Glad I'm not the only one going through this. It's not absolutely terrible, but my neighbors have a dog that does not stop barking and howling when it is outside, which can be for hours at a time. We just bought the house this year, so I didn't want to make waves right away, so my wife and I have tolerated the annoyance. It generally doesn't start too early, or go terribly late, but if you're trying to take a nap at 3:00 and that dog is yapping, it's very annoying.
Anyway, I actually had to talk to my seller recently, and the dog came up, and it turns out that they went in front of the town court with these neighbors over this dog. They ended up in mediation. The bottom line is, my town has a specific ordinance on dogs. It reads as follows:
"No person who owns, keeps or harbors any dog shall let that dog bark, howl or cry habitually in such a way as to create a nuisance."
My wife went to the police station to get a copy of the ordinance, and they knew about our neighbors and their stupid dog. The police said we could try approaching our neighbors first, but that we should call the police if the dog continues to be a problem.
So you might want to check with your police about your town's laws, and don't hesitate to call the police on people who make their dogs your problem.
