# Dog barking when left alone... complaints from neighbours :(



## roguedog (Feb 27, 2014)

Hello.

I'm a little worried at the moment as I've just recieved a letter from my estate agents regarding a complaint made to them from a neighbour about our dog. My boyfriend and I live in a terraced house. We moved in last September. We have a lurcher (whippet and saluki cross) and she is almost 9 months old. She's not the best behaved, she'll chase the cats no matter how much they hiss or scratch and she'll chew any slippers left lying around.... but she's the most loving dog ever, and sometimes all she wants is a cuddle.

Because of her tendancy to chew things and make a mess, we crate trained her when she was a puppy. She goes into her crate if both myself and my boyfriend are out, but she's never alone more than a few hours. She has plenty of toys and water, and we mak sure she's been fed and has been toilet before she goes in.
We thought everything was fine, until a note was posted through the letter box saying "sort your ******* dog or find it somewhere else to live, from your stressed friend next door". We weren't sure what to make of it. Now we've had the letter from our estate agents. We're not sure why our neighbours haven't just knocked the door to discuss it, or why they havent contacted the council.

I understand that a barking dog can be a nuisance, but we've never been aware of it. And we're not sure where to go from here. Obviously shes either bored or lonely when we go. But it's always during the day, never at night (if that makes a difference). What can we do? I was looking at training courses, but I'm afraid that it's just something we'll never be able to control if it's happening when we arent here.

Help


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## lilythepink (Jul 24, 2013)

Hi. I have a 9 month old lurcher too....greyhound x saluki. Up until a month ago she was just perfect and then she changed overnight into a real pest.

She has never been noisy up until then and now she screams and howls at the slightest thing. I am lucky, I don't have any neighbours but if I lived next door to my dog it would drive me nuts.

She is crated too....cos she got very destructive, rips the bin up, chew anything she can get her lips round and when she hears me pull up outside the house she screams like she is being murdered, its a sort of scream howl and growl rolled into one. she ignores my indoor cats but has chased the ferals....but my money is on the ferals.lol.

I am hoping this will stop as fast as it started. I am at home too and we have other dogs. I usually leave the TV on if I go out....which is never longer than a couple of hours maybe to get shopping in.


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## MerlinsMum (Aug 2, 2009)

Do you have an Android phone or Tablet? There is a free app called Sleep Talk Recorder, which runs for long periods and records any sounds it picks up, giving you the time and duration, and you can play them back. 

That way you can record your dog, and see how long the barking goes on for or how frequently. You could also try a video camera if you have one.

As to your neighbour, however rude the note was, at least they didn't go straight to the council like my old neighbours did! I had no idea my dog was causing a nuisance - and as it turned out, he wasn't, but the council letter out of the blue was a tremendous shock.

Start keeping a diary of when he is noisy, whether you are at home or not, when you go out etc. and try using the recorder. Be absolutely obsessive about the diary, as you will need it if it goes any further.

Basically barking constantly for more than 20 mins at a time can be construed as a nuisance, also barking in anti-social hours (11pm - 7am).

One thing you might like to do is take the neighbour round a bottle of wine or bunch of flowers and apologise, and ask what the problem is exactly - then ask if there is anything you can do. Once you know what the exact problem is, you can tackle it - it may mean bringing in a dog behaviourist to work with you, but if it can be seen you are being pro-active, responsible and reasonable in your approach, it will go a long way to help.


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## Wiz201 (Jun 13, 2012)

As above, record what the dog is doing during the day. Your neighbours do sound a bit off though if that's all they can think to do is post a rude note through your door.


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## Sarahliz100 (Jan 5, 2014)

Do you think your dog might be disturbed by noises outside? Mine will bark if he's frightened by noises outside so I leave a radio on to help mask outside noise. If your puppy is a bit stressed an adaptil diffuser (like a plug in air freshener which gives off calming pheromones) might help - can't imagine it would do any harm anyway and might be worth a try. Do you leave things like a stuffed kong to entertain the puppy?

The advice in the posts above all sound good - I would definitely speak to your neighbours and apologise. Make it clear you had no idea it was an issue and would like to help. Setting a recorder to establish how often and for how long your dog is barking sounds sensible too.

Hope it works out


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

roguedog said:


> Hello.
> 
> I'm a little worried at the moment as I've just recieved a letter from my estate agents regarding a complaint made to them from a neighbour about our dog. My boyfriend and I live in a terraced house. We moved in last September. We have a lurcher (whippet and saluki cross) and she is almost 9 months old. She's not the best behaved, she'll chase the cats no matter how much they hiss or scratch and she'll chew any slippers left lying around.... but she's the most loving dog ever, and sometimes all she wants is a cuddle.
> 
> ...


Do you take her out as late as possible for a walk or a good amount of exercise? If you don't then that's worth trying, if they have gotten rid of excess energy and are more tired before being left then they often settle better.

How long is she left? Depending on how long she is left for, having a dog walker or friends and family to break up the time and give her some company and more exercise may be the answer.

Old tricks that can often help, are leaving then with an old t shirt or jumper you have worn as having your smell can re-assure them. Also leaving a radio down low on a talking station can help as the sound of voices can be re-assuring and sometimes will help blot out noises that may bother them with silence.

If she is getting a bit stressed or anxious too, it may be worth trying an adaptil plug in that can help some dogs settle and become calmer, cheapest place to by them is at on line vet pharmacies, if you want to read up on those see link.
Adaptil helps dogs and puppys learn settle travel and in kennels

I know you said she has toys, but what sort? A pile of inanimate toys just left laying around soon can become boring and uninteresting. What can help is giving some of her food allowance in a Kong classic, Kong wobbler or busy buddy, that makes the toy more interesting and also provides mental and physical stimulation, you can also stuff them with other various goodies, details on the link and ideas for fillings.

Kong Stuffing Ideas - Kong Recipes - Kong Dog Toy - Kong Stuffing

Recipes - KONG

There is the Kong wobbler for dry food
Wobbler - KONG

Also the Busy Buddy that you can use for wet and dry but its easier to get the food out of then the KOngs
Busy Buddy Twist-n-Treat - YouTube

Only other suggestion is to perhaps try her in the kitchen, and put her bed and things in there, and secure her with a dog control gate that is taller and more robust then a baby gate and you can get them quite reasonably in argos.
The crate may be too confining especially if in there for too long a period
.


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## Buddybudweiser (Jun 1, 2013)

Similar situation here, all of a sudden the neighbor has complained that Buddy is barking during the day when we aren't around. To be honest we have noticed him barking more when we are at home, for no apparent reason (shadows is teh only thing we can assume), and we are dealing with that, but its so much more difficult when we arent around....


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## Deloria87 (Mar 11, 2014)

We had a complaint from our neighbour about Bellas barking through the day though they admitted that it was usually when they noticed the same sort of trigger that set their dog off ie the postman, children playing outside but that she would bark for about half an hour after and their dog would stop after about a minute. However they were home during the day, as they both work from home however we arent. We have been quite lucky with them in a sense as they have been willing to work with us and let us know as and when shes gotten better/worse so we were being told what was working and if we needed to change anything.

We watched the truth about dogs on youtube its about an hour long and there was a suggestion on there to have happy toys and triggers for when you go out so they know that being left on their own isnt too bad and that we will come back. We have also started to confine her to one space as we were told that she hasnt earnt the right to roam the house while were out so to restrict her and now she cant see anyone walking past the front door and this has eased the barking. We leave the TV on for her in the front room (where she is) and then the radio on right by the front door to mask the sound of the postman or any doorstop callers, she also has meaty bones left for her, her happy bright yellow pillow and her food and water but she ONLY gets the bones and pillow when shes on her own which is her happy trigger. 

Hope this helps maybe and good luck


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