The neighbors below me got a new puppy, age and breed unknown, but it looks like there’s some very definite husky in there. Around 1:30 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon, they leave and I start to hear this dog yowling and it does not stop it ebbs and it flows, but it is constantly there. It gets so bad that I’m getting really frustrated and I can’t relax. So I text my other neighbor and she says that she can hear this dog also. She lives on the same floor as me but at the other end of the building.
At 5:00 p.m., I asked my neighbor for my downstairs neighbor’s phone number and I call her and I ask what’s going on. I didn’t know if they were pet sitting or if this was a new addition. She says that the dog is created and I asked her when she’s coming home and she said that they will be home soon. I asked her when they’re coming home and she says that she’ll be home
They get home around 6:45 p.m. And I nearly go off on her because I am so frustrated. I tried to keep my cool but I expressed that I get 2 days off a week on the weekends and their dog was really loud the entire time and my cat has also been having some distress because of how loud the dog’s been throughout the week. It kept getting louder and louder and her husband also got involved and she’s was all like: What do you want me to do? I’m like I don’t know. I wanted her to hear me. Things continue to get heated and then she goes back on me about how I’m loudly stepping after midnight and my cat’s also running and crashing things down and then her husband gets involved because I bring up the fact that the building had been broken into and I didn’t know if this was related to that because I didn’t know the pet situation and the husband got involved and asked if they were supposed to ask me for permission for them to get a new pet and then I felt intimidated due to both of their physical statures and then some other things were said that I don’t really remember and then she said that I should get help and I said that she should also get help and then we mutually flipped each other off and I went upstairs. I do remember at one point she said do you want me to get rid of my dog and I said no and I also responded with I’m not going to get rid of my cat either because she had brought up the complaints of my cat knocking things down and having zoomies late at night.
I live directly above the and I hear everything including when they’re having excessively loud conversations with their children and there are tears involved.
**ESH.**
A puppy howling for **five hours straight** is genuinely disruptive, and it’s reasonable that you were frustrated. Crating a new puppy and leaving it alone that long especially if it’s not crate-trained yet is going to result in exactly what you experienced. So your complaint itself wasn’t unreasonable.
Where things went sideways is the confrontation. By the time they got home you were already extremely frustrated, and the conversation turned into both sides listing grievances instead of solving the problem. Once that happens, nobody feels heard and it escalates quickly.
The reality of apartment living is that **everyone is going to hear everyone else sometimes** dogs barking, cats zooming, footsteps, arguments, etc. The better move would be to talk when everyone is calm and focus on the specific issue: the puppy crying for hours.
A new puppy is probably still adjusting and learning to be alone, which can take time. Hopefully the noise improves as the dog settles in and gets trained. But if it continues to be hours of constant noise, that’s something the building management may need to address rather than it becoming neighbor-vs-neighbor warfare.
YTA
It’s the middle of the afternoon. Yeah, it’s annoying, but you are a grown up, handle your emotions.
Pets freak out sometimes. It’s unfortunate but that isn’t a reason for people to never leave their homes.
You could have talked to your landlord, or waited till they were home and had a civil normal conversation.
You became the AH to me when you were blowing up their phone trying to demand they come home like you’re their mom and it’s past curfew.
Get over yourself.
Also, I love people that throw out ‘I was so intimidated’ by a fight they started. Be for real.
There’s a reason some folks don’t go ta the landlord first. The landlord can decide ta file a lease violation or order the tenant ta remove the animal. That clearly ain’t what anybody wanted. She just wanted ta know what was goin on & if this was sumthin to expect on the regular.
*”Things continue to get heated and then she goes back on me about how I’m loudly stepping after midnight and my cat’s also running and crashing things down and then her husband gets involved because I bring up the fact that the building had been broken into and I didn’t know if this was related to that because I didn’t know the pet situation and the husband got involved and asked if they were supposed to ask me for permission for them to get a new pet and then I felt intimidated due to both of their physical statures and then some other things were said that I don’t really remember and then she said that I should get help and I said that she should also get help and then we mutually flipped each other off and I went upstairs.”*
I was out of breath just reading this silently to myself! That is one long-ass sentence
But to answer your post, new puppies can have some separation anxiety and the dog was crated for his safety. What you experienced is not unusual. They could consult with a behaviorist or other specialist for help with this so it’s not like they’re out of options. But if it was in the middle of the day, it would be nice to extend a little bit of graciousness
Same. I just quit reading. Glad OP isn’t my neighbor.
NTA apartments are not the place for noisy dogs I don’t care if it’s a puppy
YTA.
You didn’t need to call them to find out when they’ll get home. That’s just too much.
If my neighbor gave my number to another neighbor and they called me to say – when you coming home? Your dog is annoying me. I’d be very aggravated by that. You’re not their mother and more importantly *landlord*.
Next time – call the office.
YTA for getting her phone number and calling to ask when she’ll be home?? that’s so weird. a normal first response is writing a kind letter (as this is the FIRST TIME it’s happened) or contacting management. not tracking them down to scold them like your a parent or something?
Huskies are drama queens. Plus, it’s a puppy and probably has separation anxiety, which should get better with time. You acknowledged they’re crate training it. That takes time. Your neighbors aren’t there, and they aren’t clairvoyant, so they don’t realize it’s constant and loud. I had a basset hound puppy that did that when we left and our neighbors casually (and politely) mentioned it when they saw us. We apologized, and started covering her crate to be more den-like. She eventually stopped.
Places like Petco and Petsmart usually offer obedience classes. Talk to the trainer for ideas, and pass them on to your neighbor, along with a Kong toy or something like that as a peace offering for going off on them.
ETA YTA for going off on them, when you could have been civil. Now you have a neighbor who dislikes you and your cat.
ESH. They shouldn’t have left a new puppy alone for so long and you shouldn’t have gotten so upset at them.
Why didn’t you go to management first?
NTA, but handling things properly would help avoid confrontations like this.
How does anyone think it’s ok to get a large, active dog to live in a small apartment and not only that, keep it crated up and left alone because they’re actually too busy for it?
I know that crating is often part of training, and that people want dogs in spite of their living situation. But this feels like it’s all just about what the human wants and not what’s best for the dog. Dogs have needs, this poor puppy is just reacting to being alone and confined. I would be really annoyed by it too because it’s hard to listen to a distressed animal for hours on end. I think you’re going to need to learn to react with more restraint though. If I were you I would apologise for losing your cool, but maintain that it’s hard to listen to a distressed animal and that something more needs to be done.
This is an ESH here from me. Mildly so for you because it doesn’t sound like you “nearly” went off. You did go off. They suck more for leaving a dog locked up inside for hours. The building sucks because everyone can hear each other way too much.
YTA. Politely letting them know that the puppy was having a hard time and it was disruptive is one thing but you threw a fit the moment they got home.
YTA for going off on them when you have already communicated and let them know what’s going on, on what I assume since you didn’t specify is the first time this happened…..? I agree it’s a problem, but this is a noise complaint not a start a fight situation. Isnt it unpleasant having bad blood with people you live in the same building with?