My neighbour has started complaining about my 1 year old Boarder Collie barking excessively. This neighbour has always been a nuisance and has always been controlling and has been caught in our back garden taking a toy slide and sea-saw without consent. My dog recently has been alot calmer and hasn't been barking as much as he used to. My neighbour has complained numerous times yet his dog is left out between 9pm and 10pm barking in his back garden and his previous dogs have also been left outside to bark for hours at night for over 10 years which we have never complained about as we understand that dogs do bark. What is the best way to deal with him as I am concerned he is going to report me to the local council? I could understand his concern if it wasn't for the fact that his dog barks as well and at later times in the day.

Keep a note (and if possible timestamped video evidence (most smartphones do it automatically) although only taken from your property and showing what you can normally see/hear from your own house/land) of his dogs barking.  That way if he DOES report you you have something to show the council representative who visits.  Was the stolen toys incident reported?  Do you have any evidence of it?  That would also help if you need to prove he has a grudge against you.

Talk to him.  Ask him what outcome he would like, mention when he asks for a silent dog on your side of the fence that he doesn't have any on his side.  And work on stopping the barking, dogs do bark, but people do manage to prevent it too.  It's hard to get a feel for the barking from your description.  My neighbour's yorkie barks whenever someone walks past our houses, a few barks if there are people home, for 5-10 minutes if she's alone, which i don't mind at all.  If she was barking solidly for hours and/or at all hours of the night i might have more to say.  Likewise my neighbour on the other side works shifts and i try to have my noisy children in from the garden or at least playing peacefully by 8pm of an evening, as i know he is going to sleep then.  It's all give and take really, which i know is hard if it's someone you're already disinclined to be generous with, given the history.

I will keep a note of my own dogs barking and his dogs as my own evidence. He normally only barks if he sees someone or something happen, I live in the middle of fields and there are only 3 houses. There are some cows which have recently been put in the field next to us but he has got use to them now so only stares at them. He only barks if he is outside and if he is outside there is someone with him to stop any barking immediately so it does not persist for more than 5 mins. He does not bark when he is left alone in his room so I am not worried that he barks when we leave the house. I personally feel like the neighbour is overreacting to the barking and has also convinced my other neighbour that his dogs barking is our dog barking so they now have asked us to do something about it aswell.

In that case i would talk to the other neighbour and express your concern that the barking might not all be coming from your dog and perhaps offer to write down when your dog barks, ask them to write when they hear barking and compare notes.  Especially good if you can note times your dog is away from home walking etc.  If that fails, try to take your dog on holiday for a week over summer.  They will soon realise that if your dog isn't physically there that he can't be the barker

i am going thow this two with next door neighbour he stalkin me and watching every movent and compliaing slightist thing
also going throw 5yrs of hell abuse with neighbour across road
i been advised to see lawyer and get injection
their also complaing about my dogs two

forgot to say my next door neighbour leaves his huskey and huskey cross out from 8am -11pm every day every weather they bark non stop
he never stops complaining if mine bark

Frankly just because their dog barks for an hour, doesn't mean you should let your dog bark other than to raise the alarm.   That being said, it's frustrating but provided the moment your dog kicks off, for no good reason, you bring him in, let him report you to the Council.   Keep a note of the times you hear his dog of course.   And again, as I did with mine, and still do if I get noise for 'nothing', bring your dog in.   Mine know this will happen if they start yapping - not that both of my hounds do, just the one.   And she now ignores the Jackie at the bottom of the garden who is allowed to yap for way longer than I'd let mine.   I don't mind dogs sounding an alarm, but when they go on and one, I do.   I don't understand how people can live with dogs who behave like that!

Neighbour disputes can be a nightmare - we have a man here who only moved in just under a year ago, and now thinks he owns the turning area at the end of our cul de sac.   He shouts and swears, as he has at me and even to a funeral home limo turning round to pick up people going to the local Crem. recently.   I left my car outside my property recently and it was keyed between the hours of 10 am and 5 pm and that night, had creosote thrown over the back too.   I can't prove anything, but this man is the only person in our quiet neighbourhood who might have done something like this - and the repair to my car cost me £240. locally (the dealership had quoted me £534, so it was a deep scratch).

So you think complaints about a noisy dog are bad!    I do wonder why he stole toys from your garden, or was able to?    Did you report the theft to the police.   I did re my car damage.

Having lived next to a horrible neighbour, I would be very cautious about talking to yours, especially if you are getting into the tit for tat situation, it can suddenly escalate and you both end up making it worse.  Do everything possible to keep the peace and if the Council are called then just explain the situation, they are only too used to dealing with neighbour complaints, they will ask your neighbour to keep a log of times of barking and you should do the same. If you could have video or better still CCTV footage of your dog then you would have no problem proving what your dog is doing and when.  I am rather on the side of anyone who has to put up with barking dogs as it really gets on my nerves, mine are only allowed about 3 barks and then they come in, luckily we live quite isolated so not many excuses for barking

i have had to put cctv up and it records everything that idiot next door and acroos road does to me
it was on advic from police

As well as keeping a note of when you hear both dogs barking I would set up a camera for when you go out to make sure yours isn't barking the whole time.

Providing you keep yours from nuisance barking (prolonged sessions or during anti-social hours) if he did put in a complaint you shouldn't have any problems.

I wouldn't be worried about the council. They want a LOT of evidence before they will even make contact, and it sounds as though your neighbour is just creating fuss for the sake of it. However, I do echo the comments made above in that you should video/record your dog in the day time just to make sure! We had a bit of a tricky situation recently too. We live on a small cul de sac made up of four detached houses. Our neighbour came over and informed us that the elderly gentleman (used loosley) who lives opposite, was standing in the middle of the road facing our lounge window whistling while staring through at our dog, who of course, barked the place down for the entire time. We asked him directly if he was tormenting the dog, to which he replied no. One day while I was at home but my car was in the village from the night before I caught him whistle at the dog, and then walk round and open our back gate. Well ... Not happy is an understatement ... A few stern words and I'm sure he won't be on our property in a hurry again. Unfortunately with people like this, sometimes the only way is to play their dirty little game!

it's surprising how some dog owners (not saying you, of course lol) just seem immune to their dogs barking in terms of level of noise and duration. It's not until someone else points it out that they realise how unacceptable it is to others or that, even if they deem it 'reasonable', that others don't and they are expected to do something about it.

That is very true. One of the agility clubs I go to is at a riding school. One of the resident dogs spends the whole evening in the owner's garden barking it's head off and I mean serious non-stop, very loud, aggressive barking - it will bark constantly for an hour or two. The owner of the stables doesn't even notice her barking any more and commented that the dog likes to be out in the garden barking and they don't even register the noise any more. Luckily for them the stables has no close neighbours.

If I lived close to them I would have to say something as I just couldn't live with the constant barking.

My dogs are allowed to give a warning bark if someone rings the doorbell but are then asked to be quiet. Similarly if they do the odd bark in the garden that is ok - they are dogs after all - but more than two or three barks and they have to go indoors if they won't be quiet.

We had simaler with our old neighbour, their westy would bark for ages at all times of the day and night as they had a cat flap. When we first moved in they said to us that they don't hear the dog at night but if we do just tell her to shush. In the end I had her trained to go back inside when I whistled but this ment I still had to get out of bed to open the window and whistle her.
Eventualy our other neighbour got a Jack Russel puppy and it would bark a bit both in the day and at night but it would only be two or three barks then it would go back in unlike the westy who would bark between 5 minits to half an hour at a time. Well the amount of times the westy owner would moan to us about that boosts Jack Russel barking constantly at all hours and how bad it was they don't do a thing about it. I'm guessing they may have been hearing their own dog barking at night and asumed it was the Jack Russel.

> i have had to put cctv up

I couldn't afford to do that.  I don't even own a camera.

Good god no way could I live with my own dogs doing that. More than two barks and they are told to be quiet, if not they are in. Barking whilst playing is fine bit to bark to alert over and over goes through me and as for hours like a GSD bark I would go insane.

We live in a semi rural area with 8 dogs. We have neighbours with considerably fewer dogs but they bark far more than ours do. I  worry that mine are more likely to be blamed for any dog noise in the neighbourhood. But happily, so far, no complaints.
What I will say is that if your properties are privately owned, your unpleasant neighbour should be aware that any complaints he makes against you  will have to be declared if/when he tries to sell his property. This could cause him problems. It will come up in the searches the solicitor does for the sale/purchase.  He may wish to think again before involving the council.

Sadly, this does not get around his incursions onto your property and other problems.

I could understand his concern if it wasn't for the fact that his dog barks as well and at later times in the day.

You need to record his dogs barking, when taking that kind of evidence based recording, start the camera running just before the times his dogs start barking & leave it running until after they usually stop.

Are you in private acommodation or council? what about the nuisance neighbours place?
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I will keep a note of my own dogs barking and his dogs as my own evidence

Thats not classed as quality evidence, video recordings carry much more weight.
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I have a problem with my dog barking at the neighbors  I have a very small yard and as we are on a hill the fencing means that he cant see what the noise is. I have tried many things to stop the problem and until its sorted I have to keep him in if I am not there ( I have a dog flap which my other dog normally uses)

At the moment I am trying to desensitize him by sitting out there and when he hears something being calm and distracting him.
However on Friday he ran down stairs and outside when they came out to have a BBQ closely followed by me. He managed one bark before I got there to bring him in but in the mean time, their son about 11, was leaning over the fence shouting "You horrible dog" over and over.

Not the best solution in my view oh and by the way the parents were sitting close by I could see them through the fence I think that Im on to a losing battle. They wont speak to me about it just keep complaining to my landlord and quite frankly I dont want to talk to them now either

just keep complaining to my landlord and quite frankly I dont want to talk to them now either

Your dogs welfare is at increasing risk of ending up homeless, from what you've said, if you don't put an anti bark collar on him your heading towards eviction, what about your neighbors need for peace, quiet & quality of life?
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What kind of parents would think it appropriate for their child to do that !

I think the best solution is for the dog flap to be closed when you are out so he cannot get out to bark . If the neighbours are in their garden, you'll just have to keep him in indoors with you. It seems you are doing your best in difficult circumstances.
The more I read about difficult neighbours ,the more I determine to  resist the temptation to move back into town, whatever the inconvenience of living in rural areas.

Take the flap out.  I speak from experience.  I know it's nice for them to be able to come and go as they please but unless they are naturally quiet, non-reactive dogs and you have nice neighbours, which you clearly don't (and ones that deliberately wind him up), it's never going to be a good setup.  You'll just end up with more complaints, more tension with your neighbours and a stressed dog.  That includes when you are there - unless you're out there when he is, or you know for certain they aren't out (and can tell as soon as they get home), it's not worth it.

I perservered with my flap for a year or two but ultimately, it just wasn't worth the stress - I had neighbours like yours.

I'm not sure the parents are worse than the dog owner - both the dog and the child are shouting inappropriately at the neighbours!  Perhaps the parents wholeheartedly agree with his assessment?

My neighbours, when they first moved in, let their little dog (not sure what it is, non-shedding or at least clipped out and looks like a llhasa apso but seems too big?) escape their garden DAILY.  I was once summoned to my garden by my 3yo screaming to find their little dog snarling and snapping towards her (not making contact, a "warning charge").  I'm afraid hosed it with my garden hose!  Not long after they put a new fence in, and it can no longer escape, but they DEFINITELY knew it was escaping before because they would be calling it in for 20 minutes every night and their garden is about 15yards square!  I'm afraid i do think it's a horrible dog, and don't see why my own kids should be too scared to play in their own garden.  Even for a long time after the new fence went in whenever my children were out playing or if i was hanging my washing out the dog would run repeatedly at the back fence snarling and barking.  It lives with children and i'm sure is nice enough if you know it, but it is certainly a pretty awful neighbour.  Since then they have reconfigured their garden so it can no longer get to the back fence at all.

I have tried the anti bark collar Vibration type with success I will try the spray one before I give up completely, and I do understand their need for peace which is exactly why I am doing everything possible to stop him being a nuisance

I am keeping the flap closed  if I am not at home

I am sorry Poodlenoodle but but I think that that is unfair I am at least trying to resolve the situation whereas they are exacerbating it

Exactly.  They are exacerbating it, and knowingly.  No matter what you do, they are going to antagonise your dog (or allow their child to).  You can't stop them, and punishing your dog for (quite rightly) telling that child to naff off in his own way is unfair to him.  You can try complaining about them, if there's anyone to complain to, but I doubt you'll get very far.

Trust me on this, the only way you will get any sanity in this is to give up on that flap and not leave them outside unattended.  People like that do not care about the dog or you, they will cause the problem and then complain about it.  They may even escalate, if you do manage to stop him - throwing bad food over, throwing things directly at him, maybe even trying harder to make him bark if they realise he's got a collar on that will punish him for doing so.  Please, please don't put your dog in that situation.  Close the flap for good.

I apologise if that upset you lizziegotravel, i didn't mean to be personal , just that in any situation where a dog is barking at a child and the child is shouting at the dog there are faults on both sides.  Possibly nobody has pointed out to the child that shouting at it is antagonising the dog, and possibly the parents don't realise that it isn't "telling off" to do that.  Some people have odd ideas about animal training, maybe they've told him to tell your dog off in the hopes of training him out of barking?

Do you think they are aware that you are trying to sort it out?  If they aren't people who know about dogs they might have no idea you've tried anything/not noticed the collars etc.  Maybe you could say to them next time you see them and the kid out, that you are working hard to stop your dog barking and it would really help if they would completely ignore the dog, ESPECIALLY if the dog barks.  I do understand that eventually you become disinclined to engage with some people, but apart from working on it as you are and counter-complaining (which i think could risk being seen as petty - the council will think shouting children are fine and barking dogs a nuisance) i don't know what else you can do.