I'm the neighbour with the barking dog

[doglover65]

We recently got a new dog - 2 months ago (she's 7, a rescue). She is absolutely angelic except she is so reactive to noises and other people and barks.

When we are home this is fine, annoying, but we are able to stop her and train her. However, when we leave I am so worried about barking.

We have just gone out and I stupidly forgot to shut a blind, so she is staring out the window and barking if someone comes near. I can hear she was barking, she has stopped now but will continue I'm sure.

I don't know what to do!! Our street has so many dogs and they bark all the time and set off her sometimes. We don't mind though, I can block out the noise. Most our neighbours seem fine too. We do have one neighbour though who is very childish in his reactions.

He bangs on the hallway (our attached part) and this usually is what makes her bark more, he rattles our fences (no idea why) and sets them off, he just walks out his front door, stops and stares at our door, then goes back in about 15 times a day.

I'm unsure if he's provoking them now to maybe get a complaint ready?

What would you want to be done if you were my neighbour?

To make it easy to understand, she will bark loud enough for a neighbour to hear for a joint amount of 10 mins, 1 time a week (we've not yet experienced her when we aren't home because of lockdown.) when we've left in the past for supermarket she hasn't barked as I've shut the blind. But if the post man came I know she would bark.

I would want you to have at least one person at home with the dog at all times until it can be trained not to bark.

Watch out, OP. I have had a crazy woman provoking my dogs for months now, including standing staring through our fence with one of her dogs on a lead while the other one runs into our garden, and chucking food scraps over. It is not possible to reason with her, but once I told her husband very forcefully what she was up to he said he would try to stop her, and things have improved. Ask this man to stop provoking your dog and try to get some proof. We fitted a few cameras.

I would specifically ask your neighbour if he has a problem, explain she’s a rescue and that you are working on it, give him the chance to talk before he takes it further.

As to how to handle her, is she crate trained? Would she feel safer in a crate when you go out.

When you’re with her, try and give her something else to do when she is reactive, ours barks at the door, so we ask her to sit on her step while we investigate for her and treat her on her step. It’s taking a while but is working.

You might also want to either start a thread in the doghouse or get this one moved as you will get lots of advice there.

From a dog pov I would look at the following:

• using window film on the rooms where she is mostly left alone (when you are out). Purlfrost or similar. Cheap and easy to apply. Doesn't block light but does block viewing. Easy to remove without damage to the windows etc. Then you ae covered if you forget to close the blind again.
• using radio noise to drown out environmental noise while you are out
• looking to see if you can change the doorbell to on that can be muted when you are out, to reduce the risk of the postman triggering her (if it's the doorbell that's doing it)
• try to leave her in the quietest room in the house when alone. Quite often this sa bedroom at the back of the house.

Two months is quite a short time for her to settle into a new home so she may habituate to the normal daily noises, in time.

From a neighbour pov...

• an explaination, details of how you are tring to fi the issue, apology, box of chocs and the chance to moan when it gets too much can go a long way. Not with everyone, but with some.

My neighbour had two dogs that barked all the time and it didn’t bother me at all.

Dogs are supposed to bark at the postman or people approaching your house. It is part of the point of having dogs.

I am a huge dog lover but have the worlds noisiest dogs next to me. I'd simply want you to try to train the dog (and let me have cuddles), and ask me on an adhoc basis how it is, its ignoring it and thinking every one else should that drives me insane

Good post @SharkasticRhymes if you implement all these things it should really help. Also when at home keep reinforcing quiet behaviour with praise/treats

I would seethe inwardly but do nothing because I don’t want to fall out with my neighbours,

All our neighbours have dogs, as do we, and they all bark from time to time. However, the people a few doors down have a yappy dog and it drives us potty, particularly at 6 in the morning or late at night. But the yapping is incessant and they don’t seem to make any effort to stop it or to take the dog inside when it is yapping. They’ve just put their house on the market and all the neighbours are saying ‘thank goodness’ because we want to yapping to stop!

Several times (before lockdown) I considered asking if I could take the dog into my own garden or for a walk just to stop the noise.

Op this is also my life!
We had our rescue about 10 weeks ago and he is lovely but completely reactive. He also barks for attention and food

I don't mind him barking when the front door goes as I think that's a good thing.

However in the back garden he barks at everything. A bird flying over, a bumble bee, neighbours talking, lawnmowers, other dogs. Everything!
One of my neighbours complained a few days ago but was very polite and reasonable .

I don't want to be 'that neighbour'

We’re getting our puppy on Thursday, next door have three dogs, I have popped a note in mail boxes and put a message on our community whatsapp apologising in advance for any barking or hearing me going “toilet, toilet, toilet” outside at 2am.

Maybe speak to neighbours and encourage them to tell you if the dog is barking a lot, how loud it is in their home etc.

I live next to.a dog barking household.and it's fucking.driving me nuts.
The factxanyonevowns a dog, cat or penguin should not impact it's neighbours.
I go to sleep hearing the endless fucking barking and wake up to it.
I've been in tears.
We've spoken to them. They are lovely people but have to go out yo work blah de blah.
They have tried. They come home midday to walk them etc but it does fuck all to stop it.
The ONLY reason we've not gone down the official complaint route is because we have no option but to move house to escape it. We are saving to move and I don't want yo have to declare dog barking he'll when we move.

I've had sleeping pills. Last summer I rented a static caravan 4 miles down the road for 6 weeks just to escape it.
Don't under estimate how fucking awful and how far it can push someone.
Someone else in my street has become "craxzy" and vindictive because if it. Endless calls to the gig warden, RSPCA. My neighbours had 5 tons of shit delivered on their driveway they hadnt ordered. I suspect crazy neighbour and although I don't condone it I kind of get it.

The barking is making our lives miserable.
I am a gig lover just not in a position to own my own dog currently that helps but the it's affected my mental health massively.
You need to go yo extremes yo stop it before someone else does that for you. If that means staying home then do it. If you can't afford yo do that, then perhaps this for needs another home with someone who can.

As someone who lives next door to two yappy dogs who bark constantly I can only say it has made living here a misery. I feel like our garden is now out of bounds because the neighbours dogs will just bark at us constantly. Even letting our own dog out in the garden is making me anxious now as his presence sets them barking again even if he isnt barking himself. I'm not really sure what to suggest but at least you are conscious of the barking and want to do something about it. I wish my selfish neighbours showed the same consideration!

1. You can get collars that beep or buzz when a dog barks. They don't hurt the dog at all but train them not to bark.
2. Stimulation/distraction toys like puzzle games or songs might prevent the barking.
3. Alexa has an app called Calm my Pet that relaxes dogs, there's also pet remedy plug ins or white noise that can help

I don't have a solution but as the neighbour of a yappy dog it is very frustrating especially when the dog is let out to pee at night, then if the dog is a rescue it makes you feel like a bigger arse for complaining as the owner shuts you down with he is a rescue or he is very friendly or reactive that is why he barks. I haven't complained. Your neighbour has every right to look out his door every 15 mins, how does the dog know he is stares at your door.
The dog is probably barking all day. Someone needs to stay at home.

In your shoes the first thing I'd do is collect evidence that he is antagonizing her to make her bark.
The second is to train her to bark on command. IME, its not a few barks in response to the postman or passers by that is the problem, its when they won't stop. If you train her to bark on command she'll learn to bark once or twice, then stop for a reward.
Hopefully she will be less reactive and barky as she calms down and settles in. Before you go out give her a good walk to tire her out, and leave her with something to chew on. If you are lucky she might sleep for most of the time.

With respect, if someone warned me in advance that they'd be shouting 'toilet toilet toilet' at 2am, I'd want to wallop them with my toilet scrubber if they woke me with such nonsense at 2am.

You're not capable of looking after the dog and are likely damaging the quality of living of everyone around you. Give the dog or stay at home and train it.

My dog can start barking at nothing at any time of day or night and he's quite loud. He has dementia and he can't help it. I did explain this to the neighbours and I do get him to stop and settle as soon as I can. Maybe have a word, I think mine appreciated me explaining

Before you go out give her a good walk to tire her out, and leave her with something to chew on.

Just a word of caution on this - this only works if walking tires your specific dog out. For some dogs (mostly very nervy ones) it stimulates them, floods them with adrenaline and then makes it harder for them to be alone, not easier.

You're not capable of looking after the dog

The OP says the dog barks for 10 minutes a week. It needs dealing with but is hardly the sign of someone ruining the dog's life or the neighbours lives.

YABVVU OP. There Is nothing worse than repetitive neighbour noise and barking is the worst. He'll either report you and Environmental Health won't give a damn with regard to the dog being rescue. I almost murdered my neighbours when on the receiving end of this behaviour. I'd train or rehome the dog or you may well be in for some real difficulties.

Maybe post on the dog board? They're likely to know more. I think it's called the kennels or something.

I don't know what the official position on them is, but you can get little boxes that detect loud noise and emit a dog whistle sound in response, so it trains the dog not to bark. I'd only use it though if you can be reasonably sure nothing else would trigger it.

You can get collars that beep or buzz when a dog barks. They don't hurt the dog at all but train them not to bark.

All of these collars deliver something that is unpleasant to the dog - they cannot work without doing so. Do not punish any dog, but especially a rescue one, for barking when scared. It starts you down a very dark path indeed with the potential for lots of harm - regardless of wether or not you think the collar hurts the dog.

@Mucklowe

I would want you to have at least one person at home with the dog at all times until it can be trained not to bark.

This. And if you can’t do that, you shouldn’t have got the dog.

Easily solved, honestly.

1/ Frosted window film is your friend. Cut out any chance of an over arousing, frustrating view and you reduce stress which makes it easier to deal with the reactivity to sound. It's even pretty these days!

2/ Arm yourself with decent treats or put them in pots in strategic points around the house if dog will follow you nose glued to pocket...

Every time YOU hear a noise, do not wait for your dog to react, just chuck treats/shove a treat up her hooter/down her neck.

You are aiming for classical conditioning - sound = treat.

Do not:

Use the treats to distract from the sound (as then 'treat = startling sound' and very soon 'treat = bad')

Wait for 'good' behaviour to occur before the treat - we are creating a positive association between sound and treat here, we are NOT training a behaviour, we are changing the emotional response to a stimulus, we can then teach a new behaviour once we have done this.

Once you have a response of 'noise = find human' or 'noise = look happy' you can start to randomise the reinforcers somewhat, mix up the value, quantity and speed of delivery.

Once you have done that you can start to ask for a simple behaviour like sit or down or paw or whatever your dog knows well and finds EASY... but again only SOME of the time, sometimes its still just sound = treat.

Eventually you'll only need to reward some sounds and I would continue to always reward particularly loud, startling or horrid noises if you possibly can, and your dog is as happy if she's asked to sit and then gets a treat as she is if she just gets a treat, the sound now means 'this is probably a GOOD thing'.

I have dogs both sides. A little one on one side who barks occasionally and not for long at people walking past although provides entertainment when he pinches shoes and runs round the garden with them. He’s not a problem.

The large dog on the other side is awful. Loud barks regularly every single day. The people are lovely and as they’re all at home they’ve been trying to reduce the time the dog barks. They’ve put up a shed, screens and barriers. They use their garden a lot so the dog is always out.

I step foot in the garden it barks, I move in my garden it barks, someone walks past it barks, another dog barks it barks. It’s awful.

Even worse their young adult daughter screams at it when it barks. My favourite is the loud “do you want to go in? I’ll put you in? Stop it or you’ll go in!” On the very rare occasion she actually does put it in its out again a couple of minutes later as it barks inside the house too.

Not sure why I’m posting as it doesn’t help your post OP. Please take the advice from the dog owners that have had success in reducing barking. Loud barking dogs are awful.

I am the neighbour with a barking dog, infact 2. I have try to get them in when they start barking too much. Next door has a smaller dog and when it is out, it sets my dog barking and he runs up and down the fence. As soon as this happens i get my dog in, i know it shouldnt be like that.

My eldest got shouted at the other morning as the dog was barking (I was on a night shift). She was in tears when she rang me (she sufers from anxiety). Spoke to the neighbours when i got back and said i will try to get them to stop barking.