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[Kelsar]

Hello, I wanted your views on dogs barking.
We own two dogs, one of the lives to bark, he will bark a few times a day and admittedly sometimes more if people are at the side of the house making noise. I seem to think that it is his home - his territory and he should be entitled to bark to protect his pack. It does not go on for ages or minutes it just a few times day. When we are not at work.

I have a feeling my neighbour is about to complain as I have seen him wander out a few times. But he is the only one who seems to have a problem with it.

Firstly I want to know what people would say was excess barking???

Secondly - how do you stop a dog from barking???

Dog barked twice in 10months !!!

Hahahahaha at well behaved! She's a puppy and can be a complete bloody hooligan!!!!! However I have worked really really sodding hard with her. She's a wolfhound so I CAN'T have her behaving in any way that could be construed as anti social. She does the school run each day. I can't have her jumping up or barking or pulling on the lead.
It's not about how bad you think it is. Of your dogs are barking and bothering the neighbours then the responsible thing to do is to try and stop it.
Our old neighbours used to open the back door. Dog would charge out barking. He would go quiet for a bit then see or hear something and start barking again. They would shout. He would bark more. Thanks for that. That sleeping baby? Not any more. Would drive me crackers.

Hooligan evidence! (Ball was like that when she found it!)

I am trying
I will be taking him out later
And ask explained before they went for a long long walk yesterday

My dachshund is a Barker too. Barks whenever anyone is at the door or when people come in. We managed to quieten her a bit by distracting her with a squeaky toy or kong+ paste just before people came in, and now she's not as bad. I teach violin at home though so I can preempt when visitors will arrive

Thank you for reply to my post.
It's nice to know it's not just me who has a dog who barks every now and then

Some dogs are naturally more barky than others in the same way that some children are naturally quieter and less excitable than others. Dog owners who think that their dog being quiet is solely down to their superior training are as tiresome as parents who think their child being quiet is due to their superior parenting.

Having discussed the issue of barking dogs with our local environmental health, apparently it is only really considered a nuisance when barking goes on for 5-10 minutes or more, multiple times a day. Occasional barking of a short duration at the postman, door-knockers etc is not considered a problem.

Placemarking as I have a puppy barker too and am working bl**dy hard to curb it, but am interested to hear non-dog-owners views of acceptability

In terms of stoping the barking: we've been working with a behaviouralist and nailed barking out of the house pretty much now (taken 2 months of intensive work, and he is only little so doesn't have years of barking behind him, so to speak!) At the most basic you need to: identify triggers; work on changing behaviour to that trigger (i.e. Teaching an acceptable response) whilst trying to keep them below the level of the trigger, so he doesn't bark. Does that make sense? If you google the triggers, you'all find plans to put in place but they won't be easy fixes!

I should add, I contacted environmental health about our neighbours' dogs, not mine!

@reallybadidea
Nowhere did I say my dog being quiet is due to superior training

Some dogs bark more than others. Like some children are noisier than others. The difference is whether you accept that or work to curb the nuisance to your neighbours.

Mine barks when someone knocks on the door and when he hears a noise he doesn't like. Both situations he is barking to alert us that something is wrong. I actually praise him as I think alerting us is correct but he barks then stops. One neighbour said she never hears him and didn't realise we have a dog, the other loves dogs and doesn't have a problem with him. I hear barking in the distance from surrounding houses more than my dog and I just accept it as part of living near others.

Interestingly a delivery man commented the other day how good he was as he barked when he knocked then stopped when I went to the door. He mentioned making deliveries to some houses where the dog barks and never stops barking.

I think your exactly right dogs are like children some are noisier than others.
He is never allowed to bark for more than 5 minutes - I very much doubt it has every bark on stop for even a minute.
He is a cavachon so doesn't have a loud deep bark or a nigh pitch bark just a woof.

The thing is you clearly think it bothers the neighbours. Yet all you do is keep justifying it isn't that bad. Either it's annoying your neighbours so you do something about it. Or it isn't.

Mine barks excitedly when we come home.
He barks on windy days when things fly around the garden.
He barks if a cat sits outside one of 'his' windows.
He barks if children play outside the house or people walk past.

I intervene him immediately after the first three.
The last one I feel, it clearly isn't bothering said people/children or they'd play on the other side of the road.

I think it bothers my neighbours as I see him
Coming out and huffing and puffing yet he didn't come and say anything.

What I am trying to say and get a feel for whether it is annoying my neighbours and if you were my neighbour would t annoy you - what I am trying to say is that I don't want to bust a gut and silence my dog if it isn't fair

Thats all

Picklemepopcorn thank you for your post

Perhaps he thinks you won't do anything? Have a word with him? But if he IS bothered then what will you actually do?
Only take dogs in the garden on a lead?
Postbox so no post coming through door?
Nets or blinds so they can't see people outside?
Ensure they are walked every day?
Use dog walker or doggy daycare?
Train a quiet command? (Mine used to pace around the living room so we have had to encourage quiet and still!)

We have a hooligan dog next door. He is out in the back garden very early. He lets out a single woof and sets off all the other dogs. Eventually the other neighbourhood dogs settle down, at which point hooligan shouts 'woof' again. Next door are very smug because their dog doesn't bark much.

Picklemepopcorn that sounds like an awkward situation.

I have put lots of things in place over the weekend and will continue you them from now on.

Doggy day care is an option as it would be an unnecessary cost as we work shifts and dogs are left alone for very long.

Sorry
I don't mean
Doggy day care is an option
I meant
Doggy day care isn't an option

Pickle that does sound like a hooligan but not mine! We have a she. No woods and trust me I know she's a hooligan (working on it!). I'm very far from smug!

I will now ensure they are walked every day and sometimes twice a day

How long do you walk your dog for?

You said you can't walk them some days due to work commitments. How can that be if they aren't left for long?