Dear Annie: I have lived in the same house for nearly 15 years and have always had a friendly relationship with my neighbors. About a year ago, a new family moved in next door with two large dogs. They seem like perfectly nice dogs, but my neighbors let them outside constantly — early in the morning, throughout the day and sometimes well into the evening.

The problem is that the dogs bark at everything: people walking by, delivery trucks, squirrels, other dogs and sometimes, apparently, nothing at all. Once they start, they can bark for 20 or 30 minutes before anyone brings them inside. On weekends, I've been awakened before 7 a.m., and during warmer months, it has become almost impossible to enjoy dinner or have friends over on our patio.

I finally mentioned it politely to my neighbor, and she laughed and said, "That's what dogs do." Since then, nothing has changed, and now I feel awkward bringing it up again. I don't want to start a feud with someone I have to live beside for years, but I also don't think I should have to arrange my life around her dogs.

Should I speak to her again, contact the town, or simply learn to live with the barking? — Barking Up the Wrong Tree

Dear Barking: Your neighbor is right about one thing. Dogs bark. But that does not mean everyone nearby has to listen to it all day.

I would try talking to her one more time before calling the town. Pick a calm moment and simply say that the barking is waking you up and making it hard to enjoy your yard. Keep it friendly and focus on the problem, not on blaming her.

If she laughs it off again, start writing down when the dogs bark and how long it lasts. Then check your town's rules about excessive barking and noise so you know what your options are.

You have every right to enjoy your own home without feeling like you live next door to a doggy alarm system.

Dear Annie: My husband and I have a good marriage except for one issue: the thermostat. I am always freezing, and he is always "boiling." I turn the heat up two degrees, and within minutes he sneaks by and turns it back down. We have been married 18 years, and I swear we have discussed the thermostat more than our children, finances and retirement combined.

Last week I caught him opening a bedroom window in January while the heat was on. I told him this was grounds for divorce. He told me to put on another sweater.

How do two otherwise reasonable adults stop fighting over two degrees? — Frozen in My Own Home

Dear Frozen: Marriage is about compromise, and apparently also layers. Pick a temperature in the middle, invest in a good blanket and declare the thermostat neutral territory. If he opens a window in January again, however, I fully support hiding his favorite sweatshirt.

"Out of Bounds: Estrangement, Boundaries and the Search for Forgiveness" is out now! Annie Lane's third anthology is for anyone who has lived with anger, estrangement or the deep ache of being wronged — because forgiveness isn't for them. It's for you. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Follow Annie Lane on Instagram at @dearannieofficial. Send your questions for Annie Lane to [email protected].

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