"fear Of Deadly Rage Over Yapping...

[J...]

My parents have had trouble with next door's dog barking for months. Big guarding breed which is never walked/trained or barely interacted with, she barks at anything and everything that moves, morning/noon or night and keeps going when she starts up. She's also very, very loud. Dad works day/night shift and while he can sleep through most things, this dog's barking is seriously affecting his ability to get some decent sleep.

The council have had numerous chats to the owners, never asked for any proof of the bark collars etc which have been supposedly purchased for the dog and "didn't work" and have now wiped their hands of it.

I would never, ever condone anyone harming a barking dog, but while local councils like ours continue to do nothing about true nuisance barking, then this poor dog won't be the last :cry: You only need to live within earshot of the wrong person.

It is one reason why I always keep in touch with my neighbours on whether my dogs are barking, and if I go away for a night I leave a note in their mailbox with my business card and contacts saying that they can call me at any time of day or night if my dogs are making noise. A little bit of consideration for your neighbours goes a long way, takes a few minutes and is good insurance for the safety of my dogs.

[Souff]

Why can't a debarked dog be out in public? In case someone can't hear it coming?

It is just the Victorian Government at it's possible best, Moosepup

One can only wonder what they sniff in the ivory tower when they write, and approve, such legislation.

You are also not allowed to take a de-barked dog into the show ring I understand ... judges don't test a dog's bark but nonetheless the good lawmakers of Victoria decided that this was how it must be.

Whenever I think of it I have a mental picture of a judge trying to get a dog to bark, to make sure it is not one of those (socially acceptable) quieter de-barked dogs. Cant have them in here, oh no! Cracks me up every time

Defies all logic but is good for a laugh .... provided you don't live in Victoria under such laws.

Souff

[Souff]

What a tragic society we have become. No tolerance for anything really & hurting & killing peoples pets is despicable. What one person may considers a nuisance & keeps them awake may not bother another & that includes children playing, music & neighbours visitors.

There never used to be all this hassle about dogs years ago. People didn't complain as much & call authorities to sort everything out either. Heartbreaking thing to happen to Lily

Christina, it is a tragic society and it is not improving. People are busy, shorter fused, and more self oriented.

More and more people in the same geographical area will bring more and more of these problems.

Tolerance of barking dogs is pretty much a thing of the past in many urban areas.

Years ago, I did not like the idea of de-barking but now I see it as pretty much as the answer and it has definitely saved the life of quite a few dogs.

Souff

[sandgrubber]

What a tragic society we have become. No tolerance for anything really & hurting & killing peoples pets is despicable. What one person may considers a nuisance & keeps them awake may not bother another & that includes children playing, music & neighbours visitors.

There never used to be all this hassle about dogs years ago. People didn't complain as much & call authorities to sort everything out either. Heartbreaking thing to happen to Lily

Christina, it is a tragic society and it is not improving. People are busy, shorter fused, and more self oriented.

More and more people in the same geographical area will bring more and more of these problems.

Tolerance of barking dogs is pretty much a thing of the past in many urban areas.

Years ago, I did not like the idea of de-barking but now I see it as pretty much as the answer and it has definitely saved the life of quite a few dogs. If you're not prepared to keep your dog in at night and you live in a high density neighbourhood, you shouldn't get a dog.

Souff

I don't think people have gotten more, or less tolerant of barking. They have been packed tighter and tighter, they work longer hours, and they increasingly substitute buying stuff for their dog for caring for it. I love dogs, but that love tends to disappear to when they interfere with my sleep.

Edited January 24, 2012 by sandgrubber

[Souff]

Christina, it is a tragic society and it is not improving. People are busy, shorter fused, and more self oriented.

More and more people in the same geographical area will bring more and more of these problems.

Tolerance of barking dogs is pretty much a thing of the past in many urban areas.

Years ago, I did not like the idea of de-barking but now I see it as pretty much as the answer and it has definitely saved the life of quite a few dogs. If you're not prepared to keep your dog in at night and you live in a high density neighbourhood, you shouldn't get a dog.

Souff

I don't think people have gotten more, or less tolerant of barking. They have been packed tighter and tighter, they work longer hours, and they increasingly substitute buying stuff for their dog for caring for it. I love dogs, but that love tends to disappear to when they interfere with my sleep.

"If you're not prepared to keep your dog in at night and you live in a high density neighbourhood, you shouldn't get a dog."

Souff did not write those words .... but I do agree with the statement.

[Aussie Boxer]

If more people kept their dogs inside, it would not be such a huge problem. If you put the dog inside and close all the doors and windows, it's less likely to find anything to bark at in the first place, and even if it does, the neighbours would barely hear it.

It's weird how Aussies insist on keeping dogs outside all the time. When we walk down the street with the dogs at night nearly every house has a dog that wakes up and starts barking at us. And we usually walk between 10 and 11 pm, which means most people are asleep. Must be annoying to get woken up by your dog every night, yet people keep putting them out.

Are you serious?

"Aussies" insist on keeping their dogs outside because we have acceptable weather to do so, and historicaly, our blocks of land are big enough and secured enough to allow this, I understand other countries its pretty hard to do so with the incliment weather, no/poor fencing and wild animals,

But to make such a wide ranging comment such as yours seems to be pretty narrow minded, many people have dogs for very different reasons, Companionship, Showing, Guarding etc etc, A dog bounding around locked up in your house isnt really protecting your shed is it? Nor is it really good for your dog's mind? Do you let your dog run around your house all day with a bone? lol.

I understand why some people choose to do it, but it is far from the norm here in Aus, toy dogs etc would be alot easier, but they would still have to get bored being inside whilst your at work! To me it would be like getting a Elephant or Tiger and keeping it inside, why? its an animal, they live outdoors, the forfathers of dogs before man became so inventiver in cross breeding sure as hell didnt build themselves nice cosy little houses to stay in...

I understand some peoples fury at neighbours dogs though as we have a very "barky' dog next door, only really barks when they arent home but it just doesnt stop! It starts at about 9pm and stops when the sun comes up and goes to sleep throuh the day! Its not the dogs fault, whilst I dont condone violence i would put one on my neighbours chin before I touched the dog, the dog's behaviour is a result of it owners attitude, my neighbours dog is kept out the "front" off their house (we live in suburbia) to run around and becuase of this when it goes to the backyard it barks its head off and digs it's way out, I have the two boxers (about to be three) and when I come home from work open my garage door and go to reverse the dog is behind my ute and trying to get through my garage to my dogs, its constantly sits at the drain out the front and barks at it, the poor thing is that bored, its a german short haired pointer and is nver walked as leaving it out the front appears to them to be acceptable.

I have met most people at the other end of our street (culdesac) and they simply cant walk their dogs up the street as "its always bloody Out", whilst it is a timid dog and miostly goes back to it's front yard it has some aggression towards bigger dogs (boxers, german shephards, staff etc)

We have approached them and we get the really smart answers like

"What do you want us to do, put her on a chain in the backyard"

"The boys are looking after her" - (they are 3 & 4 years old)

"she is just playing out the front"

"your dogs are making her bark"

"your dogs are aggressive and it makes her defensive"

"if we put her in the backyard she just dogs out"

"She is bored she likes playing out the front"

you name it they have used it, i have no problem in an Adult being out the fornt of their house and "gardening or working on a car etc" and having their dog out the front off lead with them, no problem at all, but it has to be under competant supervision, the retaliation we have received was a phonecall one day saying that our dogs barked all day and kept her from having her arvo sleep and she was "respectfully asking that we CHAIN them up on the otherside of the house when we go to work" I nearly flipped out, are you serius? are people thinking before they speak when they say things like that? how does one get through life with an attitude like this? she is lucky my wife answered the phone!!! Little did she know i was home all day and the dogs didnt bark once all day!

Dogs make noise, Im happy for them to do it, mine bark, 99% of the time its because someone/something is coming to close to their property for their liking, which is a good thing, too many break inn's where we live and the people doing it are scared shitless of dogs, but continual nusiance barking can make you go nuts pretty quickly! and when u go nuts irrantional things can transpire very quickly!

Any one got any idea's for my situation? We purchased our House 1 year ago, they have been living there for about 10, so there is no real estate to deal with etc, it worries me that whilst she is a pretty timid dog there is no supervision, we have them on one side and a children's playground on the other, so lots of kids coming up and down the street, it only takes 1 snap! that these people don't seem understand!

Edited January 25, 2012 by Aussie Boxer

[bernym]

Perhaps this is an unexpected consequence of BSL.

We ban big dogs, we have more small yappy dogs. :laugh:

Edited January 25, 2012 by bernym

[mr.mister]

About a year ago, the new neighbours came home with a little fluffy oodle. All was well until about the 8 month mark. Dog became un-cute or whatever, and started getting left out, all day everyday. I never, ever, see this dog get walked.

It barks at everything and anything. If I go out into the garden to pull some weeds etc, the damned thing doesn't shut up until about 15 minutes after I walk back into the house. I even set it off barking if I have a shower. I feel sorry for it, it must be bored out of its brains.

Someone must have complained, because the dog seems to be let in sometimes now, and the barking has reduced a bit (not stopped though). I am normally quite tolerant of urban noises but the constant, monotonous yapping seems to get to me easily. I would never, ever consider harming a dog in any way but even I have got to the point where I feel a little murderous toward it (well, the owners more like!) now and again. :laugh:

There are so many things wrong with the whole issue. People need to stop buying dogs that they don't have time for, people need to investigate ways to stimulate their dog, and de-barking needs to be looked at again. As I think Souff mentioned, if you don't need to jump through legislative hoops to get your dog desexed etc, why on earth should you have to do it for debarking? The world has gone mad.

[WeimMe]

I think it's a combination of people having much shorter fuses, smaller yards, little tolerance for anyone or anything that annoys them and not having great relationships with their neighbours to start with.

It's less likely that you would make a formal complaint about Joe and Sue next door's dog Sam - you'd probably just mention over the fence that he was barking a lot yesterday and the Joe and Sue would feel so guilty about it they'd make an effort to change that behaviour out of neighbourly respect, not fear of being fined. When it's just the dog that belongs to that yuppy couple next door, rather than speak to them because they don't know them and it would be awkward and possibly confrontational, it's easier to make a formal complaint and get the council involved.

That said, I do think that keeping dogs indoors or in garages or whatever does make a difference in how much a dog barks at night. There's no way I could leave mine out every night as she would disturb the whole neighbourhood barking at possums and toads. As for barking during the day, I've never really understood the big deal. After all, it's perfectly OK to use powertools, those leaf blower things and have ear splittingly loud band practices from 7.00am to 7.00pm so why is a dog barking in that time so very terrible?

[sandgrubber]

As for barking during the day, I've never really understood the big deal. After all, it's perfectly OK to use powertools, those leaf blower things and have ear splittingly loud band practices from 7.00am to 7.00pm so why is a dog barking in that time so very terrible?

If I had a neighbour who used a band saw all day every day, I'd complain. LIkewise loud band practices.

There's a reason why zoning generally confines noisy enterprises to specific industrial areas.

[Roova]

I think it's a combination of people having much shorter fuses, smaller yards, little tolerance for anyone or anything that annoys them and not having great relationships with their neighbours to start with.

...

As for barking during the day, I've never really understood the big deal. After all, it's perfectly OK to use powertools, those leaf blower things and have ear splittingly loud band practices from 7.00am to 7.00pm so why is a dog barking in that time so very terrible?

I agree with your sentiment about people having shorter fuses and no patience when someone doesn't go their way, but I can see why barking dogs would do your head in. Barking can be such a loud abrupt sound which can go on and off continually day and night for potentially years. Power tools stop once their job is done and quiet generally returns.

I do think everyone deserves to enjoy time at their own house without having a dog barking continually at them from a neighbours yard, or harrassing them when they want to walk their dog. Dog behaviouralists could probably gain quite a bit of work from letter box drops in most suburbs I'd bet! :)

Edited January 28, 2012 by Roova

[milly2]

My daughter bought a little house type ornament that you can hang outside, and when the dogs bark it apparently sets of some sort of electonic sound that only the dogs can hear, I think she got it from a pet shop, it wasn't cheap but I believe it works ok.

[Peace_Of_Mind]

My daughter bought a little house type ornament that you can hang outside, and when the dogs bark it apparently sets of some sort of electonic sound that only the dogs can hear, I think she got it from a pet shop, it wasn't cheap but I believe it works ok.

Are you able to ask your daughter exactly what it is so I can enquire about it, so perhaps I could inform my neighbour to buy it for her barking dog?

[Ben and Jerry]

My daughter bought a little house type ornament that you can hang outside, and when the dogs bark it apparently sets of some sort of electonic sound that only the dogs can hear, I think she got it from a pet shop, it wasn't cheap but I believe it works ok.

Something like this?

http://www.barkcontrol.com.au/buy/petsafe-outdoor-bark-deterrent-pbc00-11216/51

[Peace_Of_Mind]

My daughter bought a little house type ornament that you can hang outside, and when the dogs bark it apparently sets of some sort of electonic sound that only the dogs can hear, I think she got it from a pet shop, it wasn't cheap but I believe it works ok.

Something like this?

http://www.barkcontrol.com.au/buy/petsafe-outdoor-bark-deterrent-pbc00-11216/51

Thank you :)

[itsadogslife]

Why don't people use electronic barking collars? Why don't local councils sell such collars?

[~Anne~]

''Many a night I've been awake imagining ways to dispose of [our neighbour's yapping dog] and restore some peace to our lives. And I LOVE dogs,'' another said.

I can so relate to this comment. My last home was a townhouse, that had other townhouse blocks as neighbours, and each is Torrens titled meaning that everyone was free to own dogs. One neighbour had a yappy Maltese that as left outside 24/7 and it yapped a lot at night. What amazed me more was that the owners were home most often when the dog yapped and never, ever once did I hear them command the dog to be silent!

[sandgrubber]

Why don't people use electronic barking collars? Why don't local councils sell such collars?

Lots of people do use electronic and other types of bark collars, but they're not a magic bullet. The ones I've seen say 'don't use for more than 8 hours at a stretch'. Some dogs don't respond well. And I think most people who start using them end out stopping for some reason or another. From what I've seen they keep a dog from barking, but they don't often succeed in training the dog not to bark.

Are there any long term bark collar users out there? Or people for whom a bark collar has cured a barking problem?

[itsadogslife]

Lots of people do use electronic and other types of bark collars, but they're not a magic bullet

I think most dog trainers will tell you that the electronic bark collar is far more effective than the citronella collars.

The ones I've seen say 'don't use for more than 8 hours at a stretch'.

That's because the collar can cause skin irritation if left on too long.

From what I've seen they keep a dog from barking, but they don't often succeed in training the dog not to bark.

Maybe so, but they are far more effective in terms of 'training' than 'debarking' or 'pts'.

[Souff]

My daughter bought a little house type ornament that you can hang outside, and when the dogs bark it apparently sets of some sort of electonic sound that only the dogs can hear, I think she got it from a pet shop, it wasn't cheap but I believe it works ok.

Something like this?

http://www.barkcontrol.com.au/buy/petsafe-outdoor-bark-deterrent-pbc00-11216/51

Thank you :)

We had a similar device and it cost around $100. It worked for about 6 weeks and then it died. Kaput, and no refund.

I went back to putting the naughty dog indoors when I left the house, so the stimulus no longer set off the barker.

Much cheaper and a far more effective that keeps the neighbours happy.

A stationary device (without a human there) does not train a dog not to bark, but(when working)will make some dogs (not all) think twice before barking again.

Once the device is dead, the dog just goes back to barking again.

Souff

Edited January 29, 2012 by Souff