What constitutes excessive barking?

marti8

Hi, we have an 8 month old Yorkie puppy. We've been living in a house for 6 months now and shortly after moving in our neighbour complained that our puppy barked outside after 8pm and kept his kids awake as they go to bed at 8pm. That was ok, we brought her inside after 8pm.

Then a few days ago she was barking at 2am, in the kitchen where she sleeps, I go down and she stops, back upto bed and she starts again, my wife goes down to her and she stopped then. The next evening when our neighbour saw my wife he started giving out again, they also have a puppy and we asked how they stop their puppy from barking and he said they hit it, well sorry but we're not going to do that.

The following morning we let her out into the back garden at 7am, neighbours were up and when she heard them talking she began barking at them (they had their patio door open) Again, neighbour starts yelling in at us, keep your dog under control and all that.

Now, puppies bark, that is just a fact, all dogs bark in fact (just as people communicate by speech, dogs communicate by barking) some more than others. But what constitutes excessive barking? I know it's a hard one to determine as as far as we know there are no hard and fast rules for that here in Ireland?

We have gotten an ultrasonic anti barking collar, useless. We're now waiting on a anti barking shock collar and also some calming pills that contain valerian amongst other things to arrive.

A dog barking in of itself is not an offence but when does normal barking become excessive? What is "normal" barking and what is "excessive" barking? From what we can see there are two opposing rights here, the right to keep a dog (and for a dog to basically be a dog, which includes barking) and the neighbours right to peace and quiet (but does "peace and quiet" mean the dog cannot bark AT ALL?) Thanks

bigpinkelephant

marti8 wrote: »

she was barking at 2am, in the kitchen where she sleeps, I go down and she stops, back upto bed and she starts again, my wife goes down to her and she stopped then.

We're now waiting on a anti barking shock collar and also some calming pills that contain valerian amongst other things to arrive.

Your dog is barking because she has learned that barking gets her attention.
Rather than giving her drugs and electric shocks, you need to train her (possibly with a dog behaviourist) and teach her that barking will not get her attention. This means ignoring her when she barks and praising her when she quietens down.

marti8

bigpinkelephant wrote: »

Your dog is barking because she has learned that barking gets her attention.
Rather than giving her drugs and electric shocks, you need to train her (possibly with a dog behaviourist) and teach her that barking will not get her attention. This means ignoring her when she barks and praising her when she quietens down.

I see what you are saying but don't dogs bark for any number of reasons other than for attention? Maybe she hears something outside (bird, cat, rain, people talking or laughing, cars, an alarm etc etc) For example a few weeks ago she started barked at about 1am, we took a look out to see what was wrong and in a nearby green spaces a fire had been lit and it was getting a little out of control (we phoned the fire brigade and it was put out) Now, we live in a relatively nice, peaceful private new build housing estate and things like that don't normally happen. So, barking does have its pluses I guess.

And we often do ignore her but when she is barking at 2am or whatever we can't simply ignore her as if she continues she'll disturb others also.

As for a dog behaviour specialist and training, I doubt there would be one in our town and even if there was it'd be rather expensive I pressume. We'll try the shock collar and the pills when they arrive, we'd rather not but our options are limited.

Call me Socket

It's excessive if it's for persistant for lengthy periods or/and at unsocial hours. If it causes a nuisance to your neighbour it's an offence.
He can't make a formal complaint about the noise pollution without first letting you know in writing that he intends to do so....at least you'll be forewarned and will have the time to find a solution before it goes to court.

Excessive barking is sometimes a sign of seperation anxiety. Try to address that before resorting to electric shock treatment!! She's only a little thing, jeez, it would be absolutely barbaric....the thought of it turns my stomach.

I had a problem with my Spitz crossbreed barking a lot- he's a very vocal dog! I got a collar that picks up on vibration from the dog's throat when he barks and emits a high pitched tone- completely harmless, and it worked a treat. He was a bit freaked out for the first couple of days, running under the table trying to hide from the collar, but it eventually sunk in that it only sounded off if he barked, once he made that connection he became a different dog.
The collar cost E20 in my local petstore, and worth every cent.

marti8

Call me Socket wrote: »

It's excessive if it's for persistant for lengthy periods or/and at unsocial hours. If it causes a nuisance to your neighbour it's an offence.
He can't make a formal complaint about the noise pollution without first letting you know in writing that he intends to do so....at least you'll be forewarned and will have the time to find a solution before it goes to court.

Excessive barking is sometimes a sign of seperation anxiety. Try to address that before resorting to electric shock treatment!! She's only a little thing, jeez, it would be absolutely barbaric....the thought of it turns my stomach.

I had a problem with my Spitz crossbreed barking a lot- he's a very vocal dog! I got a collar that picks up on vibration from the dog's throat when he barks and emits a high pitched tone- completely harmless, and it worked a treat. He was a bit freaked out for the first couple of days, running under the table trying to hide from the collar, but it eventually sunk in that it only sounded off if he barked, once he made that connection he became a different dog.
The collar cost E20 in my local petstore, and worth every cent.

But what is a persistant lengthy period? It comes back to what actually is excessive?! When we asked the dog contol section of the county council they didn't really have an answer, they said a judge would decide what is excessive etc. I mean is any barking whatsoever at an "unsocial" hour not allowed? If the dog barks for 10 seconds at 3am is that ok? Or if she barks at midnight once or twice is that ok? I think shock collars are used to train dogs, aren't they? We don't want to use it but may not have a choice.

Is the collar you speak of an ultrasonic one? We tried that, no effect.

I guess if it came to it it'd end up in the district court, and we'd take it from there. We have been advised that a judge would give a warning to the owners (if the judge is satisfied that the barking is excessive of course, and he may not reach such a conclusion) Then the owners have X ammount of time to address the issue and if it can't be fixed the dog can be taken by a dog warden and put down. If it did get to court and we were given X ammount of time we'd probably just move house, as it would then be too risky if we couldn't get the dog to stop barking.

Anyway, that'll probably never happen as she doesn't actually bark excessively. It may annoy the neighbour from time to time but that to our mind isn't because she barks excessively, it is simply because she barks at all.........

Call me Socket

Sounds like your neighbours aren't very tolerant or reasonable? Are they the complaining type for whatever reason they can find?
I'd imagine a 10 second bark at 3am isn't something to be complaining about, but if they bark for 5 minutes non stop at 3am then it's nuisance barking imo. If you have been advised that the meaning of excessive barking would be at the judge's discretion then I really hope you get a dog loving judge if it comes to it.

No, the collar I used wasn't an ultrasonic one. The beep was high pitched but we could all hear it. The duration and the volume of the beep increased if the barking continued.

Before you move house or use an electric shock collar, you could try something less dramatic and allow the dog to sleep in her crate or bed on your bedroom floor?

doolin101

Just a few tips from someone with experiance
1. Your pup is def barking for attention and is getting it. I know it is dfficult but ignoring her is the best option.
2. Failing that with difficult neighbours, try a Citronella collar, wen she barks it sprays a small amount under the nose, a lot more humane than electrc shock.
3. Puppy training is cheap and eaily available countrywide. Your local vets may run puppy classes or will defo recommend one.
4. She will not grow out of it (in fact her breed tends to get worse with time)
BEst of Luck!!