The dog barks! | Imamother

chani8

Tue, Jun 05 2012, 2:43 pm

We rescued a puppy last year, and now he's a giant. His size is not the problem, however, it's his big bark that's the problem.

The neighbor is complaining.

DH feels badly. He'll even stay up nearly all night trying to keep the dog quiet.

The dog is kept outside either on a chain or loose.

What should we do?

chani8

Tue, Jun 05 2012, 2:49 pm

Is it not acceptable or against the law for a dog to bark? Are we being bad neighbors for having a dog that barks? He doesn't bark more than any other dog, imo. We are just the only ones with a dog on our block. On other blocks, every other house has a barking dog. Confused

ora_43

Tue, Jun 05 2012, 3:00 pm

Keep the dog in the house overnight. If he's barking at night, it's probably because he sees bats or people walking by or some other thing that makes him want to assert his dog-ness. Bring him in the house and there won't be any stimulation to make him make noise.

It's not acceptable for dogs to bark at night while people are trying to sleep.

Also, if he's loose, you'd better be sure he can't jump the fence (I'm assuming you mean loose in your backyard).

Yocheved84

Tue, Jun 05 2012, 3:14 pm

I'm with Yoshi. Why is the dog outside at night? At night, he should be inside! I'm very much into rescue societies, and have a rescue dog myself and am thus sympathetic, but went absolutely NUTS last year when a neighbor's dog was outside barking all night. Clearly, the dog is scared and/or wants attention....bring him inside and let him sleep on a doggy bed.

chani8

Tue, Jun 05 2012, 3:21 pm

He doesn't bark "all night". He will bark if someone walks by, or kittens wander into the yard, or a stray dog sits across the street and teases him.

To me, he's a guard dog. I don't want him inside. DH doesn't want him inside.

Don't people have guard dogs? Sometimes they bark. Sometimes they bark too much.

I guess I feel picked on by the neighbor (although he is usually very reasonable).

Why are other people allowed to have guard dogs, but not me?

Yocheved84

Tue, Jun 05 2012, 3:24 pm

chani8 wrote:

Most of us don't rescue dogs in order to make them guard dogs, no. We rescue dogs from agressive situations and give them non-agressive environments with love--they become part of the family.

And if you get a breed that is frequently abandoned or in shelters, it only gives the dogs a bad name (or perpetuates an image) when you train them to be intimidating monsters who could attack.

Sorry--I'm very passionate about this and so disheartened that someone rescued a dog only to give it this lonely existence in which his only job in life is not to eat a bone or play fetch or teach kids responsibility, but to incite fear in others.

If you were in the states, I'd offer to take the dog off your hands.

chani8

Tue, Jun 05 2012, 3:25 pm

I just want to add that it's very important to my family that he's out there. We've had our car stolen from in front of our house (before we got the dog), and we live right on the edge of town, literally across the street is the midbar. We are just renting and the house doesn't have a proper security system.

And then there is the fact that the dog isn't trained, not potty trained and not used to being indoors. He's perfectly happy out there. Not insecure at all. He is actually a wonderful personality, but very protective. He's doing his job perfectly, imo.

MrsDash

Tue, Jun 05 2012, 3:28 pm

You can have a guard dog. My family always had dogs as pets, and to protect us. In the 10 years we lived in a not so wholesome neighborhood, we were never robbed. No one dared to come near our house. But we always kept our dogs in the house, except for when they went out to the fenced-in yard to run around, and do their business.

Yocheved84

Tue, Jun 05 2012, 3:28 pm

chani8 wrote:

He doesn't bark "all night". He will bark if someone walks by, or kittens wander into the yard, or a stray dog sits across the street and teases him.

PS And why let another dog tease him, or agitate the dog by keeping him outside where there are stray cats? And even if he barks for 30 seconds, it's enough to disrupt someone's sleep schedule. Not fair to anyone.

Keep the dog by your front door in a doggy bed, if your'e so insistent upon him being a guard dog. He will defend you if he's in the front yard or by the front door:

http://www.google.com/products.....ICMAA

vicki

Tue, Jun 05 2012, 3:32 pm

Consider it from your neighbor's perspective - it sounds like your dog is keeping them from their sleep. Perhaps babies are waking up. Loud barking, even periodic can be VERY annoying to others.
I think your neighbor is being very reasonable.

I hope you and your possessions stay safe.

chani8

Tue, Jun 05 2012, 3:44 pm

Yocheved, when I say rescue, I don't mean from a shelter. We live in the wild west and he was born to a stray that some boys fed, and when the pups were big enough, we took one. He is an Israeli mutt (cannani mix), a shephard type, not typically a scary dog. Just so happens that he does look intimidating, until his upturned curly tail wags, and for some reason, he's huge, bigger than most cannani.

He's really satisfied with his job, gets lots of love and attention, and doesn't want to be in the house. (I don't blame him, neither do I).

Now that I'm getting this feedback, though, I will try to figure out what to do. The only solution is probably to crate him, which to me makes him useless.

....But I see other people leave their guard dogs out all night...

I think I just need to move far away from people. When it wasn't this neighbor complaining about the dog, it was the other neighbor complaining about the crying (traumatized, newly delivered, foster) child. I guess I am every neighbor's worst nightmare.

I honestly don't understand these things. When I lived in apt building, a neighbor got a rooster (of all things) and it crowed right outside my window. I just wouldn't even think to complain. I simply got used to it. It totally didn't bother me to get used to it, either. But somebody else complained, so they got rid of their kids pet - a rooster that acted as friendly as a cat!

Petra

Wed, Jun 06 2012, 12:48 pm

To be chained to the front yard is not a life for a dog. Makes them aggressive and maladapted. I understand you want him as a guard dog but anyone who wants to bother you will figure away around the chained dog.

Best thing is to train him to be an indoor dog. He will be protective of his territory still and his family. It takes work to have an animal that you can live with.

gp2.0

Wed, Jun 06 2012, 1:36 pm

There are two different ways of looking at dogs.

Some people regard dogs as adopted family pets, so of course they would only keep them indoors.

However some people regard dogs as working animals - like horses, cows, etc. So it is perfectly fine to keep them outdoors, as long as they have a job to do, get attention and their needs met, and have adequate shelter/protection from the elements as well as enough space to roam around.

Excessive barking is a given with the canaan breed.

gigi

Mon, Jun 11 2012, 5:25 am

there are 2 kinds of bark collars, an electric shock collar, and citronella spray.
I believe you can set them to go off after a few barks, so he can still do his job, but not get carried away e barking.

the citronella collar is more humane. it sprays a distracting scent in their face when they bark.

you do need to do your research and make sure the collar will be set off by the sensation from his neck, not by sound, because then he has the potential to be punished if the neighbor's dog barks too.

chani8

Mon, Jun 11 2012, 6:08 am

I think I feel more confident after hearing what gp2 had to say, to just not be too concerned about what the neighbor says.

Because...

My dog does not bark too much. He barks when he feels there is an intruder (cat) or a threat (animals outside the gate, people walking by).

If I would punish him in any way, then he would get confused about what his job is.

He is not a hyper, aggressive dog. A bit possessive, but a very good dog with an even and trustworthy personality.

gp2.0

Mon, Jun 11 2012, 11:31 am

The canaan dog sounds like an awesome breed. They are very smart. You could probably train him to bark only when someone touches your car or enters your gate or other specifics - if you or your DH have the time and patience.

Getting bored is a concern with intelligent dogs, so if the only thing he has to do is sit around and wait for people to walk by so he can bark at them, maybe he isn't getting enough exercise and stimulation which could make him jumpier. (No idea if this is the case, I'm just saying.) He would probably enjoy an obstacle course (jumping over low fence, climbing, running through tunnel etc.), a daily run, challenging games, tracking lessons.

I wouldn't advise the barking collar, as positive motivational training seems best with canaan dogs. Such collars are for 'dumber' dogs. Smarter dogs will become sullen with negative punishments and may act out. You are right, he's doing his job and to punish him for it would make no sense. You can however train him to make the job more specific, like I said in the beginning of this post.