Barking mad

B

blutack

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#1
What is it about a dog owner’s mentality? that imagines that the rest of mankind find it desirable or even cute to listen to the incessant noise generated by their four legged burglar alarm systems

Now if I purchased an intruder alarm system that was constantly being set off by the ordinary every day passing trade then I’m quite sure, apart from being sure to initiate the wrath of all your immediate neighbors, the owner of such a device would apologize unreservedly and quickly call out the service engineer to fix the problem.

Can anyone then explain to me why the four legged variety of such intruder alarms are allowed the freedom to pollute the very fabric of every day life. Tell me why it is that owners of such nuisances largely have no regard for others right to a peaceful existence and why such behavior is tolerated.


Maybe I’m missing something.
 
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#2
Fish swim, ducks quack, people talk and dogs bark.

Now, if it's incessant, constant never ending yapping, that's another story. That is inconsiderate and someone needs to see to the needs and training of their animal, or find out who is tormenting it.
 
B

blutack

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#3
“Fish swim, ducks quack, people talk and dogs bark” Pigs also smell somewhat , which is why my neighbors would undoubtedly object to me keeping one, even I fear, if they loved pork, and it only smelt a little.

You should also be aware that dogs bark in the main because of their inbuilt and sometimes inbred territorial genes and not as you suggest because of human torment and lack of training. Can I suggest therefore that it would be more effective to educate and train the owners of such animals before a purchase is made?
 
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#4
Normal territorial behaviour doesn't prompt barking unless someone or something is encroaching on a dog's territory. A reasonably intelligent dog will learn quickly, with some attention from the owner, what constitutes his own boundaries and what is beyond his responsibility.

Yes, people should research a breed before they bring it home. An Aussie or a Border Collie, for instance, is a terrible choice for a small suburban property.

Some dogs will also act on animosity they sense between their owner and another person and will react accordingly, barking and even growling sometimes.

But dogs have reasons for their actions; they are not random creatures. We may not be able to figure out what the reason is at the time, but there always is one, even if it is as simple as boredom.
 

smkie

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#5
have you spoken to the owners? We had to large dogs that barked off and on all night at an old residence. I asked one neighbor how he tolerated it, he said..I just take my hearing aid out..don't bother me a bit..me i investing in another pillow..one of one ear, and the other..well you know...Can't pick you neighbors, and you can't pick their dogs either. There are noise ordinances in the city that you can call and site a complaint if it is bad enough, but i would talk to the people first.
Personally my dogs are inside in bed with me, but if Mary ever barks and lets me know something is out there, I trust her completely. Once it was a man hiding between my house and the next door neighbors. He was trying to hit my dogs with a pipe. There was a police cruiser at the end of the street parked..and waiting, they just didn't know where the guy was hiding. I strolled out the front door..(while my dogs were barking) and pointed..the police took care of everything. Without the dogs..that man might have been in either my house, or my neighbors.
 

Saje

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#6
Yup^ Last night we were woken up by BOTH Maverick and Mikey barking and having a fit. (Maverick rarely barks and it takes a lot for him to be a 'guard dog') It wasn't a person out there but another dog on their property. And they were warning him off. I feel so safe with Mikey around and he only barks if there is an intrusion of some sort. He's more of a whiner. LOL

Pigs, btw, are very clean animals. Unless people make them live in filthy conditions. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/pigs/smart.html And some pigs - like pot belly pigs - do live in homes quite easily. They've even been heros. :)

I don't think that dogs 'pollute the very fabric of of everyday life' any more than a baby wailing at all hours, or a loud party, or the jets flying overhead, or the rush hour traffic contributes to noise pollution. In fact, I think that dogs enrich our lives even more by being a part of the family. They are concerned about their territory and 'pack' and want to stand up for it.We can't even ask that of people sometimes.

Dogs are quite able to learn a 'quiet' command. And once mastered it is easy to teach appropriate barking.

So, what brings this up? Do you have a noisy neighbour? A dog that barks all the time? What does your neighbour say about it?
 
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#7
Actually, I can attest that pigs (the potbelly variety anyway) are intensely intelligent and absolute joys to live with. It is an honor to share your couch with 4 dogs and a pig.

What I find interesting is that you chose to join a dog lovers' forum and leap right into a generalized complaint about dog owners. Not even irresponsible dog owners; just dog owners. I would infer from this that you are not yourself a dog owner, let alone a dog lover. So do you have a genuine interest in understanding the reasons the offending dog may be barking continuously? Or an interest in learning what to do about it? Or are you just looking for someone to complain at?
 

declansmom

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#8
I'm not sure if you can teach a dog this, but Declan has a really low warning growl/bark that he uses. The first time he used it, he was a teensy teensy 5 month old puppy, and I'd fallen asleep on the sofa with him. My roommate came back late from art class, and Declan made his low "wrrrrrrrrup" in my ear & gave me a heart attack. Then I looked up in the dark & saw someone in my living room & had another heart attack- before I realized it was my roomie trying to come home quietly & not wake me up! :eek: I like the fact that he tries to warn me about big scary dangerous things that he hears, like neighbors out on their deck, in a nice quiet way. He always gets a little carrot stick for giving one of his quiet warnings, but so far he's caught nothing worse than roomies sneaking in late. :p
 

smkie

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#9
oh DEclan is cool..Mary does that too..When i moved out of my Mom's the second time (child in tow) she said would i please leave my little dog for she wouldn't feel safe without her. Scamper just came and did a nod of the head...she was my work dog. I took her to North Star kennels, the animal warehouse..as well as old boss's. I don't even remember asking if she could come..she knew how to stay out of the way..and not bother anyone..yet if you were in the back and a customer came in she would come back and give you one of her nods......dogs rule
 
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#10
I tolerate it cuz I'm a dog owner. I don't blame the dog, rather the owner is at blame. Either way, I won't complain when his dog barks, He shouldn't when mine bark. Its a mutual agreement.

-Jon
 
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#11
I agree. Declan is cool! I want to see more pictures of him.

I had a dobie that would just follow and STARE like a little border collie when someone he didn't know was in the yard (like the meter man). I found this to be much more effective than a bark. It was just unsettling. :)
 
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#12
Declan sounds like a neat dog! Bimmer does that low rumble thing too - right before he goes for something. He seems to do it just to let me know he's going and to get the girls going. Kharma goes with him and Shiva stays and guards me. They may or may not bark according to what they are after. Sometimes they just prefer to sneak up quietly and 'handle' the problem . . . :eek:
 
B

blutack

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#13
Thank you first of all for your feedback and have taken on board all that has been said. It was not my intention to generalize but I do feel a slightly blinkered view is being taken. So let me clarify and say that I have indeed had the privilege of owning three German Sheppard’s one at a time of course and over a period of some twenty seven years. So for the record, have to say that I found them challenging, very rewarding and sometimes extremely hard work.

I think that Sometimes owners of such animals fail to realize that a general interest in a particular animal is not enough, and that merely purchasing and placing the animal within a fenced off area and leaving it to graze like a farmyard animal is not likely to suffice and will undoubtedly cause the animal to find other antisocial ways of fighting the intense tedium.

Sorry to say there are many people out there that like the label “dog lover” but are merely dog owners that fraudulently purchase the said status.

As far as posting a point of view on this forum as opposed to another, I felt that its combined knowledge and experience of such issues would be more useful to the problem than just idle name calling.

I cannot say much about “It is an honor to share your couch with 4 dogs and a pig.”

OK, each to his own I suppose.
 

avenlee

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#14
Blutak, welcome to the board. Nobody here is name calling. You did come accross as offensive in the first place, without even knowing anything about you.

Stick around and get to know everyone. I'm sure you will find we're all a great bunch
 
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#15
blutack said:
I think that Sometimes owners of such animals fail to realize that a general interest in a particular animal is not enough, and that merely purchasing and placing the animal within a fenced off area and leaving it to graze like a farmyard animal is not likely to suffice and will undoubtedly cause the animal to find other antisocial ways of fighting the intense tedium.
I don't think you'll find anyone here who disagrees. Neglect is rampant in dog owners all over the world. But they say you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. I know better than most how an owner's good intentions can turn over time into disinterest and eventually into neglect. But yelling at them won't change their behavior any more than it would their dog's. An honest conversation about the emotional and cognitive capacity of animals does more to develop a person's compassion and empathy than slinging insults at them. Positive reinforcement training isn't just for animals....

I think if you stick around, you'll come to realize that you're preaching to the choir. You might consider that your first post was not a necessarily productive way to introduce yourself to the board. You do seem like an intelligent person, and I can testify that these boards are filled with other intelligent people that have valid ideas and opinions and are entirely worth an enjoyable discussion.
 

smkie

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#16
Like i said.before...have you talked with them yet? I just took DID it AGAIN home for the third time this week. It is dark, and the dog is black...for once i got to talk to the man of the house. He is frustrated about the kids letting the dog out (if you haven't read the post is is further along this part of the forum), he is just overloaded. It took a few minutes for him to get that i wasn't critizing.at least not outloud .i was worried about her and my dogs and that is the truth. Anyway now he knows i am not just the mean lady that sent his dog to the pound..now maybe we can make some progress. this particular neighbor and his dog are a huge problem in the neighborhood. The dog bites other dogs and likes to sit on my porch. THe dog is a good dog, just needs lots of work. Maybe i can help someway in figuring out how to get her to stay home.
 
B

blutack

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#17
Thanks again for the feedback and am heartened by the general understanding and advice given considering the complexity of the present situation. On the surface the solution seems so simple, just have a quite word in the owners ear and they will see the error of their ways and we all go down to the pub for a drink, maybe if we lived in fluffy bunny rabbit land this tactic might work, but I fear in the real world it may be slightly different.

Most grateful for the intelligent person label although intelligence is no guarantee of flawless reasoning, even Einstein was known to have been fooled by the most elementary of card tricks.

Mans inhumanity to man is one thing but sometimes mans inhumanity to animals beggars belief, passion and emotion can get the better of reason and even if one’s approach seems slightly out of tune with the rest of the orchestra I hope you feel it’s no less valid.
 

smkie

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#18
maybe it is fuzzy bunny..but it works more than you realize, if you have tact and show some respect in how you approach things. If it doen'st work, then you have the right to take the next step in calling the city ordinance..or whom ever is in charge of such things. I am sure the police or humane society all ready overworked and underpaid would appriciate us acting like civil human beings too. Fact is if you want everyone to live as you do..you belong in a neighborhood association where you have "control" over how those around you conduct themselves. I find those neighborhoods to be sterile in many ways..i would rather live where i do, barking dog or no. I am a very light sleeper too. When i took the dog home the man said "DO you take everyone's dog home..and i thought to myself..not only thier dogs..but their small children too. " That is what a good neighbor would do. i was always taught the basic law of chain of command..and that is to work the problem out with the person first. People sometimes can suprise you in a good way..if you assume they wont, you'll never find out.
 

Saje

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#20
I agree Smkie. Too many people don't try to change things because they assume nothing will come of it. How will you know if you never try? I, for one, have been pleasantly surprised many times at how easy it has been to change something just by breaking the ice and getting things out in the open. As you said, it must be done in a tactful and respectful manner.
 

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