To tell someone their dog barks for 3 minutes?

[PiggyTigger]

My neighbour’s dog barks for a good solid 3-5 minutes when they leave it alone, after that, it does usually settle but this is daily and sometimes twice a day. I have no idea how long it’s left for at a time, so don’t want to say they’re just leaving it but it’s quite annoying. DP (who doesn’t live with me but visits a lot) has told me it’s not that bad and for a relatively short period so we shouldn’t bother, but I’m not necessarily doing it out of having a go, but maybe they’re not aware. Either way, is 5 minutes or so considered prolonged?

AIBU to tell them?

I can see both sides. We are trying to teach our pup barking doesn’t get what you want all the time but the way we have been told to teach that means he has to bark and learn the silence is what wins. He barks when we leave for a few mins and then when we come back, also occassionally while we are out. We have apologised to our neighbours and explained we are teaching him quiet but it takes time.

For everyone saying 3-5 min isn't long time, I challenge you:
Set a really annoying ring tone on your phone and set it going for 5min every day. bet it will really get on your nerves after a few days.

Depends on the time of day I think. Middle of the day unless you think something is bringing this barking on, I would say nothing.

Do you live in Yorkshire I've caught my gsd doing this on CCTV he lies on his bed nice as our with his sister and his yummy chewy until he hears the car go off the drive then he's full on 'ive been abandoned I'm alone I'm so lonely' for about 5 mins remembers his snack and lies down and munches. His bark isnt his sad bark though it's his she'll come if I kick off bark

Three to five minutes of noise may well get on your nerves, but briefly hearing a noise that you find annoying is something we all have to live with. Lawnmowers, strimmers, pressure washers etc are annoying, and they go on for a lot longer than five minutes. My next door neighbour’s kids have a swing in their garden that creaks really loudly, but I wouldn’t tell them they shouldn’t be using it for five minutes at a time.

I would rather a dog bark for 3-5 mins, than listen to NDN shouting at each other.

Dogs bark - it's a very rare dog that never, ever makes a peep.

Our dog always barks whenever one of us comes home - however, I watch him on camera and know he doesn't make a peep otherwise. He just recognises our cars and gets himself over-excited.

I don't worry about it, just like I don't worry when our neighbours slam doors early in the morning, or use the lawnmower on a Sunday, or play their music loudly on a Friday night sometimes.

Part of living near other people is accepting that they make noise occasionally - and that includes dogs.

My friends dog barks when she leaves her for a couple of minutes when she leaves. She then settles down after and does not bark otherwise. She has apologies to her neighbours but they are really lovely and told her they understand that there is nothing she can do as she does she has to pop to the shop etc.

Annoying noises are, unfortunately, part and parcel of living in close proximity to other people. Nobody will do anything about a dog barking for three minutes, once or twice a day. It's nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Our ndn had a dog that barked from when she went out to when she returned sometimes over 8 hours. The poor dog sounded so distressed and I put a very polite note through just to make her aware. Well that was a mistake because from them on she would bang doors all the time sometimes 5/6 times all at once. The woman's not normal. The council suggested we kept a diary. My DH filled a notebook with times and they were going to bring sounds equipment but COVID happened and they couldn't do it. Eventually she had the dog pts apparently he was ill. Now we just ignore each other. So I'd be grateful for 5 minutes twice a day.

No don't be silly. You might complain if it barked for 3 hours but 3 mins is nothing in the grand scheme of things. I less it's happening at 3 in the morning?

Mumsnet gets more and more ridiculous about dogs 🙄

Lots of, sounds are annoying babies ,dogs ,people shouting at each other ,the bin men etc etc.

I'd love it if my neighbour's dog only barked for 3-5 minutes when they left it unattended, rather than the entire time they are out, which can be up to 4 hours...

My neighbours dogs howl - the record is 6.5 hours last Tuesday - I've not complained as yet but I'm very close to doing so.

Only on mumsnet!!!

I'd not be happy if my clients dogs were barking that long, it suggests some anxiety (checking they are really gone) but from a legal POV, thats not a noise offence, even if it were three or four times a day, it still wouldn't be.

Annoying as it is - and it would annoy me, I can't stand hearing distressed dogs and my job is trying to ensure dogs aren't distressed - hearing annoying noises during normal 'noisy' hours is just part of life and beyond moving to a mountain top or the bottom of the sea there isn't much you can do about it.

YOu could stick a note through the door letting them know the dog barks for perhaps longer than they realise and they may want to seek some separation anxiety advice to stop things getting worse - free resource often referred to on here is the Facebook group Dog Training Advice and Support (this also has seperate subscription groups for specific issues, including separation anxiety). There's also some decent books, Julie Naismith and Malena DeMartini spring to mind.

Approached from that angle, you may swerve falling out with your neighbours, but if you go from the 'this is annoying' angle, you're likely to get absolutely nowhere and may well make matters worse!

It's a few minutes, I really wouldn't say anything. I hope they aren't leaving the dog for too long though.

One of our dogs is a barker. We have done/do lots to try to minimise it but she's an anxious dog after a rough start to life. It can't always be stopped and a few minutes the case of your neighbours dog isn't too bad.

My neighbour puts her dog out in the garden in dry weather - while she is in the house - and it barks at everyone who walks past, it barks if someone opens their front door three houses away, it barks at cars, other dogs, aeroplanes, birds. All afternoon.
Five minutes twice a day would be bliss by comparison.

You can’t be serious 🙄 If you can’t deal with 5 minutes of slightly irritating noise then perhaps you need to move to the countryside somewhere you won’t have neighbours. You might hear some birds tweeting though unfortunately.

YANBU. I would absolutely be making this their problem too.

As someone who deals with neighbours dog barking from 30mins to a good couple of hours when they go out.. pretty much daily I would say get over it. 5 minutes is nothing in the grand scheme of things

Seriously. 5 mins and then it stops?

🤔

God alive.

I used to live in a flat above someone like that. 6 hours was a good day. And he never cleared up the dog shit from his garden (dogs were only let out 10 minutes or so maybe in 8 hours).
Reported him to RSPCA, and council.

You could always record it and play it back through their letterbox at 3am every morning