Dogs Vs Neighbours

When your neighbours have a barking dog that they can't control, you may contact local authorities such as the police or the local Animal Control. Depending on your location, there are laws which make it so people may not legally have loud barking dogs after a certain time of day. Before you contact local authorities, try to encourage your neighbours to get their dog not to bark. If the noise continues, the law may either take the dogs away, or fine the dog owners until they find an answer to the problem. If your locality permits it, you could sign a neighbourhood petition to not allow their dog to be outside during certain parts of the night.

If a dog is constantly barking in your street and is causing a nuisance, there are laws to address this issue. However, few people take pleasure in upsetting their neighbours wherever possible and most would wish to take a ‘diplomatic’ approach to the problem first without resorting to legal action. 

The ways in which you could try to get a resolution to the problem might vary. It could all depend, on how you feel about directly confronting a neighbour, by knocking on their door and speaking to them about your problem. Others might feel that the neighbour in question might not be reasonable and that they could be hostile towards them. If you choose to speak directly to your neighbour, the best way to go about it would be to go round and see them and say that you’re just checking that everything is OK.

But what happens if it’s your dog that is the problem? How do you deal with the others? Perhaps what you will do is to put yourself in the situation of your neighbours. Do not wait for your neighbours to come and visit your house, complaining about your dog. This is not a good sign and might cause a rift between you and your neighbours. Make sure that this won’t happen.

We all have out limits. Thus when our dogs have been barking like 24/7, its time that we do something about it. A dog that continually barks for no apparent reason can become a bit of a nuisance, both to you and to your neighbours. So training your dog not to bark should be a part of your overall dog behaviour training. Any random or nuisance barking should be stopped as soon as possible, preferably when the dog is still young, as it will become harder the older the dog gets.

So how do I do this? One of the answers or solutions lies on the patience and determination of the dog owners. The moment we decide to become dog owners, we accept the responsibilities that with being an owner. Caring for a dog is like taking care of a child. Each day, we painstakingly teach the dog what are the behaviour of a good dog.

As much as we like to hit them at time out of anger, we must not do this. The more we hit our dogs, the more they will bark out of fear. Likewise, the use of shock collars will only do more harm than good to them. They could easily be traumatized. Try not to shout or yell at them as they too could feel the emotions that you feel.

When we react every single time they bark, they might think that we enjoy what they are doing thus, continue barking. Know the proper time to react to their barks and to the actions. One reason could be they are jealous. When you bring a new puppy home, the incumbent dogs feel they are no longer wanted and will do anything to get your attention. And when this happens, try to make them feel that they are still loved.

Discipline is the key to having a good dog. But violence is not the answer when it comes to discipline that we are trying to get. A dog is part of your family and should be shown the love and respect that it deserves. By training a dog not to bark at the wrong times, as part of a dog behaviour training program, you are helping it and yourself to a more fulfilling and rewarding relationship that will last for years to come. (And you will probably get on with your neighbours a lot better as well.

As quoted by a professional on the field, “A dog that barks appropriately saves you from trouble. Firstly, you won’t have police knocking on your door, responding to neighbour complaints. Secondly, if your dog knows how to effectively use barking to communicate, you’d know danger even before you see it. Also if your dog is known to bark appropriately, neighbours would know when to check in on you. In rare but very possible cases, like when you’ve fallen terribly ill or unconscious; your dog’s bark can attract help.”

Some places may have no rules against dog’s excessive barking. But in most countries there are laws against pet owners whose dogs are a nuisance. That is why some owners are careful enough to avoid being given court orders against their dogs.

Check Local Laws. Before you go to court and present your case, try to find if there are laws about barking dogs to help bolster your argument. Dog barking is a nuisance law in most places but what is in those laws varies from place to place. For instance, some communities might have laws that say if a dog barks more than 10 minutes, it's considered a nuisance and against the law. Once you know the laws, figure out who might be able to help you with those laws. For example, some cities have specific programs to deal with barking complaints and issue a standard letter to offenders.

In the lawsuit, you must show the barking is a nuisance and that you have been damaged. Before proceeding, some issues you must address are:

How does the barking interfere with your reasonable use or enjoyment of your property?

Would the average person in your position be affected by the barking in a similar way?

Is the barking more or less tolerable if someone was to take into account the surrounding neighbourhood in where you live?  In what ways have you suffered damages because of the barking?

Do you have a measurable or tangible way of showing your damages?

Will you be able to show the damages were caused by the barking and not by other plausible factors?

If this doesn’t work then, try mediation. Mediation is an informal voluntary process in which parties try to solve their conflicts with the help of trained mediators. Mediation may be used before or after filing a lawsuit. The mediation process is designed to allow the parties to come up with their own solution without a judgment or decision imposed by the mediators.  If an agreement is reached between the parties during mediation, the agreement will be put in the form of an enforceable contract and signed by both parties.

Either way, it is best to do our part that our dogs will not become a nuisance to the community to avoid further problems and future legal actions.