Neighbour's dog barking

[User019876]

Hello, neighbour has adopted a six-month old rescue dog from Romania. It's three months on and I'm concerned the barking is becoming a real problem. Have kept a diary today what do people think? It's likely to carry on like this until 10pm. Don't want to put in a formal complaint but am I reasonable to start contacting the neighbour to better train their dog?

08:02 - one bark
08:31 - two barks
08:34 - one bark
08:36 - five barks
08:53 - four barks
08:57 - one bark
09:10 - sixteen barks
12:34 - four barks
13:30 - twenty-eight barks
13:54 - four barks
14:52 - nineteen barks
16:25 - two barks
16:26 - five barks
16:32 - two barks
16:34 - three barks
16:35 - two barks
16:37 - one bark
16:39 - one bark
16:43 - two barks
16:46 - two barks
16:47 - one bark
16:52 - two barks
16:54 - twelve barks
16:59 - one bark
18:14 - nine barks
18:15 - six barks
18:17 - one bark
18:18 - five barks
18:53 - one bark
18:54 - five barks
19:04 - eleven barks
19:06 - twenty-three barks
19:11 - fifty-three barks
19:13 - 100+ barks until 19:17
19:19 - 50+ barks until 19:22
19:33 - two barks
19:47 - three barks
19:49 - one bark
20:00 - three barks

I’m so sorry but that’s nothing- he’s not barking a lot, it’s just that it’s over a full day. One bark or two barks at a time says dog is fine to me- we had a proper barker near us and it would have been 20, 20 etc etc. I’d sometimes get text messages from houses down the road asking was I going in but I knew the dog was just a yapper really (plus she was lovely and great to him). She finally got rid of him because she got so many complaints and sometimes shows me videos they take of the dog just barking. She’s really heartbroken. I know it’s hard to let go, but unless you’re actually truly worried just try to go about your day

Next steps I would like to ascertain whether the barking could be considered excessive. If yes I would like to speak with her, and for her to consider training the dog

One of the craziest posts I’ve ever read on Mumsnet.

Honestly I think just record the period in the evening which was very excessive. It sort of detracts from your argument and makes you look unreasonable to be recording single barks.

Have a civilised conversation, tell her it's bugging you and see what she can suggest to reduce it but it isn't going to be 100% eliminated.

I'm sure my neighbour probably isn't best pleased that we got a dog or that our dog barks. However I am not best pleased that her kids scream incessantly and she screams at them but I don't say anything. I am also not best pleased that they erected an enormous double storey garage right in my sight line or that they got chickens but they are entitled to do both those things so I suck it up and they suck up some barking.

A certain amount of neighbour noise and nuisance is just suburban life.

Totally depends on what counts as one bark.
Is it a "woof" or a woof-woof"? 🤔🤣

or a woof-woof-wooffffffffffff

I don’t see why people think it’s ridiculous to keep a diary
it’s all well and good complaining but you have to have the evidence to justify your complaint
not just a simple it barks a lot

And what if after training the dog is still barky? There are LOADS of dogs that just bark. What will you do then? Ask her to get rid of it?

I think they just think my method of how I've done the diary is stupid. I've never kept a noise diary before 😂 I thought I had to capture everything. I guess it's good I posted here before talking to the neighbour

No I will have to move I guess or complain to environmental health

How long has she had the rescue dog ? They need at least 6 months to adjust to life in a home after a traumatic early life.Does she walk the dog or play with the dog as this will help to relax it.We have a calming plug in from vets for pets and herbal calming chews which helps.We also contacted a dog behaviourist who gave great advice.Perhaps suggest these things to help .

Just put how long they barked for and maybe record it.

My dogs bark, 3 barks and they are in.

Hi there is an anti barking device which is pressed with the aim to stop barking.Another thing the neighbour could try is shaking a bottle with pebbles in to stop the barking.If it barks at people passing the window the neighbour could close the window and blinds and turn the t.v up.Soft toys can reassure the dog plus if they hold a toy in the mouth they don't bark .Show the neighbour my suggestions I received from the dog behaviourist.

Not sure why you are getting so much stick for your post. That amount of barking is incessant. I guess there are a lot of dog lovers on here tonight.

I lived next to somebody with a dog that often went into bark overdrive. I downloaded a high pitched frequency app and put it on when the dog went off on one and it usually stopped barking very promptly.

Not surprised it's driving you mad. That's a lot of barking.

I'd say that's excessive (as a dog owner myself). Assuming she's in during the day she needs to be correcting the behaviour when its occuring. She's brought a new dog into her home and whilst it takes a while for rescues to settle in, it's much easier to set behavioural expectations from the beginning through correction/redirection than allowing the behaviour to ingrain and trying to change in 12 months time. Good luck!

@User019876 the dog is still trying to understand english!! give it a chance.

There’s nothing worse than listening to other people’s dogs bark. My own dog likes the sound of his own voice but isn’t allowed to be annoying so I’ve trained him quiet and he isn’t left out in the garden to be an irritating dick.

All these “dogs do bark” folk have either massively failed in their basic training, are I ignorant fucks who don’t care about their neighbours or are just massive cunts… complain to the council.

I have a dog, I think that's a lot.

I like data and think you needed a detailed list but would consider that list for you and would condense it down for other people e.g.
13:30 and 14:50: barking about x minutes
16:25-17:00: regular barking
18:15: barking for y minutes
19:00-19:20: almost constant barking

I'm wondering whether the evening one was when she went out or something. (My rehome dog had separation issues but I worked on them because it was not fair to my dog or my neighbours. I also did training when I knew my neighbours were not at home where possible - so it wouldn't disturb them too much - and audio recorded my dog so I could see how bad the problem was / if I was makinv progress)

Our council wouldn’t consider this excessive…
we moved
not helpful I know! But if people can live with a dog that barks that much they don’t gaf about training it

Thank you so much this is really helpful! No the evening barking is always really bad everyday and not fully captured here because they segregate him behind a kind of gate while they are cooking and eating. It's all open plan so he can see them I guess and they are in the kitchen while he is kept in the living room. I think if they could just get a handle on the barking between what is usually around 6pm - 8pm that would make a huge difference to me. But every evening it's the same - their strategy is to ignore him while they do foot, eat and clean up. Sometimes he's locked in the house on sunny days while they eat outside. I guess he must be bothersome while they try and eat.

Aaah. I'd probably just focus on the evening one if that's what is bothering you most. I'd say their ignoring strategy is not working! I get their logic - try and ignore bad attention-seeking behaviour, praise good calm behaviour - but there's a point where you have to think I need to change tack! I hope you and your neighbours manage to sort something.

Yes I'd say it was reasonable for her to get rid of it.

The council/environmental health will expect you to speak to your neighbour before escalating it. What do you expect the authorities to do in any case? They'll send a letter to your neighbour in the first instance. Maybe pay a visit if you continue to complain. Eventually you might be given noise monitoring equipment, but I wouldn't think singular barks, occasional bursts of barking throughout the day, and extended periods of no barking, which is essentially what you've written down, would be enough to warrant more extreme action. Besides, all that will take some time, during which you're still experiencing the issue.

Where I live, those who complain most about dog noise and noise from children in the school holidays are those who work from home. While you shouldn't have to, for the sake of your sanity, could you work at the office, a coffee shop, library, or rent an office space at least some of the time? It's clearly driving you mad, and you're focusing on logging it, distracting yourself from your work in the process.

Our neighbour was letting their dogs out in the garden in the early hours of the morning, then leaving them in the garden barking while they had a shower (around 6am each day and we had a newborn). We went round and had a polite word and they stopped letting the dogs out unsupervised in the morning. Thankfully the barking stopped then. Definitely YANBU to have a word.