# My neighbors called the police on my dog due to excesive barking



## rubenunez (Jul 16, 2015)

Hi all,

I've been reading the forum for a while, but this is my first post. The police along with an Orlando Orange County representative came to my because neighbors complained about my dog barking "all day". I don't know the details because I'm out of town and my mom wasn't too specific, but we have a citation for this afternoon and she mentioned a $500 fine.

So, I have two questions. How should I deal with this? this got me by surprise because no one complained before, so we didn't receive a single warning or so. My mom is most of the time at home, and my dog doesn't bark "all day". She (my dog) barks when we get home or when someone enter the driveway (mailman, workers, dumb kids chasing their ball, etc.). We have no way to tell what happens when where are not home, but we have cameras (no audio) and when Daka is alone, if she is not chasing lizards, she is sleeping, not barking like crazy.

My second and most important question. How can I help my dog to stop barking? Regardless if my neighbors are right or wrong, now I have a problem I must solve before it get worse. I've seen dogs that literally bark ALL DAY, and mine is not like that. I think is normal for a GSD to bark every time someone approaches to our "territory". If she barks when we are not home, how can I make her stop? 

Thank you in advance for your comments.


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

Can you bring her inside when you are not at home?


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## huntergreen (Jun 28, 2012)

could be barking more as you were out of town.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

If you live in town and she barks each time someone walks by or there is activity nearby, that is a lot of barking. I live out in the boonies, with only a few neighbours, and I'm sure the owner's of the little dog across the stree don't feel that their dog barks all day, but he barks each time I come home, each time I go out to walk/play with Gryffon, each time someone starts up a car and leaves their driveway, each time another dog somewhere on the street barks, each time someone bicycles or walks by - which is more often now that the weather is nice. From where I sit, it is constant barking, once he starts he keeps it up for 10 to 30 minutes, and I've timed him barking non-stop for over 2 hours. I've complained to the neigbours, but they were not helpful, and since we are outside of city limits, there is no animal control or city ordinance enforcer to turn to. 

So what may seem as not much barking to you (espeically since you are not home during the day), may actually be a constant noise annoyance to your neighbours. 

You do have a few options in controlling this: Bring him inside, have someone outside with him when let out into the yard, or get a bark collar. I would get the ones that deliver a shock each time your dog barks. I've never used them but I have friends with mulitple GSDs that have used them with great success. 

Some people worry that bark collars will frustrate the dog to the point of causing psychological damage, but my friends' experience was exactly the opposite - it CALMED the dogs! Once they figured out that it was better not to bark at stuff, they just mellowed out and stopped worrying about every little thing going on around them. Barking is self-exciting for dogs, once they start, they can work themselves into a barking frenzy - the bark collar prevented that state of mind, actually improving their psychological well-being instead of causing frustration. Her dogs associated the bark collar with the new calmer state of mind so well, that after a while only wearing the collar, without turning it on, was enough to keep her dogs calm and quiet.


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## rubenunez (Jul 16, 2015)

Thank you for your comments.

We leave in a pretty big property, it used to be a farm. So we have a 5 acres backyard. She has to be loose because it's really easy to break in (that's why we got a GSD in the first place). We have a fenced area which is at least 50 ft from the nearest neighbors, but the place is so quiet you can hear the barking 150 yds away. And no one should get to close to the gate since you has to walk like 45ft into our property to get to the gate. I'm out of town during weekdays (but my family is always there), I only see her on the weekends, anxiety should no be the problem.

I'm gonna try the barking collar, or at least I'm gonna read more about it. Do you have idea if we can get fined? can they take more serious actions against my dog?


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

For the OP, I would check into your local ordinance regarding noise from animals. It is different in different states and even different counties. In some places the dog only has to bark for 15 minutes straight to be considered a nuisance. Other places it is longer. I would try the bark collar. If there are people at home all the time, have someone go outside with the dog every time it goes out. If your dog is bored, sometimes they bark as self rewarding behavior. Knowing the law helps, but also training your dog is a better idea.


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## annap24 (Jul 22, 2014)

Yes, it is definitely possible for you to get fined. In my area, if a dog barks constantly for 30 minutes or off and on for an hour they can be considered a nuisance. I would check your laws. 

Also when looking at bark collars, I would consider the fact that they can correct the dog at the wrong time. Some go by sound, so another loud noise could trigger the shock. Others go by vibration, so a dog scratching it's neck or something could make it go off. This can cause confusion and fearfulness in the dog. 

I would keep the dog inside when you're gone if at all possible. I think seeing a GSD through the window would be just as intimidating to an intruder as seeing one outside in the yard, but would cut back on the noise level for the neighbors. 

The barking may not seem like a lot to you, but some people work night shift and have to sleep during the day, have a baby that they're trying to keep asleep, etc. I know first hand that barking dogs outside can get very obnoxious after a while because my neighbors 2 houses down have dogs that bark for an hour or two every night. I'm not annoyed enough to call the police, but I know other people aren't as tolerant. If you get more than one citation, there may be more serious consequences for you or the dog.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

I like this:









And to actually be helpful...bark collar and how to use it correctly:
http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/6949026-post19.html

That's a stop gap the ultimate solution is was stated, rules, limits and boundaries!

Take a look here:
http://solidk9training.com/2013/02/21/separation-anxiety-im-not-seeing-it-at-my-place/


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## Baillif (Jun 26, 2013)

Problem solved.


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## DaniFani (Jan 24, 2013)

I'll add one to the vote for a bark collar. I also agree with PP that said it calmed her friend's dog. My mother (and others I know) had the exact same experience with her dog. Dog only barked when people were around or to "alert" but where she lived that added up to a LOT of barking. She mentioned several times that the dog was much more relaxed and didn't seem "on guard" and "stressed out" about barking all the time.

I will say this, I'd let go of the defensive "my dog isn't a barking nuisance" thought. If it was enough for police and/or animal control to come and talk to you, it's enough. Usually they (LE or AC) will drive buy on a random day and listen for themselves. As someone who's been the neighbor of a nuisance barker, it's awful. 

My experience was similar to Lucia's. The lab would start barking every time someone walked by or drove by their house. Their house was also by the bank of mailboxes, and once the lab started barking it went on for 10-40 mins...which is a long, annoying, time for neighbors. It also doesn't really matter if you live on land. Sometimes it's almost worse, because you DO have neighbors, they just aren't really close. But the remoteness makes for an echoey environment, and sometimes the barking is ALL your neighbors hear.

Anyway, bark collar will usually immediately fix the problem. Good luck.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

> Also when looking at bark collars, I would consider the fact that they can correct the dog at the wrong time. Some go by sound, so another loud noise could trigger the shock.


I've never heard of a bark collar being triggered by sound other than the dog who is wearing the collar barking. Never had that issue for my friends. Avoid cheap collars you can get at pet stores, and go on-line to get a good quality bark collar, like a Dogtra. That is what my friends had, and not even other dogs barking nearby triggered the collar, only the dog wearing the collar could trigger it.


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

I believe it's the vibration of the bark that triggers the collar.


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## annap24 (Jul 22, 2014)

Castlemaid said:


> I've never heard of a bark collar being triggered by sound other than the dog who is wearing the collar barking. Never had that issue for my friends. Avoid cheap collars you can get at pet stores, and go on-line to get a good quality bark collar, like a Dogtra. That is what my friends had, and not even other dogs barking nearby triggered the collar, only the dog wearing the collar could trigger it.



I definitely agree with getting a high quality bark collar. I have a friend who used one (not sure what kind) and when the dog would yawn, it would vocalize as it yawned and that would trigger a correction. If that makes sense. I wasn't saying not to use one, just to do research and make sure to get a good one.


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## angelas (Aug 23, 2003)

Castlemaid said:


> I've never heard of a bark collar being triggered by sound other than the dog who is wearing the collar barking. Never had that issue for my friends. Avoid cheap collars you can get at pet stores, and go on-line to get a good quality bark collar, like a Dogtra. That is what my friends had, and not even other dogs barking nearby triggered the collar, only the dog wearing the collar could trigger it.


I got cheap one from Wal-Mart years ago when Lucky was being especially annoying. It was triggered by the sound of "barking" and it emitted a high pitch tone that was supposed to interrupt the barking (so the dog could be redirect I suppose). It worked exactly once. Then it started going off any time the door was closed, someone sneezed or something was dropped in the sink. Gave up after a day and tossed it in the junk drawer. Then had to find it in the junk drawer to pull the battery because it would STILL go off. Thank god it wasn't a shock collar, just an annoying peep.


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## rubenunez (Jul 16, 2015)

Thank you guys, your comments have been very helpful. I'm gonna research about our county regulations. Definitely, the "my dog doesn't bark" attitude won't help us. However, I still thinking that calling the police on someone's dog before trying to talk with the owner was something below the belt LOL.

I'll be back home tonight, I'll let you guys know what really happened. I'm sure I'll bother you again with more questions about the collars. 

PS: Do you know can I sort the replies by date? I would like to see the main post on top and then scroll down to the last reply.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

> It also doesn't really matter if you live on land. Sometimes it's almost worse, because you DO have neighbors, they just aren't really close. But the remoteness makes for an echoey environment, and sometimes the barking is ALL your neighbors hear.


I have found this to be true! If I'm hanging out in town in someone's back yard, I'm hardly aware of dogs barking: there is enough background noise that it gets lost, and the buildings and fences and other stuff muffle the barking. I don't have any very close neighbours, but the little dog from across the street stands in the middle of the road and barks, barks, barks, barks, and it sounds like the sounds extremely close! Neighbours themselves probably don't hear it much, as their house is set back from the road, and their dogs (yes, dogs, the little one is the most annying though), are facing my place when barking.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Be sure, to take off that collar every night [actually best not to leave it on for more than 8 hours] and inspect the skin for breakdown. It needs to be snug to work and the pressure can cause sores on the skin followed by a nasty infection. Unlike a remote training collar you cannot rotate it to change where the points set. 

I had a bad experience with the tritronics being set off by the dog yelping after the shock. Never had the problem with a Dogtra and even the Petsafe one seems good enough but it eats batteries, which are not cheap, while the Dogtra is rechargeable.


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## rubenunez (Jul 16, 2015)

What happened was: three families complained about excessive barking. They said that it starts very early in the morning and sometimes it lasted the whole night. The very early in the morning part is totally true. My mom wakes up at 6am and she always let the dogs out. They play for a couple of minutes (barking, growling, etc) and then they calm down.

The other part, you are not gonna believe it. Two weeks ago a tiny dog got lost and he came to our house. My mom kept him for 3 until she found the owners. My mom told me that the tiny dog barked all night during those three days. My dogs have never barked the entire night, but she couldn't make this little fella stop. So we are pretty sure that this is what happened. Additionally, Daka did bark during the 4th july weekend because of the fireworks. So I think that all this pissed my neighbors off.

The county gave us a warning, and they are gonna fine us if someone complains again. Nobody was home when the animal services guy went to our house, so they left the citation at the door. This guys told us: "I waited 15 minutes outside the gate and the GSD never stopped barking, so I guess it's true what your neighbors said" What was he expecting? Been invited in for a cup of coffee brewed by our protective german sherpherd?


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

If your dog doesn’t stop barking at stimuli, you have to be there to make it quiet down. My dogs will bark at things that go by the yard. They will also stop as soon as the thing removes itself from their view. They will also stop if I tell them to stop. But this is the biggest reason why the dogs are never outside without myself or my girlfriend being home. They are not allowed to bark for more than 30 seconds, not only is it annoying to our neighbors, it’s annoying to us. The dogs are therefore kept inside when we’re not home. These are also dogs which are trained to protect but are also therefore trained to listen and be able to turn off the vocalization. I also know that I live in a very safe neighborhood, so the likelihood my dogs are barking at a "real" threat in the middle of the day is close to zero. So they are not allowed to just bark at anything that walks by the house. 99.99999% of the time, it is not a threat that needs their attention, so us quieting them down is part training for them to realize when it is and isn't alright to bark.

If you have a privacy fence, this usually makes things worse for dogs. They can’t see what’s on the other side and will basically consider it a threat. So if it doesn’t leave, they will keep barking. I have a chain link fence, so when there is some sort of stimuli outside the yard, they will bark and also tend to stop when they realize their barking isn’t doing anything and the thing they’re barking at is not a threat. If the dogs weren’t able to see what they were barking at, they’d be much more likely to keep barking the whole time.

Most neighbors/people are actually more than likely to call the authorities on you rather than confront you personally because then there is less risk of retaliation/repercussion from you. If you don’t know who did it, you can’t “get them back.” It makes perfect sense. More than likely, you’re not going to get rid of your dog, so all that telling you would do is make you angry, like it has in this situation as you’re still not taking much responsibility for what your dog is doing and are instead choosing to rationalize how wrong your neighbors are in the situation.


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## jschrest (Jun 16, 2015)

My sister has a GSD that lives behind her. There is a fence separating her yard from the yard with the GSD. The GSD is let out in the early am and in the evening. He barks NONSTOP the entire hour to 2 hours he is left outside. It is the most obnoxious thing to hear. I feel for your neighbors. 

If it was 3 families that called, you obviously have an issue that needs to be dealt with. If it was one neighbor, it could just be a matter of someone always wanting something to complain about, but 3 means there is an issue with your dog barking. Training is something you'll need to look into. And if your mother is going to be alone with your GSD for long periods of time, she needs to get in on the training as well.

Is the dog ever exercised? A lot of dogs will use barking as a means of releasing pent up energy.


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