Next door's dog barks non-stop when it's owners are out. It's getting me down. Any tips on what to do?

[swingsofglory]

I have tried to be tolerant, think about something else / block out the noise etc but it's really starting to get on my nerves. I have a home office, small children trying to get to sleep against a background of constant whining and barking which is not great.

I've had a word with my neighbour and mentioned, casually in conversation being a non-confrontational type, that their dog seems to miss them a lot as it barks constantly when they're not there. They do know about it, but she says they don't know what to do about it.

They are absolutely soppy about this animal (sleeps on their bed etc) and he's no bother when they're around so I'm not sure if they realise quite how bad it is. I don't want to offend them but does anybody have any training hints or tips that I could 'casually' pass on to them?

Contact your Council noise department and make a complaint. They are quite friendly in dealing with it, will just send a letter advising them of the problems.

is the dog outside?

perhaps you need to point out that the dog is barking because it has seperation anxiety and that their vet will advise them on how to deal with it. More exercise is usually the first recommendation!

Contact your council and they will assess it for you. There are collars that spray a chemical each time it barks which can be effective. They could leave a tv on - sometimes that helps as the dog is fooled into thinking there is somebody in the house. They could take it with them whereever they go, or lend it to somebody else while they are out!!!! I HATE other peoples dogs barking so you have my sympathy. Dogs are almost as bad as windchimes and music in the garden in my opinion, although less controllable!!!!

No, the dog is inside. I think they've put locks on some of the doors so he can't go everywhere in the house, but he certainly roams around - as the barking gets louder as he gets closer...

I know I could contact the council but it all seems a bit official, when we're actually on quite good terms with these people usually. I might suggest advice from the vet though.

could you ask them to confine the dog to one room? or for someone to come and walk the dog if they are out all day?

You don't want to offend them, no.
Although they don't seem that bothered about offending you!

i would go with the 'the dog sounds distressed ' to the owners if they are soppy about their dog ,say it howls and barks constantly ,like it misses them so much ,have a look in the phone book and find dogwalkers numbers ,a knackered dog is a quiet dog ! What breed is it ? how about offering to babysit for a small price ? extra income in these credit crunch times ? You sound like a lovely neighbour by the way

One thing to take into account before you phone the council is whether or not you own your house. If you ever want to sell, the complaint will have to be disclosed to any potential buyers...

But I think your neighbours sound fine, and so I'd try and talk to them first. I think you probably have to be a little bit firm and say, well, this isn't acceptable, what are you going to do about it? If you google dog barking noise nuisance, you'll find a whole heap of leaflets and council advice, so perhaps go in armed with some of that.

And you have my sympathy, we've been in the same boat!

Tape it barking and then play it to them

As the neighbours adore their dog, I'd go with newname's suggestion. It's a good one. Is the dog left alone at home all day every day?

As the neighbours don't know what to do about it, I'd also suggest they find a dog behaviourist via their vet so the dog can be taught to unlearn the barking behaviour and can be taught to cope better with being left alone at home. It shouldn't take much time. To be honest the stress can't be doing the dog much good either.

I'd avoid notifying the council because that won't help solve the problem, it'll just formalise it and will probably upset the relationship you have with your neighbours.

Just be honest with them, explain that it is a problem and ask them to deal with it. I don't mean in an aggressive way but you may have been a bit to 'softly softly' up until now.