# Anyone in Alvorge



## M2alawson (Jul 2, 2014)

Hello Expats or Expats to-be or Overseas property owners.

I'm still delving deep into purchasing and wondered if there were any of you or people you know they live in or very close to this village. 

I'd really like to know what your opinions are, negative and positive... Such as dogs barking (I'm hearing a lot if chatter about this problem). And also to know that "we are not alone" !!!

Thank you 
Andrea


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## Maggy Crawford (Sep 18, 2010)

Believe me, wherever you are in the countryside barking dogs is likely to be one of your major problems. I have suggested to my Portuguese neighbours that they have dogs instead of doorbells and they just laugh. They have a totally different attitude to dogs which are kept outside on leashes very often and bark their heads off at the slightest noise. It is something we have had to deal with and it is still a problem at times. The trouble is the Portuguese just do not notice it and will be sitting beside a a howling dog without doing anything about it. Unlike in UK where you can get an injunction or put leaflets from Environmental Health through the letter box (which I did once in England) there are no similar recourses available here. Other than trying to talk to the offending neeighbours who will have no sympathy with you at all. If it is a potential source of grief for you Central Portugal is probably not the ideal place.


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## M2alawson (Jul 2, 2014)

I have 2 dogs, a German Shepherd and LabXCollie so I love dogs but not sure I could cope with constant barking ... like you I have had to do that recently when a neighbour must have just gone to work and left the yappy dog in the garden all day !!

Thanks Maggie, Are you in the Alvorge vicinity then ? Are their particular villages worse than others.

A


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

We've also been previously cursed with barking neighbourhood dogs and it also drove us nuts and as has been said, it's very common here..... The real answer is to live somewhere without any immediate neighbours. 

Our nearest neighbour is about 300 metres away and although they have a dog that barks, it's not near enough to worry us....... But if you are going to have near neighbours, you need to be prepared to accept the fact they'll have dogs that bark and the nearer or more numerous the neighbours, the more barking you're going to get. 

Welcome to Portugal! LOL


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## dstump (Apr 26, 2010)

M2alawson said:


> I have 2 dogs, a German Shepherd and LabXCollie so I love dogs but not sure I could cope with constant barking ... like you I have had to do that recently when a neighbour must have just gone to work and left the yappy dog in the garden all day !!
> 
> Thanks Maggie, Are you in the Alvorge vicinity then ? Are their particular villages worse than others.
> 
> A


Hi Andrea, we have recently returned from a house hunting trip to Portugal, and we were staying near Alcobaca, in a small village - and the first thing we noticed was dogs barking - so I doubt location has a huge bearing on this. But forewarned is fore-armed, so we decided we would purchase somewhere with a bit of land around it, to minimise the affect on us. I have read advice to go and see somewhere at all times of the day etc. but it wouldn't stop someone acquiring a dog just after you had bought would it? 

However, think of all noise you hear in the UK, constantly in the background, which you have probably grown used to, you won't hear motorway traffic screaming through in Portugal , so, we can't wait until our next visit, on the 13th.

Denise


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## Maggy Crawford (Sep 18, 2010)

Denise is right. Location makes no difference, you will have this situation in every village. We have friends who are disturbed by dogs at all hours which are at least half a kilometre away across a valley so nowhere can you be sure of avoiding it.


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## M2alawson (Jul 2, 2014)

Its a catch 22, as I would like to be in a village or outskirts of to not have to drive to get basics.


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## M2alawson (Jul 2, 2014)

Its a catch 22, as I would like to be in a village or outskirts of to not have to drive to get basics.


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

Visit don't overestimate what a village store if one might stock, most villages are also served by mobile shops, schooling is more and more centralized so another consideration


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## BodgieMcBodge (Mar 8, 2013)

PM sent


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## 2ctdiamond (Oct 11, 2014)

With regard to barking dogs - you don´t have to put up with it. I had a terrible situation where my neighbours dag was barking for up to 13 hours a day non stop while they were out at work and also when they went out at night.. When they were in the house it was fine. They had another dag which was chained up in the back garden 24/7. I took legal advice and wrote to the appropriate dept of the police. Within 10 days the GNR were at their house - four armed officers and a huge vehicle. They didn´t speak to me either before or after the visit but since then there has been very little barking. Just the normal noise when they leave and come back for a few minutes. They seem to have re-arranged their working hours so they are around the home more during the day. I don´t know how they have done this and I don´t care - the dogs are their responsibility. In addition the dog in the back garden is no longer chained up. Everybody told me there was nothing you can do but there is so don´t put up with it !!!


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## M2alawson (Jul 2, 2014)

thank you, I will definitely bare that in mind.


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## AidanMcK (Nov 21, 2011)

> Within 10 days the GNR were at their house


This is interesting. Any idea what they would be saying to them in this situation? I haven't heard of anyone doing anything like this before on the forums here.


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## kw60 (May 12, 2012)

AidanMcK said:


> This is interesting. Any idea what they would be saying to them in this situation? I haven't heard of anyone doing anything like this before on the forums here.


It may different from area to area but I was told that the dogs cannot bark after 10pm enough that it disturbs you.
Our nearest neighbour got a new dog ( I purposely bought my house outside the village to minimise the noise ) which barked day and night. I went to the Gnr they came to my house then to theirs. Came back to me and said the dogs are fine ( I asked them to check the paperwork as apparently they must have a license and rabies jab ) and announced that they can bark all day if they want !!

I phoned the Gnr every hour on the hour after 10pm ( they must come out ) the neighbour did not answer the door.
I pleaded with the owner, I offered to buy the dog to no avail.
I went to the camra where I lodged a complaint .
3 weeks later a vet, an officer and a doctor came to my house to hear the barking and then to theirs.
3 weeks later I received a letter stating the dogs are not deemed a nuisance to me because they are more than 300m away !!!!
This dog was loud and was ruining my life to the extent I left and went back to the uk to recharge my batteries.
I came back 2 weeks later ( dog still barking ) ended up with sleeping tablets , ( apparently most of the Portuguese take them !!!?) contemplated feeding them to the dog as I was such a messs. Don't worry I didn't !
A week later the owner came to my house asking for €500 if I wanted to buy the dog !
Sadly I paid it, the dog was a mess, starved, full of ticks and filthy.
He was a very large 5 month old part German Shepard and very unhappy because he was chained all day.
Long story short is after nursing him back to health taking him for walks starting to train him he started running off ( back to neighbours house )
He was never going to settle as his previous owners other dog and the house was too near.
He ran off for the last time in July. We can't find him despite him being tagged.
Kim


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## kw60 (May 12, 2012)

Forgot to add that strangely jimmy ( that was his name ) stopped barking the day I bought him and took him off his chain......


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## AidanMcK (Nov 21, 2011)

We come across this s**t over here in Uruguay too from time to time. Its a pity we won't be leaving it behind when we move to PT, but its common in all latin countries as far as I've seen, so you have to take the bad with the good I guess. I'd hoped it might have been dying out with the newer generations, but this may be just wishful thinking?


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