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The doghouse

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How much dog barking is considered a nuisance to neighbours?

41 replies

Luelare · 18/10/2021 13:58

No, I'm not the neighbour in question – I'm the owner of the dog! We live in a detached house on a compact estate (i.e. most houses have shared driveways) with only a few meters between houses. We have a 1-year-old young adolescent collie who barks at certain noises coming from outside. We're working on it using counter conditioning and other methods with the help of a trainer, but it's a very very slow progress due to his anxiety and age.

I have no idea if neighbours can hear our dog barking when they are inside their houses (with our windows closed) – these are 8-year-old redrow homes so I guess the sound isolation is "okay".

Anyway, let's say they CAN hear our dog bark (it's a loud bark, though low-pitch) and I'm wondering whether you personally would consider it a 'noise nuisance'? He doesn't bark for long; it's 1 to 15 barks lasting 1-20 seconds. But on "bad" days when there's a lot of triggers, which happens roughly 3-4 days a week, these bark bursts can happen once in 1-2 hours on average. Would you consider that too frequent? Some days are good and he might only utter a single bark all day, and on very good days he doesn't bark at all.

I'm just working hard on trying to get him less afraid of the noises, but the fact I'm also worrying about what our neighbours might think isn't helping me, and when he barks that's sometimes the first thing I think about, and perhaps he senses my tension which certainly doesn't help.

Nobody's complained yet, and unfortunately I'm too shy and generally introverted to knock on their door and ask. Perhaps I will one day if I pass them on the street, but we hardly ever see any of them / everyone keeps to themselves.

OP posts:
Etonmessisyum · 18/10/2021 14:54

I redirect but calling him - I have some ‘high value’ toys (only used for barking etc) his are a squeaky ball and and a sheepskin tugger thing so I’ll move him away if he’s going mad which he could at times. The barking def has settled it can be exhausting and trying to stop it. We also put stuff so he couldn’t see out of the window as there is a school nearby so loads of kids walking past and dogs etc

AlbertBridge · 18/10/2021 14:56

A low bark is much, much less annoying than a yap. Our horrible NDN had two small, yappy dogs for a while that she'd leave outside all day. Honestly it was unbearable. Googling "neighbours dog yapping" I found out a man in American had shot his neighbour's yappy dog!

icedcoffees · 18/10/2021 14:56

@Luelare that's good you wouldn't use a bark collar! They're horrible things and can cause so many more issues than they solve :)

Have you ever tried teaching your dog to "speak" and then teaching him quiet? It's a good technique. So, you teach them to "bark" on command, then while they're barking, introduce the "quiet" command (which can be verbal or hand signals). Reward the quiet.

Victoria Stilwell did a bit of this training on an episode of It's Me or the Dog - I'm sure you could find it on YouTube or via Google. KikoPup is also someone who does great training videos, though I'm not 100% sure if she tackles barking.

RandomUsernameHere · 18/10/2021 14:58

Do the neighbours work from home? What you've described wouldn't really bother me, but DH and I are both back in the office every day. It would probably be annoying if wfh though.

Luelare · 18/10/2021 15:02

Thank you so much everyone for sharing your thoughts. Seems this does divide opinions a bit, but most of you seem to regard this kind of barking as part of everyday estate life, as it's not incessant or during the night. Your answers really make me feel relieved and a little less embarrassed/bad about it, knowing it's more likely that our neighbours don't mind it, or at least not as much as I think they are. Of course, I will actively keep working on it, because it's not something WE want to hear either (due to the loudness and suddenness) and most importantly, I'd like our dog to feel safe and relaxed, not nervous.

OP posts:
ReeseWitherfork · 18/10/2021 15:11

@icedcoffees

Do not use a bark collar. They are illegal in many places for good reason - you risk the dog associating what they're barking at with the vibration/shock/spray of the collar, which can very easily lead to, say, a dog barking at a noisy child becoming scared of children, and therefore aggressive toward them.
Oh that's interesting. I didn't know that, and I did a fair bit of research beforehand. We were just at our wits ends with it. It was a short high pitched noise, I'd certainly never use anything that shocked my dog, that sounds horrendous. Luckily no adverse affects here.
Luelare · 18/10/2021 15:11

@icedcoffees Thanks! I love KikoPup and her videos! :D She does have a clip on barking, which I've been doing with e.g. letters coming through the door, or someone knocking on the door. It's gotten to the stage our dog doesn't raise his hackles anymore, but does still bark... long road!

OP posts:
freshflowers2 · 18/10/2021 15:13

Our neighbours have a collie that they never, ever walk. She barks a fair amount when they're in. But when they go out and leave her she barks non stop for hours on end and throws herself against the walls. It's pretty awful.
So no- I absolutely wouldn't be bothered by what you describe!!

Luelare · 18/10/2021 15:21

@freshflowers2

Our neighbours have a collie that they never, ever walk. She barks a fair amount when they're in. But when they go out and leave her she barks non stop for hours on end and throws herself against the walls. It's pretty awful. So no- I absolutely wouldn't be bothered by what you describe!!
That's horrible :( Bad for any breed, but especially for a collie! I don't undestand why people take collies without realising how much time they need.

Our dog's reactivity threshould to noise does get worse if he didn't get enough mental/physical exercise the day before, but that's very rare and only happens if both me and my partner are ill. On normal days I make sure all his needs are met, and we train weekly in obedience, scentwork, herding, and tricks. I can't even imagine how crazy he'd go without his mental work.

OP posts:
MissJeanBrodiesprime · 18/10/2021 15:23

My dog barks when out alone in the garden, at the birds, frogs, moving branches etc etc. I’m very aware of it myself and I don’t leave him more than a minute or 2 at a time which is a shame for him really but he comes in and the barking stops straight away. No neighbours have complained, one mentioned it only when I brought it up but not in a complainy way. I think most people understand there will always be noise of some sort from neighbours. I have neighbours who have children who shout and screech in the garden, others that have loud all night parties, no one will be the neighbour who complains because then they’d have to stay quiet themselves.
If it was incessant barking OP then that would not be great but what you have described is normal I think and apart from dealing with the issue as you already are I really wouldn’t worry too much about it.

whatnumber · 18/10/2021 15:24

If you dog is barking in your own detached house I can't imagine it getting on anyone's nerves. Unless you all have your windows open and the sound travels that way?
I wouldn't ask your neighbours if it is just inside your house.
As long as you don't let the dog bark in the garden - I have a dog and other dogs barking drives me mad!
At least you are trying to do something about it too orp.

itsureis · 18/10/2021 15:42

My neighbour got a dog earlier this year and they leave it 90% of the time in the driveway which sides onto mine.

Whenever it hears anything it barks aggressively and the owners come out and say nothing ... Is this some sort of voodoo dog training method ?

I have posted before as I was concerned for its well being but it's being fed and walked occasionally so nothing anyone can do.

They did stop me a while back and apologised, explaining that he was just a puppy and will get use to the noises but he hasn't got use to me putting rubbish in my bins yet so I live in hope 🤷‍♀️

I did want to say, is he a guard dog rather than a pet ... but I wussed out and said it's fine 🙄
But it isn't fine and I find threatening and upsetting ....
I feel that if the dog came into contact with me then it would see me as a threat as he doesn't have any interaction with anyone other that it's owners !

romdowa · 18/10/2021 15:46

Your dogs level of barking wouldn't annoy me but I endured 6 months of my neighbour putting their dog out at 6 am and the dog would bark for hours and hours until they brought it in late at night. She got quite aggressive when I approached her but in the end the whole estate got sick of it and she had to do something about it.

freshflowers2 · 18/10/2021 16:28

@Luelare I know Sad
We have spoken to RSPCA but as the dog is fed/housed/well loved (hmm) there is apparently nothing to be done

itsureis · 18/10/2021 18:44

My neighbours dog just went absolutely crazy as a neighbour had their Asda delivery 🚚
Halloween should be interested 🙄

bunnybuggs · 19/10/2021 16:33

I have always found it odd that some dogs bark (a lot) and others very rarely or only when there is a serious enough situation for them to consider a bark is required.
I have had 2 lurchers over the past years - both rescue dogs and neither barked unless it was absolutely necessary - silent but deadly re prey (cats)
I then got a rescue lurcher/terrier cross - who barked at dogs in the vicinity but would stop on the command 'quiet'
Currently I have a spaniel cross who is quiet as a mouse - unless someone knocks at the door - this is my ideal Smile
It may be something to do with the breed or the experience as puppies that makes some dogs very 'vocal'
OP - I would sooner have your dog barking occasionally next door that DIY fanatics.
Maybe try a simple command and reward quiet with a treat as others have suggested.
Do not use a bark collar - they are cruel. Sometimes a dog needs to bark.

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