Unreasonable Annoyance, Alarm or Noise Disturbance:

Any barking, howling, whining, snarling, etc. which goes on for longer than 5 minutes without stopping or 20 minutes intermittently.

Penalties and Fines:

You may be cited to appear in court and fined up to $500.00 per violation.  The judge may also order your dog to be removed from the City of Canby for chronic violations.

Why Dogs Bark:

Boredom -- being chained all day and/or night in the same location without human interaction or stimulating toys may cause the dog to entertain itself (by barking).

Fear or apprehension -- Remember, dogs think like dogs, not people.  Just because it is a beautiful, sunny spring day, a dog that is always left inside when you leave for work will not understand it’s supposed to be HAPPY you left it outside in the sunshine all by itself!

Loneliness – Not enough quality time with its humans may cause excessive barking, because sooner or later somebody’s going to come out even if it is only to tell the dog to be quiet.  When a dog is lonely sometimes, to them, negative contact is better than no contact at all.

Protectiveness -- Dogs, which are left outside all the time, may become hypersensitive to anything and everything, which moves and become over protective of “their” property. The problem being, that the longer the dog is left out the wider his “territory” becomes. First the boundary is his fence, than the sidewalk, the street, and the field across the street…

Training –- Lack of obedience training.

Overexcitement-- The dog barks excessively during play.

Owner Absence – The dog is left out without anyone home to correct inappropriate barking.

Why Excessive Barking Should Be Taken Seriously:

• First and foremost is that a dog is the best alarm system a home can have, but when a dog engages in excessive barking it stands a greater chance of being ignored if there really is an intruder. Instead of the neighbors calling the police because their neighbor’s dog is clearly upset about something they just think “that *%&^# dog is barking again!” And yes, the Police Department does receive calls from concerned citizens requesting a premise check or welfare check for their neighbor’s property because “their dog has been barking for an hour and it never barks, we worried something is wrong”.
• Because non-stop barking, howling or whining is extremely agitating even to other dog owners and may result in fines and your dog being ordered removed from the City of Canby.
• Your pet could be tangled in its chain, trapped or injured, but if it howls constantly anyway, the neighbors may ignore it. Many dogs have been rescued because they were able to alert a neighbor they were in trouble by vocalizing. Don’t let your dog “Cry wolf”.
• It may be a symptom of another problem…boredom, loneliness, illness/injury, or even separation anxiety.

Signs of Problem Barking:

• Notes from the neighbors on your door stating that the dog is barking.
• Your dog immediately begins to bark if it hears another dog barking.
• Your dog barks at the neighbors when they are using their back yard, patio, or deck.
• When neighborhood children are playing.
• When you come and go.
• If your dog will not immediately stop barking upon command when the mail carrier, UPS driver or other person comes to the door.
• If your dog barks at everyone who walks past the yard on the street or sidewalk.
• Your dog barks, howls or cries persistently if it cannot see you.

Dos and Don’ts For Dog Owners:

          Do take your dog to obedience school.

          Do properly socialize your dog.

          Do make sure that the dog knows its place in its human pack (Hint:

  the dog should NOT be in charge)

          Do make sure your dog has sufficient toys, shelter and water when

left out all day (or night).

          Do try to keep your dog in the house as much as possible.

          Do take neighbors’ complaints or comments about your dog’s barking

 seriously…people do not make this stuff up!

          Do teach your dog it is not appropriate to bark during play.

          Do be consistent in your “No Bark!” training.  If you use a bark training

collar; make sure the batteries are always fully charged.

          Do correct the barking immediately…If you correct the dog after the

barking has stopped you will confuse it.

          Do feed a dog which will be left out all night as late as possible so it

will feel drowsy and may sleep longer through the night.

          Do Not allow your dog to bark at neighbors.

          Do Not leave your dog out in a situation where there is no one to

correct inappropriate barking.

          Do Not train your dog to bark to be let back in the house…Many

barking complaints occur because the dog owner leaves,

and the dog will continue to bark to be let back in the house

until somebody gets home!

          Do Not tie or kennel the dog next to a busy street or where it may

feel the need to be constantly “on guard”. Instead place the

dog where neighbors, traffic, and passerbys will not bother it.

          Do Not permit your dog to bark at wildlife. A dog that barks up the

tree at every raccoon, squirrel or bird that crosses its yard

will NOT endear itself to your neighbors.

          Do Not chase the dog in an effort to get it to stop barking…The dog

will think you are playing and it will only reinforce the

undesired behavior.

          Do Not use treats or food as a means to quiet the dog. You will be

training it that if it barks a lot it will get treats.

          Do Not leave your dog out in severely inclimate weather.

Dos and Don’ts for Reporting Barking Dogs:

Do know the address where the barking dog is.  An area check for a         

    dog “somewhere behind my house” is probably not going to have

     results.

Do leave your name and information with dispatch…If the officer

    doesn’t hear the dog, without a witness, the complaint is going

     no where!

Do be able to visibly confirm which dog is barking.  If you sign

    complaints on a dog, which was, for example, away in a boarding  

      kennel during the time of the complaint, you will loose credibility

      as a witness.

Do try to communicate the problem to your neighbors before calling

    police.

          Do Not call in an “anonymous” complaint.

          Do Not guess at the address or house.

       Do Not cause the dog to bark.

Untrainable Dog?

          A dog that is chained up or left alone and is allowed to bark hour after hour may no longer be trainable.  The same is true for a dog that has been mistreated.  Such a dog may have become too neurotic for an inexperienced trainer.  If this is the case with your dog, consult your veterinarian, a qualified dog trainer or dog behaviorist.

          It has long been my experience that few dogs are truly “un-trainable”.  The problem is that to un-train an undesired behavior, the dog OWNER must change whatever pattern of THEIR behavior caused the dog to bark excessively in the first place.  It’s not as difficult to train a dog (if you are consistent and clear), as it is to get the dog owner to change their behavior or modify their routine or schedule.

FAQs:

Q:      Can I be in violation of the barking law if my dog is in the house or garage?

A:      Yes.  If the windows are open, if the garage door is up, or the dog is loud enough or shrill enough to be heard beyond the boundaries of your property, then you are in violation.     

 

Q:      Don’t all dogs bark?

A:      Yes.  It is how dogs express themselves.  It will become a problem though if they are not taught when barking is appropriate. 

 

Q:      My neighbor complains that my dog barks whenever they are in their backyard…Don’t I want my dog to protect my property?

A:      Yes, we all hope our dog will protect us from intruders, but your neighbors working in their own back yard are NOT intruders and your dog should not be barking at them.  Nor should your dog bark at anyone who doesn’t actually enter onto your property.

 

Q:      I never hear my dog bark, and my neighbor hates dogs.  How do I know there is really a problem?

A:      First of all, most barking problems occur when the dog owner is not home.  It is the absence of the dog owner that usually facilitates the inappropriate barking.  Secondly, people rarely make up barking problems.  On the other hand, it is not uncommon for someone to try to live with the problem and become so frustrated and angry that they may become very sensitive to barking.  When someone calls for the first time, the thing I hear the most is “it’s been going on for months, and I tried to be a good neighbor and ignore it, but I just can’t stand it any more.”  People usually feel silly about contacting us about barking issues, so you can be assured that if the complaint was made it is most likely factual.

How to Stop Nuisance Barking:

          Contact a qualified trainer, or to discuss training methods to stop nuisance barking contact Clackamas County Animal Control.

Thoughts on Barking:

Everyone who lives in the City of Canby has the right and expectation to be able to use their back yards, work in their gardens, enjoy a summer evening on their deck, or sleep peacefully through the night.  No individual should have to worry about whether they will be able to sleep or enjoy their home because of a neighbor’s dog.

          If you know that your dog has a tendency to bark at a neighbor, charge the fence, or engage in other inappropriate noise behaviors, FIX IT!  There are plenty of suggestions, training aids and options available to dog owners today. 

          The best way to ensure success in the effort to curb inappropriate barking is to have the support of your neighbors. So if someone comes to you with a barking complaint, or leaves a note on your door, get in touch with your neighbors…show you are taking the complaints seriously and want to fix the problem.  If you don’t know where to start, or how you and your neighbors can best join efforts, contact a qualified trainer, or your friendly, local animal control officer, and she will be glad to sit down with you and come up with a plan.

          If you are rude, contradictory, or just plan in denial when a neighbor tries to make contact about a problem with your dog, you can bet that their next complaint is going to be made to the Police Department.  Be open, be receptive, and remember that inappropriate barking usually occurs when the dog owner is not home…so you really have no idea what’s going on when you are gone!

          On the flip side of that, for all you neighbors of barking dogs, the one most common thing I hear from dog owners contacted about barking is “we had no idea…why didn’t our neighbors say something?”  So give it a try, and be honest with them.  If a neighbor comes to your door and asks if their dog barks frequently or bothers you, BE HONEST!  Say yes, and then try to work with them to fix the problem.  If you do not communicate, you cannot expect results.

          A very effective tool to help your neighbor understand when and why their dog is barking is to keep a log.  If they can figure out the “why” the easier it will be to stop the inappropriate barking or howling.  So note the day, time and duration so they have a point of reference.

Also taping and videotaping can be very effective.  Many dog owners have never heard their dog bark for 30 minutes or an hour, or even several hours, because the dog does not engage in that behavior while they are home.  They simply have no concept of what it is like to have to listen to that type of noise nuisance.  Simply record the date and the start time, set the recorder out where it will pick up the dog and let it roll.  Be sure, though that you are not causing the dog to bark…i.e. leaning over the fence to get the video.  It may also prove helpful for those who are sure it is the dog next to them, behind them, or up the street, because their dog would never bark.  Dogs have fairly distinct barks, and if you cannot see the dog, being able to confirm the bark sometimes helps a dog owner get past the denial.