Weeding Things Out

A ‘Ruff’ Situation

How to resolve a barking dog incident before it becomes a code violation

Spring’s mild temps lure many to crack open their windows and doors to let the cool breezes inside. This season is also a favorite time for four-legged pals to lounge around our back yards. While this welcome weather is a pleasure, it also happens to be the time of year when the city sees a spike in barking dog complaints. But taking a few steps to prevent the bow-wows now will help keep the neighborhood happy.

Communication is Key

Barking comes naturally to dogs, but the constant barking of a dog can become an annoyance and frustrating to neighbors. Often the problem occurs when the dog’s owner is unaware of the prolonged barking. One of the best ways to resolve the problem is to talk to your neighbour about their barking dog. 

Having an alert dog can be an advantage to both the dog owner and neighbors since it can warn of a potential problem or sound an alert of intruders. However, a dog that barks excessively is more likely to be ignored if there were an emergency because they seem to bark all the time and become nothing more than a frustration to others.

According to Glendale city code, “No person shall keep a dog within the city limits, which is in the habit of barking or howling or disturbing the peace and quiet of any neighborhood within the city.” A barking dog can be considered a noise nuisance and the dog owner can be taken to court if they do nothing to stop the disturbance.

As a dog owner, if you are informed of the disturbance, you should take steps to control the dog barking. If you ignore the problem you may face legal action.  

How to Recognize Too Much Barking

Here are some guidelines for determining whether your dog is a good companion and watchdog or a neighborhood nuisance.

Does your dog bark excessively?

• When you put the dog outside while at work?
• When someone rings your doorbell?
• When garbage collectors, mail carriers, paper carriers, etc. come to your house?
• When children are playing outside?
• When another animal comes into view?
• When another dog barks?
• When wanting to get into the house?
• When you leave or return home?

If your answer was “yes” to any of these questions, your dog could be a neighborhood nuisance. This disturbance of peace is one of the quickest and most common ways to become a bad neighbor.

What You Can Do

If your four-legged friend is a bit more vocal than he/she should be for the peace of your neighborhood, don’t fear—all hope is not lost. Here are a few things you can do about your barking dog:

• Determine what causes the dog to bark and remove or reduce those triggers if possible.
• Dogs are less likely to bark if a barrier blocks their view, so consider keeping windows closed while you are away and avoiding long and unsupervised periods of time for your pooch outdoors.
• Be alert to stop the barking as soon as it starts. This both reinforces that this is bad behavior to the dog and shows your neighbors that you are making an effort.
• Train your dog to respond to a command to be quiet.
• Reward your dog whenever it barks for a watch dog reason.
• Encourage your dog to stay quietly within its quarters when you are away.

For more information, visit www.glendaleaz.com/codecompliance or call 623.930.3610.