but she has problems, and they affect me.

Aside from myriad health and finance issues (which make it difficult for me to approach her about the problems that affect me), she has:

1. Three small dogs, two of whom have a persistent barking problem.
2. A serious problem with clutter, which has taken over the front porch. She has lots of stuff, and she also will not throw away her bottles/cans etc., even though the garbage is several steps away.

Problem 2 is off the table for the moment, as it’s winter time and the porch isn’t being used. I have some ideas for how to deal with this tactfully. The porch is demonstrably my space also. I think maybe if I take some leadership in the upkeep I can encourage better clutter management, at least in our shared areas.

Problem 1 – I don’t know what to do. I actually like her dogs just fine except for the barking. As a pet owner myself, it’s hard for me to criticize people for their pets’ behavior, and I know it bugs her too. But for whatever reason, financial, lack of will, difficulty of the task, the persistent barking is not being addressed, and I think it might be getting worse.

I don’t really want to go to the landlord unless I have no option, but I’m not sure how best to address this, especially since it’s been almost a year now that I’ve been putting up with this. It seems weird to broach the subject now, and I don’t want her to get kicked out or anything.

Most solutions to barking problems are going to involve financial resources or time or energy that she doesn’t have. And I don’t really want to take over responsibility for taking better care of her dogs, although I feel for them, because that just seems like a boundary I don’t want to cross.

What the heck can I do? I don’t want to move, I love my apartment and my neighborhood otherwise, and she is a great neighbor in other respects so I don’t want to fight a battle with her.