I wish I knew how to prevent my neighbor’s dog from barking when it was really loud. They used to leave their screen door open whenever they left the house. They used to have two loud dogs that wouldn’t stop barking. Noise complaint after noise complaint was filed but nothing was ever done about the problem. 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. Sometimes they have very good reasons for barking such as being left outside by mistake, being lonely, bored, hungry or thirsty or perhaps confined behind a fence and just wanting in on the action on the other side. Or it can bark when something catches its attention. 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 attitude will have an opposite effect and encourage the dog to bark all the time.

Leaving a dog outside all day is about the worst idea ever. It will get frustrated and bored and will start making a lot of noise, which is very likely to drive your neighbors crazy. Also, it can suffer when it gets cold or too hot outside. Some dogs are held in crates while their owners are away, but they shouldn’t be kept there for more than four hours at a time. One of the things you could do is keep it indoors, yet offer it a view on the outside of the house or apartment; it should have a space of its own where it can feel relaxed. The dog should also have its own small bathroom; you can buy it a litter tray, or make it its small doggie door which it can use to go outside, in a special area surrounded by a fence.

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. It is possible that the neighbors are not even aware that their cute little dog is barking its head off while they are at work, although I am sure my neighbors knew since they had so many noise complaints brought against them. If your neighbor ignores your letter, you might send him a second one or talk to him face to face and recommend that he should buy his dog 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.