to think that whoever let my dog out last night/early this morning is v cruel and evil person who has obv never had pets or children?

[micci25]

was laying bed when i heard my dog barking at the front of the house. when she should be safely locked up in the back yard. went to look out the back window and the back gate was wide open dog no where to be seen!

the back gate is usually locked, i dont know why it wasnt last night but i cant even remember who opened it last so cant blame anyone for that.

cue me getting up immediatley and searching streets for dog. luckily she had come back of her own accord and was waiting at the back gate while i was looking round the front for her !

dp thinks that this is forgivable as who ever let her out probably did because they were sick of her barking. i think that if this is the casae they should have to come to me to complain and not just let my family out!

the dog does bark but only when she hears noises. although this noise can be just a car and usually is. on a weekend her barking is worse because she can hear people coming home in taxis and drunks walking past.

but if she is barking for more than a couple of minutes at a time i will go and see what she is barking at which stops her.

we live oppposite a bus depo and two very busy roads so there is every chance that the dog could have been run over, she is a terrier so it is her nature to hunt and kill, she could very easily have gotten hold of some ones pet bunny, guniea pig, chickens, kitten (she is scared of cats i have two and the bully her but could easily kill a kitten), for all who ever let out knows she could be a biting dog and could have got hold of a child, also who ever did do it must live in my street as we have alley gates so they would also know that i have a four year old dd who would be gutted if her dog was hurt.

am absolutely livid that some one would be so inconsiderate dp still seems to think this acceptable (but admits it is wrong he is just not annoyed by it) as the dog could have woke them up

Part of being a responsible dog-owner is making sure the animal does not negatively impact on the lives of anyone else.

Surely you didn't need someone to come and tell you that it is unacceptable for you to keep a barking dog outside?
One that barks every time a car goes past?

House training a dog takes a bit of time and a lot of patience.

But you need to do it, because you are responsible for your dog, and it is in the best interests of everyone.

Get a crate for her, as other posters have suggested.

And keep her inside where she belongs - as a well-behaved member of the family.

Micki, ALL dogs can be house trained. So if you have consistently trained her (and the key REALLY is consistency) and she still can't do it then she has a medical problem.
So she needs to see a vet, not locking outside!

I think you are being v unreasonable, and if you were my neighbour we would have had words ages ago.

Train the dog properly, or get her to a vet. She is obviously not suited to outdoor living if she barks at every car/bus/train/bike etc.
It is cruel on the dog and unfair on the neighbours.

The barking isn't annoying to you though, because it's your dog. You know that she will shut up in a minute or two but no-one else does. Other people's barking dogs are annoying. If at 3 years old she cannot go through the night dry and you can't trust her in the house then that should be enough to tell you that you need to get her some training, not waiting for someone to complain.

'it is only DP's opinion that the dog bothers anyone'

• so how come someone let your dog out? And how come every single person posting here says you're being unreasonable?

micca - you are missing the point. DOg training is a must when you have a dog and goes on all their lives. By 3 unless there is a medical problem the dog should be fully house trained. All of our dogs are under 2 and been house trained fully for yonks now. I would have been at the vets a long time ago if they werent to investigate why not.

I think it is reasonable for dogs to be outside whilst you are at home and to bark on occasion during the day at a cat or such like. That's when you then bring them in straight away. Any barking in teh day time that goes on for more than a short burst needs to be dealt with. There are numerous training ways to do this.

A dog left outside at night is not being trained. You just dont want the problem in your house so inflict it on your neighbours who havent chosen to have a dog nor chosen not to train your dog.

micci you are expecting others to behave according to your own opinions.

A yappy dog at 1130pm would annoy me. Some people find it hard to get back to sleep once woken. Not everyone is you or your family. How do you know what will keep people awake all night?

And as if your neighbour is going to bother knocking on your door when all he wants to do is put his car in his drive! If your dog started barking when he started drum practice on the front lawn at midnight it would be different but Jeez! all he wants to do is park his car and when he does that is his own business.

Try harder with the toilet training. Go to a training school, consult a vet. You're expecting a lot of pussy footing around you imo, with the 'there's no reason for x to do y'. They have reasons, you just don't know them. Your dog is barking - doesn't matter why, still your problem to sort out. And I suspect you put the dog out at night so it doesn't bark and wake you, not because of the continence issue.

Agree with whoever it was that said your dog sounds stressed. Advise reading a few books or do some google searches on dog behaviour.
Not being smug but my dog will bark on command.(quietly or loudly whichever I ask for) She has just turned 3 and I have only heard her bark on few occasions and not very loud at that.

Just a bit of time and patience thats all espescially regarding the bladder problem

As a dog owner it is your responsibility to sort these things.
Sorry dont mean to sound harsh

I am actually a bit shocked...your dog is a fearful dog and you lock her outside over night?

YABU.

Why on earth should your neighbour have to consult you about his car use? What if the people being disturbed are on the other side, and therefore have NO control over his car use, and your dog making a racket at 11.30pm. That would sure as hell bother me, and most likely wake the children up. Even if I was awake and dcs slept, I would still be irritated as hell by the barking.

And if I lived near you, I wouldn't care less whether your home got trashed by the dog, or she peed in your house, because at least she wouldn't be barking and the people being disturbed and put out would be the people who OWNED her.

Get her trained asap. Do it yourself, or get someone else to do it. In the meantime, keep her inside of a night - because it's really unfair on other people to have to suffer.

A barking is always annoying, trust me. As others have said, the neighbours are not complaining because obviously you know that the dog is barking and have not sorted it, so they must assume you don't care (which by your tone here, you don't). Some (many) people sleep very lightly, and a barking dog is any unpredictable enough noise to not ever be possible to tune out. The only reason your daughter is not woken by is that she is little and sleeps soundly. And frankly, your daughter not being woken should be the least of your worries when you also have responsibilities to those around you.

Honestly, please take her to classes and take a small present around to all your neighbours and apologise in person and tell them you are trying to sort it out. I don't think you can possibly be Ms popular in your area at the moment.

I agree with everyone else.

If she is part of your family, as you pointed out in your op, then she should be indoors.

I would never let my dogs sleep outside on a night.
Never.

And that includes my youngest dog who sometimes does have accidents.

Get thee to a training course, be a responsible dog owner and sort your dog out.

You sound like a classic irresponsible dog-owner. They should re-introduce licences to force people like you to train their dogs properly or stop you having them.

If I said that you are cruel and evil to deprive your neighbours of sleep, you'd think I was bonkers, wouldn't you? Well guess what, that's how bonkers you sound.

You are being absurdly unreasonable.

Just being a pet owner does not make you a good person about dogs you know....

i saw the crate message that wouldnt help as she will and does foul where she sleeps! getting her large cage for the night will be something that i will consider, as i could easily buy spare mats for it so that i can be washing one while she is using the other, and training is something that wev try to do constantly, she has got better and knows that she needs to go out, she just doesnt know to hold it, or how to alert you to the fact that she needs to be out! professional training is something that i am going to be doing with her, but we are busy getting ready to move so it will probably be done once we have moved!

i will also be getting dp to ask neighbours if the dog is a problem for them as he knows them, i dont. but i really dont think that it is her barking that has caused this, as imo she doesnt bark enough for it to be a problem. its probably disturbs us and therefore the neighbours twice a week at the very most. and as i said some weeks not at all. the buses disturb us more. the dog only barks at the buses when she can hear the drivers talking to each other or when they leave the buses running a long time while waiting for some one to open the gates.

taxis she only barks at when they pull up near the alley gates, our house is near the end so this is where she can hear them most.

drunks she barks at when they are being v loud and not just when they walk past, so chances are the drunks will have woken the neighbours before the dog did!

i think that some one in our street is either disturbed mentally or has a v unruley teenager as our back door was 'drilled shut' not along ago, i realised when i walked into the v large nail that was sticking out of of door frame!

Micci, there's a dog up the road from me which constantly barks at night and it really annoys me, sometimes it wakes me up.

I haven't bothered to speak to the owner about it, because if he chooses to leave his dog outside where it can disturb the neighbours, he's obviously a savage and there's no point talking to him. Civilised people don't wait for people to ask them to behave in a civilised manner. That's why your neighbours haven't complained.

Two words. DOG NAPPIES.

micci, if she fouls where she sleeps, can't hold her bladder and does not know when she needs to go, then she has a medical problem.
Honestly, this does not sound normal to me.

Micci you are out of order to leave a dog that barks outside. My dog barks at passing cars, noises in the street etc so she stays inside.I would hate to leave her outside for neighbours to be upset she is my dog not theirs so why should they have to listen to her???

Agree it is upsetting that someone may have let her out but then I can see why they did as I often feel like tranqualising the bloody singing cats in our road.

Micca - your dog is 3. THis thread has made me really cross. You should have got training for it and been to the vets literally years ago. That's what being a responsible dog owner is all about.
Your dog sounds quite nervous actually and should have been trained not to bark at the things you say it barks at especially if you keep it outside.

It sounds like a dog who should be housetrained properly and kept inside apart from a couple of good walks aday. It should also be mentally stimulated over the course of the day.

Not condoning breaking and entering people's gardens to carry out weird pranks, but maybe they drilled it shut so that you couldn't put your dog out in the garden...

Seriously, you don't sound fond of this dog, she is not adequately looked after, you don't sound as though you have enough time for her. Please consider surrendering her to the RSPCA for rehoming to an older couple who can look after better. Ne honest about her problems, and tell that with small children you haven't time to look after her. You will be relieved, trust me. She is living with the wrong people for her emotional needs, you'd be doing her and you a favour. Don't feel guilty about it- you'd be doing the best thing for her.

Micci, do you give her regular walks?

Our Beagle took quite a long time to crack with toilet training but we only did it through consistent walking.
Morning and evening.

7 years on thats exactly what both dogs get.
They know their routine and stick to it.

Sometimes the little one has her mishaps but thats usually if shes been too excited on her walk and not concentrated on what she should be doing.

Why do people start these threads?

Really, why?

"Am I being unreasonable?"

"yes you are"

"No I'm not, how dare you!"

Micci, some people hate dogs, some people are driven NUTS by the sound of a dog barking, and a dog is only an animal.

My point being, people have been killing animals for various reasons for millenia.

Your dog's life is in danger if you don't start taking responsibility for her. I'd start at the vets if she can't stop soiling herself.

i have two dogs, but i would be very angry if someone elses dog was barking at night,. in fact we have had that very problem, it is so frustrating.

even if she only barks for a couple of minutes, that is enough to wake a child or an adult.

i too think it was somoene who was thoroughly pissed off being woken or disturbed at least once or twice a week

WRT to the toilet training... at 3, a dog should be able to hold their wee. you need to get this sorted.

dog nappies! you can actually get them!? i joke to dp all the time that i am going to buy her some! but i didnt think that they were real!

before i moved here i went to the neighbours on one side (the other house was empty) and told them that i would moving in and that i have a dog who will probably bark and howl during the first night or two as she is easily upset and i asked them what day they felt would be best for them for me to move here as i did not want the dog to disturb them too much, i also told them that if she ever was a problem just to let me know! fortunatley the dog was fine when i moved as she was sleeping inside! so they know that i do care.

i put down newspapers and plastic mats on a night it was dp's idea to get a kennel for her

what i meant was, not that my dogs barked at night, but someone whose garden backs onto ours, let their dog out every night until 11pm or later, and it barked a lot and very loudly