seems to have gone out of the window sadly. But that's a whole new thread

I don't think that it's a female thing. I think it's my Irish and Northern English heritage, with crazy hair, and I have the ability to look someone in the eye, and they KNOW i am serious and mean business, without uttering any words! LOL

But approaching bad dog owners is not the answer, .. it's what I do,.. but that's not for all. But you can make complaints to the SPCA and ask for advice, and/or ask for intervention from a local neighbour that speaks the language, etc.... there ARE many options. But it's time, etc.. out of your day, I know.

Anger and violence just breeds more anger and violence, and usually result in a dead pet and bad community relations. As Dogstar said... wait till you calm down and try and find an amicable solution.

Agreed, the exact opposite of Alan's statement is true.

Really?
How many women do you know that have been threatened with violence as a result of complaining about a dog?

Complaining about a dog, or trying to do something to stop the noise, etc.. it's a fine line that you have to walk. I try. Somtimes I fail, sometimes I succeed and sometimes I piss people off

I think more along the lines of .... what will happen to the dog if I complain? Will it make the dog's life worse? This is my first worry. Will I make the situation worse?

Have I been threatened with violence? Yes. But it's harder for someone to 'get away with' violence towards a human on Lamma/HK. Too many repercussions. So a lot of people 'think first' after the threat.

But my tolerance with violence to myself and animal cruelty has gone. I will involve the authorities at the first drop of a hat now, and social networks, and speaking with people that can help me.

But been threatened with violence yes. Has the violence not actually happened because I'm a female? I don't know.

Typical male-privilege response. It's telling that you respond to another man and completely ignore the woman who is directly addressing you.

Even apart from what Tigger's said, it's laughable that you would presume that men have more to fear than women in any type of confrontation. Women deal with pervasive threat levels in our patriarchal culture. It's a consideration men don't have to take into account, so I guess it's not surprising that you would be blind to it. Yes, I know many women who have met or been threatened with violence, and I listen to them when they tell me what that means to them.

I'm responding to the person who directly addressed me.
I've known Tigger for 20 years and know that she's more than capable of sticking up for herself and doesn't need a "privileged male" to be her white knight. Or use defending her as a pretext for some ideological rant.


So, you know lots of women who have been threatened with violence by dog owners on Lamma?
Because that's what we were talking about.
Not violence in general. Not verbal abuse. Certainly not the "pervasive threat levels in our patriarchal culture". Just stick to what we were actually discussing if you are going to indict me.

Get him telt!

Ah shit, you got me back in here...

If you enter into a situation in a confrontational way, confrontation is exactly what you will get, male or female.
Storming up to someone intent on giving them a piece of your mind will put the other person on the defensive and they are much more likely to react in an aggressive manner than if you approach them with the intention of coming to an understanding and looking for a solution together.

Dog owners are not a bunch of unreasonable, rabid haters of everyone else, but we will generally defend our dogs if we feel they need defending. Come storming up to me ranting about my dog, then maybe my response would be to tell you to fuck off (then possibly go away and think about it), but approach me in a reasonable manner and discuss the problem rationally, and I might be more likely to realize my dog is scaring/annoying you and do something to alleviate the problem.
This doesn't only apply to dog/neighbour situations...

Actually if you could get it to work, a vhf pulse would work just like electric shock therapy. Once they associate the unpleasant sound with their barking they would stop. 50khz at 10 watts should do the trick. Just plug an iphone with a frequency generator app into your hifi system. Probably scare away all the rats too.