Does anyone else have a neighbour whose dog just barks constantly when left?

[rainandshine38]

The constant barking is driving me demented. They bought this dog during Covid and anytime it is left it starts barking continuously. It’s worse during school holidays as he takes the kids away and mother goes out leaving it to bark endlessly.

We currently have a reasonable relationship but this is going to test that I think.

In the past I have made comments. They are clearly aware their dog does this because a few weeks ago they asked my daughter if she would sit round at theirs to stop their dog barking whilst they went out. She declined and they still went leaving their dog to bark all evening.

My sympathies @rainandshine38
We have this. Neighbours leave their dog all day constantly barking and howling at anything and everything. Tried talking to them and got told to fuck off.
Got dog warden who advised them to keep their curtains shut so dog triggered less. This worked for all of a week till neighbours stopped complying. Arseholes.

We now play an ultrasonic tone (from a free tone generator app) through a cheap Bluetooth speaker in our garden pointed at their window. Has to be full volume but is silent to humans. So far working well and it’s shut them up.

Good luck

That poor animal. Have you spoken to your neighbour about it? He probably assumes it'll just sleep while he's out. He shouldn't have a dog if he's going to leave it all night.

Sorry, but that's really cruel to the dog to subject it to a sound that will cause it distress. I totally get the barking is annoying but you should report to the RSPCA and they can take the dog off the owners.

Tried RSPCA. Not interested.
Dog is totally distressed barking its head off all day. Looks to be snoozing most of the time the tone is running. Or it buggers off to the rear of the house where it can’t see out and therefore doesn’t get triggered to bark.
Being subjected to hours of barking isn’t “annoying” it is tortuous, especially when you’re trying to work or sleep. Do I just put up with it then and go quietly politely mad??

So you make a dog who is already stressed because it’s left alone even more stressed with a noise that dogs hate?. You don’t sound very nice yourself, infact you sound quite cruel given you play it at full volume. It’s your neighbour that is the problem, not the dog.

Yes.

But one of my kids plays the clarinet and the other the drums so...

😆

Absolutely not! No one should put up with it. I'm surprised the RSPCA refused to help though. I'd go back to the council and keep reporting it, every day if necessary, until further action is taken.

we have this same situation. The owners refuse to use a dog sitter and try to deny its their dog that is barking. They ignore our complaints until they get home, the dog stops barking and then text us to say “it’s quiet now”. They are utter wankers. We have directly begged them to use a dog sitter (lots of people locally who would do this) but they ignore our requests - won’t even discuss it.

We are keeping a noise log in preparation for a formal complaint to the council. We have also in desperation tried using a high pitched noise (look it up in YouTube) to deter the dog from barking. Guess what, the dog owners were VERY quick to complain about that. But, it did stop the barking.

So, follow your councils rules, keep a log, record the noise, formalise a complaint and go by the booK. Or take revenge with a Bluetooth speaker and ultrasonic noise.

They won’t know who the complaint came from.

We had terrible problems with large dogs barking next door and reported to Environmental Health who, after them sending them a warning letter and us keeping a log, brought round sound equipment and recorded the noise over a few days. They then gave them another warning and started court proceedings which resulted in a fine. Thankfully they moved shortly after

Buy them a bark collar, get yourself a high pitched thingie that stops the bark? Or maybe they should be giving the poor pups some chews, mats and things to keep him busy.

A book called ‘be right back’ and strap in. It’s a long road if it’s true separation anxiety

Bark collars are vile devices. And chews are useless if it’s true separation anxiety. The dog is in a state of panic. No chews, toys, music, tv left on, will make them snap out of it. Proper specialist training is required, sometimes under the guidance of a qualified behaviouralist. Please do not give people advice like a bark collar or high pitch noise. You’ll just make matters worse for the poor dog.

Try to contacting council.

@Damnd if your dog is barking when it’s alone then you need to stop leaving it alone.
Set up a camera and see if you can leave the dog for 30 seconds without barking. If so, increase the time gradually.
If not, then really scale things back. Put your shoes on, then sit down again. Shoes and coat, then sit down again.
if the dog is barking, you’ve gone too far.
Set the dog up with a quiet, cosy space. I always leave mine with a tiny treat or a meal (if it’s meal time).
Gradually building this up creates a positive association to being alone.

Try to think of the dog is feeling distressed and how to help it feel happy and relaxed, rather that ‘how to stop barking’.

All behaviour is communication.
It’s our job as owners to decipher that communication and support the dog.

Recently had this with a newer neighbour whose dog I could hear from my house across the road with windows closed the dog would
sit at the window all day barking at everyone and dog that went by. I wfh and it drove me mad. Poor big dog is never walked & left alot. I put a note on the local community page asking for advice didn’t name but others said they had raised concerns too. I reported it to dog warden but they said they don’t deal with barking as it’s a civil issue. RSPCA state on their page they also not interested in dogs barking and being left alone for long periods. Surely it’s a training issue. We are surrounded by dogs most of whom you never hear.
the owners in my case must have read the post because now they shut the curtains so haven’t heard the dog for any length of time. Surely don’t get a dog if you can’t provide stimulation and care for it.

Finally a sensible response. It took me almost 2 months to desensitise coat, shoes, keys and nearly a year to get to 3ish hours.

I’ve had dogs all my life. 7 to be exact. All raised and trained in the same way and only my latest has true SA. The suggestions of bark collars and high pitch noise from neighbours is so worrying! I don’t know what’s worse for the poor dog.

Well that makes you a cruel git then. Well done you

Yes I have told him in passing that his dog is upset when he is out. I think he knows the dog has anxiety, and gets upset because I’ve seen him return home while the dog is in full meltdown, but he has no one to mind him while he works.

We have neighbours that leave dogs in the garden to bark for hours, I find it really distressing.

i complained about one of them last
month when the poor thing had been out in the garden barking non stop for three hours in January. They have quietened down now, but I can’t work out if they are oblivious to it or just don’t care about their neighbours and what is reasonable?

My neighbours know their dogs howl every time they leave them. They don’t care

the dogs were ok,during lockdown as they were at home but now they not there

ive told them it’s heartbreaking hearing them howl for hours and hours but they don’t care

Do you know what’s almost worse? A crying dog ☹️ Our evil NDNs got a dog during covid, and from the beginning regularly left it as a young puppy on its own for hours at a time, and we could hear it crying - it was heartbreaking. Fast forward six years and thankfully it mostly sleeps while NDNs are at work, but when it wakes it either cries or barks until someone comes home. It has terrible separation anxiety. And unsurprisingly never gets walked.

Magic steaks 🥩 🪄

I have this. New neighbours moved in next door during lockdown and after a couple of months got a German Shepherd who is very reactive. I was working from home and the dog could be heard barking by my colleagues over teams meetings. It has barked at 1.00am and woken me up many times but they don’t care.
The dog howls when they first go out, and then barks throughout the day at anything annd everything. I tried speaking to my neighbours to explain about the constant barking and howling and they replied that ‘dogs bark so nothing can be done’. Part of the problem is probably due to it never being walked so never gets any exercise.
It has got a little better since they now have a child.

Our neighbours were the same. I shouted to dog to shut up and he did every time

He needs to rehome it.