[saintnoel]

Hey everyone,

I have a situation, my elderly neighbors have called the cops twice on my husky because she barks at them, i've had her about a month. She doesn't growl or jump on the fence, she just barks. She's never bitten anyone and was raised around 2 young kids. Has anyone experienced anything like this before? and if so how did you handle it? thanks.

 

[marsha=whitie]

You should probably teach her to stop. I mean, if she means that much to you, and you semi-want to stay on good terms with your neighbors, you'll get her to stop.

 

[saintnoel]

Well, when i'm at work, she stays outside with our other dog. She doesn't really enjoy being inside for a long time unless she's sleeping.

 

[Toby4Life]

You should probably teach her to stop. I mean, if she means that much to you, and you semi-want to stay on good terms with your neighbors, you'll get her to stop.

I don't necessarily agree with this. The OP didn't provide a ton of details, but if it's as simple as the dog barking at them when they get out of their car to go in their house or the like, I don't see anything wrong with that. If, on the other hand, the dog continuously barks at the neighbor while they are out in the garden or something, then certainly there needs to be some sort of control on this.

Dogs bark. As long as it isn't constant (read annoying) there's nothing wrong with it. Check the laws in your area as it usually states what is/isn't acceptable from a noise perspective. Being able to control it is never a bad thing though.

Edit: I just read the OP's response and if you aren't home than you don't know how bad it is/isn't in which case you ought to work on fixing the problem.

 

[Summerhawk]

Or you could put your dogs inside when you're gone. Maybe they like it better outside but in every life, some rain must fall. There's no way I'd ever leave my dogs outside when I'm not home. Too many things can happen - like someone could poison them if they get ticked off enough. And it's irresponsible to allow dogs to bark enough that they annoy the neighbors.

 

[saintnoel]

I do make her stop on the weekends when i'm here, these neighbors have also called the cops before because my car alarm was going off :-/

 

[Mac'N'Roe]

You need to work on it. If the dog barks continuously while he/she is left outside unsupervised, this can be a problem. I love dogs, but my neighbors used to leave their dogs out while they were gone. They have one dog that barks CONTINUOUSLY, especially bad when they aren't there. Mainly because the dog is bored and wants attention, but it is EXTREMELY annoying. She has a really loud bark...and after about 3 minutes, it makes it hard to even hear yourself think. If I'm outside, the dog is barking nonstop...for hours at a time. I finally had to talk to them about it...and now they keep the dog inside when they aren't there to supervise.

This may be what you have to do. Its not courteous to leave a barking dog outside unsupervised while away at work. Convenient, yes. Considerate...no.

 

[saintnoel]

To make things clearer, she only barks when they are outside, so besides that she doesn't bark.

 

[wvasko]

I wonder if OP thinks middle-aged or young neighbors would enjoy dog barking. I don't really think being elderly has anything to do with it unless it's a bias-age shot. I think OP is lucky they are elderly as younger neighbors could bring some tougher problems. I know, that any dog I own should not be bothering my neighbors, just as I have the right not to be bothered by anything they own, kids/dogs/wild pigs etc.

 

[saintnoel]

I wonder if OP thinks middle-aged or young neighbors would enjoy dog barking. I don't really think being elderly has anything to do with it unless it's a bias-age shot. I think OP is lucky they are elderly as younger neighbors could bring some tougher problems. I know, that any dog I own should not be bothering my neighbors, just as I have the right not to be bothered by anything they own, kids/dogs/wild pigs etc.

Yep, actually I do, our other neighbors retrievers barks at me when i'm outside and i couldn't care less to be honest.

 

[ambercober]

How do you know how much she barks when your at work and that it's only them that she barks at and only when they are outside?? Is there someone else at home when you work that sees this behaviour or are you recording what your dog does while your away? Or is this an edjumacated guess on your part?

 

[Summerhawk]

To make things clearer, she only barks when they are outside, so besides that she doesn't bark.

And she's out most of the time, so therefore she barks most of the time. No one cares if a dog barks in the house. I think you're missing the point. All you are doing is buying trouble for yourself, and making your neighbors dislike you, and your dog. Why would you want to do that? Again...you're begging for your dogs to be let out, stolen, or worse.

It's not hard to be a responsible, considerate pet owner. It really isn't.

 

[DJsMom]

Have the cops come out to talk to you about it? Where I live there's kind of a "3 strikes & you're out" law, meaning your dog will be taken away from you after the 3rd strike. I don't know details & I've not had any strikes yet.
I DO have to keep my dogs indoors when I'm not at home for longer than just running a quick errand, simply becuz our neighbor was kind enough to come to me about them barking before they called authorities.
I think it would get on my nerves if a neighbors dog continuously barked at me when I was outdoors.

 

[GeorgeGlass]

This is definitely annoying.

I have one neighbor whose dog barks whenever I walk by with my dog. My dog does not bark. He would come out and yell at me for walking past his house on the sidewalk at 6 a.m. He would say, "Can't you wait until 7 to walk by?"

I don't walk that way in the mornings anymore. (I vary my morning walk, but now that one is out of the rotation.)

But I'm still annoyed by it.

I shouldn't have to do anything different because you have a dog that is not under control.

 

[sheltiemom]

I suggest bringing your dog inside while you are gone, and crating him if he is not trustworthy in the house. It may not be your first choice, but I wouldn't want to see you at worst lose your dog or getting tickets and fines. This is why I can't leave mine outside unsupervised at all...fortunately my neighbors are great, we are on good terms, etc, but my dogs are barkers and I know it could be annoying if I didn't stop them. So anytime they're outside except for quick potty breaks, I'm out there on a lawn chair, and if they start barking we go inside immediately. Your other option would be talking to your neighbors, but it sounds like it has gone too far for that.

 

[MrsJohnnyG]

I agree that it's the right thing to do to prevent your dog from barking when they're outside... if she's barking at your elderly neighbors, then chances are she's also barking at EVERY neighbor (and they are just kind enough not to say anything). Your neighbors may spend a lot of time gardening or just wanting to enjoy the outdoors... why should they endure constant barking when they're trying to enjoy their own property?

This is not just for your neighbors' sake... it's for the sake of you, and your dog. People who get annoyed enough DO poison dogs etc. I had a dog growing up that was a non-stop barker... sadly, my parents didn't know how to train him to stop, nor would they let us keep him inside, and one day we came home and he was gone... it was devastating... I would hate for something like that to happen to your sweetie. Even if something so unthinkable didn't happen, your dog must be in quite a bit of distress to keep barking at them so much. I agree with those who have suggested keeping her indoors while you're gone... for many good reasons.

 

[wvasko]

Yep, actually I do, our other neighbors retrievers barks at me when i'm outside and i couldn't care less to be honest.

That's great, and in all fairness it probably would not bother me either. I'm elderly but I would just turn my sound system up. That's not the point you were posting about though.

 

[Mac'N'Roe]

This is definitely annoying.

I have one neighbor whose dog barks whenever I walk by with my dog. My dog does not bark. He would come out and yell at me for walking past his house on the sidewalk at 6 a.m. He would say, "Can't you wait until 7 to walk by?"

I don't walk that way in the mornings anymore. (I vary my morning walk, but now that one is out of the rotation.)

But I'm still annoyed by it.

I shouldn't have to do anything different because you have a dog that is not under control.

George, you shouldn't have to not walk in front of their house or change YOUR routine because your neighbor's dog barks. Quite the contrary. It is the OWNER'S responsibility to curb his habits...if the dog barks by walker's by in the morning, he shouldn't be out there at that hour. The dog should only be out at hours when it would be appropriate for that type of behavior. If I were you, I'd make a point of walking by their house from now on

I don't have any problems with a barking dog, if it's normal barking at a normal hour at the people walking by...or what have you. Alert barking that lasts maybe 30 seconds to MAYBE a minute. I DO have a problem with dogs that bark continuously at neighbors in their OWN yard...trying to enjoy their OWN property. There's a huge difference.

My dogs bark..especially when I'm not in the yard with them. Not continuously, but they bark at passers by, or at people in the parking lot beyond the wooded area in the back part of my yard. Therefore, they don't stay outside when I'm not there because I'm considerate and don't want to bug the neighbors. I ALSO come out IMMEDIATELY when Mac'n'Roe begin barking and if its something they are going to CONTINUE to bark at, I bring them in for a minute. simple as that.

Yep, actually I do, our other neighbors retrievers barks at me when i'm outside and i couldn't care less to be honest.

that's not the point.

 

[Sammgirl]

My suggestion would be to look into crate training your dogs. You don't want to be the problem neighbor that annoys everyone. You NEVER know when a neighbor will come in handy for you...

For example, if your dogs ever get out, your elderly neighbors could be a life saver. They could get the dogs back in for you, or at least give you a call and let you know what's going on.

If you don't have a good relationship with them, they're not going to help out.

Besides, having a good relationship with law enforcement is always positive, LOL!

 

[saintnoel]

Just had a chat with the neighbor, I was telling him that she's never shown this behavior towards another person before. I take her to the dog park at least 3 times a week and have no problems with people or other dogs. No problem at pet stores either, he suggested giving her some treats so they can become friendly, we both agreed that would be a good idea.