Barking Dogs.

DiamondPuppy0809 · September 2010

I get home at 4:00 on weekdays from school, same with my little sister. My parents get home at 5:00 from work. My grandpa lives in an attatched - basically a room with a kitchen, bed, and tv and couches - condo-thing on our house. He's home most days with nothing to do, but every now and then, he goes out to visit with friends. My oldest dog is mostly an outdoor dog, and when we're not home, that's where she is. Lately there's a bear around, and because she's guarding her yard, I take her barking as a warning that there's a bear out behind our backyard fence. Molly tends to bark randomly too, but not very often. If we're not home, that's when she barks the most. Rarely is EVERYONE gone. Like I said, my grandpa doesn't go out much, and he disciplines Molly well with her barking. Two neighbors complained on our street (older people that stay home most of the day) about her barking. We normally get complaints from them during the fall, because that's when the bear problem is the worst - hence why my dog is barking more. The pound calls us with 'bad news' and tells us that the neighbors complained. One of these neighbors is someone who likes to turn on tablesaws or use his hammer at ten o' clock at night on a weekday. I think his complaint makes him seem hypocritical - in my opinion. A dog who barks because no one's home in the MIDDLE of the day versus a man who runs his shop tools at night while people are trying to sleep. But that's besides my point. All we can do is let Molly inside of the house when everybody's gone. Which we're now doing. If they continue to complain, what else can we do? Like, seriously. I don't get the point of their complaining. Many people live in bigger neighborhoods and hear dogs barking all day and all night, and no complaints are made whatsoever. But maybe that's why they moved onto a dead-end street, who knows, perhaps they thought it'd be 'quieter'. Maybe I'm being unreasonable, but I just think it's stupid to complain about a dog that barks during the day. She hardly barks at night at all, we keep her quiet. But what is the pound going to do? Take my dog away for barking? That's what dogs do.

Alabama · September 2010

You can be fined for a barking dog if it's part of the city ordinance and it doesn't matter what time of day it is. Likewise, if your neighbor's power saws and such are on late at night, you should be able to call your local sheriff, police dept (Please don't use 911) and make a complaint about them, if it bothers you. Who knows, maybe other neighbors already have. If your dog is barking at the scent of a bear, it shouldn't bark while inside as it can't smell it unless it's right up at the house. I've lived my life with dogs and if there's one thing I can't stand, it's a dog that barks too much. We have a couple of those kinds of dogs in the neighborhood and most of the time, no one in our neighborhood would call it in, though they do complain to each other about it. And they do get on my nerves sometimes, even during the day, because I'm the type I have to get up and go look and see why the dog is barking. It really might be something that needs human attention. Very irritating if the dogs are having one of those days and are barking every hour over normal everyday happenings, such as someone mowing their grass or the mail lady delivering the mail. Just because it's a dog doesn't mean your neighbors should have to endure it, they don't own the dog, didn't have any say in whether or not you could have a dog. My own dog goes days without barking and neighbors have told us when he barks, they know something is wrong, because he doesn't bark unless it's something out of the ordinary. He barks at the meter reader, if it's not the normal man and lady that come to read the meters, because they come right up to the house. He barks if someone he doesn't know approaches our house or is in the neighbor's back yard without the neighbors present. He barks at night if someone is walking down the road, etc. Last time he barked and didn't stop, it was because there was a 6 foot snake in the back yard (Just a rat snake, but he didn't know that, could have been a copperhead). If people are complaining, I think you're doing the right thing by bringing the dog indoors. Perhaps you can speak to the neighbors and explain why you think the dog is barking. Maybe they think it just barks because it's being left outside or to get attention or because it's bored, like some of the dogs in our neighborhood. Or they might be able to tell you when the dog is barking or what it's barking at and help you to train it better.

Shibagirl · September 2010

Some people are just ridiculous. There's one of my neighbors that my dogs would bark at once or twice when they saw her, thinking she was an intruder, then they would stop. But then that neighbor decided to get them quiet instantly she would give them treats. Good idea? Hah. Nope. Now they bark at her always. We always get complaints now. My neighbors have always threatened to call the animal control or whoever, but around where I live (And I've spoke to some in person) all of those people have dog barking issues way at the bottom of the list of problems. They rarely even listen to those kind of messages and most know that some people just overreact. I guess depending on where you live you may or may not be in trouble. Most likely not with animal control or other authorities, because they have better things to do than chew out dog owners all day long. The thing I'd be worried about though is people shooting at or trying to harm your dogs in any way. I have heard of it happening, and met many people that it has happened to. It's just over the edge. If your neighbors keep harassing you you could call an authority about that possibly, since I'd say that's way more annoying than dogs barking XD

Shibagirl · September 2010

NewfGirl wrote:

Some people are just ridiculous. There's one of my neighbors that my dogs would bark at once or twice when they saw her, thinking she was an intruder, then they would stop. But then that neighbor decided to get them quiet instantly she would give them treats. Good idea? Hah. Nope. Now they bark at her always. We always get complaints now. Luckily I have two retired dog handlers as neighbors as well who would back me up always, I'm very lucky for that. My neighbors have always threatened to call the animal control or whoever, but around where I live (And I've spoke to some in person) all of those people have dog barking issues way at the bottom of the list of problems. They rarely even listen to those kind of messages and most know that some people just overreact. I guess depending on where you live you may or may not be in trouble. Most likely not with animal control or other authorities, because they have better things to do than chew out dog owners all day long. The thing I'd be worried about though is people shooting at or trying to harm your dogs in any way. I have heard of it happening, and met many people that it has happened to. It's just over the edge. If your neighbors keep harassing you you could call an authority about that possibly, since I'd say that's way more annoying than dogs barking XD

Shibagirl · September 2010

Oh my gosh.. I quoted myself instead of editing, sorry all. This isn't easy on an Ipod.

Patty · October 2010

Ah, barking does always cause a problem, we have some pretty good neighbors, but alot of the same neighbors complain about Allie barking. Who knows, those complaining neighbors could be saved form being eaten by a bear by your dog.

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Barking Dogs.

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