Barking to excess

[Loraine]

I have read through previous threads on members that have had problems with their dogs barking which has been very useful (especially one near the beginning from Lindsey who had a Cocker called Robbie.)

Sounds like Candy is turning into Robbie: she's barking at absolutely everything.  Both of my neighbours have complained and want to know what I'm going to do about it.  I plan to talk to the dog trainer this evening (Georgia has her class this evening) to see how she can help.  But in the meantime I thought I'd ask for further advice here.

Candy doesn't bark when I take her for her walks and when off the lead she's really playful with other dogs but never barks at them.  It's mainly when the door bell rings, if she hears a noise like a gate closing, someone returning their wheelie bin, a siren or if my lovebird starts to chirp.  She barks at birds sitting on the fence or on the roof and doesn't stop until they fly away.  

Interestingly she only barks at the male neighbour on one side who is terrified of dogs and the female neighbour on the other side who's really complaining.  She's fine with other members of the each household.  Can dogs tell when a person doesn't like them?

When I'm at work, the dogs have access to the garden and spend a lot of time out there.  I was told this morning that Candy in particular barks a lot.  It gets to the extent that the neighbour feels she cannot sit in her garden because of the noise.  Also, when they play it is quite lively but I've heard them and it doesn't bother me but it drives her mad.  Maybe her tolerance levels aren't as as high as mine!  She thinks that I shouldn't let me have the run of the garden and leave them inside.

I was very upset as this morning as she threatened to report me to environmental health as she feels Candy is a nuisance and if necessary she'll arraange to have her removed. She can't do that can she?

She's the type of troublesome neighbour who'd start a petition or something and really stir up trouble.  I'm worried.

Sorry for the long rambling post but as you can tell I'm very distressed by this so had to tell someone.  Hope it make some sort of sense.

Loraine.                      

[Anonymous]

does she think shes god this woman???

I definately think dogs can tell who likes them and who doesn't cos mine get ratty with people known to not like dogs aswell..I say thats their problem for not liking such wonderfull creatures..  #
dont know much about the laws for doggy noise loraine but i dont think its as simple as her saying shes gonna get candy removed.. I really dont..all dogs bark, all birds chirp and all of us have at least one stupid neighbour..

sorry I cant help more..but if she dares pick on candy I am coming to visit                      

[Jane S]

Sorry to hear about your anti-dog neighbours Loraine - they can be a real problem I'm afraid. Whilst your neighbour cannot demand Environmental Health take Candy away (ridiculous!), she can complain to EH & they do take noise complaints seriously. They would ask your neighbour to keep a diary noting everytime there is barking & how long it goes on for & they also will come & monitor the noise themselves (sit outside your house while you're at work or something). If they do think the noise levels are unreasonable (& nobody would expect dogs to be totally quiet all day long), then they would ask you to take steps to reduce the noise, one of which would probably be for the dogs to be kept inside while you're at work. It's a good idea to ask your trainer for advice too - she may suggest the Masterplus anti-bark collars which can help stop "alarm barking" (at birds, noises etc) but they wouldn't stop the noise 2 dogs make when they play together I don't think.

HTH

Jane                    

[Mike]

Oh oh, a whinging neighbour... sounds like you'll have to tread carefully with her whatever you do  :- I'd also think about keeping Candy and Georgia inside when you're not there to supervise them and their noise levels - sounds like this womans main problem is that she finds them too distracting when she is outside.

Just wanted to say also that I know one of our esteemed members uses a type of anti-bark collar, in his absence I hope Colin wont mind me saying so! I was visiting once when Jimmy was starting to be a bit vocal, and he just had to show him the collar and he became quiet. Magic!                    

[Louise]

A similar idea to what Mike's said about the collar but I have a soft muzzel which I used to put on Jazzy when she had a barking fit, I only had to put it on for 1 - 2 minutes as she calmed down instantly with it on and now I only have to get it out of the cupboard and show her it and she stops barking straight away.                    

[*Jay*]

(& nobody would expect dogs to be totally quiet all day long),

My neighbours do I have to leave Dallas with an aboistop collar on whilst im out at work and with the radio on quite loud to try and distarct form any outside noise. It was only a few months back that one of my neighbours said they walked too loudly Honestly...you couldnt make it up Needless to say, my house move is going to be happening sooner rather than later So you have my sympathy Loraine, you really do.                    

[Jane S]

Oh poor you Gill Sadly moving house is often the only thing you can do when you have dog-hating neighbours as nothing you do ever satisfies them. Hope it doesn't come to this for Loraine but I know so many people with dogs who have had to move due to neighbour problems                    

[Loraine]

(& nobody would expect dogs to be totally quiet all day long),

My neighbours do I have to leave Dallas with an aboistop collar on whilst im out at work and with the radio on quite loud to try and distarct form any outside noise. It was only a few months back that one of my neighbours said they walked too loudly Honestly...you couldnt make it up Needless to say, my house move is going to be happening sooner rather than later So you have my sympathy Loraine, you really do.

At least I know I'm not alone.  

I don't usually leave my dogs' collars on as the way they play, they could get into trouble!  Although if I have to put a collar on Candy I'll just have to.  The same with keeping inside when I'm at work: it's not ideal but if I have to I have to.

I've been reading conflicting reports about those collars so before I shell out the £70 ish I'll double check with the trainer to see if there's anything I haven't considered.  Who knows it could be phase.

You wouldn't believe how much this has upset me.  The weather is great and I was actually feeling a lot brighter today and this woman has gone and got me in a bad mood.   Thanks for the reassurance Jane, I really thought EH could take Candy off me.                    

[Katina]

I use the aboistob collar on my youngest. She doesn't bark as such, but she sometimes gets a bit vocal when left alone in the house ( singing "All by my self, don't wanna be all by myself"    ). If I am home all I have to do is say:  "enough" and all my girls stop barking.
I am also very lucky to have understanding neighbours, they don't mind my dogs making a bit noise when playing.

I would definately recommend the antibark collar  .                    

[Silver Surfer (indiesnan)]

Awww i do hope you manage to get sorted out Loraine  

 your trainer should be able to help you .If not your vet
 
 should be able to put you in touch with a behavourist.
 
 who may be able to offer other ways to help. if you dont
 
 like the idea of useing a collar. Just another option for you
 
  Barb                    

[LeeC]

Lorraine, just a thought, but is your neighbour aggravating the situation by yelling at the dogs when they bark. As we know, the yelling would only encourage them to continue as they are getting attention. As difficult as it might be could you invite your neighbour to meet your dogs so she can see how harmless they are and explain to her how her actions might not be helping the situation.

Lee                    

[LindaW]

Hi Lorraine,
Sorry to hear about your neighbour troubles.  I can recommend the Aboistop Anti Bark Collar - it is very effective.  Like Mike says, I now only have to show it to my lot and they shut up.  One big draw back with it is the fact that the batteries don't last long and they are not easy to obtain and quite expensive.  I agree with Jane that such a collar is not intended to be left on a dog all day whilst you are out though.  Hope you can manage to resolve the situation - maybe keeping them indoors might be better?
Linda                    

[Loraine]

Lorraine, just a thought, but is your neighbour aggravating the situation by yelling at the dogs when they bark. As we know, the yelling would only encourage them to continue as they are getting attention. As difficult as it might be could you invite your neighbour to meet your dogs so she can see how harmless they are and explain to her how her actions might not be helping the situation.

Lee

The neighbour said yesterday that she does go to the fence and tells Candy to shut up, so you're probably right it is making the situation worse.  You'd think she'd know better because she's got a little dog too and believe you me he's had his moments!

I spoke to the dog trainer and she's going to lend me an anti bark collar.  I won't leave it on her all day just the morning and see how she gets on.  At least I can try before I buy.  I hope it works because I'm reluctant to shut them away; they seem to enjoy the freedom of the garden but at the same time they can get back into part of the house if it's raining or they want to sleep.

Will keep you posted...

Loraine.                    

[Colin]

Hi Loraine

Sorry to hear about your neighbour problems.

I got the Aboistop for Jimmy as he got in the habit of sitting outside and staring at neighbours windows then barking at the slightest sign of movement. The collar worked a treat and as Mike says I just have to wave it at him now and he stops.

As Linda says, the batteries are expensive, about £4/£5 each I think. The battery runs down the whole time the collar is on , not just when the dog barks...... so they will run down very quickly if left on all morning. I'm not sure how long each battery lasts as I've only put the collar on Jimmy for a total time of about 20 minutes overall..........I must admit I'd be reluctant to leave it on him when he's unattended, but maybe that's just me being a worry wart.

I'm sure I saw on a website a kind of radar thing that emits a high pitched noise only audible to dogs and works on barking upto about 20/30 metres away. I seem to recall it was recommended for people who lived near to noisy dogs so doesn't require a collar on the "offending" dog, but it was really expensive. Unfortunately I can't remember where I saw this device and can't find it anywhere now.   The only similar thing I can find is the Electronic Fence which is something completely different and not for preventing barking. Maybe someone else knows of this product as it may be the answer to your problems..........other than that you may have to confine Candy and Georgia to the house whilst you are out I'm afraid.                    

[Anonymous]

Hi Lorraine

Sorry to hear about your troubles  A similar thing happened to us about 8 years ago with our rescued GSD Sheba!  She suffered seperation anxiety and it seemed that unknown to us she was howling the place down everytime we went out  An elderly neighbour took action by reporting us to the Enviromental Health Dept, that was the first time we knew anything about the howling!  Wish she had had a word with us first  Anyhow basically we realised we had to do something about it, as it wasnt fair on our neighbours I have to say there is nothing worse than other peoples dogs disturbing your peace

We got in an animal behaviourist to try and help us cure the anxiety Sheba felt!  We let our neighbour know that we were trying to overcome the problem and could she bear with us, we also let the Enviro Health know the same thing.  She did get better with time although not PERFECT and my mum helped us out by taking her to her house if we were gonna be out longer than an hour  It showed to our neighbour that we did take on board the problem of the noise and we did try to resolve the problem and kept her informed of the situation.  In the end the neighbour go to know the full story of our rescue dog and I think its because we did try to overcome the problem, the old lady ended up absolutely adoring SHEBA and she agreed to compromise with us and as long as it didnt happen excessively she was willing to try and ignore it if it meant SHEBA didnt have to go back to yet ANOTHER rescue home.  

On the day SHEBA was put to sleep the old lady absolutely broke her heart crying, she gave us a card!  

I know its hard Lorraine, but I would do your best to try and show willing with your neigbours, it can become very stressful having all the bad feeling bewteen you and it might be easier and for you to keep the dogs in during the day when you are not home :-

Good luck let us know how you get on

Emma and Indie