When Dogs Bark

By: Mr. Wilson on June 14, 2010

This post was originally going to be about how a neighbor's dog's barking had finally driven me to take action. I was going to write about the steps I took -- talk to the neighbor; speak with other neighbors; call the authorities; and so on -- once I decided I was sick and tired of hearing barking all day and night. And then something unexpected happened: on the day I decided to kick the plan into gear, the barking stopped. I have to assume somebody else beat me to the punch. It has been a week and, with only a couple minor exceptions, the dog has barely made a peep. Well then. There goes a perfectly good blog post, but at least I got what I was after. Even though I can't share with you my specific experiences of what I did to halt a barking dog, I still want to provide you with some information you can use should your neighbors not raise their pups correctly. Let's start with city ordinance 6.08.160 (PDF):

It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep, or harbor any dog which by loud, continued, or frequent barking, howling, or yelping shall annoy or disturb any neighborhood, person, or persons. Provided, however, this section shall not apply to the humane society or the business premises of licensed veterinarians. Any person convicted of violating this provision shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed three months or by a fine in a sum not more than $500.00, recoverable with costs, or both such fine and imprisonment, except that each person so convicted shall be fined in a sum of not less than $50.00 for the first offense; not less than $75.00 for a second offense; and not less than $100.00 for the third offense and each offense thereafter.

Or the short version: if your dog annoys your neighbors, expect to pay a fine. That seems fair enough. But how do things progress to that point? The first thing you, as the annoyed one, should do is contact the dog's owners. Let them know there's a problem. (They may not know!) Don't make threats, just let them know their dog's barking is excessive and that it's disturbing your household. If they're cooperative people, then try to work with them as much as possible. There's no sense causing a bigger fuss than absolutely necessary. Next you may want to speak with other neighbors. You'll have an easier time going forward with more neighbors on board. You may also want to let Animal Control know what's going on. They may give you additional advice. Then you and the other neighbors should keep track of the barking. Note date, time, duration, and any other relevant details. For example, I documented that one evening my neighbor's dog barked non-stop from 9:30pm until at least 11:15pm, which was the last time I looked at the clock before I finally fell asleep. During that time I witnessed two other neighbors try to get the dog to shut up -- one nicely, one not-so-nicely. That's all relevant information. You can collect audio and video evidence as well, but be careful that "careful documentation" doesn't turn into obsessive stalking. After several days you can go back to Animal Control with your collected information. And then, well, hopefully your outcome is positive. I didn't make it this far, fortunately. Every experience I have had with Animal Control has been positive (several found dogs over the years) so my expectation is that they will do a good job to help resolve the situation. Keep documenting until you don't need to document any more. Have you dealt with an obnoxious barker in your neighborhood? How did you and/or your neighbors deal with the situation?

Lincolnite

When Dogs Bark

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