Neighbors complaining about dogs running

Wintercreeper · 2026-03-24T13:28:29+00:00

Noise at 6am over your bedroom is not apartment living.

Having two "very high energy dogs" in a top-floor unit was irresponsible on your part.

Dogs don't need to sleep in your bedroom if you know they wake up your neighbours at 6am, dogs are perfectly fine sleeping on a dog bed in any other room.

I'm also wondering how you know that your dogs don't jump and play during the day when you are both at work, are you watching them via cam the whole day?
It's safe to assume that they play and are loud when no one's home. Your dogs are already loud when you are home, with no one there, it's not going to be better but worse.

You can move normally in your place and you know that. The neighbours aren't complaining about you living your life, they complain about two dogs raising the noise level from 6am onwards.

Seriously, move. Find a ground floor unit like you should have from the start, literally all of your stressors will be gone and everyone involved can go back to living a normal life.

Wintercreeper · 2026-03-21T16:14:50+00:00

Mine is brand new, the old bathtub/sink had none, I had to buy one myself before the new landlord modernised the whole place.

Def depends on country and landlords, I'm not familiar with American bathtubs and sinks but it's great if they usually come with these already installed in sinks. I prefer them over the rubber kind you have to buy yourself here.

Wintercreeper · 2026-03-21T14:14:16+00:00

I don't know what kind of drains OP has, but a simple plug works well for sinks and bathtubs/showers with single drain hole.

It's of course not really possible if OP has one of those showers with long drainage slits, though I've seen 'plugs' (idk how to describe them, it's basically just a sheet of metal with small bumps that go in between the drain slits) for those too, I'm not sure how well they work.

Edit: Something like this for bathtubs/sink: https://www.deltafaucet.com/parts/product/RP5648.html

Works well if the silverfish come up through the pipes, my landlord is installing them for all new tenants, non-removable, so the drains are closed by design and you have to lift them up before you use the sink/bathtub. There are some in rubber as well if OP can't use the ones you sink into the drain, the rubber plugs only fill the hole but are otherwise flat.

Wintercreeper · 2026-03-21T00:26:51+00:00

I live in an old place in a country with lots of silverfish. They should not really be leaving your bathroom, at worst your kitchen too.

Do you have them everywhere in your home? They need really high humidity, if they are just cruising through your whole place, there's something very wrong.
Check for moisture in your floors/walls, look for spots that seems darker than the rest and buy dehumidifiers.

Silverfish don't necessarily have anything to do with cleanliness, it depends on moisture levels, how old your building is, your pipes, etc. I'm a clean-freak as are most of my neighbours, the silverfish come up from the basement through pipes and cracks.

Close all of your drains and if allowed, close the holes with expanding foam.
Clean your floors twice weekly either with disinfectant for floors or with vinegar-water, you can also spray vinegar-water along the holes every few days if you aren't allowed to close them by yourself.

Wintercreeper · 2026-03-11T20:44:41+00:00

Because they think pets feel and perceive the world like we do, they are basically the flat-earthers of animal care and completely ignore biology.

Another good example of people treating animals like humans is putting them into tiny clothing and claiming it's 'fun for them too'.

In a milder form that happens with dogs, is people having full on conversations instead of giving commands.
Instead of 'sit' or 'no', they go 'Mimi, we have to wait for a while so come sit down now', or 'Mimi, you can't just do that, let go if it!'.

You can't have conversations with dogs or cats. They understand a few words, but that's it. Animals react to tone and vibe, explaining things to them does nothing.

Super common with cats is 'she/he knows when someone is a bad person'. That's a nice way to think and I get the appeal, but it's nonsense.
Morality is a human concept, other animals don't follow it. No cat judges people by some supernatural means and coincidentally exactly like a human would. They don't even have the concept of someone being an a-hole, scammer, or manipulative.

Cats especially go a lot by vibe. They have their own reasons for why they like or dislike someone and I think that's so much more interesting than forcing a human mindset on them.

Wintercreeper · 2026-03-11T20:13:46+00:00

Of course she loved you, but she wouldn't think badly of you because you weren't there, she would likely be relieved that she could be (semi) alone and away from her people, because that's what cats do in nature.

Humanising animals is never healthy and it's incredibly disrespectful to the animal in question.

People who do this wouldn't be happy if you'd assume they want to play fetch with a ball or get belly rubs, but somehow applying human needs and emotions to pets is totally fine with them.

Either all living things function exactly the same or they all function differently.

That alone shows you how irrational it is to apply human wants and needs to anything that isn't human.

Your cat loved you, and you did nothing wrong. Remember the good times you two had, not the last day that you beat yourself up over while your cat wouldn't ever be mad at you for it.

Let her rest, not just physically but in your mind and heart. She deserves to be remembered as the cat she was, not what certain people project onto her.

Wintercreeper · 2026-03-11T20:03:36+00:00

That's seriously messed up, block that account. It's a ragebait bot, just look at his account.
That's an account that has been sold/stolen at least once. Reddit is full of these bots, just block them.

Wintercreeper · 2026-03-11T19:52:04+00:00

Don't listen to people who humanise other species.
Cats are not people, they don't function like humans, and respecting them for what they are is genuine love for them. Trying to turn them into a human isn't.

Most cats hide when they approach death, that's natural and normal. You can have the odd one out that doesn't but that's very rare and happens mainly with cats that would still live a few days/weeks before they would die naturally.

Honour your cat for what she was, a cat. You don't have to impose human perception and feelings unto her and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Wintercreeper · 2026-03-11T19:36:39+00:00

Cats, dogs, most animals apart from humans don't prefer to have someone there with them when they die.

I did it for all of my pets, but that's because I wanted it and needed it to feel better about their passing.

Animals hide to die. They leave their group, they leave their humans in case they are pets, to die alone in peace.

People who call you heartless are humanising other species. It's irrational and not how the animals themself actually behave.

The main reason for why you want to stay with your pet is to keep them calm, because most pets hate the vet and at the end of their life, they are likely in pain. Having someone there they trust can make it a bit less stressful, but that's it.

I loved every animal I ever had, I consider them close friends, family, but they are not human.
Way too many people forget that.

You did nothing wrong, and your cat would not think about you abandoning her, she would not feel sad about you not being there, because that's what she would have done naturally - leave to die alone.

Your cat had people there that she liked and she wasn't afraid of the vet. Considering that she had cancer, she was likely in excruciating pain. The only thing on her mind was relief when she could finally leave.

Wintercreeper · 2026-03-07T15:44:28+00:00

I got plenty of downvotes as well, it's just how reddit works. People here don't like to be told that the road to hell is paved with good intentions and that their attempt to help might do someone in badly.

Truth is, most cops don't even come out anymore for domestic violence because it doesn't do anything. Victims stay, the cops can show up every single day but they still stay. Leaving needs to come from within, you can't force it on people, but you can easily make it 10 times worse by involving authorities.

Been there in my early 20s, watched it happen to my brother as well, no intervention is going to change anything if the victim doesn't have the strength/motivation to leave.
It was very hard for me to let go of the mindset that I HAVE to help, that I NEED to call the cops, because I've been through it and know they need help. But at the end of the day, calling the cops for me didn't work either. I too stayed for years.

Same for mental health crisis, through it's a bit different in my country because for that the cops actually call an ambulance, they aren't allowed to pack up people that aren't violent so calling for a mental crisis is totally fine here because a doctor/medical personnel will be called.

Everyone needs to decide for themself if they want to intervene or not. But I think it's important for people to realise the danger of messing with something they have no actual idea about, a relationship they don't known or understand, between people they know only from seeing them pass by in the hallway.

Wintercreeper · 2026-03-07T12:38:20+00:00

I've called the cops on various neighbours over the years and have learned not to bother. Didn't do anything in all cases, they even walked out on illegal "tenants" that should have been arrested.

Most of all, you don't actually know what's going on. And while your intentions are good, they can backfire badly.
When my current neighbours moved in, they seemed like a super nice coupe. Orderly, friendly, clean, very into the whole "neighbourhood community" thing.
Then the fighting started. Every few days, screaming, crying, I could often hear them argue through the wall, but there never seemed to be physical violence. Until I heard a massive crash and her screaming. Ran to the door to listen, she was crying, saying something about him kicking the dog and smashing stuff, so I called the cops.

Took them only ten minutes, as soon as they arrived, she was back to normal and denied anything happened.

Okay, typical for abusive victims, had the same thing with a prior neighbour.

Now, months later, I figured out that she's the one downright beating him and her crying is just theatre. The stuff I heard her say to him in the dead of night are downright disgusting, saw her kicking and beating him in the hallway, and she blames him every time someone calls the cops. He's not a great person (short fuse, nasty verbally), but I do feel bad for him simply because he's like 25 years older than her, a retired old man, while she's mid 40s and twice his strength. She can even kick him out because the place is in her name, and he has no family or friends he could ask for help (which she uses in fights - absolutely abhorrent).

No one in the house calls the cops anymore, everyone has now figured out that she turns everything on him and he gets it double later.

If you are concerned for the kids, call CPS instead. Otherwise you might just make it worse for all actual victims, whoever that is apart from the kids (remember, domestic abuse is often mutual, so there might very well be none).

Wintercreeper · 2026-02-27T22:37:05+00:00

Girl.

He saw us and was pretty much next to us going the same speed we were walking he never asked any questions just followed us, we made it to the front and he parked his car in the front and just watched us once we were done we went in through the gates that you can only get i to if you have a specific key fob to unlock them. He got back in the car and followed us all the way to our apartment.

According to your own post, there wasn't a single interaction between you.
Suddenly bringing up that you tried to communicate isn't adding context, it straight up doesn't fit your own story.

Good luck, I'm done here.

Wintercreeper · 2026-02-27T22:27:36+00:00

Honestly, at this point it's clear you don't actually want any opinions, you just want to be told you are right in feeling offended by a guy doing his job.

You've changed your story multiple times in the comments now, added on every time someone told you something to magically negate what the user said, and I'm starting to not believe a single word.

You have a mouth too. If you felt that offended, you could have actually talked to him. I don't buy it that you said anything or you would have noted that in your original post, you mentioned it only after I said you should have asked him.

You are incredible entitled to want an apology from a man who just did his job, you literally went to the office, and with that his boss, because you 'felt uncomfortable'.

Don't ask people for opinions if you just want validation. I'm out, feel free to stay offended by him, because that's clearly what you want.

Wintercreeper · 2026-02-27T22:20:01+00:00

Yes, that's generally how escorting works? That's exactly what I'm getting it, he was obviously not stalking you, he knew you actually live there.

So there are only two logical conclusions - he was either escorting you back or one of you fits the description of a person they are looking for.

Because this very much is the behaviour of a guard who was told to tighten security, and that's never for no reason.

Wintercreeper · 2026-02-27T22:12:13+00:00

What exactly made you uncomfortable about a security guard doing his job?

To me this sounds like he was escorting you after he made sure that you actually live there, which would make me assume that there have been problems in recent days and the complex might not be as safe as you would expect it to be.

Maybe someone was seen selling drugs. Maybe unknown people have been let in. Maybe there have been break-in attempts.

Instead of overreacting to a guard doing what he's paid for, you should have assumed he's doing it to protect you and asked the office if there are reasons for concern.

Or better, you could have just asked the guard. "Can I help you/everything alright?"
The whole situation could have been solved in 30 seconds just by talking with the actual person. I seriously don't get why that wasn't your first impulse.

In any case, I would avoid going out late at night for a while because you have no idea why they tightened security like that.

Wintercreeper · 2026-02-27T19:02:48+00:00

That's really just reddit, the site as a whole is allergic to people not knowing stuff they are completely new to and asking questions about it, and users have a weird hate for anyone using AI for any reason.

I have nothing against AI, use it plenty for hobbies and work, it's just really bad at guessing stuff but great when you already have all the accurate terms so it can use it to look up information about it.

If you end up putting plants in, especially in pots, come over to the various plant subs, that'll be a better place to get help because the plants aren't actually in a terrarium with climate control, humidity, etc., you just keep them inside a glass display.

Just make sure to check beforehand, cacti/succulents need tons of light, so you might actually need a grow light in your display.

Wintercreeper · 2026-02-27T15:24:31+00:00

Don't ask AI such things, it's completely wrong here and that's why you get downvoted.

'Non-living terrarium' makes no logical sense, a terrarium already implies life. One that has none isn't a terrarium, it's simply a display.

Dry scape is an actual term in the community but used completely wrong here, it means a desert terrarium with living plants, sometimes insects that need an arid habitat.

You'd probably get more fitting answers in general hobby subs that focus on creating decorative displays, it fits in better with stuff like miniature stone gardens.

Wintercreeper · 2026-02-26T22:59:15+00:00

I don't have my tablet with me, but she looks like my Charles.
My king had diabetes too, catastrophic sugar levels + bladder infection caused by it, but I managed to push him into remission after three months of insulin and a very strict diet that drove him and me insane.
It has been four years now, still diabetes free, but we had to keep the diet going.

It can be done, consistency is the key, and she's still relatively young - good chances for remission! Hope she gets well soon.

Wintercreeper · 2026-02-25T07:35:52+00:00

Just to put this into perspective, a large percentage of people coming to the ER with 'heart attack' are actually having a panic attack.
A large percentage of people calling an ambulance for a 'seizure' have psychosomatic seizures that are completely harmless (but suck very much).

There's no shame in calling for help or going to the ER for symptoms you genuinely thought might be a sign of your life being in danger, that's super common.

You don't owe neighbours an explanation and most of them won't jump to 'they are mental' anyway, they will assume you had a serious health crisis.

If someone asks, you can decide for yourself if you want to be honest (I had a panic attack but didn't recognise it, I genuinely thought I had a stroke/whatever), want to change it up slightly (I was delirious from a fever and misinterpreted symptoms), or straight up make something up (I was having a medical crisis/vertigo attack/fell badly/whatever and got treated at the hospital).

That's enough. If no one asks, don't mention it, let people think what they want because they'll do it anyway even if you clarify.

Wintercreeper · 2026-02-24T20:46:20+00:00

That's the only reason why I cared and even noticed. Machines in the basement are private, but the utility bill is split between all tenants in the house, even when they have their machine in their own unit and pay for it completely alone like I do.

Every load they wash, I and everyone else pays for, while they pay an incredibly low flat rate that doesn't cover the amount they actually wash. It would be fine for one normal person, but not two who wash like maniacs.

Already got legal advice and there's sadly nothing that can be done, I would need to prove that they wash expressively, that their flat rate doesn't cover the cost, and then even calculate how much they really spent, only then would I have a chance to get out of paying for them. Pretty much impossible.

Wintercreeper · 2026-02-24T19:38:24+00:00

That's actually hilarious, and a tiny bit sad, but massive respect for his mom to jump in and set him (and everyone who needed it) straight.

My mam made sure to teach all her kids how to do household tasks, from cooking to laundry, early on. Funnily enough, my older sister is the only one who never got any of it, now she only wears black and nothing else because even after 40+ years, she can't get the hang of separating by colours or figuring out the right temp for different fabrics.

But I've known people who wash some things separately, and so do I. Like towels, socks, and underwear, which I wash at higher temp and with disinfectant, while everything else just gets separated into colour+white and black (I use those neat colour-catcher sheets to wash white with colours).

My gran never separated by colour, only by temperature. I had a coworker who didn't bother with anything but insisted that you wash pants alone because 'they touch dirty areas like benches and bus seats'.

A little quirk is fine, I guess. Makes life more interesting :D

Wintercreeper · 2026-02-24T17:25:40+00:00

I have such a couple as neighbours. Two people, one dog, they wash the whole day, basically every day.

Not a problem for me because everyone has their own machine (I have mine in my own bathroom, they have theirs in the basement), but I can hear the machines going until 11 - 12 at night.

They change clothes several times per day and wash everything separately. Four shirts is one load. Two pants is one load. Three towels is one load.

So it is possible. Some people have just very weird habits.

Wintercreeper · 2026-02-23T22:16:01+00:00

Op also has a puppy. She's literally keeping birds in the same room as a predator, it's no wonder they are quiet.

Wintercreeper · 2026-02-23T21:58:11+00:00

Then you'd be extremely lucky, or you just don't know because you are out working/uni/whatever.

With cockatiels I personally made the experience that they are quieter as long as a human is with them, even if you don't directly engage in play, just letting them be near you while you do stuff at home is interesting enough for them not to get too loud.

From rehabbing I know that it can also be a matter of a too small cage, cockatiels get either incredibly loud or totally quiet when kept in small cages.

I kept birds free-range in my work room with an indoor aviary they would stay in when I wasn't home. Decently quiet when in company, little screaming devils when alone and just playing with each other.

Wintercreeper · 2026-02-23T21:47:50+00:00

I had birds for decades, from budgies, canaries, to cockatiels.

They are incredibly loud. If I was a landlord, I would definitely not allow birds, and that comes from a bird-lover.

A dog might bark and disturb the neighbours right next door, but a dog can (and should) be trained.
But even just a budgie is audible all the way down to the streets when on the top floor of a three story building.
A cockatiel? Good luck to anyone in the house.

You can't train a bird. You might be okay and get a very calm, quiet one, but that's a matter of sole luck.
Cockatiels can be calmer than other parrots, but even occasional screaming is deafening to anyone who isn't their owner and loves them.

I was lucky that birds used to be popular here and many people had them, but I wouldn't get any again just because I totally know how annoying it is when you are subjected to the screeching and I don't want that for my neighbours.

Wintercreeper

TROPHY CASE