Anyone got any advice?

This isn't about cats but may be moved anyway - wasn't entirely sure where to post it.

There is a dog that lives a couple of streets back from us that just barks and barks and barks, incessantly. Starts about 7pm and goes for hours.

I really feel for the poor baby - his family are obviously never home and do not realise this is a problem. I don't know whether to call the ranger to alert this family to the situation, go around there and throw some toys and a bone over the fence to give this poor lonely pup something to do, approach the people myself (I would leave them a letter - not approach directly)

The thing that concerns me is that if they are the kind of people who neglect their dog so badly any pointing out of the situation may lead to them punishing the dog for it's behaviour.

Of course, they may not realise and be grateful for having it pointed out to them, but I just don't know. It's a very loud, annoying, persistent bark, and I'm afraid someone is going to bait this dog.

I don't know what to do and I feel very unhappy for the poor thing.

Any advice?

This is a really tough situation,if i was in this position i would probably try to call someone to see whats going on but i dunno this is really tough.Sorry i cant help much with that.

I have to play devil's advocate here...because that dog that barks and barks and barks may not be in the situation you think he is in!

I have a foster german shepard dog, and he barks just to hear himself bark. He barks when I am at home for hours and hours and no amount of attention makes him stop. I don't know if he barks while I am at work or not, my neighbors havent mentioned it to me.

If I were you, I would check into it a little more and see what's going on. I would then alert the family that the dog barks incessantly, and people are irritated by it. Sometimes people put their dogs on a tie out while they are at work, and that could be what's going on, I don't know.

As I said, Bailey is far from abused, hes just vocal. And it would bother me if someone made an assumption that I was abusing him because he barks so much. Maybe I didnt read your post right, maybe you have more information then you posted, but I would look into it before I called anyone.

Originally Posted by diane8704

I have to play devil's advocate here...because that dog that barks and barks and barks may not be in the situation you think he is in!

I have a foster german shepard dog, and he barks just to hear himself bark. He barks when I am at home for hours and hours and no amount of attention makes him stop. I don't know if he barks while I am at work or not, my neighbors havent mentioned it to me.

If I were you, I would check into it a little more and see what's going on. I would then alert the family that the dog barks incessantly, and people are irritated by it. Sometimes people put their dogs on a tie out while they are at work, and that could be what's going on, I don't know.

As I said, Bailey is far from abused, hes just vocal. And it would bother me if someone made an assumption that I was abusing him because he barks so much. Maybe I didnt read your post right, maybe you have more information then you posted, but I would look into it before I called anyone.

Click to expand...

Of course you're right and I may well be assuming the worst. Not every dog that barks is lonely and neglected. That's why I thought I would pop a letter in the owners' mailbox and just let them know, rather than call a ranger. I am more concerned that a frustrated neighbour or someone will put a poisoned bait over these peoples' fence because this dog NEVER stops!! But I do intend to look into it further this weekend and let the owners know what's been going on...

The most common problem with dogs that bark excessively is that they are not mentally and physically simulated enough. Simply they are bored. A lot of times the people do not realize that the dog is barking and will welcome a chance to correct the problem before the law steps in. I would tell them in a polite way that their dog is barking for a long time.

There's a dog like that in my neighborhood, but only he only barks when he sees people. He's outside 24/7 and the only time I've seen the people interact with him is when they come home. They say things like: "awww, hi baby!" then they go inside and the dog whines. It's really sad. Oh, they also interact with it to tell it to shut up when it's barking and they're outside talking to people in their driveway. I don't know why some people get dogs. They have an indoor cat that gets out a lot too; I imagine they're neglectful to it as well.

Unfortunately that is common around here. People are...I'll just say they're old-fashioned.

How to Stop Your Neighbor's Dog from Barking -9 Steps to Take and 2 Steps to Avoid

I'd say send them an anonymous letter or talk to them, but come armed with suggestions (or send them along in the letter) for how to address the barking problem, so they don't just decide to get rid of the dog or punish it inappropriately.

Stop Dog Barking

Train Your Dog to Stop Barking

This page has some of the "try technology and remain anonymous" options mentioned in the first link.

Hth

*the 'technology' solution (the ultrasonic barker breakers) really wouldn't be appropriate for you since the dog isn't right next door, but I've found them to be helpful if the dog is close by. My neighbor's dog is a boredom barker and they won't do anything about it, so I ended up buying one of those and it works pretty well. The major drawback is that it hurts my dogs' ears when the neighbor's dog sets it off, so I have to choose between letting my dogs outside and shutting it off, listening to the neighbor's dog bark barkbarkbarkbarkbark... , or turning it on and keeping my dogs inside all day, and they get frustrated being inside all day long. I wish I could talk them into getting her a citronella collar.

I had a neighbor dog that pooped in my yard all the time, and the people downstairs from me thought it was my dog. I actually had to go into detail to prove her innocence, that my dog didn't poop in a pile, rather she "put her ducks all in a row" and walked while she pooped, the location of the poop was where my dog didn't go, and also the color was wrong....talk about humility! Finally they believed me and we staked out the yard and saw who was doing it. Then I followed her home and got their address and wrote them a letter. I didn't include a return address, and didn't let them know who I was, just addressed the problem. I felt that that way, I didn't have a fight with a neighbor on my hands if they didn't know who wrote it. It was a very nice but to the point letter, and two days after I mailed it, I saw that dog outside in her own yard on a leash, and she never pooped in my yard again! Um....my point, finally, is that I would suggest writing an anonymous letter politely addressing the issue, and that way if they aren't compliant, at least you are still on friendly terms with them. But if they get the letter, maybe they will do something about it! I don't know if I would state your concern for someone possibly baiting the dog. If it ends up happening, you could be a suspect.....

You make a good point about making sure you have the right dog...someone who lives behind my neighbor with the super-barker knocked on our door a few months ago to complain. He & DH talked for a few minutes before DH realized he must be talking about the neighbor's dog - then he apologized and went to knock on the neighbor's door. Thankfully he was polite and friendly, and not a poison-first ask questions later type, or our dogs might have paid the price.