Hi, I have recently had a letter dropped through my door, complaining of my English Bull Terrier barking when I am at work. I cant exactly keep my dog locked inside for a few days a week. My neighbour has just had a newborn baby, and was VERY sarcastic in the letter. Please could someone help me.
Thanks
Elysssa.

Is your dog outside alone when you're at work? Apart from the risk of theft, it's common for bored dogs (and those being wound up by disturbances) to get noisy. You may need to keep him indoors and get someone to walk him at lunchtime if you can't pop back yourself.

Be thankful that your neighbour had the courtsey to let you know by letter if not in person rather than going straight to the environmental health people ...

Have you tried your dog with a KONG? Or maybe you could get someone to go around at lunchtime so that he has a bit of company for a while?

Can you record the dog while you are out?  Often neighbours exagerate ;)

Hi, I am the author of this post. I have just registered. (Long Process! :() Please could you tell me what a kong is??
Thanks
Claire..

Hi Claire :) Yup , have a look here : KONGS You can buy KONGS at most petshops and they come in different sizes to suit all breeds

Hi, I'm not being funny, but if I was your neighbour and had limited sleep at night due to having a baby, I would be really hacked off if the dog woke me having a doze or the baby! Really as responsible dog owners we have an obligation to make sure they cause no problems for society, which includes having dogs under control, cleaning up dog mess and not creating an anti-social problem with noise!! How about if the tables were turned and YOU were the one being disturbed?? How happy would you be about that?? All the best, Dawn. PS. I would follow the advise of other posters and keep your dog indoors with a radio on!(NOT LOUD!!)

A Kong is a rubber toy that can be stuffed with food to keep your dog amused while you are out. If you do a a search on here ( [Search] button in top right of screen ) you'll find lots of ideas for what to stuff them with. You can freeze them filled too to make them last longer.

Recording him is a very good idea. A girl I know had a neighbour to complain to the council about her dogs barking. She recorded them over the course of a week and found that they only barked for about 20 minutes on the day that the binmen were in the street. The neighbour just had it in for her.

'she was really sarcastic'
Sometimes you have to put yourself in the other persons position ;)  She's sleep deprived, and having a dog barking and not knowing when it will stop, or when it will start up again is very harsh on the nerves, especially if you're trying to catch up on sleep in the day and are being woken up all the time  ;)

While it can happen that neighbours complain when there is no reason, often they complain after some time of trying to ignore the problem, and only let you know when they are really upset by it ;)  Some dogs do get into the habit of barking at every noise (and terriers especially seem to hear the tiniest noise and react ;) )  but regardless of breed, no dog should be allowed to bark enough to upset the neighbours.   You are very lucky that your neighbour has contacted you, and it may have been that they did so in trepidation - not all dog owners react well when they are told their dog is noisy, and some can be positively frightening ;)
At least you have the chance to do something about it before the council get involved ;)

Why not get in touch with her, apologise, and enlist her help to figure out what's causing it?

Thanks. I am in constant contact with my neighbours and the Husband of the couple has Never said anything in a nice way. I am disgusted with the sarcastic comments left in the letter. I have asked other neighbours have heard my dog barking and they have said no. I rarely hear him bark myself. Thanks for all your comments and please keep posting!
Thanks, Claire.

Firstly, have you got another neighbour who you get on with? If you do have a word with them and ask them to tell you if you if they hear the dog barking. I'm only saying this as one of my neighbours used to complain that my dog barked when I was out but I could never catch her at it. I even taped for a few hours and nothing. When I spoke to one of my other neighbours, they said they had never heard her only if the postman delivered. This was just a come back at me because I regularly complained to them about their loud music.
It might be that as a previous reply has said, this person has a new born baby and is therefore not getting much sleep.  Your dog might have a bark once or twice a day, which has wound her up. It is only excessive barking which can be formally complained about.
In the meantime do what you have been advised, try and get someone to let her out while your at work. Get her some motivational toys, kong, treat ball etc. Even leave the radio or tv on for her.
I take it from your post that she is outside, which will have more distractions for her. Keep her inside with her toys and she will hear less things to set her off (if she is barking).

Claire

You mention in another post that you have three dogs.  Are they kept separately if it is just the one that is barking?  If so, is it not possible to keep them all together?  Just thinking that the separate one may be pining for the others.

Best Wishes

Andrea

I'm confused - is this the same person that breeds shar-pei puppies ??

Daisy

According to her posts, yes.

Claire:

I think you ought to remember what story you are telling - we check back on here ;)

You have made the following statements :-

Hi
Hi, I have recently had a letter dropped through my door, complaining of my English Bull Terrier barking when I am at work. I cant exactly keep my dog locked inside for a few days a week. My neighbour has just had a newborn baby, and was VERY sarcastic in the letter. Please could someone help me.
Thanks
Elysssa.

Hi, I am the author of this post. I have just registered. (Long Process!  ) Please could you tell me what a kong is??
Thanks
Claire..

Unfortunatley I am not a breeder although I think you should try a chocolate labrador. They are fabulous companions and are very cheerfull dogs. I have two myself. Two boys!
Thanks Claire.

I breed shar-pei puppies, although I am from the midlands. Sorry. I will try and get some numbers for you. I do not know where to contact though when I get them.

Claire

Depending on the breed and size of the parents alters from dog to dog. When my dogs were puppies I fed them twice a day.

Claire

Do let us know what is what :)

Margot

!! I have a Chocolate Labrador, English Bull Terrier and a staffy! Chocolate obviously!                 white with a black eye,and Tiger Staff.

Hi, I breed shar-pei puppies, although I am from the midlands. Sorry. I will try and get some numbers for you. I do not know where to contact though when I get them.

Depending on the breed and size of the parents alters from dog to dog. When my dogs were puppies I fed them twice a day.

My Husband breeds shar-pei puppies. I have got three dogs. CONFUSING!

And do you actually live with your husband :)

Who is Elysssa?