The be angry at neighbour complaint

[leopardsponge]

I have been contacted by the council because one of my neighbours has complained about my dog barking. I don't know which neighbour, but I have a strong feeling who.

My dog goes outside first thing (around 7am) to pee and then is out during the day at various times. The garden backs into a footpath so people do pass and yes he does bark but he's a dog, that's what dogs do.

At least complain to me?

Why not complain to you? Presumably because you're a massively inconsiderate person, and there's no guarantee that complaining to you would change anything. Why do you need to be told that waking people at 7am is not ok? Did it not occur to you?

I probably sound overly stroppy but honestly, neighbours with no regard for others are just the worst and really affect quality of life. I've been there, sadly.

I had that,

7 of the buggers!

The thing with barking dogs is that if you keep talking or shouting at them to stop, they just think you are joining in with their barking and they will continue. Use very high value treats or a toy and distract them that way.

Or costs that you should have considered as part of owning a dog responsibly?

It is your neighbour who should be angry that you are not taking this complaint seriously. I do understand why you feel that it is not a problem you can solve, but you got the the dog of your own free will.

Dogs are animals and trying to get them to behave like humans is a basic flaw in the whole pet-owning choice. If someone walks by, a dog will bark - that is what they are programmed to do. You cannot expect them to think of the neighbours - they are animals with animal brains.

You may have to get rid of the dog if you want to remain on good terms with your neighbours.

You're a selfish person with no consideration for other people.

HTH

As an owner of 3 dogs, of which one loves to bark given the chance, you need to get this nipped in the bud.

It might be an idea that you go out with the dog on a lead and start training from there.

Nothing worse than a barking dog, regardless of what time it is.

I do try! I say to him to stop but it does nothing. I let him outside thinking it's the right thing to do because he doesn't want to be indoors. It's hard to be out every single time he is because it's raining and I can't trail the DCs to the garden all day long.

Yet another dead beat dog owner

OP, could you erect a fence between your garden and the public footpath so your dog can't see people passing by? Otherwise, do investigate an animal behaviourist. It's probably worth the cost to save a load of grief.

A half hearted "stop it" and a list of excuses isn't cutting it.

You need to sort it without the "but it will cost money or take effort" excuses. Didn't you realise that getting a dog would take effort on your part?

I think that @leopardsponge wanted the neighbour to complain to her first, because she (the OP) was convinced that had the neighbpur done so, she would have just needed to explain to the rightly annoyed neighbour, that her other dog doesn't bark (are they supposed to be grateful about that?), and this one is just being a dog, so that is that. Maybe she then thought that the neighbour would think,

"Oh gosh yes, why hadn't I realised that the poor dog is just being a dog. I must stop being so selfish about missing my last bit of sleep every single night."

Unfortunately for the OP, she did not get the result she was hoping for, actually was probably expecting, and now doesn't know what to do. I doubt very much that she likes the idea of getting up at 6.50 in the morning to take her dog for a walk, but that is what she needs to do if he can't wait any longer! I am wondering if because it hadn't seemed to even cross her mind to take her dog for a walk at 7.00am, if she is one of these people who get a dog, and never take it for a walk.

OP, if you do happen to still be reading these comments, your dog needs at least two good walks a day, and depending on your breed of dog and it's age, they need to be for at least half an hour a day, to up to about 5 hours a day if you have a husky or similar. Your dog desperately needs walks for mental stimulation, as well as exercise - obviously your other dog needs these things too!

You can get away with just taking your dogs out for a quick walk of 5 to 10 minutes first thing in the morning, if you then take them out for two proper walks later. If you have young children in the house who you obviously can't leave at home if their isn't another adult in the house, then put a lead on the noisy dog and take them into the garden, but at the first hint of a bark, take him straight back in again.

I do have a suggestion for the OP's neighbours though, I wonder if the OP's nearest neighbours would be willing to be woken up at about 4 or 5 am for a few mornings, and could borrow a cockeral from a friendly farmer...?

It's not the right thing to do from the neighbours' perspective though, only from the dog's perspective. He's a nuisance, and he doesn’t understand being told to stop. So you'll have to keep him in.

I understand that you are not sure how to approach this issue, but you do need to put some time and effort into training your dog. Your dog doesn't understand what 'stop it' means because you haven't trained him to know. Positive reinforcement training with support of a dog trainer and behaviourist is the key to solving this issue. It might have a cost but it's part of dog ownership and also worth putting in the time to prevent further issues.

I hope it's a wind you because I feel sorry for the neighbours putting up with you if not. It's not acceptable to inflict your dog's annoying behaviour on others.

Well, what would complaining to you achieve? You've just admitted that you're a lazy sausage that isn't willing to train your dog properly. The neighbour did the right thing. Your dog sounds like a pain in the arse. I say that as a dog owner.

I’ve been woken up by one of my neighbours dogs barking everyday at around 7am since before Christmas and it genuinely makes my life a misery. I don’t want to be THAT neighbour so I haven’t complained but it’s probably heading that way.

every bank holiday, Christmas morning, work morning, weekend morning I hear this dog relentlessly bark none stop for up to 20 minutes at a time. To be honest I don’t know how it doesn’t do their head in aswell!!

Then we hear it of an evening. It drives me insane! Train your dog or supervise it outside. Take the dog on a walk instead of just letting it out? Not fair on everyone else!

You put him on lead. You take him outside. You bring him back in the second he barks. It’s not complicated. At the very least you do that ^ before 9am and after 7pm.

It’s hard to believe someone could be this lazy.

My old next door neighbour used to leave got work at 6.30am so their dog was outside every week day at half 5 and left to bark for a good half hour whilst they got ready. She did sod all too and then was amazed when several neighbours complained to the council about her noise too. She was also amazed and 'heard nothing' when her new boyfriend moved in and played music at full volume until the early hours and banged on walls and screamed threats to us and the other side neighbours through the walls as well as booming music out in the garden too. That was also reported.

Just because you can't control your dog doesn't mean you get to disturb everyone else in your street without any comebacks. Given your response here it's obvious you've no real interest in stopping it even if it was reported to you directly.

Barking at everyone who passes is really antisocial, both for the passers-by and your neighbours. You need to get on top of it.

@leopardsponge

I can understand why the complainer(s) didn't approach you. You've had many responses advising what to do and don't seem keen to find a resolution.

It's unacceptable for your neighbours to suffer the consequences of a poorly trained dog. The barking is a learned behaviour and as a responsible owner you should be looking to correct it otherwise the complaints will rightly continue.

You can't/don't want to spend time and money on correcting this issue. Therefore you aren't capable of being a responsible dog owner to this dog right now. Not trying to be harsh but that's your reality. You'll keep getting complaints and fines if you don't rehome the dog or train him to stop barking. That's the beginning and end of it.

Well, if that is your attitude, no wonder the neighbour didn't speak to you first.

You aren't prepared to do anything about it until you are forced to.

Dog's bark, cat's poo in people's gardens, babies cry, children scream and shout. There's nothing you can do about it. It's different if you are blasting music out or a dog is stuck outside/inside barking morning, noon and night, that's what the council should get involved with but the other things are just part of everyday life. Some people should just go and live on a desert island.