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Dog whistle

Ysera27Ysera27 Posts: 41
in Problem solving
I wasn't sure where to post this question so I put it here in problem solving. Not really about gardening but use of the garden.

My neighbour but 1 has a new dog. A collie cross. It barks really loudly a lot. (like their last one). They leave it out in the front garden and it barks at everything (just like the last one). I would rather not speak to them about it as I don't really know them as they are next but one to us and you know what it's like. - no one wants to be a complainer. I saw an article online that suggested the use of a high frequency dog whistle would stop it. We can't hear it but they can, and they don't like it. Has anyone have tried this? Did it work? 

Thanks 




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  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    Wouldn't it be easier to approach your neighbours instead. You're happy to punish the dog from a distance but not happy to talk to the owners...maybe you've got your priorities skewed. It shouldn't be acceptable to leave a dog unattended in a front garden in a residential area. And you surely shouldn't be the only one being annoyed by the situation. Maybe talk to other neighbours to see what they think. It doesn't have to be confrontational. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • Ysera27Ysera27 Posts: 41
    edited August 2021
    I see what you mean but again, I don't want to be the only one to speak up. People always leave it to someone else. The dog is left to run inside and out, she mostly shouts at it (which is actually the worst way to deal with it) when it's been going on a while.

    I have a dog myself, old now, and he has never been allowed to bark unnecessarily. Is the whistle painful then? I don't want that ofc. Suppose I'll have to get ear plugs. 



  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I don't think dog whistles are unpleasant for dogs, it's just they they can hear them and we can't.
    But I can't think why a whistle would stop a dog barking.
    It's most likely separation anxiety and a whistle won't cure that.
    I do sympathise  - a dog baking for a long period is very annoying, but they do it because they're unhappy.

    I did have a neighbour (also next door but one) and they had an old English sheepdog that barked for hours on end. I did contact the council who wrote to them, the barking stopped. But that was because the kids were playing with it all day and the dog was barking non-stop with excitement. I did feel a bit bad about it - but when it stopped many people were grateful.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    I don't know about a Dog whistle as such but I wonder whether the RSPCA could give you some advice ?  They used to check out pet owners if there had been complaints of cruelty but that isn't the case here - or at least not obviously. They may have a bit more info for you tho. Your local council may also be interested under "noise nuisance " but you may need more of your neighbours to complain before they would take the issue seriously.
    As @amancalledgeorge says, the first option is to try the owner and see if they actually realise how annoying the constant barking is.  Some people don't actually care and I imagine you will soon suss if that is the case.  Others are simply unaware that they, or their pet, are causing a nuisance and will do their best to resolve the issue.
    Good luck whichever avenue you decide to take :)
  • PianoplayerPianoplayer Posts: 624
    I completely empathise with your reluctance to put your head above the parapet and speak to the neighbour. People are very unpredictable - I asked my neighbours a polite question about the fence, and they haven't spoken to me for 25 years!

    I also empathise with your frustration with the dog - I always have to remind myself with badly behaved dogs that it's not them that need throttling but the owners! I think Philippa's suggestion of the RSPCA is a good one - at the very least, they will be able to advise. Good luck.
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    I'm not sure the RSPCA will be much help, to be honest, but you can try, I suppose. Your council are more likely to react, although that's also a long shot. Resources are stretched and a noisy dog isn't high on anyone's list of problems just now.

    Going back to your original question, it's very hard to train a dog not to do something with an 'aversive' (something it dislikes). It's easy to train them to do something with positive reinforcement - wait til they do it and give them a biscuit. Most of them will fairly quickly do it again. But making it stop doing something by 'punishing it' will generally provoke defensive behaviour - barking being top of the list of defensive behaviours. The most likely result is the dog barks whenever it hears you in your garden. You might get further by lobbing over a distraction - a (quiet) squeaky toy, maybe or a ball. 

    Poor thing is probably distraught. Could you put an anonymous note through the door - you obviously know when they're out? Saying their dog is barking constantly and is clearly in distress. If they don't take steps to care for it properly 'the neighbours' may have report them.
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    edited August 2021
    I would talk to them, going straight to the council is probably going to even more of a  sense of acrimony! It would be ideal if you could get on good terms with them and show a bit of interest in their dog in a positive way, without mentioning the barking at first. If you're not a dog person, try and fake it! Then hopefully they might be less defensive when you politely bring it up.

    Personally I love dogs, so I'd probably offer to walk it or something!
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    raisingirl said:
    I'm not sure the RSPCA will be much help, to be honest, but you can try, I suppose. Your council are more likely to react, although that's also a long shot. Resources are stretched and a noisy dog isn't high on anyone's list of problems just now.


    Poor thing is probably distraught. Could you put an anonymous note through the door - you obviously know when they're out? Saying their dog is barking constantly and is clearly in distress. If they don't take steps to care for it properly 'the neighbours' may have report them.
    Which is why I put "used to check" .  Much the same with local councils but both are worth a try.  Resources are always stretched whatever the problem you happen to raise -  pandemic or not. :)
    I don't really think an anonymous note would be of much use - it can simply be ignored whereas several neighbours putting their name to a complaint would, one hopes, be taken more seriously.
  • bcpathomebcpathome Posts: 1,313
    Whatever you decide to do a whistle is not the answer 
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    I replied to a different post on here a couple of months back,had 2 dogs in neighbours house,barking (indoors) up to 20 hours out of 24. They were let out for a quick wee at lunchtime by the girls mother,never walked.she was in her 30s 6ft tall,worked part time,no kids. RSPCA not interested. Asked neighbour nicely if dogs could be put in back room, so they didn't bark at everyone going by. She then put them in the front kitchen! RSPCA said dogs didn't require walking. Eventually went to council. Then suggested I walk the dogs!!! I'm just over 5ft,had 2 dogs of my own,3 of my 4 kids Living at home, worked full time nights. Although the council wrote to her anonymously,she figured it was me,started putting large piles of fog waste on my furniture.
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