Hey all

I have a neighbour who approached me and said that she hears James barking almost constant.  Now I know that this isnt true, as I have been home a lot lately (been really sick - going no where for almost 3 weeks now - except for a dog show that I entered bred by so I had to go) and my computer is right beside his crate.  Well, I know for a fact that he doesnt bark all the time, only when he needs out, or if another dog passes his crate.  But I dont want complaints, so I am trying to keep him as quiet as possible, rewarding him when he is quiet.  Also, the neighbour said that James barks all the time when we are out.  Mom has been leaving early, and standing beside the house and have not heard a sound from him.

I know there are a couple Poms across the way that are barking, and I wonder if it is them she is hearing.  I just dont know what to do, because of course if he is disturbing someone then I dont want to let it go, but I know for a fact that he doesnt bark constantly as she states.  I am even thinking of setting up my webcam and mic to record while I am not home, to see if he starts barking. 

So basically this is a rant, but also if anyone has suggestions  to get him to stop barking when he does (I want him to stop mostly when another dog passes his crate - but I do want him to let me know he needs out by woofing at the door, or something) 

We had something very similar but with a pond and running water, the neighbour complained to our local council and a sound test was done form the property next door we were found to be 0.5 above the norm (which is a tiny amount), so we had to turn the water pump off, which resulted in loosing about £2000 worth of koi, and not a hint of appreciation from the said family. The thing is the pond had been in 10 plus years and there was no complains.

If I were you id see if your local council or local authority can authenticate the claim from your neighbour if and when they are proved then id take action, I presume you are from Canada, so it might be a bit different for you.

If he is barking it might be from separation issues you can buy a plug in hormone smell thing that calms the dogs down we used one for one of our puppies, it was bought from the local vets.

Triona

i always teach my dogs not to bark by distraction but it takes a lot of time and effort on your part ie to stop them barking in the garden i will always go outside with them and if i see someone coming past or a noise that will start them off then i will call them with treats and get them to sit in a calm way and reward until the person or noise has gone. this works really well but you must be on top of it and watch them. all three of my dogs will only ever bark occasionally now and ignore the things that used to set them off.
As for the barking when your not there that is usually down to stress. firstly i would always make sure you exercise your dog well before leaving it, this releases stress and means your dog is more likely to sleep while your out. also make sure there's plenty of toys to chew and keep him busy if he gets bored.
you may find he doesn't bark for a while when you've gone out, thats why your mum never hears him if she waits outside and listens but it doesn't mean he doesn't do it.
make sure you don't talk or give attention for a while before you go out and also when you come home. the more attention he gets will only create more stress when you leave him.
start leaving him more often just for a few minutes at a time and come back and ignore him so he gets used to you going out and coming back pretty quickly, then start leaving him a little longer etc.
         

Well, I know for a fact that he doesnt bark all the time, only when he needs out, or if another dog passes his crate.

I'm unsure how to read this -are you saying he's crated at daytime even when you are at home and in fact sitting next to the crate?

I imagine that what Crespin means is that her dog rests in his crate during the day. My lad does the same. The crate door is always open and he has freedom to come and go as he chooses but its his den and where he'll often choose to go after a long walk etc..

My advice to Crespin is why not invite the neighbour in to sit with you for a while. If when everything is silent in your place she can still hear dogs barking then she'll know it isn't James. I guess you'll know if he barks a lot or not. If you can say hand on heart that it isn't that much then invite her in to see for herself.

My dogs are not kennel dogs, just in crates when we cant watch them (ie going out) They might spend a couple hours during the day in the crate, so please dont get the impression that they are kennel dogs - my dogs are part of my family. 

I can put hand on heart and say he doesnt bark a lot.  I know my neighbour is going through a lot right now, and maybe thats why she is like this.  I also know yesterday, he barked because there was banging coming from next door (I live in a townhome) and you could hear it through the wall. 

I am going to keep up what I am doing, because it seems to be working.  But I dont know how to deal with a neighbour that is complaining.  There are a lot of dogs in the complex, that do bark all the time, so I really think she is hearing those ones, and not mine. 

I am going to keep up what I am doing, because it seems to be working.  But I dont know how to deal with a neighbour that is complaining.  There are a lot of dogs in the complex, that do bark all the time, so I really think she is hearing those ones, and not mine. 

What i would do is say politly that you are working on your dog and then explain about the dogs next door to you that keep barking. Do you generaly get on with this nabour?

Your proberly right that its the ones next to you if they bark alot, my nabour can hera the dogs on the other side of me, well infact so can her nabours.

I have talked to her, and she wants my dogs debarked.  I have one here that was debarked before she came to live with us, and I see more problems with debarking than not doing it.  She said "even though I thought debarking was cruel, he would be a candidate" refering to my boy. 

I have been home all day again, and not much sound has come from him.  I am gonna talk to her again, and say that I believe it is the other dogs in the complex.  I talked to one neighbour today, on the other side of me, and she said she never hears my dogs, and that she for the longest while didnt know I had dogs.  So it says it all right there I think. 

What on earth is Debarking?  I have an idea, but surely not?  Is it just the collar?

Debarking is a surgical operation quite commonly performed on urban (in particular) dogs in the USA and Canada, damaging the voicebox so that they can't bark properly.

Thankfully it's illegal over here.

I don't see how you can be so confident that he doesn't bark a lot when you are not there.

Not barking when he knows you are there is hardly a confirmation that he doesn't.

Yes, debarking is a surgery that they go in and cut the vocal cords and then they can not bark.  It sounds like laringitis (sp?).  The one I have here, was done before we got her by the breeder, and now she has a cronic cough, which the vet says is because of the debarking.  No dog in my house before the one that was debarked ever had the surgery, and no dog since.  I do not believe in it. 

I am confident because I live in a townhome complex, with many houses around me, and everyone else I asked said they do not hear him.  Or any of my dogs for that matter.  Even my landlord says she doesnt hear them, and she is out in the complex several hours a day.  So thats how I can be confident. 

I am not saying that he doesnt bark at all, because he is a dog.  But he isnt barking constant, like this neighbour is saying. 

My dogs are not kennel dogs, just in crates when we cant watch them (ie going out) They might spend a couple hours during the day in the crate, so please dont get the impression that they are kennel dogs - my dogs are part of my family.

It just wasn't clear what you meant -I was wondering if maybe he was quiet when caged when you were near but barked if you left and would be better off not confined. BTW "kennel dogs" in the UK tend to refer to dogs kennelled outside. :)

I had heard of dogs having their vocal cords cut before so they cant bark, i kinda hoped it wasn't practiced in other countries,  On a rescue dog once it had had its vocal chords cut illegally, they can bleed to death internally if not done correctly.  Anyhow i'm guessing its preformed by a vet over in Canada.  Its wierd because it dosn't happen in UK you tend to think it doesn't happen anywhere else. 

I used to own a minipin once, she didn'y like being on her own and the second i left the house she would bark and bark etc.  One neighbor complained so i asked the other neighbors, they all said "no she doesn't bark" they where being nice to my face, i found out later they just didn't want to tell me. 

I would definitely tape when you go out and listen, it really is the only way to tell. Good luck and i hope its just your neighbour being silly