Washington & Baltimore → annoying dog...

Hi guys, not sure where to post this - mods please feel free to move it to the appropriate location if needed..
This is the thing.. my neighbor behind my house has a big dog German Shepard I think), last year and this year during late spring-summer-fall he lets the dog out of the house and it stays on his back yard and it barks and cry continuously all day long.. its more "crying/suffering" than bark..some kind combination of both... its like the dog does not like to be outside... well.. is very very annoying, we try to enjoy dinners outside on the back yard/deck as much as possible (specially weekends) but its getting to the point that we cant enjoy to be outside anymore.. right now its 8pm and we can still hear the dog crying!!
Is there some kind of city ordinance that prohibits this? we let it go last year and this year thinking someone else would say something about it or the owner would realize that is wrong and annoying.. this is the city of Damascus, Maryland, Montgomery county..
Who should I call to find out what can be done? we wanted to be good neighbors and not say anything but its getting to much, my bedroom's window faces the back yard .. the dog was going at it until around 9pm last night..
Suggestions?

Animal Noise (Montgomery County Code, Sec. 5-203(a)(6)
An owner must not allow an animal to cause noise that is loud enough and persistent enough to disturb another person's quiet enjoyment.
Penalty for Violation - $100

For further information, or to report an animal bite or a violation of animal control laws, call the Animal Services Division at 240-773-5960 or 240-773-5925.
For after-hours emergencies, call 240-773-5900.

»www6.montgomerycountymd. ··· laws.asp

Calling the authorities without first attempting to resolve the situation with your neighbor is in poor taste. Have you spoken to them?

Thanks guys, this helps a lot... Thinking about what to do now... I don’t know the neighbour personally and haven’t talk to them directly.. if they haven’t fixed the problem most likely they don’t care.. so talking to them wont do any good..

I'll call Montg. County Dept. first and see what can be done first before placing an official complaint.

thanks, I appreciate it.

Do you really not see the broken logic here? You assume the neighbor doesn't care because they've done nothing to stop the barking. If nobody talked to the neighbor, then what's to stop them from assuming nobody cares about the barking?

Ultimately you're the one who has to leave near these people. Calling the city is generally the nuclear option and can lay the foundation for neighbor warfare. You came here asking for advice, here it is: do the right thing. Knock on the door, introduce yourself and kindly explain the dog is disturbing you. If they are hostile or fail to respond, then you call the city.

If they let the dog out and then leave for work (or whatever) during the day, then they aren't home to hear what the dog is doing. They may be totally unaware of what is going on unless you let them know.

We had a similar situation here. I'd go out and speak softly and lovingly to the dog for a little while and he'd calm down for a bit. He was only lonely and sad, missing his owner.

Common sense and courtesy?