White Noise Ideas for Pool Build - Barking Dogs

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bbdude

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Jul 20, 2017
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Buffalo, NY
Pool Size
28000
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Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
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Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Hi All - I've seen a few posts on barking dogs, but mostly focused around waterfalls. We have neighbors with three Dachshunds and they like to be heard. The neighbors dogs are 100' away from what will be our pool come end of the summer. We've had some success this winter in speaking with the neighbors, but worry the issue we had over the summer will come up again (dogs barking for hours). Our town has an ordinance and it's not really enforced (we've been down that road already).

I'm sure others have the same problem - what have you done to drown it out? Our pool is already coming in over $100k without any major water feature so I'm hesitant. Adding a fence made of trees (e.g., Green Giant Arborvitae) seems like it would only help a little but might end up costing the same as a waterfall. The only other 'cheap' option seems to add outdoor speakers that I can turn on and adjust as needed ... pipe in the sound of a waterfall instead of building one. Thoughts?

I figure a Dachshund is probably barking at 80-90 dB so in my yard it's maybe ~50-60 dB.
 
 
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High pitch noise emitter pointer at neighbors yard that’s on a remote that you trigger whenever they bark 😅
 
JJ_Tex said:
I would try something like this. It basically listens for a dog bark and responds with a dog whistle to discourage the barking.

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We've tried this to no avail. Btw, love your Noble NWSP 138 Maluku tile and the Pebblesheen Blue Surf!

convan23 said:
High pitch noise emitter pointer at neighbors yard that’s on a remote that you trigger whenever they bark 😅
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I get the impression these neighbors wouldn't be receptive to such a thing :)
 
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klanel said:
Probably won't make for a good relationship but have you talked with your neighbors?
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We have. Mixed results so far. Needless to say they seem to think the problem is us, not the dogs. However, after speaking with them 3 times and explaining I'd come over every time their dogs bark for >30 minutes it's been better. It's also been winter so hard to tell what will happen come summer.
 
bbdude said:
...Needless to say they seem to think the problem is us, not the dogs.
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Pretty typical response from a barking dog owner. If I spoke with neighbors three times about their barking dogs and they blew me off, I'd start sending barking dog noises back at them whenever their dogs bark. Maybe record their dogs barking and just replay it with a speaker pointed at their house for a few days. After I got that out of my system I'd probably build a water feature to drown out the barking dogs noise and calm me down :)
 
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bertschb said:
Pretty typical response from a barking dog owner. If I spoke with neighbors three times about their barking dogs and they blew me off, I'd start sending barking dog noises back at them whenever their dogs bark. Maybe record their dogs barking and just replay it with a speaker pointed at their house. After I got that out of my system I'd probably build a water feature to drown out the barking dogs noise and clam me down :)
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I have to live next to these folks and there are other neighbors nearby so trying to let them have a long rope. The last time I spoke to them I let them know the township asked me to erect video / audio devices so they can use it to fine them for violating the town dog barking ordinance. I told the neighbor I don't think this is necessary and I'd rather work with them directly versus the township. I think this act of good faith made a difference, but won't know until summer. The idea of dropping $100k+ into a pool and having the environment filled with barking dog noises is petrifying to me.

I am curious how many decibels a water feature would put out vs speakers. I can at least increase the speaker sound if needed whereas a water feature I cannot.
 

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bbdude said:
I have to live next to these folks and there are other neighbors nearby so trying to let them have a long rope. The last time I spoke to them I let them know the township asked me to erect video / audio devices so they can use it to fine them for violating the town dog barking ordinance. I told the neighbor I don't think this is necessary and I'd rather work with them directly versus the township. I think this act of good faith made a difference, but won't know until summer. The idea of dropping $100k+ into a pool and having the environment filled with barking dog noises is petrifying to me.

I am curious how many decibels a water feature would put out vs speakers. I can at least increase the speaker sound if needed whereas a water feature I cannot.
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I'm dealing with something similar only I think my situation is worse. My neighbor has an ancient air conditioner 15 feet up on the side of her house overlooking my pool. The only good solutions are very expensive and it doesn't seem as easy to get the county involved for an AC vs barking dogs.
For the time being I bought an outdoor high velocity wall mounted fan like you find at outdoor restaurants. Also got a bubbler and deck jets as part of the pool build. If all else fails I'll be building a 12 foot wall and line it with Soundproofing material.
 
I doubt that white noise from a water feature would have much of an impact. I believe pitch/frequency are also factors and the barking would be at a different level. That bark control emitter is genius!
 
I doubt the ultrasonic emitter will work (and it has a lousy overall product score 3/5). Many dogs are not sensitive to ultrasonic emitters or they only work at very close range (sound energy intensity is dampened very rapidly with distance). I wouldn’t waste your money on it.

As for dogs, they bark for many reasons and it’s almost never with malicious intent. The best bet is to continue to work with the neighbor as best as you can on finding a solution. Calling in the city ordinance officer or fighting about it is not going to be productive and will likely increase the stress you feel about all this. If the dogs are barking at you, it’s more than likely they are trying to alert their owner to your presence. It’s completely normal behavior. If that were the case, then getting to know the dogs so they recognize you will help a lot. They may also just simply be playing together … again, perfectly normal dog behavior. Scolding an animal for doing completely normal animal things is a great way to turn a good animal mean.

Again, it’s your choice in how you respond to your neighbor’s dogs but choosing negativity will only make the situation worse, not better. It’s sounds like you’re trying to be constructive and I hope you continue to pursue that and that your neighbor appreciates it.

Best of luck.
 
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I don't think anybody is blaming the dogs. This is about the irresponsible dog owners. If I was doing something that bothered my neighbors and it was bad enough that they told me about it, I guarantee you I would take immediate corrective action and apologize profusely. Most people would do the same.

Dog owners who have barking dogs typically just blame other people and act like there is no problem. "Dogs will be dogs" or whatever. It sounds to me like @bbdude has done a great job trying to resolve this without drama and is trying to find a solution without making things worse.

If the town doesn't do anything (they rarely do) and the barking dog owner refuses to take responsibility (they rarely do), I think adding white noise via a water feature is a great idea. No, it won't block out all the sound but it will help and it will also be nice even if the dogs aren't barking.

Having said that, I'd still pipe the recorded barking dog sound back at the neighbor who blew me off at least a couple times to make my point :)
 
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kevin76 said:
I'm dealing with something similar only I think my situation is worse. My neighbor has an ancient air conditioner 15 feet up on the side of her house overlooking my pool. The only good solutions are very expensive and it doesn't seem as easy to get the county involved for an AC vs barking dogs.
For the time being I bought an outdoor high velocity wall mounted fan like you find at outdoor restaurants. Also got a bubbler and deck jets as part of the pool build. If all else fails I'll be building a 12 foot wall and line it with Soundproofing material.
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That air conditioner has to die sooner rather than later I would think! I got a sheer decent and 2 deck jets partially b/c I wanted to be able to drown out barking dogs (the dogs aren't my direct neighbors though...they are a few houses away so that helps).
 
TampaKathy said:
That air conditioner has to die sooner rather than later I would think! I got a sheer decent and 2 deck jets partially b/c I wanted to be able to drown out barking dogs (the dogs aren't my direct neighbors though...they are a few houses away so that helps).
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One can only hope. It's a Bard package unit if I had to guess was 20-40 years old. It may outlive me. I even offered to split the cost to change it to a normal split system. The whole "working with your neighbors" philosophy only works when they are sane.
 
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Ugh I hear you.
New neighbors on the other side of my immediate neighbor. They leave the dog out in the backyard and if I go in my backyard and make any noise, the dog hears it and respond. Very annoying. This area was dead silent for years before they moved in.
 
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borjis said:
Ugh I hear you.
New neighbors on the other side of my immediate neighbor. They leave the dog out in the backyard and if I go in my backyard and make any noise, the dog hears it and respond. Very annoying. This area was dead silent for years before they moved in.
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It's really unfortunate that folks aren't considerate of others. I even ask my young children to quiet down out of fear I'm disturbing others ... can't imagine just letting my dog bark outside for hours at a time!
 
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Some good comments above. We have 7 dogs. They alert for various reasons, but in their mind it's normal (prey-driven, protection, etc). I would encourage maintaining a good relationship with the neighbors. They may not be fully educated on how to best manage their dog's behavior, but if your relationship deteriorates it only adds to the problem. You might have better luck if you can somehow socialize with the dogs a little bit as noted above. But unless the owners educate the dogs (consistently) on other appropriate behavior, their instinct behavior will probably remain. We planted large red-tip bushes around our property to help "try" and keep visibility between properties to a minimum. It helps a little. I also have a simple stereo out back I leave on all day to help provide some white noise to the dogs and for us as well. If you anticipate having a pool event, you might ask the neighbors if they can keep the dogs inside for a certain period of time just for a break in the noise. Good luck! Woof woof!
 

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