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Health & Fitness

Barking Dogs - Some Tips to Keep your Dogs quiet and your Neighbors Happy

Dog Etiquette part two. Tips for barking dogs

Just last night I was walking my two dogs in Cascade Canyon of Fairfax where I live when a car zoomed to screeching halt in front of a house and the driver leaped from the seat and proceeded to pound on the gate. 

"Do something about those dogs!" he yelled.

"In what sense?" asked the hapless owner whose dogs were barking like frenzied monsters after prey.

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"In the barking sense!" he hollered over the gate. "Or i will call the police." Then he was back in his car and away up the street again.

She need some anti barking tips. I mean there she was in the year with the dogs who were barking like maniacs because i was walking my dogs across the steet. They were the prey. This was a prime example of what I was talking about in the first post about barking dogs.  Other creatures will set them off if they're outside. My own paragons behave the same way when neighbors' dogs walk past their (my) gate.

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It's known as fence fighting and it's not pleasant.  Dogs who will be friendly as pie if they meet with no fence between them will go ballistic when they encounter each other on opposite sides of a barrier (It's often the same with leashes, but at least there's a human supposedly in command then.)

The same thing goes on with other creatures of the night and, if the humans aren't home to bring them inside, the dogs will bark themselves sick, literally. Not to mention drive the neighbors to the brink.

So, besides keeping your dogs in the house, which you should do if you're not there to supervise, what can you do?

Supervise. If they're outside, know what they're up to. Listen for fence fighting and stop it, before it gets out of hand.

Get a bark collar.  There are good inexpensive citronella collars that release a citrus scent when the dog barks.  Dogs don't like it and it works.  It's not a substitute for supervision and training, but it can help while you work on the issue.

Make sure they get lots of exercises and fun times, so they're tuckered out at night and don't want to be outside terrorizing the neighborhood.

Train your dog.  In the example above, the owner was right there in the yard with the dogs, telling them in her nicest voice, to be quiet. They were ignoring her.  I was across the street telling my dogs to ignore temptation and offering bits of chicken as an incentive to be good.   Training takes time. Here are some good tips for the U.S. Humane Society.

So, people. You wouldn't leave your children outside when you're not home; aren't your dogs just as much a member of the family?  Treat them with respect. Your neighbors will thank you.

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