The Dog next door...

[Andrew S.]

I have a multi-unit in Baltimore who recently acquired new neighbors.. they have two pit bulls who are in the yard 24/7 and whenever anybody is outside they lunge at the fence growling and barking to no end. The current fence(neighbors fence) is in almost dilapidated conditions and I’m fearful that this will discourage tenants in future turnovers if not dealt with so with that being said this weekend I plan to reach out to the new neighbors, I’ve already lined up one of my guys to install a new 6ft fence but it will require the demo of their current fence and the dogs to be put up while the work is being done(don’t need anybody getting bit) my question becomes though if you are a dog owner shouldn’t you be required to have a proper and safe fence or does this matter fall into my lap, I don’t want to make to make a big issue because well these neighbors could end up causing more trouble then it’s worth..

[Lynn McGeein]

They do make bark silencers that you can place in your yard that emit a high-pitched sound humans can't hear but supposedly stops neighbors' dogs from barking.   I know someone who had great success with it after someone moved next door with several dogs that were initially driving them crazy.   As far as the aggression, make sure you report every incident and instruct your tenant to report to animal control as well so if they ever do harm anyone, you've got a recorded history of violations.   If they are renters, their landlord can be held liable if anything happens if they allowed an aggressive dog, so contacting their landlord may help as well.