Barking security dog

[Retrievemysanity]

Is it possible/easy to train a dog that’s being kept in a back garden 24/7 as a security dog, not to bark at things like foxes, cats etc? Having issues with a local dog and want to make some suggestions to the owner before we report it to the council.

Without being rude
It clearly isn’t bothering the owner, what are you going to suggest that doesn’t involve them taking some kind of action?

@OnTopOfThePiano I’m not sure what you mean? It’s bothering all the neighbours that surround him and I’m asking if he doesn’t keep it inside, is there anything he can do to stop it barking all the time so that I can suggest it to him and show the council we’ve suggested solutions and been reasonable.

I mean if your neighbour doesn’t mind the barking (not saying that’s right btw!) what are you going to ask them to do that doesn’t involve them needing to do something? As it sounds like they don’t care

But if they want him as a security dog then why would they use any of your techniques to stop him or her alerting?

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat that’s what I’m asking. Is it possible to stop a dog barking at cats, foxes whatever but them still bark at intruders? They don’t need security against cats!

In a nutshell, no. If they wanted to stop this dog barking at things and generally making its own entertainment in the garden, they'd have done something about it by now.

Does the dog have shelter, food and water? If not you can call the RSPCA.

If it's just noise you'll have to go down a council noise nuisance route.

No. Because they want it to bark. And it’s outside and they’re presumably not so they can’t stop it.

@user468375484 I know they’re not bothered and I know I’ll have to go down the noise nuisance which is fine. I just wondered if they’re saying they want it for security, if I can say ‘fine but do x, y and z so it doesn’t bark all night long at things that aren’t intruders’ if you know what I mean. So when I report it to the council I can say I’ve been reasonable and made suggestions to how they can keep the dog without it pissing everyone off.

Unfortunately it's not that simple. For many dogs, barking at, and chasing, cats, foxes and so on is fun. So they'll keep doing it because it's what's known as a self-rewarding behaviour.

DDog and I have achieved a lot with regards to training. Do I think I could ever stop him wanting to chase / bark at cats? Not a chance. He's genetically hardwired to enjoy hunting, and making them run from him is fantastic, because then he gets to chase them, which is super fun. Cat standing on a wall and taunting him? If he barks at it, perhaps it'll move and he'll be able to have fun chasing it. Many cats understand this game and taunt dogs from a high, safe vantage point...

Yes it is possible to train a dog to bark at specific things, most trained security dogs will not bark at animals/livestock but will at intruders.

However they will be dogs that have had a lot of time and effort put into their training . You will need a very willing neighbour

@PollyRoulllson ah, brilliant thanks yes this is what I thought but I don’t know enough about security dogs to know for sure and the initial responses on this thread were making me doubt myself.

So this dog is apparently quite young, under a year and the owner said it would get better as it gets older. Is that likely to be the case? It’s not an immediate neighbour of mine and I’m new to the area but I gather there’s been issues previously between more immediate neighbours including racism towards the dog owner. There’s a lot of hostility and I just want to be fair. The dog is horrendous at times, I mean it will bark itself til it goes hoarse, but if we can resolve it so everyone is happy then I’d like to do that.

Honestly I doubt the owners CBA. It sounds like the dog is being left to bark. That won’t magically improve as it gets older.

I feel quite sorry for the dog owner.
And I say that as someone who hates dogs barking!

You say he’s been subject to racial abuse and there’s a lot of ‘hostility’.

Sounds to me like this person feels harassed and unsafe and has a bought a big scary looking dog (I’m assuming) in the hope people will leave him alone.
That’s a horrible way to feel.

I’d approach him, be friendly, explain you’ve heard there’s been some racism and unfriendly behaviour towards him, ask him why he bought the dog and what his expectations for it are.
If he tells you he wants it for security I’d suggest to him that he should contact an accredited, registered, professional trainer to help him mould the dog into what he wants to be.
I think that without professional input you’ll just end up with a big (I assume) dog barking pretty much constantly at everyone and everyone everything.

And no, it won’t get better as the dog matures.
It’ll get worse.
He needs a professional to help him train the dog.

He might already be training it. I’d be careful about going down the route of making complaints to the council if there is a history of racism towards this man- particularly if it has been documented with the police. If he has bought the dog to feel safe in his own home and now neighbours are targeting the dog, it may be seen as an escalation- I’d try and strike up a rapport with him in the first instance

@WetRainbowRoses @MrsWinters haven’t wanted to give away too much info but no, the dog issue came first, racist comment was made in connection with the dog issue. Dog is for work and to prevent car theft, nothing to do with neighbours. In terms of harassment and feeling unsafe, it’s the neighbours (mostly retired older people or people on their own) that feel like that, not him (big, younger guy) and his household. When I say neighbours, I’m talking about 10 or so houses.

I’ve been round as I’ve got my own specific reason for needing it to be quiet at night but neighbours think it’ll continue even though I’ve been round as that’s what has happened previously. I’m just trying to see if it can be trained or if I’m wasting my time trying to come up with a solution where everyone can be happy. Thanks all.

I see, if he’s needing a ‘proper’ trained security dog for work it needs professional training.
Think it may need registering too.
I think all you can do is suggest professional training really.

Great, thanks

@Retrievemysanity
These people.

www.nasdu.co.uk/searchdetection/training-courses/

I believe working security dogs have to be registered with them.
Depends what his job his but he’d probably need level 1 and 2 general purpose security.

Unless you both live on large rural estates they are being completely unreasonable keeping a dog outside, what can they possibly have that requires security anyway plus an outside security dog is easily evaded