Dear Eric >> Six months ago, new neighbors moved onto our street. They fenced in the front and side of their corner lot and keep their large dog outside all hours of the day and evening. The dog barks constantly and all of us adjacent neighbors are extremely annoyed.

No one wants to say anything to them as otherwise they seem like nice people and were friends with some prior to their move. None of us understands how they can be so clueless, but the barking is becoming intolerable. What might we do?

— Want My Peaceable Street Back

Dear Peaceable >> I know it can seem like bringing up an issue like this with otherwise good neighbors can risk disturbing the peace, but, as you’re experiencing, the peace is already disturbed. So, now the good neighborly relationship is marked by resentment.

In the interest of resetting the balance, I’d encourage you to talk to the new neighbors, one on one. You can be clear about what things are like on your end, and what you need while still being kind.

It’s possible that they’ve grown so accustomed to the sound of the dog barking that they tune it out. By sharing your experience with them, you’re giving them a chance to be better neighbors to you and better dog owners to their pet, to boot.

There are plenty of solutions. Maybe the dog needs more stimulation to keep it occupied in the yard, maybe they can arrange for more indoor hours for the dog. If they are, as you say, nice people and have friends in the neighborhood, they’ll want to know that something they’re doing is creating such a problem.

Dear Eric >> In a recent column you wrote, “Sometimes, when our opinions about people change, any little thing they do can become a point of annoyance.” OK, I get it. And yes, it has happened to me. So, how do we deal with that emotional response? Is it maturity? Is it to expand our nature to tolerate?

— Feeling Guilty

Dear Feeling Guilty >> Acceptance — of ourselves and others — is a good first step. Accept that you feel annoyed by a person. You have feelings and you’re allowed to feel them. And accept that they are who they are and they’re under no obligation to change to fit your mood. I find that empathy often follows. When we stop seeing other people as obstacles to our own happiness and start to see them as fellow travelers, we open the door to a deeper understanding of why they’re acting the way they act or how they see the world and we can experience empathy instead of annoyance. Does this mean that you’re going to like it? No indeedy-do. But this thought process can help put others’ behavior in context.

Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at eric@askingeric.com