Neighbour’s dog barking a lot shut in garden for a long time

[Beckywiththegoodnails]

I don't have dogs and I don't really understand dogs, so I don't know if this is a reasonable thing for my neighbour to do or not. His dog goes out into his garden very early in the morning, often around half five, and barks for at least 2 hours. I then go to work or to my study at the front of the house, so don't hear when the dog goes in, but I don’t think he’s there mid-morning or at lunchtime. Trying to track dog’s movements but I can only really hear when I’m in bed. He's also in the garden very late at night, barking, again for hours. I have previously (five years ago!) texted the neighbour when the dog has been barking in the middle of the night and he said a couple of times that he had accidentally shut him out and didn't realise he was in the garden. This is now happening too regularly to be accidental and I've only previously texted when it was the middle of the night, it’s very early and very late though.

The neighbour is quite elderly and has always previously seemed to love his dog, he lives alone. I'm wondering if I should text just to see if the dog is okay and maybe even offer to walk the dog, as I'm worried that perhaps the neighbour isn't coping with his dog. But again, I don't have dogs, so I don't know if this is reasonable.

I can live with the barking, I’m just worried about the neighbour and the dog. It will have to be text not a knock on the door as neighbour is deaf and it’s very hard to communicate face to face (and he never answers his door from experience!)

I think you need to text and ask if everything is OK, as you've noticed his dog is in the garden for long periods of time, and is barking a lot. If the man is deaf, perhaps he can't hear the dog but equally if he's elderly, could he be starting to forget the dog, much more? It might mean the dog is being neglected, even if accidental.

If neighbour is elderly and deaf, is it possible that he's not hearing the dog barking? Also possible that he is suffering some cognitive decline if he's forgetting that the dog is in the garden! I would text him that you're concerned about the dog being in the garden for long periods and barking and ask if he is finding the dog difficult to manage.

Go round and tell neighbour that their dog is barking for too long at unsociable hours and if they don't stop it you'll complain to the appropriate authorities!