(sigh) How should I approach this issue with my upstairs neighbor?

Obviously she will not be aware of this, because it happens when she is gone. Tell her and she will most likely try to solve it herself.

Talk with your upstairs neighbor about it. Then if that doesn’t produce results, go to the housing authority.
Is she even allowed to have a dog there?

First, you are not being a busybody. That would drive me crazy. You have a right to some whine-free hours.

I would start out having a conversation with her. Let her know what is happening with the dog. Tell her you are concerned about the dog’s well-being and her sanity (from the peeing). How many hours is she leaving it? If it is all day, then she needs to come home and walk it or have someone come in and walk the dog.

The dog may be frightened. Ask her is she crates the dog when she leaves? That may help. She can also leave a ticking clock in the enclosure with the dog.

Finally, gauge her responsiveness. If she is defensive or not concerned about fixing the problem, I would tell her that you be forced to inform the landlord if she does not take some action.

Good luck.

this is a great question

A lot of puppies have this issue in the beginning. I doubt that it is animal abuse of any type. And as @markyy said she is probably unaware that it goes on the entire time she is gone, especially if this is her first puppy.

In your situation I would talk with the girl, without anger, and let her know that you adore puppies but it’s getting a bit tedious. She will probably research ways to solve the problem herself as someone above said.

If she does not fix the problem then you may have to contact the landlord to give her an official warning. Some people just will not act without being forced to. I would take the neighborly approach first.

If you really want to be pro-active you can call a vet yourself and ask for some suggestions to help the dog while she is gone. You could then pass those suggestions on to your neighbor either in-person or anonymously (say by taping to her door).

Definitely talk to her about it.

My brother and his wife were on the opposite end of this situation, they had gotten a dog, and after a few months there were quite a few complaints about her whining and barking when they left. They ended up giving the dog to a friend of theirs.

Definitely try talking to her first. Maybe she doesn’t even realize that the dog may be having so much trouble with her absence.

We’ve also been on the other side of the situation but with a different problem. For the first week we had our dog we left her outside while we were at work (i only worked 2 hours at a time and we only did this for one or two weeks). Well apparently our dog had been chewing on one of the neighbors trees while we were gone. We had no idea she was doing this. If the neighbor would have said something we would have gladly fixed the issue. Instead the neighbor puts up the ugliest, ugliest plastic fence without saying anything (we only found out after my husband asked about the fence).

We’re allowed to have pets, although I’m pretty sure this dog is younger than a year old which is supposed to be the limit. I’ll go leave her a note. The last thing I want is confrontation so I’ll be friendly. Thank you all!!

I find notes often very unfriendly of nature. Tell her over a nice home cooked meal ;)

@markyy yeah, I’ll tape a packet of Ramen to the note. lol!

Make a recording of it, have her sit down and listen to it. Not all four hours, obviously, but enough to get through to her…..then talk to her about finding a new home for the baby.

Crate training might help. Dogs learn to think of their crate as their den, especially if you toss a blanket over it – except for the front. It should also cut down on his peeing inside, but if he does the crate is easier to clean than the carpet.

She may think it is cruel (it isn’t), but what she is doing right now is torture on that poor puppy. :(

You could also offer to dog-sit, since it appears that you are home when she is not. That would save both her carpet and your nerves.

GA @Darwin I wish I could think that practical.

let us know how it turns out. hopefully all goes well and the puppy gets whatever it needs.

I think @Darwin has given the best advice so far if that is a possibility for you. That would definately be the first thing I would suggest to the owner if I found myself in a situation similar to yours. Having said that though, the puppy does have to learn to be alone and providing the amount of time she is leaving the puppy isn’t TOO long she isn’t being cruel but like others have said, crate training would probably help puppy to feel more secure and comforted when she is away.

I would havea chat with her, maybe, if you have time (and are happy to do so) you could offer to walk the dog at some point or even just go up for puppy cuddles just to break up the amount of time the puppy is left.