Before I fire-bomb my neighbour, tips for her howling dog please?

tiamai_d

My new neighbour keeps leaving her dog home alone for hours on end, which is bloody annoying as it howls non stop.

The first night she just left it from 7-11.30pm and we went and had a word, letting her know the dog had howled continuously.

Today it's been going on since 2pm.

So, before I go getting all neighbour from hell and reporting her, I'd like to speak to her again and offer some advice to her.

It's not the dogs fault, the dog has literally just moved in, it's an uneutered male staffie and 4 years old.

In the past I have used kongs filled with treats or hyde chews while we go out as well as a dog crate, but to be honest as we have never had a dog that has been so upset when we were not home, I'm at a loss as to what else you can do.

Advice please?

And to be properly judgemental, she doesn't have much money so it needs to be cheap and cheerful.

And offering a dog sitting service won't work as our dog is not that impressed with our new howling neighbour.

beachbeth

Its not a Weimeraner, is it? We have one of those next door and it hates being left. It regularly howles when they are out. We don't mind because we just turn the tv up. Plus, if ever my dogs start barking I don't worry about them coming round to complain to us!

I think the only things you can do is to keep telling her how much it is howling, after all it is her responsibility to find a dogsitter or to make sure it is walked regularly and not bored when she goes out. If she continues to do nothing then you have to complain to the council - they can leave recording equipment for you to get proof. Of course, though, this is the last resort because you won't be friends after reporting her!:cool:

jackieglasgow

As you know, I'm new to the whole owning a Staffie thing, ut I yesterday discovered the wonder of the free bone from the butcher. My dog is obsessed by it, and would happily have been outside chewing it all night if I'd let her! Can you maybe get him one, and suggest to her it might be a good babysitter? I know people may say oh, he could choke, but he could choke on anything, right?

74jax

You could maybe pop into the garden when she's out there (by accident of course) and just ask how she's feeling now she's moved in, general chit chat and then ohh your dogs taking a bit of time to settle isn't he??? kinda thing? You could even take round some flowers (not expensive) and a kong for the dog as welcome to the neighbourhood treats?

UKTigerlily

jackieglasgow wrote: »

As you know, I'm new to the whole owning a Staffie thing, ut I yesterday discovered the wonder of the free bone from the butcher. My dog is obsessed by it, and would happily have been outside chewing it all night if I'd let her! Can you maybe get him one, and suggest to her it might be a good babysitter? I know people may say oh, he could choke, but he could choke on anything, right?

I'd never leave a dog alone with bones, yes they could choke & once the bone is all dry it can splinter too. They could choke on anything but I wouldn't take unnecessary risks, just like a baby could choke on anything but I still wouldn't leave it alone with something it'd be likely to choke on x

jackieglasgow

I take your point, and actually, I was unsure about even leaving my dog with some food in her dish when I went out, but logically, dogs are natural predators, and animals do this in the wild every day, so the risks must be minimal - it's not really fair to make a comparison with a baby. It's probably one of those topics which really divides opinions. Like I said, I wouldn't do it, but if I think about it at any length, I think that actually, on balance it would be pretty safe. Difficult one.

Fire_Fox

I would only leave a dog with small soft meaty bones such as those from a chicken or rabbit; a large animal such as a cow would not be a dog's natural prey and their ones may be too hard for our pets teeth. Depending on the size of the dog you may want to limit bones from pigs and sheep for the same reason.

jackieglasgow

Don't want to hijack the thread here, but I am not giving the dog and beef or beef by products at all, as I am vegetarian, and have huge moral issues with beef farming. I know, I know you're thinking, what about all the other animals, and in an ideal world, I would, but as you said, cattle are not dog's natural prey, so it was an easy distinction to make for my pet. I'm also learning about food intolerances and allergies, and am aware that beef is a risk factor for these. Also, I was always advised by the vet that dogs shouldn't get any bird bones, as they tend to sliver when they break because of their make-up, which is more dangerous for them. So, pigs and lamb for now. I don't know anyine who eats rabbit.

tiamai_d

We are on friendly enough terms, so it's no problem telling her.

It is a big problem though. The way these houses are (terraced, hers is a single story and ours is a double) means that the noise echos about in their loft and in our bedrooms it is very loud, so it has been keeping my children awake. It's louder up there than in the living room.

I've got a kong type toy that our dog has gotten bored off so will clean it up and hand it in to her.

creased-leach

Our neighbours have just rehomed a Dobermann. They rarely need to leave him alone completely, but there's a two hour timeframe once a week where they need to give a seminar together. The first week they managed to make excuses so it was just half an hour, and as he'd only been there four days I rearranged my week & went round to dogsit. He was pretty anxious- it had been a big week for him, but he settled down.

Last week I sat for the whole two hours, but used the time to work on his seperation anxiety. Even in such a small time frame, with a dog as bright as a Dobermann there was an improvement. Yesterday, Mr neighbour left him in the garden while he did the school run. The dog went ballistic, so after a short while (halfway through Mr neighbours absence) I let myself in, made a cuppa, and ignored him all the time he was bouncing about pleased to see me. Then I made a fuss when he'd settled down. When I left, he was still making a bit of a fuss but nothing as dramatic.

There is loads of stuff online about seperation anxiety in dogs- much of it's common sense, and it works. Perhaps you could find some decent sites, and point her in the right direction.

Fire_Fox

jackieglasgow wrote: »

Also, I was always advised by the vet that dogs shouldn't get any bird bones, as they tend to sliver when they break because of their make-up, which is more dangerous for them. So, pigs and lamb for now. I don't know anyine who eats rabbit.

Some bird bones are very soft and crushable - the necks, ribs and back are nothing like the leg bones on a chicken. You can buy these online as well as bone in rabbit.