House dog on the moo bann (housing estate) street.

[Keesters]

I live in urban Pattaya proper in a housing estate of about 100, brick and mortar, western style houses. Many houses have dogs. I'd take a guess that there would be 50 to 100 dogs here. Until recently all were kept behind gates except when exercised where they were walked with lead or properly supervised and kept at heel. Any excrement are picked up and properly dealt with.

That was until 3 days ago when an empty house was taken over by a large Thai family. They brought with them their mutt of no particular breed which while it is friendly and quiet enough is allowed to roam the street of the village freely and unsupervised. It has been observed urinating and defecating on the public street around the village. I approached the owners requesting them to keep their dog inside like the rest of the village inhabitants. They complied but very soon after let it out again. Every time the dog passes a house that has dogs behind a gate the inside dogs bark and then others around pick up the tune until just about every dog is barking. Last night I was awoken 4 times with all the dogs, including mine barking. On the last awakening I went out and found the, free to roam, dog and shooed it back into its house and shut the gate. All became quiet and I was able to get some sleep.

This morning the dog was out again and I requested again for it to be kept behind their gate. I was met with foul language basically telling me to F/O and they had no intention of locking up their dog and would call the police. I went to see the Pattaya City Vet and explained things. He asked if the dog was collared. No. He asked if they picked up the dog's excrement. No. He directed me to the veterinary department in the public health building nearby as he only deals with treatment but said if I reported to Public Health they would come and collect the dog as it must be collared and any excrement must be properly disposed of.

When I got back home I was confronted with a motorcycle taxi driver who asked me what my complaint was. I still don't know why or how he became involved but I told him anyway and said that I had reported the matter to Public Heath Veterinary department who would come and dispose of the dog. That seemed to really upset the dog's owners and I was confronted with even more foul language.

The taxi driver then called the police who arrived and interviewed the concerned parties. I said that if the dog was collared and kept inside except for exercise and bodily functions when it would be taken on a lead and any excrement would be properly disposed of I would remove my complaint. I.E. If they followed what everybody else did.

The owners would not agree saying that they will do as they please and let the dog poop anywhere it pleases. The police then observed nearby neighbors taking their dogs out for bodily functions and exercise. The police went and interviewed those owners. They came back and instructed the offending dog owners to comply and do the same.

I won..well for the time being anyway.

[Morakot]

police then observed nearby neighbors taking their dogs out for bodily functions

Riveting!

[BookMan]

Well done for your perseverance on the matter.

Would be interesting to hear back in another week how things progressed

[Keesters]

Well done for your perseverance on the matter.

Would be interesting to hear back in another week how things progressed

I'll keep you posted. While I seem to have won this battle I feel the war is not over.

Since the event I have spoken to 5 other responsible dog owners on the estate and they are all with me.

Thank you for your support.

[adam1]

Good on you, and good luck !

[Samaaw]

Wait for the next topic "revenge from Thai dog owners"

[WitawatWatawit]

Local motorcycle taxi guy, huh? This could get interesting. I think you need to start taking precautions.

[Nemesis7]

Well done, but my friend, im worried about the faceloss issue, if you know what i mean.

[ingvar]

As I understand, every Moobaan should have a set of rules and regulations that all owners agree to follow when they sign the contract. These rules are similar to the rules for condos. I think these rules and regulations are registered with the land office. I have seen some examples of such regulations and they all include how to properly take care of pets in the moobaan.

There should be a board or committee that collects fees from owners for such matters as gardening, guards, roads cleaning, street lights electric cost and minor maintenance. This board or committee is also responsible for enforcing the rules and regulations for the Moobaan.

The developer may still be taking care of these things as opposed to a elected committee, usually because of lack of interest from the owner community, in which case the developer may be making of with quiet a handsome annual profit from the community fees.

[asdecas]

I'd keep an eye out for flying bricks at the very least.

[user82374298374]

Would be interesting to hear back in another week how things progressed

He'll be too busy dealing with finding a new place to live after they burn down his house to post a follow-up.

[MILT]

What a dog day afternoon!

Wow! Good for you!

[falangadang]

You've handled this the way any reasonable westerner would back in the west.

To some degree that appears to have had some success on this case but I doubt that you will have heard the end of it as Thais don't like "interfering" farangs causing trouble for them.

Yes you tried to talk to them first but for whatever reason that wasn't received too well and they appear to have become hostile.

Personally, I think its asking for trouble and you need to brace yourself for any prospective recoil.

We had an issue about 6 months ago that the vacant house next door to us (on the outside of our moo barn wall of which were butted up against) suddenly became occupied with a family who were a bit noisy and like to burn off stuff which meant we had to shut some windows and doors and turn aircon on. They also had a dog that barked at traffic but nothing we could really do about it. Then about a month later, the dog had puppies (I think 3 or 4) and we constantly heard yelps as though someone had kicked the dog (could have been kids pulling its tail or whatever,.. but it did sound like more than that). The dogs would wake us up in the middle of the night sometimes with barking and at one stage I felt it was going to be unbearable.

Funny thing is that we got used to the noises of the dogs despite still noticing them quite often,.. and then one by one the puppies just vanished. Whether they went to other homes or strayed off or ended up under a truck I don't know but the problem just seemed to dissolve and we now don't notice any disturbance.

The neighbor still burns stuff occasionally but it doesn't bother us.

My end point is that this is Thailand and the way of life and of dealing with such things are very different here. If you just ignore some things or raise your tolerance level you might be amazed at how quickly they resolve themselves without anyone having been offended, confronted or to have lost face.

Peace on everyone and all the best for an awesome 2014!

[recom273]

Well done !

What is it with motorcycle taxi's ? .. I had an "event" the other week, a Honda service center mechanic made a mistake and damaged my property, a discussion ensued on the street, suddenly theres a motorcycle taxi driver telling someone to call the police .. like <deleted>.

[advancebooking]

How long have you been living in LOS Op?

I believe it would have been prudent to approach them as a group with other residents rather than by yourself. I hope that no harm will come to you or your family.

Please give us an update in due course.

[Sydebolle]

Plan Z - had to resort to that quite a few times as I was sick and tired of dog manure all over my property, peed-wheels until the rims and the lugs rusted.

[Keesters]

As people keep asking..I've been here for 30 years. 28 years in the same house, alone now as the missus left (good riddance) and the kids are all grown up and moved away (sob sob).

I'm the longest resident of the village and am pretty well known to be fair and reasonable.

[Keesters]

Update:

6 hours since the police left and the dog has escaped twice. Both times, with no prompting, the dog has been retrieved quickly by its owners and shut inside.

Did they get the message?

[GarryP]

I do not understand these people who do not stand up for their rights. Claims that something bad will happen to the OP are misplaced. It is very rare that anything would happen. They will hate the OP and give him bad looks, but that is about the end of it. Eventually they nasty neighbours will move on.

[thhMan]

When dog owners are dogs themselves, comprehension, civility etc are out the door !!!

[Travel Dude]

Would be interesting to hear back in another week how things progressed

He'll be too busy dealing with finding a new place to live after they burn down his house to post a follow-up.

What a stupid remark. So you are one of those that scare away and keep quiet when you are being mistreated? That will not make you more respected. OP has shown perseverance and followed the correct way. Polite but decisive. He has the backbone more foreigners should have.

[DekDaeng]

Pls fill in the following;

My will is on file at …………………………………..

I would like to be cremated ………………. buried ………………… otherwise …………………… in the event my remains are discovered.

[Keesters]

As I understand, every Moobaan should have a set of rules and regulations that all owners agree to follow when they sign the contract. These rules are similar to the rules for condos. I think these rules and regulations are registered with the land office. I have seen some examples of such regulations and they all include how to properly take care of pets in the moobaan.

There should be a board or committee that collects fees from owners for such matters as gardening, guards, roads cleaning, street lights electric cost and minor maintenance. This board or committee is also responsible for enforcing the rules and regulations for the Moobaan.

The developer may still be taking care of these things as opposed to a elected committee, usually because of lack of interest from the owner community, in which case the developer may be making of with quiet a handsome annual profit from the community fees.

Not a bad idea but the moo baan I live in has long past that stage. Being almost thirty years old it has been adopted by the city. What we have is a decent type of people who take good care of their dogs. It is an unwritten rule that everyone keeps their dogs behind gates, exercises them properly and cleans up any mess made by them. It works and has worked for years. We even have one house that is a rescue shelter for dogs. Presently she has 14 dogs all well cared for and never to be seen or heard except when passing by taking a dog for a walk. A few small gaps in her fencing allow some of her dogs a restricted street view. No problem. Pass by and the barking stops. However this tranquil situation was altered as soon as the new residents arrived. They have now been told to conform.

As an original owner, the last one, I had translated the contract that was made between the developers and purchasers. Nothing about dogs but quite clear was that it was for residential use only, no business activities. So far we have 2 laundries and a beauty salon. Nothing too disastrous. Wait till we get a smelly or noisy business then there will be trouble. Unfortunately the restrictions on use made by the developers are not carried forward to second, third etc purchasers of the property. Liens I think is the correct term.

[dotpoom]

Have some yelping problems myself in our small Moban, mostly when the dog is left alone in an empty house. But every morning about 6AM to 6.20AM when the Monks do their rounds the old lady across from me ties up her two dogs for about 20 minutes then all hell breaks loose, they go crazy (the dogs not the monks), while she is praying to them (the monks not the dogs). Wouldn't you think that after years of this event every morning the dogs would cop on that it is only for a short time, just as well I rise about 5.30 AM. But I'll tell you what I never hear....owners in Thailand talking sternly to their dogs. I am almost sure if she let a stern "shut up" or it's Thai equivalent, they would stop immediately. Dogs know for sure when their owner is angry with them, but she seems totally oblivious to their noise.

One other thing about your everyday inexpensive Thai restaurant....did you ever find yourself approaching one for a quick nosh only to be almost attacked by their dog and again, not as much as a "Quite" from the owners.

Since Siam became Thailand such restaurants must have lost at least one customer over this ....but they still leave them roaming around the restaurant area???????

[tom21]

I do not understand these people who do not stand up for their rights. Claims that something bad will happen to the OP are misplaced. It is very rare that anything would happen. They will hate the OP and give him bad looks, but that is about the end of it. Eventually they nasty neighbours will move on.

if his neighbors find out he is calling them low class from issan and people from Bangkok are better than them .

[Benmart]

Good job. Foul-mouthed bores reside world-wide and they seem to prefer keeping ill mannered dogs to compliement their defective behaviors.

Working with the city officials is the way to go. I've done similarly in concerning a noise problem and it was resolved satisfactorily for all parties.

Peaceful Sleeping.

[fittobethaied]

I respect the OP for standing up for what is right. I live in a newer upscale village in Udon Thani, and when I purchased the home the developer was still selling homes and appeared to be maintaining the village properly. Little did I know that when he "sold out" the community would be put to a vote to see if they wanted to establish a homeowner's association for the purpose of maintaining the village or turn it over to the local municipality for maintenance. In the end they voted to go to the municipality and now the village is going to hell in a hand basket. The dogs roam the streets and pull all the garbage out of the bins at night, so there's trash all over the place. The dogs s**t all over the park and children's playground, and the pool and clubhouse have been closed indefinitely. There are no rules and nobody to enforce them, so the dogs are taking over the peace of the neighborhood and the Thais just don't seem to be bothered by it. I've endured the endless barking at night for three years now, and I feel totally helpless to do anything about it. Two close neighbors in particular have dogs that howl all hours of the night and I never get a good night's sleep. I have wanted to approach those neighbors on several occasions, but I suppose I am consumed by the fear of the unknown. I just don't understand the Thais and have no confidence that they will respond in a rational manner. Plus, I have let it go now for so long that I'm not sure if I could approach them with any degree of civility. I am absolutely enraged over their robbing me of my peace and privacy. I just don't know what's worse...the dogs barking all night or this feeling of total helplessness. My wife wouldn't dare confront the neighbors, so I guess I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. More power to you OP!

[Jaffm]

Good on you for standing up for what is right and don't worry about the repercussions if they are any in the first place. As long as you know you haven't done anything wrong, then there is nothing to be frightened off.

You might also want to take note that you can complain to the PCD (Pollution Control Department), you can google for their website and they will handle all sorts of complains from noise pollution to especially for this that are unhygenic.

I had a problem once where the bar across my house kept throwing their commercial rubbish over at my house and I got the PCD to handle the situation. In the end, the bar was made to close and there is no repercussion even to this day.

[Keesters]

if his neighbors find out he is calling them low class from issan and people from Bangkok are better than them .

I have never said that. Low and high-class exist in all areas of the world. Personally I hate Bangkok but have to particular swing towards its residents. There is good and bad all around us.

[Beetlejuice]

Nice to see another farang resident trying his best to fit in with the community and get on with his neighbors.

Down my way our dogs will bark during the day, my neighbors dogs bark during the day, the chick chicks cock-a-doodle-doo day and night, we take short cuts over our neigbors land to the main road, our neighbors take short cuts over our land to wherever it is they are going. But this is all part and parcel of living among a Thai community.

Many farangs that decide to plonk themselves in Thailand find it difficult to adapt here and get off their high horses, believing that what is not acceptable in the West should also apply in Thailand. I would hate to have a farang neighbour who holds the same attitudes and if I was to be unfortunate enough to one day suddenly find a farang moving in the close proximity to my home, it would not be long before me and them would be at war

The OP has probably not done himself and family any favours regarding his holier than thou attitudes and complaints to his neighbor which has involved the police. The police will also consider this farang as a nuisance, an irritant and a troublemaker for wasting their time on such trivial matters.

These farangs fail to realise that we are guests in this country, we rely and hope on gaining the friendships and respect of the Thai communities with live with, otherwise if they manage to gather the wrath of these people around them and from the authorities, the people could make life extremely unpleasant for them.

My advice is, for those who have little tolerance for their neighbors around them, is to buy a large plot of land, build a house right at the centre of it, surround the land with a high wall and live in seclusion among themselves and their families, otherwise perhaps they should consider that Thailand is not for them.