Text entered

GoCompare Pet Hates

www.onepoll.com

10 March 2011

Four out of ten homeowners hate their neighbour's pets, it was revealed yesterday (Weds).

Dogs barking through the night, cats weeing on the lawn, and finding their garden has been dug up are just some of the annoyances caused by rogue pets.

The study of 2,000 adults revealed one third are tormented by the animals next door while one in ten have warred with a neighbours over their annoying pet.

Other common complaints include footprints left on cars by cats and dogs who jump up and wipe muddy paws on clean clothes and food being stolen from inside the house by four-legged opportunists.

Staggeringly, one in 20 have moved house because they couldn't stand living next door to problem pets.

Phil Paterson-Fox, head of home services for Gocompare.com, which conducted the research said: ''It is hard enough to get on with neighbours as it is, without pets making a nuisance of themselves.

''You almost expect to have a few rucks with the neighbours - about parking issues, leaving the bins out, competitiveness and noise pollution - but you don't expect to have problems with their pets.

''And there is nothing more annoying that flinging open the doors and windows in the morning to find a cat or dog on the loose has made their way into the garden and pulled up plants, created their own toilet or scratched the garden furniture.''

The study showed the smell of animals next door can cause upset, as can plants being dug up in the garden and cats wailing or fighting.

Pet owners who leave barking dogs in the house all day while they are at work also leave a bad taste among their neighbours, it emerged.

As a result - more than one in 20 homeowners have reported animal cruelty to the RSPCA because they felt a pet was being neglected.

Around one in six have felt the need to complain to a neighbour to stop their dog from barking around the clock.

Close to one in ten have pleaded with a neighbour to stop their dog leaving poo on the lawn.

Six per cent went as far as to say they were wary of next-door's pets.

Phil Paterson-Fox added: ''It can sometimes be difficult to approach neighbours about their pets as in many cases, pet owners treat their pets as another member of the family! However, if there is an issue and it can be resolved early on the chances are everyone will then get on brilliantly.

''In all fairness, many neighbours with pets will be blissfully unaware of the trouble their pets are causing whether it's their dog barking when they're not there or their cat messing the lawn. In our experience, pet owners are very responsible types and will be all too willing to resolve any issues as soon as they're aware of them.''

But just under one in 10 people admit they have actually had complaints from their neighbours about their own pets.

TOP 10 PET HATES:
1. Dogs barking or howling night and day
2. Cats pooing in the garden
3. Cats digging up the garden
4. Dogs pooing in front garden on the way past
5. Cats that wail all night
6. Cats digging up plants in your garden
7. Dogs that jump up on you
8. Cats climbing onto the car and leaving footprints
9. Smell of the neighbour's dogs
10. Cats coming into the house and stealing food