I wish I knew how to prevent my neighbor’s dog from barking when it was really loud. They were always leaving their screen door open when they were away. Both of the dogs barely took a minute to breathe since they were too busy barking almost 24/7. Despite filling many noise complaints, nothing was done about the noise. Our neighborhood became filled with more and more cranky neighbors as we were all getting less sleep than required for starters, and the constant barking was simply annoying and gave us headaches while wearing on our nerves.

I perfectly understand that dogs should bark in certain situations. After all, that’s a dog’s job, to bark when needed. There are situations when barking is really necessary. A dog can be left outside by mistake, it can get lonely, it can be hurt or anxious at something, or it can simply feel frustrated when being locked up. Or it can bark when it finds something very intriguing. Not all people realize that giving the dog rewards when it barks, such as a good treat or special attention, will only make it bark louder and more often, rather than calm it down. This behavior will tempt the dog to bark all the time, in search for extra attention.

Leaving your dog outside is not the best solution. It will make it bark even louder, plus that extreme temperatures can make it ill. If no one is going to be home, some dog owners use crates to place them in, but a good rule of thumb is to never let your dog be stuck in one of those for over four hours at one time. There are other alternatives you can resort to, for instance a large area in your house or apartment where the dog can create its own space where it feels safe and comfortable. Don’t forget to also create his own little bathroom area in the farthest part of that room using a dog litter tray, piles of newspapers or better yet, a little doggie door in which he can do his business outside within a fenced in area of course.

All this might not be enough for your dog to stop barking all the time. If this is the situation, then you should probably think of buying it a special bark collar. If it is a neighbor’s dog, the best way to start out would be to write them a firm but decent letter that you may want to consider typing and sending anonymously. Sometimes people don’t even realize what problems their dogs cause while they are away at work. If that does not resolve the issue, you may want to either send another anonymous letter or perhaps even talk to them face to face about them considering the idea of getting their dog or dogs a bark collar.  

If dogs are loud all the time, then you should do something about it. If barking turns becomes a constant habit for your neighbor’s dog, suggest him to buy his dog a bark collar. If you want to read more about how you could solve the barking problems with a bark collar, click on this link.