Complaint about my dog barking - upset

[flixy102]

Hello all

Yesterday we received an 'advice leaflet' entitled 'is your dog barking too much?' or something similiar. It was 6 A4 pages stapled together and looked as if it had been printed from a home computer. There was no name or address on it.

I was a tad confused about where it had come from, so this morning I rang our local council to see if it sounded like something they had sent. The lady told me that they had received a query in December regarding their noise policy and that the noise in question was a dog barking on my road (my dog).

I'm really upset by this, I hate thinking that someone finds my dog a nuisance (obviously I know not everyone thinks my dog is adorable). We live in a detached house in a busy area, during the day when we are both out at work the dog (a cairn terrier cross) is totally fenced in at the rear of our house and has access to our garage for shelter. When we are home he has full access to our garden at the front and side of the house (which has a lowish wall but dog cannot escape). He will bark at people passing but stops when they pass.

Sorry this is so long I just don't know what to do!!!

speak to your neighbours to find out what is going on while you are at work.

I feel very sad for your dog.

Have you considered doggy day care or at the very least a dog walker? I'd stop leaving him in the garden, you are putting him at risk of theft.

I would say that one of your neighbours has been affected by your dog barking enough to call the council to see if there was anything they could do and has then researched/printed some information from the internet. They probably don't like confrontation so thought this might be a way to tackle something they obviously feel to be a problem.

I have to say that intermittent barking can be really annoying and I feel for your neighbours. I also feel for your dog who must be really quite bored alone all day. Did you find any of the information in the leaflet helpful?

Keep your dog in so your neighbours don't have to put up with it.

My neighbours had two large dogs which had full access to the garden and shelter. One of the dogs used to howl continuously. You couldn't call it barking; it sounded as though the dog was distressed. Earplugs helped to drown out the sound.

The dog might be barking more than you realise while you're out. How long do you leave him alone for on a typical day?

And you let him run outside and bark when people pass the house, even when you're home? Surely you can understand that the noise must be annoying for your neighbours?

I think you need to keep him in more, and if you're out at work too long for him to be left indoors, then I agree with Dooin - you need to be thinking about dog walker or daycare or some such arrangement. Otherwise it's not really fair on either the dog or your neighbours.

Sorry a quick highjack, how do you stop them barking at people passing and also people coming to the door. Dog does not bark when out for a walk.

Flixy, it does sound very much as though your neighbour has sent you this as a way of trying to let you know without confrontation that your dogs are barking too much.

Like other posters, I would be terribly concerned about the fact your dogs are loose during the day and are running round the front garden even when you are in. Without worrying you too much, dog theft is a very real problem particularly if your dog is a pedigree, or desirable cross, or if your dog is small enough to pick up and run with (which they probably are) and particularly if they are not neutered or chipped (so can easily be resold and also used for breeding). Have a look here at DogsLost - they estimate they deal with forty thefts a day just for their site.

There are lots of options while you are at work - doggy day care can often be great, or getting in a professional dog walker.

It's worth doing everything you can to avoid this becoming a full blown Council complaint, since if it does you could end up being forced into expensive action and also you will have to declare it if you ever try to sell your home which can put a lot of purchasers off.

Thanks everyone for your replies, I've taken your comments on board and my parents (who live down the road) are going to look after the dog for some of the time anyway when we are not there. I work all day but my DH works shifts so usually the dog is left for a few hours on his own. I've given him his kong filled with nice stuff to hopefully keep him occupied.

Think maybe my post was a bit unclear, when he is left alone he is fully enclosed to the rear of our house and no one can see him and he cannot escape. When out in the main garden he is always supervised bit will bark at someone passing. Sorry if that wasn't clear in my original post.

Sounds to me as if they might be concerned more than angry.

I´d feel sorry for a dog left for hours.

Glad that you´ve sorted something out.