Venting a bit--the whole household is stressed

[corbinam]

Update

I know this thread is old, but I just had to resurrect it to give an update.

Unfortunately, we were unable to move when the time came to tell our landlord. My husband is still looking for a job, and because Columbus is so big it just didn't make sense to move and have no idea where he would be.

So, we decided to try to fix some of the issues we have with the house. The worst thing was how stressed Bentley was all the time.

We bought some of the "blackout" tint from Lowe's (not too expensive) and doubled it up on our backdoor, basically from 18" down. Sure, it's not beautiful, but it is much harder to see out. I don't think Bentley has noticed the dogs outside once since we put it in!

Then, we bought some curtains that claim to keep out 40% of noise. They really do keep out a lot of the barking! Sure, not all of it is inaudible, but things are so much better.

Hooray! (Attaching a picture so you can see the tint)

 

[danisgoat]

Great ideas! I am glad it is working for you.

 

[k9kreationz]

I see a little tail behind the curtain. It must be the wizard!

BTW, glad to hear its working. I know when we have our patio door open, Koji barks at any jingling tags. So frustrating. I'm sure if he had to dogs barking next door, he'd be as stressed as Bentley.

 

[Danny's mommy]

Great idea. Anything to reduce the noise and stress. During the summer If there are dogs out barking I keep all our doors closed and turn the air on. Amazing how little Danny Boy hears then.

 

[Emmasmom]

So glad to hear you are having success. It is so difficult to be in the situation you are in.

 

[take4roll10]

Glad you found something that is working!

I have wax paper taped to my front window. It looks ridiculous, but it really helps. I just leave the TV on when I am home to reduce any outside noise.

 

[corbinam]

I just leave the TV on when I am home to reduce any outside noise.

We do this too, but it doesn't always help. The dogs have really loud barks, and our houses are super close. The combination of the two (curtains and TV) really keeps a lot out, though!

 

[OntarioSheltie]

Glad to hear that things are better! I've never heard of noise dampening curtains before!

 

[Chris]

Have you spoken with the neighbors?

 

[corbinam]

Have you spoken with the neighbors?

Not really--but their actions make it clear that they don't care. They always see us outside before letting their dogs out, and then they see us chasing Bentley around the yard to get him to take him in when he starts fence chasing.