Looking for advice as well as letting it out. I received an anonymous letter from a neighbour posted through the Royal mail that basically said my dog barks too much at antisocial hours is left alone outside on its own for too long and I don’t walk enough
None of this is true. I hate barking dogs and the minute she starts I’m out there but there has been the very occasional time where for example I’m on a teams meeting and the back door is open and something has spooked her that she will bark for longer.
I literally say “quietly” which I’ve trained her to realise means do not bark in the garden as I opened the back door, I say “enough” in a very strong voice, which also stops her immediately should she start.
There are triggers to make her bark constantly because we’ve only lived here for a few months. She’s still getting used to the noises and the people outside.- She literally never barked at my old house unless a cat came in the garden or something like that which is to be expected.
So say my neighbour and her son are out and the little boy starts going woof woof talking to my dog she will bark back but I pick her up and we say hello however if her husband walks up and down the garden repeatedly near the fence and doesn’t interact it really frightens her I guess so she’s barking and I bring her in.
I sat and cried when I got the letter because I’m a really really responsible dog owner, my dog is even a therapy pet. If I ever have to work in the office, I have a wonderful dog sitter that either walk her or take her for the day. She doesn’t bark in the house ever and I can check this to make sure she hasn’t started, which I have because I have a camera.
I’m a very quiet responsible neighbour and dog owner and this has really upset me that they didn’t feel they could just knock on the door because I would’ve obviously have apologised for any upset and been even more attentive to her barking if that’s even possible because I really can’t stand barking dogs.
i’ve read the Battersea dogs home training guide on barking and none of it really applies to her. She doesn’t even bark at the front door.
I’ve only told a few people who all know me and my dog well and they have said it’s ridiculous and I should ignore it, But it’s actually made me frightened to let the dog in the garden for example after work yesterday I let her out she ran down the garden did two small woofs I said enough that was it but in that time one of the neighbours shouted shut up at the top of their voice.
I feel quite bullied that one of my neighbours is spying on me every move because they’ve got it all wrong they obviously don’t see when I take my dog out because a lot of the time I put her in the car and take her somewhere for a really good run. People laugh about how pampered my pet is because she is literally spoiled within an inch of her life.
Do those dog Barking colours work, are they unkind? I don’t know anything about it because it’s literally not been an issue but I don’t wanna be an annoying neighbour and it’s really upset me as I said.