There are laws here about noise as well, but it's not a battle dog owners really want to get into with their neighbors if we can at all avoid it. Do we try to keep our dog from making a nuisance of herself? Absolutely. Can we guarantee that she won't pick a time when timprov is out taking pictures of something, I'm in the shower, and markgritter is on an unexpected call for work to go nuts over a squirrel? No, we really can't--and if we haven't started a war with the neighbors, we don't have to worry about that, as long as it's not a consistent pattern.

If I thought the neighbors were abusing the dog, I wouldn't hesitate to call the cops. Instead, I think the neighbors are abusing my wish to get along with my neighbors, which is not at all the same kind of abuse.