So yesterday and last night we didnt hear a thing from our girl which is not surprising. Dh spoke to some other neighbours this morning who they said that she wasnt a problem other than one night when she was upset. That happened to be the same night that night we had a lot a rain, and thats pretty normal behaviour when we get a heap of rain over a period of a few days.
Also we found another possum in a tree in our yard last night. Dog hates possums, and normally she wins in the dog vs possum stakes.
Last thing we found out yesterday was the neighbours grandkids were pulling on the fence and teasing her.
I do think they overstepped the line by suggesting we put her down, or even rehoming her. And I think that is the part that has hurt most. Not to mention the fact that apparently she has been a problem barker for over a year now but yesterday was the first time they have came to us to tell us about the problem and how on earth can we fix it if we dont know its going on.
From what Ive read about the barking diaries councils ask the complainer to keep, it does sound like they are trying to prevent neighbourhood bullying and disputes by getting the complainers to look at verything that is going on in the neighbourhood and not just on the dog. Thats good though, cause it is quite easy to forget about the rest of the environment and forget about the reasons behind why something is happening.
Asking for the dog to be put down is a completely unreasonable request, and it suggests that the neighbour's complaint is at least partly overblown. BUT:
It may be that in your total day/night absence your dog has barked a lot. Solutions in future might be for her to go and stay at a friends house or even the doggy motel (kennel) when you go away. Even a few hours of barking each day over several days in a row (especially at night) is likely to aggravate the neighbours. This could be why they have mentioned it now, it's compounded the annoyance of what is otherwise a lot more irregular or shorter episodes of barking.
What you need to do is to start documenting the times/dates that might be an issue - for example, the days you were away, when the neighbours approached you, who it was who suggested she be put down (important detail because if they bring this up with the council that comment indicates their complaints are probably a little over the top). Include the detail about the dates lining up with the aggravation by the neighbour's grandchildren. Also, document the specific measures you have taken since the neighbours brought this to your attention. These measures might include:
*changing where you leave the dog when she is at home alone. For eg, our dog will bark at dusk in our yard, but if we leave him in the laundy he feels safe and stays quiet
*if you're going out, put her in a small closed room with soft furnishings that will muffle any barking she does do (some rooms are echo-y and barking reverberates and sounds much louder than it needs to).
*trialling a citronella spray collar (some councils/vets loan these out at a low cost)
*sending her for a doggy sleepover at a friend's house or to the doggy motel (kennel) if you ever have to be away overnight.
*work out what the barking triggers are and minimise those. Eg the possums - wondering if there are some lateral-thinking solutions to discourage them from your yard (eg pruning trees so they can't jump from one to another).
*if your dog only barks when you're away, it's like to be loneliness/fear/boredom. If your dog likes food, feed them less in their dinner bowl and more in toys like kongs or pig ear swhere they have to work to get the yummies out. And give them one of these if you're going to be out for a few hours in a stretch.
I would not be trying to make a shed condo for her because the shed will amplify the barking noise 500% and p*ss the neighbours off even more. Do think about getting a crate and crate training her as an alternative, or move the kitty cats to a different room, or even put all the furries in together (ie by giving the cats a shelf/perches to use).
I just spoke with DH. He said you really don't need to worry. You would need complaints from more then one neighbour for anything to even get close to happening. He said they don't tell people how to stop their dogs from barking as situations are always different and dogs are too, they just tell you to try and do something about it.
Your still doing the right thing by looking into before council is even involved and if none of your other neighbours see an issue there is no problem.
When I told him your neighbours sugestion of putting the dog down or rehome he just laughed. Said that will never happen
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