Didn't want to derail IndyRob's thread by asking my question there.

Neighbors have a large German Shepherd. They bring it out to the front yard and just let it bark for 20 minutes at a time. They are out there with it, they don't just leave it out. But they just stand there and let it bark.

Our lots are not huge, probably about 1/3 acre. You can hear it through the neighborhood and some people work from home, some have little kids that nap, etc.

Last time it happened I walked over and told the neighbor that I didn't think it was appropriate to just let the dog bark continuously for 20 minutes in the middle of a residential neighborhood. He was nice enough and took the dog in, but I got the sense that he didn't really understand why it was inappropriate. He said "but it's the middle of the afternoon." Yes it is, but this is a residential neighborhood not farmland with 5 acre lots.

So that got me thinking, maybe I'm the jerk in this situation? I would love to hear the thoughts of people here, especially since I know we have a lot of dog owners (I actually own a dog and would never consider letting my dog do this).

I would not even consider calling the police unless it was totally out of control and he wouldn't listen to me.

As written, your neighbors behavior is weird. My employer moves me every few years and I haven't seen anything like it in the 6 neighborhoods I've resided in the past 20 years.

Any more context? For example, is he throwing the ball and the dog barking waiting for him to throw?

I don't think you're a jerk at all. I cannot stand dog owners who let their dogs just bark and bark.

I'm an animal lover and I would never let my dog (I only have cats) go outside and bark because it's disrespectful to everyone else.

Hopefully this doesn't cause a rift between you and your neighbor.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
Any more context? For example, is he throwing the ball and the dog barking waiting for him to throw?

In this particular instance he was shoveling his driveway and the dog was just barking at him (probably because he was afraid of the shovel). In other instances it is just consistent barking while they stand outside. Occasional barking while playing a game I would totally understand and I wouldn't even mention it to him.

quote:

Originally posted by remsig:
Hopefully this doesn't cause a rift between you and your neighbor.

Yeah I'm hoping that talking to him about it in a straightforward way will prevent that.

How do you stop your German Shepherd from barking? We had a couple when I was a kid and they barked when they wanted to bark.

I guess what I'm really asking is how do you train them to not bark because we were never able to do it.

quote:

Originally posted by Paten:
I guess what I'm really asking is how do you train them to not bark because we were never able to do it.

I don't know if you can, and would never ask someone to do that. If it was me I would just bring it in once it started barking and then it could bark in the house.

A little barking... whatever. It’s a dog. Dogs bark for lots of reasons. I suspect they like it, and it’s good,for,t(em.

But 20 minutes of continuous barking? Hell, no.

I DO live in a 5 acre lot rural community. The dogs go out alone. When they start barking, and keep it up (I suspect sometimes they’re exchanging barks with other dogs down the way), they come in.

Now they know when they want to come in, they bark. Dual purpose win.

I've had bad luck living around irresponsible dog owners, finally in a place were they aren't a problem.

I lived in a small apartment, the people on two sides of me had dogs, the people above and below me also had dogs. At any given time, at least one was barking. A horrible year and a half of my life.

Sorry, but I'll take a German Shepherd's occasionally bark over several Chihuahua's that never shut up.

While doing some long-term contract work away from home, I rented a small apartment near the job site.

The lease specified no pets. That was fine with me, as the dog stayed at home with my wife.

The apartment complex was sold to a new company. I never did see what the new leases looked like, but evidently the "no pets" restriction was not in it, as shortly after the change of ownership the formerly peaceful and quiet place turned into a community of barking dogs. To make matters worse you couldn't walk across the previously well-tended lawn without stopping in dog crap.

I went to the management office, gave them notice that I would be vacating at the end of the month because they unilaterally changed the terms of the lease without my agreement. They started talking about keeping my deposit and suing me for breaking the lease. I showed them a copy of my lease, told them to go ahead and sue -- I would countersue for moving expenses, attorney fees, and general aggravation.

I also told them to have a check ready on the last day of the month for refund of my deposit, and be ready to hand it to me when they came to inspect the apartment for condition and cleanliness when I left.

They came, they inspected, they handed me a check, and we were finished.

My bird screams twice a day. Earsplitting tornado siren cockatoo screeching.

She has her own room in the house and you can't hear it outside.

I could only imagine what my neighbors who are well over 200 yards away would think of that penetrating nails on chalkboard sound if she was outside.

One thing that I will not tolerate is a barking dog. Or at least those that bark incessantly.

Yes, it is the fault of the owners, but since we can't kill them....

I once owned a place in a residential neighborhood that was a bit run down but in the process of being "gentrified" if you will. Unfortunately, I had some POS welfare neighbors who didn't get the message.

They had a couple of mutts that would bark and carry on all day long nonstop. Since I was working nights, I was unable to sleep with the constant barking. I called the cops numerous times for disturbing the peace. I finally was at the end of my rope when I told one of them that I was just going to shoot them if they didn't do something to stop it.

He said, "I wouldn't recommend that as discharging a firearm within the city limits is illegal, but...are you a bowhunter?"

Message sent and received. I was sleeping fine within 24 hours.

You're not being a jerk at all.

People who own dogs are responsible for their behavior.

Long stretches of barking are unacceptable behavior.

There ARE ways to silence dogs barking. Your neighbors should explore them........dj

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
My bird screams twice a day. Earsplitting tornado siren cockatoo screeching.

She has her own room in the house and you can't hear it outside.

I could only imagine what my neighbors who are well over 200 yards away would think of that penetrating nails on chalkboard sound if she was outside.

I have been to you and your brother's house.

It's not that hard to be a "good neighbor".

It only takes a little "want to".

And it is obvious you both have lots of "want to".

My neighbors black lab will come to the fence and bark whenever I venture into my yard. To make him stop barking, I walk up to the fence, stick my hand in a fence gap, and scratch him behind the ear for a few seconds. Then he stops barking, sits at the fence and watches me do my chores.

It's much easier for my neighbors lab---chain link fence.

Your description of the circumstance indicates that a dog that barks for 20 minutes is bothersome. I will not argue otherwise, but I have lived around dogs that could bark for hours and hours. My understanding of that situation was that if the dog barked at a regular cadence then 'all was well'. The owner did not give a shit if me/you or the neighbors were disturbed because the dog was an early warning system for alerting to an home invasion for drugs/cash.

What I mean to say... could be better, or could be worse.

It's 20 min in the middle of the day, and he's supervised. Don't see why it's an issue.

Neighbors across the street have a dog who stands in the front yard >50% of the time and barks at anything that moves. Car, people, bird, squirrel, wind, whatever. Loud enough to hear inside, and we aren't living in a thinly insulated trailer.....

It's the hell of invisible fences finally getting to the level where they work so well coupled with them having listened to this BS so long they've tuned it out.

IMHO dogs, like kids, should be seen not heard!