Barking- help l am so worried

[tableanadchairs]

We have just received at the weekend an anonymous note through our door about our dog barking excessively when left alone all day.
I work 2 days per week and genuinely would say otherwide he is with me or my husband 80-90 %. My DH works a rota of 4 on 2 off shift work so even on my work days he is often home. If the dog is left more than 4 hour we have a dog walker that we use morning and afternoon.
I take the dog a 12 year cocker spaniel with me when l go out. I am very much a home person who seldom goes out- boring l know- apart from shopping or to visit family and he comes with me every time.
He does have separation anxiety which is one of the reasons he is always with us.
The dog does bark at people coming to the dor but at 12 he is now quite deaf and he also barks if/when he hears me arrive home.
He has a 45 minute walk every morning and evening and also a walk or 2 during the day.
What do l do?
I spoke to one neighbour today who says that what is written in the note is not true. He lives directly oposite, is retired and there is only a road and small garden between us, no pavement.
The note has threatened us wth RSPCA and reporting us to the council.
I am not saying the dog doesn't bark when we are out- l just dont know but surely we would have been told something within last 12 years.
I went out for a walk without hm today and there was no noise from him when l came back after 20 mins.
Do l get a voice recorder to see what is happening? do l get anti anxiety medicine for him ( and me)
I will add that when younger we had a dog behaviorist working with him who reportd no issues ( resource guarding).
I love the old boy so much and dont want anything to happen to him but equally l dont want to annoy my neighbour whoever it is.
Just as an addition- all the neighbours have been here for 5+ years

SA is very treatable but it takes time and given your dog's age I'd be looking for a sitter or similar for those days you are at work. If you know he has SA and you have been told he is barking then you need to deal with it.

You could watch him on a cheap camera (ours cost £20) which does live video to see what is happening but I suspect it will confirm the note. SA can get worse with age and if he's never been taught to cope alone and has just been 'coping' it will worsen as he gets older and loses some faculties.

Ime noise and barking travels. Maybe a new neighbour has recently got a ddog and it is that? Can you fake go out and sit out the front for 20 mins instead??

If he's getting older it could be that he's suffering from a bit of canine dementia.

I would get him checked over by the vet as a first port of call.

Could you try a webcam for a few days to get a better idea of what's happening?

Thanks going to try all these ideas.
There is certainly a new dog - very vocal- at the bottom of the road ( about 3 houses away and across a quiet road but l am not sure if it could be him/her.
I think l am quite upset at both the dog barking but also why didn't they knock my door instead of an anonymous note.
Also we live in a detached house so no shared walls.

What about one of those vibrating Collars, I've heard they work great.

The RSPCA will not be interested.

To do what? punish the dog for having a panic attack?

Would you use one on your dog?

Yeah, let's punish the dog for feeling anxious or scared 🙄

@vodkaredbullgirl yeah man all for it x

Yeah, lets not do that eh.

We found actually letting the dog have the run of the house, rather than shutting him in the kitchen, helped massively. He now just lays at the top of the stairs quietly waiting, where he can see the front door or looks out of the landing window.

He normally sits at the top of the stairs and has the run of the top of the bottom of the house.
Yesterday l spoke to another neighbour who again said she never hears anything from the house.
so DH and l went out today put on a radio, closed the windows upstairs ( left ventilation vents open)and left my bedroom door open. We went away for just over 1 hour and DH dropped me at the corner so l could walk back which l videoed on my phone.
No noise from the house at all until l opened the porch door when he heard me and yes he then barked a welcome and quickly stopped. He had obviously been asleep on my bed due indentation on the throw.
So until l can get some technology set up l will continue to do this.

We've had similar problems so invested in a Tapo camera to record what was going on after a neighbour complained of the same thing despite NDN hearing nothing. We made a few changes, worked on the Julia Naismith separation anxiety methods on FB and made some small changes. Mostly our dogs are fine as the camera has proved and the issue is the neighbour , (a known moaner) but we can talk to the dogs to reassure them if they do bark when we are out( not very often)

If there's a new dog in the area it could very likely be that dog the note writer is hearing.

My dog, who very rarely barks, became very vocal when we moved into our current house two years ago.

She soon settled down once she got used to the new area.

Where I live I'm surrounded by dog, some of whom bark a hell of a lot and apart from the dog next door, that does bark a lot, I really couldn't say exactly where the rest of the barking is coming from: it could be from behind my house, or down either side of the road. It's just general barking and it's impossible to locate.

Sounds like a very good idea to get all your tech in place and then you can be absolutely sure whether it's your dog or not.

And as pp has said, don't worry about the RSPCA, they won't be in the least bit interested.

And as for the council, it would be treated as a nuisance noise and the person complaining will have to take recordings and log times of the nuisance and show that it's coming from your house.

well thought l would give you a quick update
I am 99.99% sure it was my neignour to the left. I spoke with several neighbours in front and behind our house. I could tell by their reaction that it wasn't them.
However when l went out yesterday the male muttered a quick hello- looked as guilty as sin- he is usualy very chatty and a bit of a gossip and the female hurried inside and didnt lift her head.
Of course unless as l ask them l can't be 100% sure but they would just deny it.
However said dog has been recorded and no barking when left alone so l have no idea why the note was sent.
Still very upsetting though 😢

Is this my neighbour??
Seriously, some people are beyond reasoning with and just like to cause trouble.
I confronted my nosy difficult neighbours who have history of complaining about dogs, including mine, as well as other people's children, music etc. Their problem is that they used to know everyone in the street but they have all moved.
I wonder why?!
Our place is up for sale so all set for the next victims to moan about!

Sometimes I think I hear my own dog barking in the garden; then I get up to check, and she does too, because she’d been curled up under my desk the whole time. Sounds like nothing to worry about, to me. The RSPCA is not the threat they would be making if they knew anything, anyway. The RSPCA is much to busy to check in on account of some nuisance barking, and it’s the local council who would deal with noise complaints. They’d show up, measure the decibel level of the barking, and if it reaches a certain threshold, will issue you a warning, at which point you could invest in a trainer or behaviourist.

I’m gobsmacked anyone would suggest using one of these things!