Topanga Townhomes Assn.

What I don't get is that more than likely it states somewhre in the CC&Rs that things such as barking dogs that cause a nuissance to neighbors are not allowed.  Yet the association and the management company they use allow the problem to persist and are essentially breaking the promises of the CC&Rs that are supposed to preserve the property in a certain and expected way that was agreed to by every owner when they purchased the property.  If they allow dog barking to continue they ought to allow dues not to be paid in the same unpunished way.  Its alot different though when you cut off your payment to them.  My association uses Crown Management which I think does the minimum they can get away with while collecting the most they can in management fees. 

I have called the Brighton Village Security appoximately 35 times since June 2010 and I called the Sherriff's dept 3 times.  I even went over to the home and the response I got was, "my dogs don't bark".  Yeah...right!  I have contacted and reported the dogs on Westview lane to this link:     http://animalcare.lacounty.gov      They sent the homeowner a formal complaint via a letter.  STILL...crazy incessant barking.  UGH!  I feel your pain.  Here's the kicker...I live across the brick wall and 2 houses over.  I cannot understand why this has been tolerated for so long.

Good luck on getting this stopped.  And if you need a signature for your petition, just let me know.  I would be happy to do it!

You are not alone.

We are having the same problem.  Knowing as I do, given people's incivility these days that it would most likely be a frustrating effort in futility, we opted to do things the old fashioned way anyways and contact the offending dog owner personally.  She lives directly behind us.

She was defensive and completely dismissive.  She said "my dog doesn't bark".  I tried to explain that that's probably true when she's home, but he barks all the time when you are away.  She angrily countered that no one else had complained to which I replied that perhaps they knew her better than I did and knew how unpleasent dealing with her would be.

Her next door neighbor says that nearly every day when she comes home from school (she teaches elementary school...God help us...) she allows her dog, off leash, to poop on her neighbor's lawn (bad enough), but then doesn't pick it up.

Who behaves like this, particularly a school teacher who one supposes would have better people and problem solving skills?  One might also take the leap that if she is an "educator", she might have the minimal skill set necessary to educate her dog not to be a nighborhood nusiance like most of the other dog owners have.

I have put off having the HOA address the problem as all they will do is put a useless, toothless blurb in the next news letter that does absolutely no good.  If someone being directly confronted by this problem refuses to rectify things, a sentence in the news letter that isn't naming them directly isn't going to work.

God help you if you run afoul of the HOA having a screen door that hasn't gotten approval or a white colored trim that isn't the RIGHT white.  They are all over that.

The HOA is useless and I resent having to pay them a dime. 

The most EFFECTIVE way to DEAL WITH BARKING DOGS: keep a log for a few weeks- dates, times, and location of barking dog(s).

Write a letter to Animal Control citing the specifics: your address, you neighbors address, the issue, and include the details of you log- time and dates of the barking.

You need to send in a minimum of 3 letters for them to address the issue. IT may take a few weeks, but they will send someone out, and the more evidence you have, photos, audio/video the more credible you will appear to be.

My neighbors dogs barked non-stop- I even switched my hours at work so I could be at work when those dags would bark.

After speaking to them at length MANY TIMES, they refused to do anything! All it did was end in frustration.

Do the above, animal control will have several meetings with you and the dog owners- it's  a hassle, but well worth the effort, if you don't want those dogs to bark anymore!

If you can get a neighbor to join you in the complaint, even better- It was just myself and my roomate.

After the second hearing, my neighbors were given the option: find the dogs a home, or they will remove them. They were also slapped with fines, and the best part: they were not allowed to have ANY PETS for one year.

That was the happiest day of my life, even though my neighbor blames me for it. I told her and her family time again that barking dogs at all hours are a nuisance, and that she had the control to take care of them. My 3 dogs sleep inside, outside during the day, and are trained to NOT BARK at people and dogs they already know. They have even thwarted a few possible break-ins as they started barking, I went out, and noticed a man knocking repetedly at my neighbor's house. When I asked him what he wanted, he said nothing and walked away. I took down his license plate, and told him that we have a very strong neighborhood watch program. He never came back!

Best of luck, but again, no need to hire lawyers, etc. Keep on the animal control- it might take a while, but in the end, you will prevail!