how much barking is ok?

pawsies

I have a barker xD The breed is renowned for it however she's not a constant barker- just barks at things we probably can't detect (far away noises- she has big ears!). I always bring her in if she's barking outside and as for barking inside well I don't think it's a problem as we have a well insulated house.
She only barks to play with me, get attention and when there's someone at the door/visitors.
We've tried the bark command- issue was that she loved it and thought it was great to get to bark when we asked- however then proceeded to carry on despite the quiet command! And yes, she does know what quiet means but would rather bark in protest :P

She is a great dog though and despite the barking (which I don't see as a major issue) she's so loyal and lovely

Person_one

krlyr wrote: »

If you're worried or have had neighbours complain, phone your council and speak to someone at EH. They should clarify what counts as excessive and also log that you're aware of the issue and dealing with it, incase any neighbours log an official complaint. I was worried about it myself as my dog was barking nearly the whole time she was left alone and I was concerned that I'd be reported to EH but lots of people reassured me that the process can be lengthy and isn't black and white as nuisance noise is subjective - a few barks at cats in the garden on two or three occasions a day is unlikely to be deemed a nuisance but factors like the length of the barking, the volume (is the dog barking right at the party wall of the house, or in the garden right under someone's bedroom window, for example), the frequency, the time of day it occurs, etc. will all be taken into consideration.

I've reported a neighbour to EH (for loud music, not dogs), they don't just take your word for it, there really does have to be a serious issue so please don't worry too much!

Firstly they have you log the disturbances for a few weeks on a form that you return to them, if they deem the noise on the log to be excessive/unreasonable they send you a device to record decibel levels over a period of weeks, only once that's been reviewed are the first steps toward action taken and the noisy neighbour gets plenty of chances to sort things out.

elliesmemory1

Thanks, the annoying thing is other dogs around bark. Yesterday I heard a dog overthe back barking for an hour and a half at least. Theres no way mine bark for anywhere near that.

krlyr

Another thing to consider is whether your neighbour is sure it's your dog barking. I've known a few people to get the blame for neighbourhood dogs barking because the neighbour only knows about their dog, not others in the area. It could be worth setting up a camera or sound recorder for a few days to capture the amount of barking on record so that if the neighbour takes it further, you can prove how much your dog is barking (neighbour will most likely have to write a journal of their own with when they can hear the dog if they go to EH about it)

elliesmemory1

yes thanks i have ordered a voice activated dictaphone thingy. Just waiting for it to come.

elliesmemory1

Just a update, have recorded each time dogs are left on their own. Not one bark! there have been one or two barks in garden during day but not at any anti social time. Have not had time to ring council EH for advice yet but will be doig so in next couple of days.
Really cant see how anyone can say thats too much barking!

krlyr

Maybe pop around to your neighbour and ask what times they've heard barking - explain that you don't want your dogs to be a nuisance but you've recorded them when left to find out what's causing it and haven't actually seen any barking so you wondered what times they had heard the dogs. You might be able to find out if it's a case of mistaken identities and that it's someone else's dog actually barking. Alternatively, it could be that there's a specific trigger setting off your dogs that you haven't seen yet - the recycling people coming on a set day of the week, perhaps, or a neighbour's friend picking them up every Monday and Friday and beeping the horn outside (that always sets off one of my dogs). Probably wouldn't be classed as excessive as it's not a daily occurence, but your neighbour might appreciate knowing that you're doing something about it if it is your dogs

elliesmemory1

Yes thanks, Im going to speak to neighbour. i will continue recording so I will try to catch any tigger, so far he only noise on tape was dog yawning!