Anti-Barking Device for Neighbour's Dog

My neighbour's dog keeps barking. Have spoken to them cordially but it still continues. I would like to resolve this without complaining to council and only do that as a last resort.

Does anyone have any recommendations for anti-barking devices? Cost does not matter, will happily spend hundreds, but just don't want to buy something that doesn't work. The only constraint is that I can't do anything physical to the dog or can't get access to their land.

Loads of products on google but after people's experiences.

Comments

  • +17

    without complaining to council and only do that as a last resort.

    That shouldn't be a last resort over spending hundreds on gadgets that may or may not work.

    https://www.lawaccess.nsw.gov.au/Pages/representing/Noise/Ma…

    • +4

      I am happy to take it to the council but it takes time - writing a formal complaint, talking to other neighbours to get corroborating witness statements and writing a log book and justifying it with evidence. Much better outcome if the problem goes away after buying a gadget.

      Just don't want to waste money on a useless gadget!

      • +4

        Complaining to the council takes a big effort on your behalf to try keep a diary etc and rarely does it have any results.

      • -1

        6 words. Piss of a bitch in heat.

      • +2

        I recently complained to our local council about our neighbours barking dog. I expected it to be a difficult, drawn out process, but it was incredibly easy. I lodged the complaint online and unbeknownst to me, another neighbour did the same on the same day. The ranger called me later in the day after visiting our street and speaking with some of our neighbours and the dog owners. They got a bark collar not too long after and while the dog has learnt that it can cry and whine without setting the collar off, the situation has improved tremendously.

        I would assume all councils have a different approach, but ours was amazing.

        • incredibly lucky your other neighbour lodge same day, some things are meant to be

    • +10

      In the same situation recently. Explained that if they didn't address the issue within two days I would make a formal complaint to the Council, and would continue to do so until they addressed the problem. It worked.

      • +6

        This^

        You need to understand that the person in the wrong isn't you making the complaint, its the dog owner allowing the dog to bark.
        In most cases the owner isn't aware of it, but in your case- even after speaking to them nicely, it still continues.

        And you don't need corroborating evidence from neighbours.
        You need a detailed hourly diary over a relatively small amount of time (a week tops).
        What's also helpful is a recording of the dog, so the rangers/and owners can hear the type of bark.
        Burn it to a CD and make 2 copies. Submit your complaint in writing, and include both discs. One for ranger, one for owner.
        No doubts, no questions… dog clearly barking excessively.

        Anyone who's experienced with dogs can listen to a bark and tell if its boredom, anxiety, something disturbing the dog, or just a learned behaviour where it thinks constant barking will bring the owner home.

        You've tried direct, good on you. Some people are hesitant to do that.
        But now its time for official action.

        Devices don't work unless you have full support of the owner, and nor should YOU have to pay hundreds for it.

        Complain.
        And if no resolution complain again.
        And keep doing it until the owner either gets rid of the dog, trains it to stop barking, or takes it to the vet and has an operation to remove its voice. Obviously a very extreme outcome, but barking dogs is one of the top reasons neighbours can actually come to blows over.
        Nip it in the bud. Now.

  • +17

    Shouldn’t the neighbour be looking into anti barking stuff and not you??

    • +1

      Yes but they are not cooperative. So it is either this or complain to the council.

      • +41

        So complain to the council

        I guarantee you that if you touch that dog with some anti bark thing, they’ll sue or some crap like that

        • +4

          if you touch that dog with some anti bark thing, they’ll sue or some crap like that

          Not sure if people read, but…

          “I can't do anything physical to the dog or can't get access to their land.”

  • +1

    I had some success with this one - BUT I didn't keep it long as it wasn't effective in stopping the barking, just made it worse! YMMV

    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/GoodLife-Dog-Silencer-Training-D…

    Good luck - it's a horrible problem to try and deal with, especially when the neighbors don't seem to see any issue. :/

    Good luck!

    • +36

      I had some success

      And

      just made it worse!

      I'd hate to see what you'd call a failure. "Dog now mutant kaiju, city aflame"?

    • $165… this honestly looks like a device that should be sold for $30 from the post office. As Seen On TV. I hope it works as advertised or it'll make all the dogs and cats in the area very annoyed.

      • $5 off with code MYPLUSV86PMM3LQM ;)

  • +47

    Sony WH1000XM3

    • +2

      Noise cancelling tech only works for constant noises, not sporadic like barking I thought?

      • -5

        Well if you turn the music up to max volume it won't matter…

        • -1

          Great idea, blow your eardrums.

      • -1

        When I first got my pair I wasn't overly amazed until I took them off an realised a super loud bird had started screeching at the window and the neighbour was mowing his lawn. I was blissfully unaware it had started while I was testing them.
        The aren't great at blocking loud conversations though.

  • +1

    Going through this myself right now. Neighbour doesn't give a shit. Going to use the app "Snap Send Solve". You should look into it.

    • +24

      Sounds like a mobster scene out of the Godfather. Snap neck, send head, solve problem.

    • does that App work? one night neighbours playing bassy music like 2am in the morning i couldnt sleep so put in a report and never got any resposne back

      • A lot of councils don't subscribe to it so the complaint is going into the clouds. I know Inner West Council don't monitor it anymore

  • +11

    https://www.sureguard.com.au/shop/product/ultrasonic-outdoor…

    These work great! Have used these around the perimeter of my place to stop the neighbours dogs from barking into my yard

    • Wow! This seems like a miracle product.

    • -6

      training dogs with cruelty isn't training dogs, it's harming them

      • It's not causing any physical harm to the dog. As the actual owner doesn't care, how would you train a dog not to back?

        • +3

          The dog is as much a victim in this as the OP. if you're gonna gaslight someone with ultrasonic soundwaves that distort your perception of reality, do it to the owner.

      • +1

        How is that cruelty?

        • -1

          put a car alarm in your bedroom and turn it on

          • @[Deactivated]: Did you even read the product description? The dog has the choice to alter its behaviour by not barking or at least reducing the frequency. It's not being tied to a pole and forced to hear the device sounding off untriggered.

  • +34

    Hook up some speakers with dogs barking

    play it loudly at night and early morning near the fence

    neighbour might get the hint

    • +11

      Or buy the dog from the neighbour and then let the dog bark all day and all night. That will teach the neighbour a lesson.

      • +2

        This is 4D chess

    • +20

      No, barking is annoying at any time of the day. OP has every right to complain when their quiet enjoyment of the property is being compromised. I’m guessing you’ve never lived next door to a negligent dog owner.

    • +6

      "Unless the dog barks non stop at night, you should not be complaining."

      These are the times I wish I could use all 5 negs on one comment.
      What a ridiculous notion!
      So I'm not allowed to enjoy my property in peace and quiet throughout the day?

      NEG NEG NEG NEG (there's the four I couldn't give you directly).

  • -1

    cheap vodka on garden hose spray over the fence

  • +1

    Play Britney over mega size speakers.

    • -2

      In Abu Ghriab that was one of the popular options :

      Christina Aguilera, “Dirrty”
      *
      Barney and Friends, “I Love You Song”
      *
      Deicide, “(profanity) Your God”
      *
      Drowning Pool, “Bodies”
      *
      Eminem, “Kim”
      *
      Marilyn Manson, “The Beautiful People”
      *
      The “Meow Mix” theme
      *
      Nine Inch Nails, “Somewhat Damaged”
      *
      Queen, “We Are the Champions”
      *
      Britney Spears, “… Baby One More Time”

      • I can understand most of the other ones, but "We Are the Champions" would be tortuous how??

        • I suspect it was intended as a boast/gloat

        • -4

          A gay, Persian /Middle Eastern guy that soaked up all the trappings of western society until it killed him? And now he's celebrated?

  • -1

    What about a dog whistle? Every time they bark just do a quick short whistle.

    Then they'll learn not to bark…

    • +101

      We tried that a few years ago, and all it did was train us to blow the whistle whenever the dog barked.

      • +2

        Lol

      • +2

        Comment of the year!

      • +4

        Yes, and you have been a very good boy!

      • haha love it 🤣

  • +3

    any remote sound device could harm or set off other dogs in the neighborhood and is unfair. I get the not going to council thing, as a dog owner I would want you to come to me first. I would then hire a trainer and let you know it was going to be fixed but to give me time (It's not quick) . In this instance if they have done nothing. Id tell them if They get a dog trainer you will not go to council last warning

    • +6

      +1. If happy to spend hundreds of dollars, then a trainer is far more worth it.

      Our neighbour told us our dog was howling every time we left the house - we had no idea and I felt terrible about it. I installed a camera and quickly discovered some separation anxiety. There was lots of trial-and-error before we found a combination that worked: confidence training, some changes to our routine and natural calming supplements. What definitely didn’t work was yelling or anti-barking devices (we tried them!). Other strategies with a better success rate (but didn’t end up working for our dog) include the “ThunderShirt”, distraction techniques and gradual desensitisation. Now I just check the camera periodically to make sure she is still able to self-settle.

      It’s not a quick fix, took us months. And to be honest, I’m not sure my partner would have done much about it without my persistence. Partner wasn’t a fan of this neighbour already, but I felt particularly bad for the other neighbours who had been putting up with it and not said anything!

      So apart from my life story, what I’m saying is: do you definitely know they aren’t doing anything about it? Maybe they just need more time. And, is there more than one person living there? Maybe you need to chat to someone else to see some action. If they aren’t doing (or willing to do) anything and don’t care, then it sounds like a council matter to me.

    • +1

      Not all neighbors are approachable unfortunately. Our neighbors 4 dogs were keeping us awake at night as they were kept on the back deck right next to our bedroom window. I spoke to him a few times but he would just move the dogs to the side of the house and then back to the deck. He ended up with 7 dogs when his girlfriends dogs moved in. I tried to talk to him but he blew up on one occasion and accused me of trespassing. I had to talk to the agent as he was only supposed to have 1 dog. He eventually moved out but got his kids to egg our place/car etc as revenge. I should of got the council ranger involved but that does require support from other neighbors and log book before they will do anything.

      • What else did you try?

        My 1 medium size dog has a bit of anxiety, one neighbor has complained to council (not come to see me).
        Dog has lived there longer than this neighbour too!

        Other neighbour has said the dog is fine but the other neighbour that complained kids are too noisy lol.

        Exercising dog makes it worse, 2 hours at the beach and she will bark more.
        Thundershirt lasted 30 minutes before being ripped to shreds ($60 gone).

        Or does anyone have any way to give this neighbour a life? Shes home all day and complains about EVERYTHING.
        Complained a bush in my front yard was too big….

        • Sorry for the late reply Fincky - too busy playing with my new Roborock and not enough time checking the threads.
          Any chance yours has staffy in her? Seems to be a common trait of theirs.

          We tried the Thundershirt pretty early on - seemed to be the quick/easy fix. Too good to be true unfortunately, did absolutely nothing. Luckily ours didn't sink her teeth into it and Petbarn let us return it.

          We tried everything I mentioned, but for more info:

          • Training: Taught her new commands "stay" and "OK" ("stay" being used for waiting before she barges through the door or while her food bowl is being placed on the ground, "OK" for signalling she can now come in or eat the food). She's 9 and I only came into her life a couple of years ago, so getting her to learn something new from someone who's not the long-term boss took a while! Previously, she only knew the basic "sit" command and even found that confusing (often sitting when food was around, thinking she'd get a treat out of it). She is an eager-to-please dog who just lacked direction, so giving her boundaries and rewarding her when she obeyed them gave her a lot of confidence. Plus she senses the confidence from an authoritative owner (so if you're any good at this you'll probably need to do some train-the-trainer on the other owners in the house as well!). Having the boundaries make her look to you for what to do next. Owner says everything's cool? Then everything must be cool. The "stay" command in particular helped with patience and staying calm.

          • Desensitisation and changes to our behaviour: Normally with this one, they recommend that you desensitise your dog to behaviours that they associate with you leaving the house - putting shoes on, picking up your keys, opening the front door. This is when your dog starts feeling anxious, so you're supposed to mix things up and do some of these things but then not actually leave, breaking the link at the trigger point. We found our dog was worse when we mixed it up; some dogs like routine apparently. Instead, we started putting her outside 30 mins before we left the house. When we came home, we ignored her for 30 mins before we let her in. This was also part of the strategy to make leaving the house not a big deal (which I think is one of the most important bits to implement). No "bye bye!" or "helllooooo!" in those high-pitched voices with enthusiastic patting whenever you leave and come back to the house. Our dog only gets to come in and sniff out where we've been when she is calm, 'cause us leaving and coming home is not a big deal - nothing to get excited OR anxious about.

          • Calming supplements: Available from any pet store. I imagine they would be hit-and-miss, but I really think they have worked for our dog.

          • Distraction techniques: Have you tried things like giving them a bone or a Kong when you leave? Or scattering dry food all over the yard (maybe under buckets or other things they have to move to get to it) so they are pre-occupied when you go. This didn't work at all for us, there'd be a untouched Kong right where we left it and she'd only eat it once she'd been able to say hi to us. Might depend on how food-driven your dog is?

          Definitely recommend a cam so you can monitor what she is really doing during the day, rather than relying on mixed reviews from your neighbours. I originally set up an old iPhone as the camera and connected to it using a free security camera app (Alfred, Presence). You can set these up to record for 60 seconds when the camera senses movement if you're unable to watch the live feed. It wasn't the most reliable connection though, so eventually upgraded to a cheap wi-fi camera which serves its purpose.

          Good luck! Neighbours that are home all day and complain about everything are the worst. Got one of them in the unit below one of my investments. She once complained my tenants were deliberately trying to ruin her life by getting up in the middle of the night to flush their toilet every time she flushed her toilet.

      • He eventually moved out but got his kids to egg our place/car etc as revenge.

        Sounds lucky those low lifes didn't do anything much much worse

    • +5

      some people get annoyed about dogs barking normally. Other people get annoyed when dogs bark for so many hours a day that the dog is hoarse.

      I'd give the OP the benefit of the doubt and assume this is the sort of barking that people could be losing sleep over.

  • +2

    Why is it barking??

    Loneliness?? Or strangers from the street walking by or neighbours ??

    We had magpies coming and tease our dog daily and he chases them and barks like crazy.

    Find the problem, barking is Not the problem.

    I fix the birds problem ONLY by installing bird spikes.

    If its neighbor problem, get to know the dog…?? Sounds hard, but worth a try. Maybe cut a dog hole between ur fence and invite the dog across for some play. Keeps him occupied.

    I am sure when owner is home, dog no barking since he is being controlled.

    And u only gets pissed off when dog bark while owner away and while u r home. Invite dog across for some play and company.

    • +23

      Dogs that bark constantly are the ones that are being left outside all the time. I don't understand why people get dogs to have them kept as a prisoner in the back yard. Majority of the time these people don't walk their dog. Spend around an hour a day with them max. Don't train them or teach them anything. Problem is that this is close to half the dog owners in the country. It's really selfish to get a dog and only want to see it or be around it whenever you feel like it, otherwise it's ignored and hidden away left out in the elements for most of its life.

      • +4

        You said it. Tiny backyard warrior owners with no respect for their neighbours or in fact the dog itself. "But it's part of our family!" Would you treat your kids the same way?

        • +4

          some kids? sure :)

        • +2

          My kids would be lucky to have a kennel to sleep inside of.

      • Wrong

      • -1

        can we report to rspca as neglect? or too extreme

      • Or inside all the time. In an area with townhouses/apartments, the dogs that you'd hear barking were the ones that you never saw taken out for walks.

        I remember one house, the dog would always bark from the balcony or inside the front door when I walked my dog past their place (to the local park to play with other dogs). But the only time I ever saw their dog outside was one time when the owners just came home and the garage was open and it ran out and got immediately chased back inside by the angry owners.

        Poor thing. Dumb owners. Then they probably think the dog is badly behaved and they need to lock it up inside all the time.

      • Dogs that bark constantly are the ones that are being left outside all the time. I don't understand why people get dogs to have them kept as a prisoner in the back yard.

        This is really all that needs to be said on this issue.

        Most nuisance dogs bark because their owners should never have them in the first place.

        If people in this country would let go of their pathological dog-owning obsession and stop attempting to live like they're on a 1950's acreage in their 200 square metre shoe-box villa, and stop getting dogs or other pets when they are clearly not capable of being responsible owners and/or do not have adequate living space/amenities for the animal, our neighborhoods wouldn't echo with the sounds of forcefully-imprisoned dogs being slowly driven insane by their retarded owners who just want a dog when it suits them but would otherwise prefer to kick them into a corner and ignore them 95% of the time.

        But no, this being Australia, everyone, regardless of their means, ability or priorities, must have that true-blue Aussie loifstoil that includes keeping several extremely unhappy and unhealthy animals imprisoned in their already barely-navigable backyard, that has a 28-burner barbecue, pointless wooden decking that they make use of once every 3 years for entertaining, neglected pot plants and Oriental statutes that clog up space for no reason and a plethora of middle-class, degenerate Australian consumerist status symbols, all of which must be on their property in order for them to feel accomplished in their life.

    • +1

      How to install bird spikes for trees? 🤔

    • So your solution is it's the neighbor's responsibility to diagnose and fix…unreal.

  • You may already have the neighbours off-side and they are bunkering down. However I agree that offering them an anti-bark device is a good gesture. I agree with other comments that your neighbour should investigate what is triggering the barking. If there is a particular part of the day that affects you the most Eg. 5am, then maybe they can concentrate on that time first. The best of luck.

  • +1

    And what are you going to do with the device? It's not your dog.
    You make conduct a diary each and every time this mutt starts to bark.
    You ring the police and lodge official noise complaints, and you ring your
    local Council Office to make official complaint.

    Your neighbours are morons - they can hear the dog as much as you and in they electing to ignore this mutt,
    they elect to ignore you.

    Do not approach or have any further dealing with these neighbours.

  • +1

    Backup
    1. Work out why it's barking, ie left alone/scared, set off by another dog?
    2. Why are they defensive? Maybe they're not home and don't hear it? Maybe they're trying and frustrated too? Maybe they're idiots??

    Bearing in mind all dogs bark (and can be useful, unlikely your house be burgled if they bark at strangers!)
    But should be corrected. I leave mine for 10secs or so and call out "Good boy, that's enough" and he comes for a reward pat.

    If he doesn't come I know there's a problem, someone in my yard etc.

    If it's left alone and they're idiots the council is probably it. Otherwise offering to help might be recieved well, but you have to work out the trigger.

    The combination of on

  • +8

    Just do the log.

    We had a nutcase behind us with a non-stop, barking dog. Silly us thought it might be the noise of people looking at this rental causing the barking & that it would abate in time. However, the pet "owner" actually decided to employ a preeminent-strike— he showed up here ONE day after we moved in to tell us the agent showing the house was a "jerk" who told him to quiet his dog as it was preventing the property from being leased. He went on to say that "my dog doesn't bark much" & "if you hear him barking, just tell him to "shut up". If there's issues, let me know". He then stormed off. I just thought, "oh boy, here we go…". :(

    We tried saying, "shut up", for a few weeks, and of course, it didn't work. This little dog was left all day, every day, locked outside. We told it to shut up all day, then the family came home and yelled at it all night. This dog was locked out in cold, winter rainstorms until 8pm at night. It was sad and horrible. We dropped a very carefully-worded note in his postbox rather than confront him— letting him know the extent of the barking & that maybe he could leave his dog indoors, when no one was home, with papers down in the garage, etc (trying to come up with something reasonable). Nothing changed. Okay, time to call in the council.

    FYI: I used a spare mobile and this app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.itadapter.…), to record the dog (stood the phone up in a stand on the window sill). We also made a dedicated effort to record, on paper, each start time of barking. It was essentially 300+ times per hour (constant). I then used the mobile to stand at one end of the shared wall to video/audio record— the ranger suggested as a way to show WE weren't instigating the dog. Ironically, the only other neighbor (had become protectors of this guy as fellow dog owners??), told the ranger they never heard this dog! Too bad for them that on one of my videos, you could CLEARLY hear them telling this dog to shut-up- lol. I loved that part— they discredited themselves.

    The nutjob came here three times: to drop an insane response letter in our postbox, threaten us through an unanswered door, threaten us through the front window— going so far as to hide in the shadow of our garage and jump out when my daughter carried out the rubbish! Called cops, who attended but didn't want to confront the guy, "it might make things worse"!!! Our local issue is: no cops ever come, or, they finally attend but do nothing. We even had him on audio making the threats. No wonder this bad behavior continues.

    TLDR; tried to NOT call council on barking dog, finally had to, barking stopped.

    • you were lucky they weren't employed or connected to the council otherwise you would have had serious trouble.

    • TLDR; tried to NOT call council on barking dog, finally had to, barking stopped.

      Sounds like the dog received a threat letter from council. Attaboy

      • They had an anti barking collar, just wouldn't use it until someone forced them to care for their own pet.

        Why do people get a sweet dog only to leave it locked out & alone ALL day long?

        PS: have never seen them walk this dog, either. :(

    • +1

      What made the barking stop in the end?

  • Barking dogs are a bloody nuisance but try living next door to two screeching macaws like I do. When I am inside with the windows and doors closed, I get a sound level meter reading of over 100dB when they screech :(

  • +1

    A mate of mine is a postie and he put me onto a dog repeller that he used. I got it on ebay for around $15 ( a few years ago), I just looked for it on ebay but can't find it, maybe discontinued. The one's online look to be similar. It actually stopped most dogs coming at him and quietened them down. I use it at the moment to shut up a neighbors yappy mini dog.( they don't know), Dog stops for a day or 2 then starts up again I wouldn't trust it against a trained guard dog charging at me though!

    • What is it exactly?

      • +1

        What is it exactly?

        A lawsuit waiting to happen, in a can.

      • +1

        Sounds like an $8 "Anti Bark Device Ultrasonic Dog Barking Control Stop Repeller Trainer Train Tool".
        e.g. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Anti-Bark-Device-Ultrasonic-Dog-…
        I got a similar one a few years ago to deal with a neighbour's dog that barked incessantly when they were out. Unfortunately it had no effect whatsoever on their dog, but maybe that's because it was a rescue dog fretting about being left alone.
        It did have a sort of stunning effect on our dog, she definitely reacted when it was used on her. ( I know, I'm a complete bastard for using it on our pet, but you have to do these things in the interest of science…)
        But it was extremely effective on the cats (Yes, I feel bad about this too). People say that you can't herd cats, but if you do ever need to herd cats, these devices do it very well.

  • +1

    As someone with previous employment in this field you are unlikely to find success with any particular thing you could do. Otherwise there would be no need for councils, people would just buy 'amazing antibarking device' and problem solved.
    Go through council, maybe you will be lucky and they may use noisenet ( https://www.noisenet.com.au/noiseregulators ) and you don't need to do a barking log.
    Any improvement needs to be instigated by the owner. That desire can be from a conversation from you to them or from Council to them but it's where it has to start.

  • Loud speakers and this:

    https://youtu.be/ELbi6E5skeo

  • +15

    There's a saying 'Don't get mad, get even'

    To stop my neighbours german shepherd guard dog from barking, I placed 2 security alarm devices with remote control (available from bunnings and jaycar electronics for under $40) on my side of the fence, with 204 decibells combined. The dog stops barking immediately whenever I hit the remote control button. If it persists I let the alarm ring for about 30 seconds to one minute. It is so noisy, the dog owner hates it and shuts-up the dog or takes it inside the house, not only that, other neighbours come out and hurl abuse at the dog owner everytime the alarm goes off especially at night time when people are trying to sleep.

    Now the dog is wearing a anti barking collar. Problem solved!

    • +20

      I placed 2 security alarm devices with remote control (available from bunnings and jaycar electronics for under $40) on my side of the fence, with 204 decibells combined.

      The loudest object ever recorded was the Saturn V rocket during launch at 204 decibels, so I doubt your $40 security alarm setup was just as loud.
      DB is a logarithmic scale, and double the sound energy is only a 3db increase. If one alarm is 102db, then two alarms combined will be 105db.

      • +6

        Soon as I saw that "204db" I laughed and thought, that's not how that works. :D

      • fyi nuclear explosions are much louder than the Saturn V ;)

        • +5

          Fair point. Would definitely stop the dog barking too.

    • +2

      204 db would make you go deaf instantly

      • +1

        204 dB would be fatal.

  • +1

    Inconsiderate morons, sort the neighbours then the dog will be taken into care

  • +1

    Dog owner here. Some fears I have are being told to rehome my dog, being told to decovalise my dog find my dog being poisoned or being told to put it.

    http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/animal-health-and-…

  • -5

    Kill the dog.

    Or somehow convince the owner to take it out for more regular exercise.

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