Redditor Refuses To Stop Their Dog From Barking Even If It Annoys Their Neighbors, Gets Called Out For Being An A-Hole

"They used to party a lot at night so I don't feel bad."

Sophia

• Published in Interesting
• February 14, 2023

Owning a pet means responsibility. When an animal’s life is in your hands, it is your duty to care for them–not just give them the basic necessities like food, water, and shelter, but also the other needs they have like grooming, medicine (if they’re sick), and a lot of love.

Each animal has its own unique characteristics and, along with it, their own set of pros and cons. A dog, for example, is usually a ball of energy and can be quite loud with their barking.

You cannot blame them, of course. That is just how they are.

Instead, you can train them to be on their best behavior not to be a nuisance to other members of the community, especially your neighbors. After all, these pets are under the responsibility of their owners.

This article’s topic talks about their dogs being loud with their uncontrollable barking that results in their neighbors' discomfort. The neighbors took matters into their own hands, but the person who posted it thinks it is not their problem that their dogs are barking loudly.

OP asks the Reddit community if they think they are being an asshole for thinking this way. And, of course, the people have spoken—let's see their sentiments!

But let us run through the sitch first:

OP owns two dogs–Max and Scout–most of the people on their street own lots of dogs. The majority of those dogs are quiet, excluding OP’s.

One-year-old Scout has deep and high pitch barks. He is quite sensitive, barking whenever he hears something, to which old man Max eventually followed.

The dogs now basically bark at anything and everything. Seeing a stranger, someone walking through a door, and even when they are trying to find OP–barking, barking, barking.

OP has tried to train his dogs, especially Scout, to be a lot more silent.

However, to no avail.

The neighbors behind their house have in some way shown their annoyance at the loud woofs from the dogs, understandably so. However, OP doesn’t have that much guilt since these people used to host parties a lot during the evenings.

Instead of talking directly to OP, they bought a dog whistle. Whenever the dogs are barking, the neighbors blow the whistle.

OP is annoyed–the whistle adds more stress to the already-anxious dogs.

OP decides to just take the dogs inside the house.

OP told their family about the whole ordeal, and they laughed. They even told OP that he was being an asshole for just letting the dogs yap, but OP defensively states that the dogs are just acting like dogs–not really his fault.

That is the whole story, for now. Is OP the asshole?

After a while, along with reading the replies to their Reddit post, OP has had some realizations. They are taking some action on their dogs’ barking situation.

OP has been trying to train them. If they are making a lot of noise when they’re out, they are brought inside, and when they get quiet for 5 minutes, they get a treat and get to go back out.

There is actually a reason for OP not training their dogs. They claim that this is not an excuse, but for people to understand the sitch.

Scout was a dog he got as a gift. OP never left his side–this resulted in Scout having separation anxiety, whining or barking whenever he can’t find his owner.

Max, the old dog, is harder to train. They got him when he was a puppy since OP was young and didn’t know how to and everyone except OP’s dad eventually stopped taking care of him.

Max, when being taken on a walk, pulled on the leash so it was hard for OP to take him out to release the dog’s big load of energy. After consultations with dog trainers, they got him a harness, which helped immensely.

OP developed an allergy to the heat, which made going outside–including walking the dog and playing with friends–nearly impossible. More than that, they also acquired more health problems.

They even had to switch to homeschooling. OP claims he tried doing his best for their dogs.

This Redditor says that OP should put the effort into training their dogs. This person has shown the result of good dog training.

OP is apparently being that neighbor. “Train your dogs.”

OP should look up how to train their dogs. The dogs’ human owners are responsible for their animals’ well-being, including training them.

100% the asshole. OP has eventually realized their lapses and has asked for more advice.

It is a good thing that realization hit after OP read the comments under their post. They asked for criticism, received it, and took immediate action.

You are responsible for yourself and the things you own, including your pets. After all, you are the one who decided to take these animals under your care.

Do you agree with this? Let people know by commenting and sharing this with others to find out what they think!

Sophia