Neighbor yelling at my dog!

[louisvgirl]

Hi everyone,
I''ve been really on edge about my neighbor lately. He''s our back yard neighbor to be exact. I have two small maltese and my little girl barks, but not continuously. She barks when there are kids riding their scooters or playing in the front sidwalk/driveway. Their are a minimum of 5 kids at a time, so when they''re there she barks. Other than that she stays indoors (doggie door) and sleeps. She''ll bark at the gardner(once a week) or at certain weird noises(once a day) or things that are unfamiliar to her. Like normal dogs. If she barks, it''s only at the kids. So my back yard neighbor which is maybe 20-30 feet from my back sliding door to his, has gotten into the habit of yelling "STOP BARKING" very loudly from his back yard. He has done this several times now, and sometimes 2-3 times in the afternoon. My dog is not a habitual barker. She''s normal. His yelling is so rude and mean! His voice is so loud and it does scare me when he does it. I can''t keep the kids (which are not mine) from playing. They''re kids. And I can''t keep my dog from barking. The other day I had enough and yelled back at him "stop yelling, if you keep yelling she''s going to keep barking"! I was really P****d off that day! My FI said that I probably shouldn''t say anything in fear that he would throw some poison over and hurt the dogs. Yeah, I agree, but at the same time, I don''t think it''s right to be yelling that way.

Now everytime she barks, I get so paranoid and try to shush her because I don''t want him yelling. It''s a very mean and scary yell! The other day I took her with me in the morning to drop off my kid at school because she started to bark at the trash guy and I didn''t want him to yell. I''m not comfortable being at home worrying about everytime she barks! I feel so uncomfortable and cringe everytime she barks because of him. It''s just not the same anymore. Any suggestions on how to handle this??? thoughts?? comments??

 

[princesss]

Honestly, I''d probably get annoyed if somebody''s dog was barking every day, too. You love her. He doesn''t. He didn''t buy her, he didn''t want her, but he has to put up with one of her annoying habits. I''m not condoning him yelling, but I can see why he''d get annoyed.

I''d honestly work on training her not to bark. That''s going to be the best way to ensure things go smoothly with you and your neighbour and nothing happens to your sweet dog. She just needs some neighbourly manners, is all. I''m sure she''s a smart girl, so it probably won''t take too long.

 

[Shoopy]

Well, for me (we don''t own a dog) when a dog is barking during hours when I''m trying to sleep I get super annoyed.

But if its throughout the day, I''m not bothered by it. Is he maybe an older guy that is just annoyed by things?

I kind of agree with your FI in that he could try to pull something with the dogs being that he''s obviously annoyed by it. I really don''t know what you could do to stop him from barking back at her (LOL). Do you guys have an association by chance? You can always put a notice with the association for distribution to remind neighbors that during certain hours there will be noises that they can''t control and that they should all be courteous to neighbors.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Yes, take her to obedience school. One of our neighbors has a little barking dog and it's taken an ton of self control for me to not yell out to them. One Sunday, the dog barked ALL DAY LONG! I almost called the HOA! I think they have rules regarding that. What sucks too is that they had their condo up for sale and I figured we wouldn't have to put up with the dog forever, but now I am worried the place isn't going to sell.

 

[Haven]

Your neighbor's habit of screaming in response to your dog's barking is certainly inappropriate, however I must agree that I get annoyed with my neighbors who have dogs that bark every time someone walks by.

As a dog owner, I do believe it is your responsibility to train your dog to not bark every time the children are outside playing (or at other things, as well). We trained our new pup to not bark at things outside our window because we believe it would be rude to allow her to do so. We have neighbors with two tiny Boston Terriers who bark every time I walk by their house with our pup, and it is extremely annoying.

You have to remember that YOU chose to adopt your dog, not your neighbor. If one of your neighbors blasted rock music every time you or someone else walked by their home, wouldn't it annoy you? Just because it is a dog barking does not make it okay, in my opinion.

Find a reputable trainer in the area and get help with this one issue, because really, it is an issue. I would be livid if I lived next door to someone with dogs who regularly barked loudly enough for me to hear.

I would also ring your neighbor's bell and apologize for the dogs, and assure him that you are taking care of it.

Good luck! (And, do you have pictures of the pups????)

 

[luvmyhalo]

I am a dog owner (they''re not barkers) but I have a neighbor whose dog barks if the wind blows too hard. She''ll bark incessantly at any kind of noise. I''m guilty of shouting over the fence. I try to use the command my neighbor uses when she''s barking alot, "Sissy, quiet!" Doesn''t work! I never would have cared but since I had a baby who naps during the day, a barking dog can ruin my day. If my daughter doesn''t get her nap, nobody is happy!

I would definitely recommend taking your dogs to a trainer or have a trainer come out to your house. Sometimes having them come to you works better because the dogs will be in their usual environment. When we adopted our dog last year, we had one come to the house. It was extremely helpful. Good luck!!!

 

[iwannaprettyone]

Yeah, that would pi$$ me off, but then again so would my neighbor''s dog barking.

I agree with the others, find a way to eliminate the barking. Good luck! and DITTO TO PICS!!!!

 

[Loves Vintage]

I disagree with the notion that a dog should be trained not to bark. I don't think that's possible. Dogs do bark. They are dogs. Based on the OP's post, her dog barks on an occasional basis. Do you really think a trainer can train a dog to never bark?

I used to live in a city neighborhood. Tiny lots and lots of houses. Throughout the day, you could hear dogs in their houses barking. Sometimes dogs would bark when I would walk my dogs by. This is life. Normal.

I now live in the country. Throughout the day, I could hear dogs barking, sometimes from a distance. This is normal.

 

[swingirl]

Can't have too much sympathy here. I have a normal dog and it doesn't get the chance to bark outside because I bring him indoors if there is a disturbance. I work from home and find a barking dog very annoying especially when it lasts for a few minutes and the owner is home who should be calming the dog, bringing it in doors or training it. Certainly some barking is normal communication for dogs but it sounds like it's a predictable event that has been going on for a while.

I'm sure your neighbor is frustrated and is trying to get either your attention or the dog's attention so the barking will stop. If I was a different neighbor of yours and has to listen to the barking and yelling I'd really be angry!!

Hope you can find some solution.

 

[Haven]

Date: 9/18/2008 5:11:27 PM
Author: Loves Vintage
I disagree with the notion that a dog should be trained not to bark. I don't think that's possible. Dogs do bark. They are dogs. Based on the OP's post, her dog barks on an occasional basis. Do you really think a trainer can train a dog to never bark?

I used to live in a city neighborhood. Tiny lots and lots of houses. Throughout the day, you could hear dogs in their houses barking. Sometimes dogs would bark when I would walk my dogs by. This is life. Normal.

I now live in the country. Throughout the day, I could hear dogs barking, sometimes from a distance. This is normal.

Of course you can train a dog to not bark at passers by. It works in the same way you can train a dog to walk off leash and not run after squirrels, or to roll over on her back and stick her paws straight up in the air when you say "Look at those feet!" It's called training, and it works.

Personally, I feel that if you are not willing to properly train your dog, you have no business owning one. (I'm not talking about the OP here, just in general.)

 

[sklingem]

Well - if you think that a dog''s occasional barking is OK - then your neighbor''s occasional barking should also be in order, right?

 

[Loves Vintage]

Date: 9/18/2008 5:25:24 PM
Author: Haven

Date: 9/18/2008 5:11:27 PM
Author: Loves Vintage
I disagree with the notion that a dog should be trained not to bark. I don't think that's possible. Dogs do bark. They are dogs. Based on the OP's post, her dog barks on an occasional basis. Do you really think a trainer can train a dog to never bark?

I used to live in a city neighborhood. Tiny lots and lots of houses. Throughout the day, you could hear dogs in their houses barking. Sometimes dogs would bark when I would walk my dogs by. This is life. Normal.

I now live in the country. Throughout the day, I could hear dogs barking, sometimes from a distance. This is normal.

Of course you can train a dog to not bark at passers by. It works in the same way you can train a dog to walk off leash and not run after squirrels, or to roll over on her back and stick her paws straight up in the air when you say 'Look at those feet!' It's called training, and it works.

Personally, I feel that if you are not willing to properly train your dog, you have no business owning one. (I'm not talking about the OP here, just in general.)

Ok, dogs can be trained not to bark, in certain situations, but a dog is going to bark on occasion, regardless. It is a dog's nature. Furthermore, some people may want their dogs to bark to alert them to tresspassers, etc. and would not train their dogs not to bark at passersby, which in your view means they would not be training them properly, and therefore, should not have the privilege of having a dog.

Also, many dogs cannot be trained to be off leash in any situation (unless in a completely fenced-in area, of course.) Sight hounds, for example, can never, after no amount of training, be off leash. It is their nature to go after a small running animal, even through invisible fences. They will not see a car coming toward them, just whatever moving object caught their vision. Slightly off point, but nevertheless.

 

[iwannaprettyone]

You can absolutely train a dog not to bark at certain stimulus. Stimulus being the kids.

Caesar the dog whisperer has done some episodes on this.

 

[elle_chris]

About half a year ago my upstairs neighbos adopted a dog. Every Friday I get home early and the dog would bark continously until about 6. I noticed the pattern and realized that he'd stop when one of them came home.
About a month into i rang their bell and told them what was going on. They "seemed" surprised and apolgized over and over promising to do something about it. This went on for about another month then finally stopped. I saw
the wife maybe girlfriend? in the elevator not too long ago. We smiled and said hello. She told me they had sent the dog for training and since I didn't come back, had assumed it worked. She was right. I was grateful for the responsible owners that did something because coming home on those Fridays became nerve wracking.

You may not think her barking's a problem, but if your neighbor does, do something about it.

 

[bee*]

I agree with the majority here. You can train a dog not to bark at certain things and in this case, if your dog is barking at kids, then training is needed. As a dog owner, I find it very irritating when a dog is barking when I''m at home. I would take Amber in straight away if she was doing that.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 9/18/2008 5:53:41 PM
Author: bee*
I agree with the majority here. You can train a dog not to bark at certain things and in this case, if your dog is barking at kids, then training is needed. As a dog owner, I find it very irritating when a dog is barking when I'm at home. I would take Amber in straight away if she was doing that.

Ditto...we have big dogs, and they bark. But we've trained them not to bark at everything, now they bark at each other occasionally and when someone is on our porch, but that's about it. But our neighbor has a small dog that yips ALL DAY LONG. And even though I have dogs and understand that dogs bark sometimes, it's the ALL DAY LONG part that is excessive. Even small dogs need training if they are doing something that would be inconsiderate to your neighbors. So if the kids are playing outside your house from 5-7 everyday, and your dog is barking for that entire time? While your neighbor is just trying to unwind and enjoy his yard? I get it. It's annoying and because you are the owner it's your responsibility to help stop it.

I'm sure if you work on your dog you can get her to stop barking at the kids. But it might take some discipline on your part.

 

[musey]

Date: 9/18/2008 5:25:24 PM
Author: Haven
Of course you can train a dog to not bark at passers by. It works in the same way you can train a dog to walk off leash and not run after squirrels, or to roll over on her back and stick her paws straight up in the air when you say ''Look at those feet!'' It''s called training, and it works.

Personally, I feel that if you are not willing to properly train your dog, you have no business owning one. (I''m not talking about the OP here, just in general.)

Haven, can you come train my dog for me?

He''s not a barker (he went through a phase but he barely peeps now), but he has certain habits (jumping up when he''s excited--would be worse if he weren''t only 7 lbs., but still..... and the running-after-squirrels thing, he cannot be off-leash) that we just haven''t gotten under control.

I won''t pretend that we''ve been dog-whisperer-quality trainers, but we''re better than most. We got the really important stuff under control.


Anyway, I do agree that this is your problem, louisvgirl, as opposed to your neighbor''s

sorry. Call the dog whisperer, and let us know when your episode airs!!!!

 

[Linda W]

We have problems with Mazie barking inside the house, not so much outside. Lhasa''s are from Tibet and are natural guard dogs. We have learned a lot form watching The Animal Plant and the English lady, who trains dogs. She is wonderful. I can''t remember her name though.


Linda

 

[Haven]

Date: 9/18/2008 6:14:15 PM
Author: musey

Date: 9/18/2008 5:25:24 PM
Author: Haven
Of course you can train a dog to not bark at passers by. It works in the same way you can train a dog to walk off leash and not run after squirrels, or to roll over on her back and stick her paws straight up in the air when you say ''Look at those feet!'' It''s called training, and it works.

Personally, I feel that if you are not willing to properly train your dog, you have no business owning one. (I''m not talking about the OP here, just in general.)

Haven, can you come train my dog for me?

I wish!
WE are the ones who are being trained quite thoroughly at the moment!

I grew up with dogs who were largely untrained, although my parents did make sure to train them to not bark and disturb our neighbors. However, when hubby and I adopted our sweet little pit bull mix we knew we had to have her well trained, especially since our neighbors are a bit uppity and most blanche when they see that we have a pit bull. (Of course, our Bailee sits like a little princess whenever other dogs come near and happily wags her tail. Their little dogs are yipping and tugging and baring their teeth, but since they''re small, they don''t seem to think it''s a problem.)

Anyway, I am certainly no trainer, I am definitely the trainee.
And it helped that I was not back at work for several weeks when we first adopted Bailee, so I had a lot of time to train her.

Loves Vintage--Correct. I believe if people want to live in a populated neighborhood, then they should train their dogs to not bark every time someone walks by. A constantly barking dog is a nuisance and noise polution, NOT an alarm system. Of course, if you don''t have a lot of people walking by, and you live in a rural or deserted area, then the barking would only be occassional and thus not a problem.

 

[diamondsrock]

Ok, this is long. I feel you on this one, but in my case, it was a neighbor leaving a nasty note on my door calling me a horrible person for letting my terrier bark at passersby. I was shocked because there was no previous indication or conversations that there was an issue. It literally left me in tears. Same woman who told me the year before not to worry about her barking because that is what dogs do. I told her next time she has an issue please call me or knock on the door rather than leaving a scathing note, ok? Don''t talk to her much anymore.

In regards to what I did, I did take her for training at the cost of $100, read numerous books, kept her away from the window where she used to sit and look out, and pretty much did everything I could to make sure she didn''t bark at anyone, which is very hard and went against her nature. She felt it was her job to alert us to anyone coming near the house. She still barks at people when they come over and pull into the driveway, and I''ve tried everything to no avail, but to be honest, I am glad she does as it alerts me to someone arriving at my house and I don''t feel I should have to keep her silent 100% of the time. I would say she is silent 99% of the time now, but apart from removing her vocal cords which is cruel, you can''t stop a dog from barking altogether.

I would assess the situation from his standpoint and try to see if he has a point. I realized that, even though she didn''t bark all the time or for long periods (like some who leave their dogs out all day chained up barking, so wrong...), her guard dog barking near the window was annoying someone so I needed to take steps to change it. I saw the neighbor about a year later and I mentioned that I have made an extreme effort to solve the problem to which she agreed and apologized for her rude behavior in her request. I feel most people can work things through if they talk about them in a polite way. It''s when emotions run high and anger comes out that problems can follow. Don''t let this problem fester to a point where this guy leaves a note on your door! I was unaware but you are aware now. Look into training - I will admit teaching a dog not to bark is not as easy as sit and stay, and training didn''t do much for us, but that''s not to say it won''t work with you. Our trainer was a bit baffled with our pup and the methods weren''t working. I can control pretty much everything else about her except this, so it is difficult. I have to remove her from situations where it occurs, or sometimes I use that sound the dog whisperer makes and that gets her attention as a distratction. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

 

[dani13]

I understand you being upset at your neighbor yelling at your dog. But honestly, barking dogs are such a nuisance. MH and I have a downstairs neighbor (a young woman) in our condo complex that has an EXTREMELY ANNOYING AND OBNOXIOUS little dog (I think a maltese) that literally barks everytime someone walks by, pulls up in the parking lot, etc. And the woman does absolutely nothing to stop /reprimand her, etc. Ever since she has moved in, everyone in our area has been aggravated by this dog. Its not fair to the neighbors at all. We all have to be subjected to her noisy barking, and its extremely aggravating, especially since it was so quiet here before they came.

Im not saying I agree with your neighbor, but I can understand how the issue has become very frustrating for him. MH and I are total animal lovers- but we have truly come to the point that we hate this dog with an extreme passion- I hate to say that, but its true!

I agree with the others- please try to either train her yourself, or take her for some kind of obedience training to help curb her barking. Good luck!

 

[Libster]

I feel for you. I have a barker and am still trying to find the solution. We have been to training and learned so many things, but he still loves to bark. Miniature Schnauzers are talkers

and that is his pic in my avatar.

We have a large fenced yard that backs up to a meadow with walking trails that are part of our community. He will sit quietly in the yard, enjoying being outside, until someone walks by the fence and then he runs the fence and barks. I am quickly outside shaking a can of pennies to get his attention and if that doesn''t work I go and bring him inside. We have neighbors with two dogs who are also barkers and that doesn''t help mine....he must join the group

The barking makes me crazy so I know it makes the neighbors crazy. I am almost ready to purchase a bark control gadget for the back yard and see if that won''t help the situation.

Good luck louisvgirl and if I find a solution I''ll be sure to post.

 

[diamondsrock]

Mine is a Miniature Schnauzer too! And yes, they are vocal!

 

[Libster]

Date: 9/18/2008 8:32:26 PM
Author: diamondsrock
Mine is a Miniature Schnauzer too! And yes, they are vocal!

This is our second mini. We just love them!!!

 

[purrfectpear]

I have a terrier (silky terrier) so I can understand the fact that little dogs may bark at kids, but mine has been trained not to bark. It really is your responsibility since you should keep your little doggy inside if you think there are kids playing out front.

Your neighbor may decide to call and make a nuisance complaint about your dog. If he does, and you get three complaints, then your city may require you to surrender your dog, or start with some heavy fines (Los Angeles, different cities may have different rules).

You need to be a responsible doggy owner and keep your maltese indoors except when you are outside with them.

 

[lauralu]

neighbor dog barks at my kids and myself whenever the dogs are in the backyard and we go into ours. HIGHLY ANNOYING I should be able to walk into my backyard without being barked at. My kids should be able to enjoy our backyard without being barked at. I don''t like it

Neighbor on the other side of the house along side our driveway has a dog as well.Boxer terrier mix.. Never barks at us when it is outside and we come out to our garage. It sits along side the fence and looks at us, or paces the fence, but never barks. She is a baby, less than 1 1/5 yrs old and he has trained her well....Love that dog

 

[Fly Girl]

Our neighbor on the right has 3 dogs. The neighbor to the left has three dogs. There would probably be more, but that''s the limit in our town. We cannot be our backyard without being barked at ALL THE TIME. I know they are dogs, but I really, really would like to be able to enjoy my own back yard with some peace once in a while.

Please do something about your dog barking. It is obviously upsetting your neighbor.

 

[Kaleigh]

I feel for you. My Callie barks, but only to let me know someone is here. Love that. If she''s outside barking away, not usual for her, I bring her inside.

At our other house, we lived next to a neighbor that had 2 menacing dogs. They growled at us when we went outside. And barked like crazy!!

I put up large wood fence, so they couldn''t see us, and frankly didn''t want to see their dogs.. My neighbor said it was such a shame. I said well, I want to have kids, and would hate to have them be scared to go outside. I was sooooo happy when they moved after a few years.

 

[LostSapphire]

I have 2 Cairn Terriers.

They are both trained to not bark in the house. Outside (we live out in the country with no neighbours) they can bark all they want. Usually it''s just at wildlife.

The ONLY time either one of them has barked in the house was when there was a mouse that got in. Or, if there''s someone in the driveway, they bark.

So they can learn to differentiate when to bark and when not to. They even have different *kinds* of barks. For instance, they have an *inside* bark that is quite quiet. Then they have their *outside* bark that is really loud and can get yappy.

It just takes a lot of time and patience (depending on the dog).

LS

 

[louisvgirl]

Thank you all for your responses. I guess I can see it from the other side of the fence. I do call her inside since I am more aware of it when she''s barking at the kids. Don''t get me wrong, but she doesn''t bark for 2 hours straight. I would say 2 minutes max. If I could afford the dog whisperer I would have him here, but no, that''s not an option. I will post pics of my little culprit. Thanks everyone for your insight.