Neighbour dog issue

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2Greys

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One of my neighbours at the back (i've 4 along that boundary) has a dog that barks at the adjoining fence (6ft wood panel) when it detects movement from my garden, though i can be a good distance from the fence. Its left outside most of the day it seems, sometimes the door to the house is left open for it. The few times i've heard the neighbour do anything about the barking is if they happen to be outside at the time so its annoying them, the dog just gets shouted at and it pipes down.. well at least until they go in or we do.

Its irritating having the dog bark while were outside, but Throp would just ignore it, occasionally try to make friends & after a quick zoom is quite happy to lounge so if we go the far side of the garden it often shuts up after a while.

My new greyhound girl however gets totally wound up by it and if offlead will launch at the fence barking back at it, i don't want her to also get into the habit and the neighbour has something up against the fence so the dog sits midway up and I'm worried their dog could possibly get over. So i'm taking her out into the garden on the lead, but if she hears the dog she flips (lunging/barking) and its difficult to get her attention back on me.

As its out most of the sodding time its really getting me down as i can't make proper use my garden and its my only safe option locally for the dogs to run & play offlead :( . I've even considered just fencing that small section of the garden off, but i can't really afford the expense right now for something that might not help much.

I can't see the neighbours caring TBH as they've been happy to let the dog bark for a long time, so can i have some advice from all you training guru's on what i should do to work on my dogs reaction to it?
 
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Would your girlie be interested in a flirt pole (small furry toy tied to a stick by a line)? You could distract her with it, keep it active (balls on ropes are another good toy, keep two so you can use one to attract her back after the first is 'dead'/dropped), so that garden time means play, not stressing out about the other dog.
My pup is quite looky with other dogs but if the ball comes out he forgets all about them. So ignoring other dogs = good times.
 
Perhaps a call to your local dog warden might help, its so wrong you cant enjoy your garden and its winding your dog up.

The dog warden could visit your neighbours and have a word with them and remind them they have a duty of care not to annoy the neighbours. What sort of dog is the neighbours? because if it was a big agressive dog I would also be concerned for your own safety if it got over the fence.
 
Cheers CC! I'll give it a go, i presume she trained to race with a fluffy lure so it might interest her.

I think its a staffy x from peering through a crack in the fence. So not big, but i know they're quite agile and its only about 3-4ft from what it stands on. Its not noisy constantly but i do think its wrong to leave a dog outside when you know it barks at stuff. I had considered putting polite request through their door, but figured it might not be taken well. Dog warden probably a better idea
 
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their dog barks due to movement on your side of the fence they cant stop it
your dog barks due to sound on their side of the fence, you cant stop it
whats the diference
have you tried just leaving the dogs outside for a while to get on with barking at each other? or speaking to neighbour?
 
SusieT said:
their dog barks due to movement on your side of the fence they cant stop it
your dog barks due to sound on their side of the fence, you cant stop it
whats the diference
have you tried just leaving the dogs outside for a while to get on with barking at each other? or speaking to neighbour?
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From the original post I think the Greyhound is reacting to the other dog not just barking at movement on the other side of the fence and the OP is trying to stop her's from doing that by being responsible.
 
Naryafluffy said:
From the original post I think the Greyhound is reacting to the other dog not just barking at movement on the other side of the fence and the OP is trying to stop her's from doing that by being responsible.
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Yes, Hattie doesn't bark at the fence if the dog isn't out there and i doubt would react if it was simply pottering about since my next door neighbour is often out in his garden & she doesn't bark at him.


SusieT said:
their dog barks due to movement on your side of the fence they cant stop it
your dog barks due to sound on their side of the fence, you cant stop it
whats the diference
have you tried just leaving the dogs outside for a while to get on with barking at each other? or speaking to neighbour?
Click to expand...

Personally i think they could stop their dog barking at the fence with training and they don't have to leave it outdoors most of the all day knowing it barks at stuff. I've not spoken to them yet, as its not easy for me to do so with them living on different street and need to think through what to say in order to not make things worse, its not like they don't realise its barking when they're home with door & windows open.

What would be the point of letting them bark at each other, other than pissing off the other 6 neighbours in the process? I also don't want Hattie to see it as acceptable behaviour and end up with a dog like theirs.
 
Can you make a log/diary of when and how long the dog barks for. Maybe even record the barking.

Could you ask for the council to look at it as noise pollution with one of those noise monitor things?
 
I had a similar problem a few years back but my neighbours were SO rough, approaching them just wasn't an option. They were fully aware that their dog barked pretty much 24/7 and did nothing about it so we reported them to the council, they sent them a couple of letters warning them to sort it out to which they did absolutely nothing. So the council sent us a diary which we completed and then there was talk of court action but we ended up moving before it got to that stage. However, I would have happily taken them to court if we had ended up staying, I was at my wits end and so angry at how unbelievably selfish they were.

My advice would be approach your neighbours in the first instance if they seem like reasonable people but if not then just report them to the council, why should you have to suffer? Maybe the shock of an official looking letter landing on their doormat will shock them into doing something.
 
Weirdly similar situation with neighbour's kids, who make it impossible to leave door/windows open due to full volume screaming/swearing til 10pm (youngest is 5). Been round, asked nicely, no change, kids are allowed to do whatever the want all day, no parents supervising. Drives me nuts. :(
 
you are right - staffies can be quite athletic and a 3 or 4 foot fence would not stop a determind staff or staffie x.

I think the dog warden sounds like a good idea - I had a similiar problem with someone a couple of doors down - I couldn't quite work out which garden and they would leave their dogs out barking non stop. In the end one evening I just stood in my garden and yelled that if they did NOT put their dogs away I would be calling the police (had warned my immediate neighbours). Whether it was me or another neighbour who sorted them out, it stopped. I have 2 dogs (staffs). They are not allowed to start barking in the garden. If they bark, they come in.
 
I had a similar problem. There is public footpath between the back of my garden and a house which has a large garden and private woodland. The owners of this house have two Rhodesian Ridgebacks which seem to be loose most of the time. I have six dogs and the Ridgebacks always knew when my dogs were in my garden and would come up to their fence barking and snarling like mad which would cause a couple of my dogs to really kick off - launching themselves at the fence etc, and then other dogs in neighbouring houses would start barking too - it was hell! However, because the Ridgebacks' garden is so huge, the owners very seldom heard them (therefore rarely calling them away from the fence) and I would have to call my dogs back into the house just to keep the peace with my other neighbours. In the end, I had a chat with my gun dog trainer and she advised me to stand, holding a big stick in each hand, between my dogs and the fence whenever the Ridgeback started barking, the idea being that I was showing my dogs that I "owned" the fence and they should back off from it. I was told to keep doing this every time the situation occured so even if it was peeing with rain, pitch black and freezing cold, I would have to trek down to the garden, stick in each hand and "make myself big" (trainer's term!) but she guaranteed my dogs would eventually give up going up to the fence. I was dubious about this working but IT DID! After a couple of days of dragging myself to the bottom of the garden every time the barking started, my dogs, on seeing me approach the fence, started to wander away, despite the Ridgebacks still barking! Unbelievably, they soon just wandered around the garden, taking absolutely no notice of the Ridgebacks whatsoever! I was really pleased with myself!:cool::D Now the problem seems to have really eased since the Ridgebacks don't come to the fence so often as they're not getting the response they want, ie to get a response from my dogs. If ever there is a time when my dogs forget themselves and start barking at the Ridgebacks, as soon as they hear the handle click on my patio doors, they just turn around and walk away!

It's a real chore for a few days and you have to be strict with yourself and make sure you go out every time the other dogs start barking, but it worked for me and it's worth a try! Good luck!
 
If they could so easily stop their dog barking with training-why don't you stop your dog barking with training?
Certainly before you contact anyone official go and speak to them or at the very least put a letter through the mailbox-they may have no idea anyone objects to their dog barking at moving objects (As many do).
Re: leaving them outside-they will learn they gain nothing by it and the interst will stop, assuming they cant reach each other.
 
SusieT said:
If they could so easily stop their dog barking with training-why don't you stop your dog barking with training?
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Isn't that what OP asks in her final par?

By letting them bark at each other non-stop, one could also argue that you are showing them that it is acceptable.
I've known a couple of serial barkers, it is self entertainment/self amusement and once it is engrained, very hard to stop.
 
SusieT said:
If they could so easily stop their dog barking with training-why don't you stop your dog barking with training?
Certainly before you contact anyone official go and speak to them or at the very least put a letter through the mailbox-they may have no idea anyone objects to their dog barking at moving objects (As many do).
Re: leaving them outside-they will learn they gain nothing by it and the interst will stop, assuming they cant reach each other.
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Susie- Do you mean Keeperscottage stopped their dogs barking with training or do you mean the OP.
Whilst yes the OP will no doubt as a responsible dog owner train the greyhound to stop barking, it still doesn't stop the other dog bark as in her original post she states that the dog barks continually at the other dog regardless of the fact the there is no reaction from the other dog, only the greyhound (at the moment), letting it continue I agree will not stop it and they don't lose interest.
Report to the council and keep a log.
 
see diagram..

dogstuff.png
 
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