Hi Guys,

I HAVE AN ISSUE that I would also like your consultation.

I live in NYC. We have a semi joint house with one common wall with our neighbor. One evening, we found out that our neighbor, who is very unfriendly and disrespectful to me and my family, had placed an ultra sonic device on their side of the fence to prevent our dog from barking at all. There are times they have made comments like, " We will see this dog never barks again".

What are the laws on this issue?
Can someone do this, even if my dog does not constantly bark?
I have heard that a dog can bark from 7:00am to 10:00pm on weekdays and till 11:00pm on weekends and that should not be a problem with anyone. Again, although my dog does not bark all the time at all, I want to know whether this is true.
Also, is there something I can do so that my neighbor does not behave this way to harm my dog? I would like to use correct channels to solve this issue.

Any thoughts on this issue will help us address this correctly. I am also doing some research on this issue.

Thanks,

Rashmi

I wonder if it's possible to train your dog to bark when he hears the ultrasonic noise <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I'd contact animal control and ask them what your legal options are - people seem to think of animal control as the people who want to take away your dog when people complain - but I've found them to be an invaluable resource in finding out my legal rights when people complain about my dog - they are there to protect your rights as much as they are to protect the rights of others. If animal control says you're not in violation of any laws, they might be able to tell you what to do about your neighbor.

If all else fails I would get a consultation with a decent attorney and see if you can get an injunction against your neighbors prohibiting their use of such a device - I don't know if that's even legally possible, but thats what attorneys are for.

Unfortunately I think those ultrasonic devices were designed for use in the exact situation that your neighbors are in - since they are legal I think it limits your options.

Rashmi and I have spoken about this already.
The army is developing weapons based on ultrasound for crowd control already, I've advised her that her neighbor is placing her family's health at risk by this action and she should report it to the police as an assault and seek further legal action for damages.

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Rashmi and I have spoken about this already.
The army is developing weapons based on ultrasound for crowd control already, I've advised her that her neighbor is placing her family's health at risk by this action and she should report it to the police as an assault and seek further legal action for damages.

This is frightening, and I for one am relieved that Rashmi posted here and got good advice. I had never heard of such a thing. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I don't understand how this thing can be harmful to her or her family. Is it not just one of those things that plugs into a standard outlet and beeps really loud when a dog barks? I agree that the neighbors have no business doing something like that but I don't see how it is potentially dangerous. ? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

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I don't understand how this thing can be harmful to her or her family. Is it not just one of those things that plugs into a standard outlet and beeps really loud when a dog barks? I agree that the neighbors have no business doing something like that but I don't see how it is potentially dangerous. ? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

It's one of those devices that emits a sound of usually around 130dB (as loud as standing next to a fire truck) but in a frequency that can't be heard by humans.

To me this is comparable to having a firetruck in your front yard with a high pitched siren, then everytime your 5 year old screams, you blow the siren in their ear. These things are so loud that they are not for indoor use because the containment of the sound could damage your dogs ears - supposedly it is safe to use outdoors in situations like this where your neighbors dog is barking, but the range is usually about 100ft.

If someone is gonna break into my house, I don't want my dog to be quiet because he's scared of getting deafened by an ultrasonic device, I want him to bark as the crackhead that's about to bust thru my door.

Given the hostility described by rashmi, I am sure the neighbors aren't just using this when they are wanting to go to bed, they want this to hurt the dog EVERY TIME the dog barks.

Kristen, look - rather than post an inane comment such as you did, feel free to look up information on the internet or in a book and try using facts to back up your statement.

Sorry if I'm sounding mean but you do this as a habit. You don't take any initiative to find out anything on your own, you just want people to lead you to information. Sorry, that attitude gets old fast and it makes so you don't add anything meaning to any of our discussions here.
Your flooding of so many of the posts here with your comments is one of the main reasons that I just post here less now. I try to be helpful, but some people just can't be helped due to their educational outlook or attitude.
I'm saying this as a fellow poster, not as a Mod, by the way.

Hi guys,

Thanks Guys. As Mike stated it should be around 100ft of distance. Well it is not. Think about a rectangle and draw a line from one lenght side to another. One side is my house and the other side is theirs. Together our boundaries do not cover 100ft or is just above 100ft. But they planted in the side of their garden from where our boundary starts. So it is surely not 100 ft. When this happened my dog refused to come out in his own garden. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
Can they have put this device on their side of wall aways from human eyes now for it to get affect my pup. I read on the internet that one of the ways to block it is by putting up a wall. Should I call animal contol? I have all the logs and details.

Rashmi <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Well, if you call animal control, it should be to report them for animal cruelty. They can do what they want on their property, but if the effect of it carries over onto your property, that's illegal.

Thanks Will.

I meant more in terms of can they put this device inside their house on the common wall and it still works? We have about 12 inch common wall with them. I am trying to look into internet but am not able to find anything solid. I know that sound waves travel thru solid medium, light waves and ultra sonic waves don't. But with this device, I can't be 100% sure.

I don't think it can penetrate solid brick wall and do the damage. Correct?

Rashmi