The neighbor's dog barks all the time. Is there someone I can call to get her to make it stop?

THE FIRST STEP: Ask your neighbor if there's anything she can do to keep the dog quiet. Remember that she may not be aware there's a problem — especially if the barking takes place only when she's not home. "Approach her with kindness and respect," says Sue Fox, the author of Etiquette for Dummies (John Wiley & Sons, $15, www.amazon.com). If the neighbor listens to your complaint reasonably, try to agree on specific actions to solve the problem, such as keeping the dog inside during certain hours.

THE NEXT STEP: Keep a written record of when and for how long the barking takes place to lay a foundation for small-claims court. (Time it with a watch.) While it may seem to you that the dog is barking for an eternity, it may not constitute a violation of local ordinances. Call your local animal-control agency or check at the library to find out about dog-related ordinances.

THE LAST RESORT: If your talk doesn't go so well and the barking continues, attempt mediation as an alternative to small-claims court, suggests Cora Jordan, an attorney and mediator in Oxford, Mississippi, and the author of Neighbor Law (Nolo, $18, www.amazon.com).