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Barking Dogs

post #1 of 54
4/5/09 at 7:54pm
Thread Starter 
Our next door neighbor has a small friendly dog and decided to get another one of the same species to keep it company. The new one constantly barks an irritating yappy bark when we go outside and frequently excites the friendly one to bark as well. It is so aggressive with its growling and barking that it scares the young children that are visiting us. It tries to squeeze through the wrought iron fence to attack the children.

The owner sometimes comes outside to get the aggressive dog and bring it inside. She apologizes to the children or us when she gets the dog. Unfortunately on most occasions the dog is left to bark which starts the neighbor's dogs to bark as well. Our once peaceful backyard on the lake is now dog hell.

I don't want to upset our relationship with this relatively new neighbor. We are considering purchasing one of the various ultrasonic dog barking devices such as the Dog Silencer Pro or the Super Bark Stop but it appears to be only about 50% successful.

Have any of you tried one of the ultrasonic devices to control a neighbor's barking dog? If so, how well did it work? Do you have any other suggestions?

Dog Silencer Pro:
http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Silencer-P...dp/B001P67330/

Super Bark Stop:
Super Bark Stop - Smarthome
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post #2 of 54
4/5/09 at 9:56pm

Re: Barking Dogs

Report them to the police as disturbing the peace.
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post #3 of 54
4/5/09 at 11:29pm

Re: Barking Dogs

Dogs usually bark at strangers. You could make an effort to get to know the dogs and the dogs will become less agressive or even bark at your presence. People you have over from time to time are another story.
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post #4 of 54
4/6/09 at 1:58am

Re: Barking Dogs

Quote:
Report them to the police as disturbing the peace.

No! Talk to the neighbor first.
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post #5 of 54
4/6/09 at 8:45am

Re: Barking Dogs

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin Hewell
No! Talk to the neighbor first.

As a guy that does not like animals I have a hard time swallowing this. The neighbor has to know that their dog is a pain in the butt and it is really rude on their part to not do something to take care of the problem. I just can not understand how people have animals and do not except responsiblity for them.
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post #6 of 54
4/6/09 at 10:25am

Re: Barking Dogs

I am afraid of even chiming in here. I have a Chiwawa that doesn't stay in our yard. We live in the country with only a few neighbors. Last year when she was a puppy, she never left the yard, but now she is starting to explore more. The neighbors are good natured, but if they had a dog yapping at me as I got in and out of my car, I am sure it would bother me. She doesn't bark all the time, only when there is a stranger around. I can see that there is a invisible fence in her future.
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post #7 of 54
4/6/09 at 2:47pm

Re: Barking Dogs

I'll chime in, then. No fear here. I'm the all time barky-dog hater, and I actually did buy one of those high-freq bark-stoppers. And I will report: They work. (It's funny, too. You have to video the dog getting the message. Yipe!)

But you and the bark-stopper will never train the dog not to bark. You just don't have the time, and even the constant use of the bark-stopper (by being mounted on a post facing the dog in the yard) doesn't help.

This is truly a problem, because dog owners who allow their poor dogs to bark and bark... What can be done with such people? The places should reverse: the person should be left outside and the dog should be allowed to luxuriate indoors. We'd see who's the barker then!

The best advice is call the cops or animal control. Let THEM deal with it. I have tape-recorded and video-taped offenders, and you should be prepared to give your name and get to know the inspector. (I have asked "who will be coming by to take the report or stand in the alley to hear the dog barking?")

Quote:
I don't want to upset our relationship with this relatively new neighbor.
Right. Call the police. The dog suffers. Help it.

MC
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post #8 of 54
4/6/09 at 3:41pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Barking Dogs

Thanks for your input Micah.

You mention in your first paragraph that the bark-stoppers work. In your second paragraph you indicate that it won't. Can you elaborate on that please?

Maybe this is what the reviewers meant by 50% successful!
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post #9 of 54
4/7/09 at 10:08am

Re: Barking Dogs

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin Hewell
No! Talk to the neighbor first.


I agree. Most dog owners I know would do a lot to deal with the problem to prevent any hostility towards them or their dogs. They might not realize how much this is bothering you. At least give them a chance.
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post #10 of 54
4/7/09 at 11:19am

Re: Barking Dogs

Quote:
You mention in your first paragraph that the bark-stoppers work. In your second paragraph you indicate that it won't. Can you elaborate on that please?
Yeah, sorry. I guess what I meant really was that those bark-stoppers do work -- you can see the dog react! -- but they won't cure the problem because barking dogs are something only the owner can fix.

MC
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post #11 of 54
4/8/09 at 9:47am

Re: Barking Dogs

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hogie
Most dog owners I know would do a lot to deal with the problem to prevent any hostility towards them or their dogs. They might not realize how much this is bothering you.

I have to ask how can any dog owner not realize how much this is bothering someone? Who in the heck wants to hear someones dog yapping the whole time they are outside. I have children and I never expect anyone to want to hear my kids yelling and screaming in the back yard.
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post #12 of 54
4/8/09 at 10:52am
Thread Starter 

Re: Barking Dogs

The owner knows what an irritant their Hell Dog is. She says that anyone that comes to her house gets yapped at for about two weeks then Hell Dog warms up to the person and stops barking. But they moved in next door to us a year ago and Hell Dog still yaps anytime we're outside. Even if it got accustomed to us it wouldn't be accustomed to our guests.

The dogs are kept inside their home when the owners are at work. Hell Dog still barks at us from inside their home when we're in our back yard.

I'm having a privacy fence installed between our homes in two weeks because when the weather is nice enough to open the windows Hell Dog stands under our window on our own property and yaps at any sound it hears inside our home! But we can't extend the privacy fence down to the lake because the neighborhood covenants prevent blocking a neighbor's view of the lake. So we have a wrought iron fence there.

I've considered trying one of those Dog Whisperer things by going over to the wrought iron fence and petting Good Dog while Hell Dog goes berserk. Eventually Hell Dog may realize that it's not getting any praise or petting while it's barking.
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post #13 of 54
4/8/09 at 11:35am

Re: Barking Dogs

Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt^Brown
I have to ask how can any dog owner not realize how much this is bothering someone? Who in the heck wants to hear someones dog yapping the whole time they are outside. I have children and I never expect anyone to want to hear my kids yelling and screaming in the back yard.

I'm not trying to give the dog a free pass here. The dog has issues, and the owner needs to step up and do something. If they won't help the dog, maybe the dog needs a different home. Some people really don't get it, whether it's a barking dog, loud stereo, annoying kids, starting and revving your loud motorcycle at 6am, etc. If you already expressed the way you feel to them, maybe it's time to report it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay Taylor


...when the weather is nice enough to open the windows Hell Dog stands under our window on our own property and yaps at any sound it hears inside our home!

I'm a dog enthusiast, but that's completely unacceptable. Letting a dog wander beyond its property will lead to mountains of other problems. I hope your neighbor gets a grip on the situation before something bad happens.
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post #14 of 54
4/8/09 at 5:09pm

Re: Barking Dogs

I would suggest speaking with the neighbor,
then send them a polite letter,
then a less polite letter then the police.

I had this problem a few years ago, nothing worked.
one night when i needed to get up at 5 am for work
the neighbor's shepard was in the yard barking at nothing but the
darkness.
after a couple hours and some yelling out the window, the police had to come.
The guy must have been passed out drunk, because it took a few minutes
for him to answer the door then the dog was quiet.
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post #15 of 54
4/9/09 at 1:54pm

Re: Barking Dogs

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay Taylor
I'm having a privacy fence installed between our homes in two weeks because when the weather is nice enough to open the windows Hell Dog stands under our window on our own property and yaps at any sound it hears inside our home! But we can't extend the privacy fence down to the lake because the neighborhood covenants prevent blocking a neighbor's view of the lake. So we have a wrought iron fence there.

Do your neighborhood covenants have any rules about dogs roaming onto other people's property or causing a nuisance by barking?

The covenants in our neighborhood state:

"dogs or cats shall not be allowed off the premises of the owner's site, except on a leash. Further, no dogs or cats are permitted outside of the residential improvement (house) without being accompanied by the lot owner or other individual residing in the residential improvement."

So, in this case, your neighbor would be breaking two rules by allowing the dog to roam onto your property and by not accompanying the dog when it is in it's own yard.
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post #16 of 54
4/9/09 at 4:38pm

Re: Barking Dogs

Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt^Brown
I have to ask how can any dog owner not realize how much this is bothering someone? Who in the heck wants to hear someones dog yapping the whole time they are outside. I have children and I never expect anyone to want to hear my kids yelling and screaming in the back yard.

They know what's going on, they probably just don't care. It's sad there are still so many people with attitudes like that.

I've got a seven month old Black Lab, neighbors to the west have a Bulldog, to the east a Malamute, next to them a mixed breed and directly behind me a Pomeranian and a Toy Poodle.

All of us have decent, well-behaved dogs and respect each others quality of life. Mine is still in the training stage, but if she barks for more than a few seconds, I'm outside taking care of it.
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post #17 of 54
4/9/09 at 4:45pm

Re: Barking Dogs

Man up and talk to the neighbor and see what you can do _together_ to help correct the situation. Calling the cops or animal control (without talking to the neighbor first) will not engender good will with the people next door.

Quote:
I've considered trying one of those Dog Whisperer things by going over to the wrought iron fence and petting Good Dog while Hell Dog goes berserk. Eventually Hell Dog may realize that it's not getting any praise or petting while it's barking.
You should strongly encourage the neighbor to watch some episodes of the Dog Whisperer and/or have them take the dog to obedience classes. The dog is either frightened or is super-excited / aggressive (likely due to its new surroundings) and needs help.
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post #18 of 54
4/9/09 at 4:46pm

Re: Barking Dogs

People should be careful about the comments regarding the owners (whether they know about the dogs behavior or not). Many owners, especially of small dogs, do not realize how annoying their pets have become to the neighborhood and visitors.
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post #19 of 54
4/9/09 at 9:58pm

Re: Barking Dogs

Quote:
...when the weather is nice enough to open the windows Hell Dog stands under our window on our own property and yaps at any sound it hears inside our home!

Wow, you are extremely lucky! Since the dog is on your property, you can just make it "disappear" mysteriously, end of problem.

I have the same problem, but the dogs (on both sides) are locked up in their backyards, so I can't do anything about it.
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post #20 of 54
4/10/09 at 5:19am

Re: Barking Dogs

As someone who has experienced this kind of thing I can tell you most people I've dealt with take offense to being told their pooch is too loud.

It really all depends on how well you know the owners:

1- If they are friends definitely don't call the police or animal control. Hopefully you can talk the owner into getting rid of the loud beast or at least putting some other form of control measure in place. They make those shock collars. Sure, a little cruel, but after a time, when the animal learns, it can probably be taken off.

2- If you don't know them or even remotely suspect they'd be unresponsive then check the noise laws in your area. Use that against them. Take note of the times when the animal barks most and the police will catch them and take them to court. Years ago I had a wonderful policewoman take someone to court on my behalf and the barking ended. If you can get that kind of service then you'll be a happier person because of it.

The laws in my area suck. I had barking dog problems for 7 years. Often it was hell to the point I felt I was being tormented by these animals because of their owners (I never blamed the animal itself so I'd never hurt them in any way...people would often tell me "just kill that dogs!" I couldn't do that). It definitely effected everything I did for that 7 year period. I had 2 different residents live in a house near mine and they had extremely loud hunting dogs in cages (where they pretty much stayed for that entire period) and nobody played with them or paid any attention to them until it was time to go hunting. The first dog owner was the one the police lady took care of for me. But with the second one I got very little help from local police. When I complained directly to the redneck owner I got screws in my tires on several occasions and had to actually buy new tires because they were so messed up. The police didn't help in the least with that either. Could not prove a thing. I was nice to this fool when I complained but this guy was anti social. Not all people are that way. But many are. Be careful.
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post #21 of 54
4/10/09 at 5:23am

Re: Barking Dogs

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Cooper
Wow, you are extremely lucky! Since the dog is on your property, you can just make it "disappear" mysteriously, end of problem.

I have the same problem, but the dogs (on both sides) are locked up in their backyards, so I can't do anything about it.
Most of these animals are just miserable. It would be really sad to take care of the problem by killing the poor thing. Call the police would be better. I mean, the owners would just get another!! You know that's true. A co-worker of mine once had someone kill every dog in her immediate neighborhood!!

One thing I thought of about my problem was using a crumbled up sleep aid on it put in some nice tasty ground beef. Better do some research on it though. And don't get caught! My neighbor's animals were too difficult to get to or I would have done this and experimented to find out the best dosage. Just want to make him groggy at night or during long periods during the day when he wouldn't shut up, not put him in a coma. Some drugs are bad for dogs.

BTW, I've always had at least 2 dogs. Bear could peal paint.

SEE BEAR

But I'd had neighbors who didn't even know I had a dog. That's the way it should be. If someone doesn't have time for the animal to the point the animal becomes a loud nuisance they should not have one.

/soap box
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post #22 of 54
4/10/09 at 5:46am

Re: Barking Dogs

A little story:
When I was in my early 20s I was living in a neighborhood where it took only ten minutes to cut the grass. That is how small the yards were and there were a 100 or so in a small area. It was a spring night so we slept with the windows open. I woke up in the middle of the night to a dog barking off in the distance. Other than that it was perfectly quite so the barking was echoing throughout the neighborhood. I dealt with it a while, but it as time went on I got more & more aggravated. I was wondering if I was the only one in the entire area that it was bothering. Finally I couldn't take it any more so I got up and went to the window. I yelled SHUT UP on the top of my lungs and it could be heard echoing off all the houses.

Much to my surprise the dog, however many houses away it was, got quite. Reminded me of a movie scene. The whole neighborhood was quite, just a cricket chirping. My wife thought I was nuts, but we got to enjoy the spring night.
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post #23 of 54
4/10/09 at 6:32am

Re: Barking Dogs

We've got the opposite problem. We live in a quiet neighborhood where nearly every neighbor has a dog and children. All are well behaved. It's the curmudgeonly old man that annoys everyone. He can't stand kids or dogs. During the nicer months of the year he sits on his back porch much of the day, and if a ball happens to land in his backyard, he actually walks out and gets it and takes it inside and keeps it. Fortunately it's not often that this happens because everyone knows how he is, so they take extra care to avoid his yard. But when back yards abut one another, it's going to happen once in a while.
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post #24 of 54
4/10/09 at 6:57am

Re: Barking Dogs

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Cooper
Wow, you are extremely lucky! Since the dog is on your property, you can just make it "disappear" mysteriously, end of problem.

Take that kind of action, and you may very well end up with far more miserable problems than just a barking dog.
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post #25 of 54
4/10/09 at 7:08am

Re: Barking Dogs

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bryan X
We've got the opposite problem. We live in a quiet neighborhood where nearly every neighbor has a dog and children. All are well behaved. It's the curmudgeonly old man that annoys everyone. He can't stand kids or dogs. During the nicer months of the year he sits on his back porch much of the day, and if a ball happens to land in his backyard, he actually walks out and gets it and takes it inside and keeps it. Fortunately it's not often that this happens because everyone knows how he is, so they take extra care to avoid his yard. But when back yards abut one another, it's going to happen once in a while.



also i use a bark color that does a small shock, but it only works when he wears it.

the second I take it off he will start to bark right away.
I can loosen it because he knows that just being on he may get
a shock.
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post #26 of 54
4/10/09 at 7:16am

Re: Barking Dogs

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post #27 of 54
4/10/09 at 9:46am

Re: Barking Dogs

Watch out for those old dudes! I had one pull a knife on me, Bear and Goldie (as a very small puppy). He did it slowly too. It was freaky. Bear was barking at him but keeping her distance. He could have lunged at her and hurt her bad. I would have tackled him so he could have hurt me or himself too. That was crazy.
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post #28 of 54
4/10/09 at 9:56am

Re: Barking Dogs

The barking dog is similar to the babies that cry in public places (like restaurants)...this is not trying to defend the owner/parents, but a lot of people are so used to the barking/crying that they don't realize how disturbing it is to others. That's why it's not a good idea to get tough with the neighbor. I like the idea of writing a pleasant letter or speaking friendly with them at first.

Some people just don't "Get It" and will take offense to any anger passed their way.

Of course, you also have the assholes who just don't care about their neighbors. I live in a condo complex and my neighbor lets his dog go to the bathroom behind my complex. All of the neighbors have complained and when spoken to, the guy out and out refuses that it's his dog.

Thank god I live in an association where I can voice my anger to the president and not have to deal with this guy in person because he sounds like a dick.
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post #29 of 54
4/10/09 at 10:02am

Re: Barking Dogs

I'm not too worried about this old dude doing anything physically. He's got to be pushing 90 and when I do see him walking in his back yard, he moves like he's every bit of his age.
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post #30 of 54
4/10/09 at 4:36pm

Re: Barking Dogs

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bryan X
I'm not too worried about this old dude doing anything physically. He's got to be pushing 90 and when I do see him walking in his back yard, he moves like he's every bit of his age.
The one that threatened us died 5 or 6 years ago. I hope Bear bites him in heaven. Goldie also developed attitude at times so she'll bite him too!
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