How to Deal With a Neighbor's Barking Dog

Making Friendly Overtures

Find a good time to visit your neighbor. You want to set the stage for a nice talk about the dog without their owner getting defensive. The best way to do this is to make initial contact at a time that they don't feel caught off guard. Make sure you phrase this first interaction as finding a time you can both talk. Then, if they are happy to talk about it right then and there, you may be able to settle the issue in one day. You might try going over on a Saturday morning when you hear them using lawn tools or whatever. Don’t enter your neighbor's property until invited and try not to sneak up or surprise them. Break the ice with some small talk about how their week went, and then ask them if they have time to talk about the dog soon. If your neighbor gets angrily defensive or violent and threatens you in this talk or any future talk, stop trying to solve the problem yourself. Go to the police and tell them about the barking, and that a simple, polite request prompted your neighbor to threaten you. EXPERT TIP Beverly Ulbrich Beverly Ulbrich Dog Behaviorist & Trainer Beverly Ulbrich is a Dog Behaviorist and Trainer and the Founder of The Pooch Coach, a private dog training business based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a Certified CGC (Canine Good Citizen) Evaluator by the American Kennel Club and has served on the Board of Directors for the American Humane Association and Rocket Dog Rescue. She has been voted the best private dog trainer in the San Francisco Bay Area 4 times by SF Chronicle and by Bay Woof, and she has won 4 "Top Dog Blog" awards. She has also been featured on TV as a dog behavior expert. Beverly has over 18 years of dog behavior training experience and specializes in dog aggression and anxiety training. She has a Master of Business Administration from Santa Clara University and a BS from Rutgers University. Beverly Ulbrich Beverly Ulbrich Dog Behaviorist & Trainer Expert Trick: If you can't talk to your neighbor face-to-face about their barking dog, write a nicely worded and clear letter about the problem. Then, leave the letter in their mailbox or tape it to their door.

Presume that your neighbor is unaware. They may be uninformed about the problem, either not aware of the barking or not knowledgeable about what to do about it. A friendly heads-up, along with some tactful mentions of dog care strategies, perhaps even noting a dog trainer you've heard produces good results, may be all it takes. The neighbor may not be aware that the dog is causing a problem, for instance if the dog barks while he is away at work.

Let your neighbors address the problem. After initial contact, or a planned conversation, your neighbors may feel regret and want to address the problem immediately. Allowing them to handle the problem themselves help you will keep your relationship civil. They may have tactics for handling their dogs barking that they haven’t had enough time to do lately. Give your neighbor time to make changes. It can take time to adjust schedules and/or conduct training sessions that will help curb barking.

Make second contact. It is entirely possible that your neighbor is either reluctant (doesn’t care enough to act) or recalcitrant (takes offense at the mere suggestion of doing something), which may require further action on your part. But remain cordial as much as possible. Having conversations in daylight and in public, such as during Saturday morning yard work, can help you keep the interaction safe and out in the open.

Suggest anti-barking strategies. There are many ways to prevent barking, including daily exercise and training sessions. Learn about several possible options and mention them to your neighbor in a polite manner. Try to treat the process as a negotiation of conditions that you both can accept. This will help you in the eyes of the law if things do devolve into an intractable dispute. If the neighbor is open to the idea, and you are willing to take on the cost/effort, you can even offer to pay for an anti-bark collar, or help them find a skilled dog trainer. You are under no obligation to do this, of course.

Befriend the dog. You may find that this is often much easier than befriending the human neighbor. Learn the dog's name from the owner, and ask to be introduced. If the dog gets to know you, it may be less likely to bark at you. The next time it barks, try saying its name in a reassuring voice. With the owner's permission, give the dog a toy or treat to show you're friendly, and to calm it down. If you can build up some level of friendly rapport with both neighbor and dog, you may even choose to offer to walk the dog during the day — for instance, if the dog barks each afternoon while the owner is at work. Getting involved in this way is always your choice, however. If you don’t like dogs, don’t have one because you don’t want the responsibilities of caring for one, or are plenty busy caring for your own dog, you absolutely don’t have to offer to help with your neighbor’s yappy mutt.

Issue a final complaint. If your neighbor ignores you, contact them one more time. Let them know you have asked the barking a few times, but it is not improving. You want this to remain a dialogue between the two of you, but you will get neighbors involved if necessary. At this stage, you probably don’t want to threaten contacting the police yet, unless they are acting violent or threatening you.

Keep track of the continuing problem. Continue to gather evidence while you wait. Give your neighbor time to find a solution, but prepare for the next step in case this doesn't work. Maintain a detailed journal of how often the dog barks and for how long, or talk to other neighbors who have been as annoyed as you. If the neighbor seems unwilling to make an effort, this can come in handy moving forward.

Asserting Your Rights

Familiarize yourself with local laws/codes. Involving the authorities should be your last recourse for a barking dog, because it is likely to take a good bit of time and effort to secure an acceptable resolution, and is sure to make your relationship with your neighbor uncomfortable at best — and quite possibly openly hostile. But, if you have exhausted other options and/or see no alternative, make sure you know your rights and how to assert them. Some municipalities have specific codes regarding barking dogs, while others include it within nuisance or noise ordinances. Within a single metropolitan area, local codes can vary widely, so contact your local government authority for clarification. If you and your neighbor are both part of a neighborhood association, there may be codes that cover barking dogs. Similarly, if you are renters (especially if you have the same landlord), look into the terms of your lease. Some municipalities may provide, or be able to refer you to, mediation services (binding or non-binding) to keep such disputes out of the courts. Contact your local government, district attorney’s office, or small claims court to inquire.

Call animal control. The days of the dog catcher coming around unannounced and snatching up problem dogs is over, but your local animal control service may be able to intervene for you. Contact the service to find out whether it handles nuisance barking, or whether you need to involve the police first. You may need to be persistent in your calls and/or be able to provide evidence that the dog is a nuisance for animal control to act. Call animal control right away if the dog is barking because it is in pain, has trapped itself in a small area, has tangled its chain, or is otherwise unable to access water. Contact the owner first if you are comfortable doing so, but don’t ignore a suffering dog that is not receiving proper care.

Call the police. Involving the police will usually either immediately escalate or immediately resolve the situation. Your amount of preparation beforehand may well make the difference. Once you make yourself familiar with the relevant dog/noise/nuisance ordinance(s) in your area, call the non-emergency police number to report a violation. Unless your local police uses the emergency number (such as 911) for all calls, do not call it to make a barking dog complaint. It is conceivable that you may be cited for misuse of the emergency line. Many police departments and other services require you to prove that the barking is extreme before they can take action. Here is where your record-keeping — log book, recordings, statements from other neighbors, etc. — can prove invaluable in supporting your claim. Once the police are involved, your neighbor may feel besieged and try to frame the issue as a dispute between neighbors, in which you are primarily at fault for some reason. This is why it is essential to never give your neighbor ammunition to use against you by making threats, shouting, swearing, hurting the dog in any way, etc.

Pursue legal action. If you need to go to court to prove a noise/nuisance violation, come prepared with the evidence you have gathered. Calmly and clearly establish your case. You may be able to sue your neighbor in small claims court for causing you loss of enjoyment of your home and property. You’re not going to strike it rich this way (and may even end up losing money in the process), but if you provide a clear, strong case supported by documented evidence, you may be able to get your neighbor to finally quiet that dog. If you find that the local laws regarding nuisance dogs are lacking in your area, start a petition and contact your elected leaders.

Coping With Minimal Dog Barking

Consider the situation. Unless you are far removed from any neighbors, there is simply no way you can expect to avoid hearing dogs bark from time to time. Barking is an innate activity for canines; they may do it to show fear or anxiety, to seek attention, due to pain or illness, and for many other reasons. Before taking action, consider whether your limits for the amount of dog barking you want to tolerate are reasonable and feasible. If the dog just yaps for a bit when a person or another dog walks by, or whines when it's ready to go back inside, or barks when playing with its owner in the yard, it will likely subside soon. If, however, the barking is persistent (consistently ten minutes or more, perhaps), sounds like the dog may be injured or ill, or makes you feel threatened, you probably have legitimate reasons to act.

Consider your soundproofing options. There are numerous ways to muffle the neighbor’s dog as well as other annoying sounds. Installing soundproof windows is a more expensive option, but it may have the added benefit of reducing your heating bill. There are also soundproofing curtains, which would be a less expensive route. These would all have the added benefit of reducing other noises that you can’t do anything about, such as late night traffic and sirens. By taking steps to reduce the amount of noise that actually reaches your living space, you may find that the annoyance factor of the dog’s barking is substantially reduced.

Install an anti-barking sonic device. There are devices on the market that emit a loud, high-pitched sonic blast whenever it detects barking. The sound is above the human range of hearing, but may annoy the dog enough that it learns to stop setting it off. These are basically automated dog whistles, and in fact using a dog whistle may work just as well. If you can convince your neighbor to use one, there are dog collars that incorporate the sonic device, or release an unpleasant smell or hiss of compressed air instead. The overall effectiveness of such devices at stopping barking is questionable, and while they shouldn’t harm the dog, they do cause a level of discomfort that you may be uncomfortable with (even if that dog is driving you nuts!).