Ask RiotACT: Dog Barking Help

In the immortal words of Sun Tzu, “if you wait by the river long enough………”. Chances are there are others in the neighbourhood who are also affected. If the owners are not willing to listen then sooner or later someone unhinged will take matters into their own hands. Like with the chickens the other week.

buy some dried pigs ears, should shut the dog up for at least 1/2 and hour.

No_Nose said :

dungfungus said :

I should have said an uncooked bone.
My terriers eat raw bones until there are all gone, grinding the pieces of bone down and ingesting them. If they try this with a cooked bone it could be fatal as the pieces will splinter and tear the intestines.

Even still you should not be doing this without the owners permission or knowledge. No matter how well intentioned.

You are probably correct.
A better outcome would be to shape the bone into custom earplugs to reduce the noise from the incessant barking.

Charlotte Harper said :

The treats in ice laced with beef or chicken stock is such a great idea. I’m going to try it on my dog ASAP.

Just make sure you use salt reduced stock, as they can’t digest high levels of salt.

I usually add 500mls into a 2.5L tub.

This may not a solution to this particular case, but I have always found that troublesome dogs can be more settled around the company of another dog, as often they simply crave companionship. We always have two dogs or more. Maybe suggest that the owners approach someone close by with a dog and, depending on the temperament of the dogs, suggest the two separate dogs be enclosed together during the daytime as companions for each other. I’m not saying this works all the time, but I’ve seen it work.

dungfungus said :

I should have said an uncooked bone.
My terriers eat raw bones until there are all gone, grinding the pieces of bone down and ingesting them. If they try this with a cooked bone it could be fatal as the pieces will splinter and tear the intestines.

Even still you should not be doing this without the owners permission or knowledge. No matter how well intentioned.

You need to talk to the owner face to face or at least write them a letter. I understand you’ve already text them about their dog barking but most owners are unaware their dog barks when they’re not home.

My puppy can unfortunately spend up to about an hour barking constantly in the morning and the evening if my neighbour is in the backyard playing with their dog.. purely because she wants to join in. Training so far isn’t working but I’m working on it. At the moment the only way I can distract her and get her to stop barking is to turn the hose on so she plays with the water. Please just give the owners time as stopping a dog barking isn’t an instant fix.

As everyone else has stated, their dog is clearly bored. Maybe ask the owners if you can donate some toys to them or if it’s ok to throw dog bones over the fence. Get them to leave the TV on or a radio. It’s hot at the moment, so the best toy is a few squeaky toys and treats frozen into a 2-5L ice cream tub that they can lick at and play with until it melts down to get the toys out. Add in some salt reduced beef or chicken stock (no more than 50/50 mix) for some extra flavour.

RB78 said :

dungfungus said :

Sometimes a bone is all the dog wants so I can’t see any problem in chucking one over the fence.

Do not do this. A family friend’s dog passed away recently due to a neighbour tossing a bone over the fence to their dog – good intentions but unfortunately the dog had some sort of medical condition and couldn’t digest it and it led to a blockage

I should have said an uncooked bone.
My terriers eat raw bones until there are all gone, grinding the pieces of bone down and ingesting them. If they try this with a cooked bone it could be fatal as the pieces will splinter and tear the intestines.

dungfungus said :

Sometimes a bone is all the dog wants so I can’t see any problem in chucking one over the fence.

Do not do this. A family friend’s dog passed away recently due to a neighbour tossing a bone over the fence to their dog – good intentions but unfortunately the dog had some sort of medical condition and couldn’t digest it and it led to a blockage

taninaus said :

keep a log and get some audio to back up your complaint to the rangers. sounds like the dog has separation issues and wants their people. is there a way you can go over to your neighbours and have a talk with them letting the know how it affects you? it is a really hard habit to break and they may need some help to make it stick. it is a tough thing to live with

Dog control will not accept “third party” sound or video recordings. They must do that themselves (so they told me).

You have the phone number so sound-record the dog barking and play it back to them over the phone at 2.00am.
TAMS will do exactly what you have said they have done so far.
Sometimes a bone is all the dog wants so I can’t see any problem in chucking one over the fence.

TAMS should have directed you to keep a bark diary, as its my understanding that they can’t do anything about a noisy dog until a complaint has been submitted with the diary so that they send a ranger to talk to the owners with the information to hand. If you have already submitted a diary and nothing appears to have happened, contact Shane Rattenbury as he is the minister responsible for TAMS. It would also be a good idea to contact one of the Liberal MLA’s in your electorate so that they can pressure him on your behalf as well.

This is a link to the page regarding lodging a nuisance animal complaint:
http://www.tams.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/416915/How-to-Lodge-an-Animal-Nuisance-Complaint.pdf

First the dog is not stupid – it obviously has separation anxiety. This is a complex issue but can be treated in a number of ways and there are some excellent resources online especially Victoria Stillwell (from It’s Me or the Dog TV series) who posts articles all the time on FB. Dogs get scared when they are on their own – so you might think of getting a companion to keep it company during the day such as another dog. Dogs can be helped by giving treats that take time for the dogs to work out the food – eg frozen kongs packed with mince will take a good hour to finish, or some plastic balls with holes that you pack with treats to occupy the dog with getting the treats out. Another hour of quiet. Some positive training gives dogs all round confidence and this really helps. Put the TV on in the house, or even get some dog calming music to play during the day while dogs are left. Tire your dog out with a brisk walk before leaving in the morning – all commonsense things. Dogs are pack animals – they don’t like to be on their own and they get bored.

I have had a few occasions where a neighbours dog incessantly barked. I started throwing a glass of water over the fence at the dog when it was barking, and when it stopped, I would praise it and talk nicely to it. It didn’t hurt the dog, and seemed to work.

TAMS do look into such complaints. A while back, everyone in my street received a letter saying a complaint had been received about a nearby house, and without specifying which one, asked if we had any concerns with barking dogs nearby. I saw a couple of TAMS officials spend about half an hour out he front of the house that was complained about, and a neighbour had seen them there on another day.

From what I’ve heard, you need to complete a two week ‘bark diary’ that records when the dog is barking and for how long. You’d also need to be prepared to provide a statement and/or attend the magistrate’s court in the event that the matter goes that far.

It’s often best to address the issue with the owner directly, but seeing how that doesn’t seem to have worked, TAMS is your next step.

I guess Domestic Animal Services needs to get out and take some noise level measurements. If they haven’t acted, then write to the minster directly, with times and dates of who you spoke to at DAS etc.

Things like citronella collars can sometimes work.Buster cubes (you put dog biscuits in them) can help bored dogs as well.
Has the owner tried bark busters? (http://www.barkbusters.com.au/dog-training-act)
Post their treatment, the owners may want to consider de-barking. Its a drastic step I know.

keep a log and get some audio to back up your complaint to the rangers. sounds like the dog has separation issues and wants their people. is there a way you can go over to your neighbours and have a talk with them letting the know how it affects you? it is a really hard habit to break and they may need some help to make it stick. it is a tough thing to live with