Another dog question - not a JAWM

[Joanne]

Our fence is old and has holes from which dogs escape. Our landlord doesn't fix anything. I will fix the fence as my pay allows, but it is honestly way down the list.

 

So, we walk the dogs. We walk them typically 6:45 a.m. and in the afternoon and in the evening usually sometime between 9:00 and 11:00 p.m. Our neighborhood has a LOT of dogs that appear to be mostly outdoor dogs, in people's back yards. They bark loud and frequently as we go by.

 

On one hand, I feel bad for the dog owners and the noise. I absolutely feel for the neighbors!! OTOH.........I don't. I should be able to walk my dogs. They are leashed, well behaved, cleaned up after. There is not a "route" I can go that does not have outside dogs who bark.

 

I think that the dogs need to "go" in the early am and late at night.

 

Is there a right/wrong here? Is there a solution I am missing?

 

[Lara in Colo]

I have a dog that jumps over the fence, and ran out the front door when the children left it open.  We installed (ourselves) a radio fence.  It was about 200.00 and we can take it with us when we move-- unlike repairing your landlord's fence.

[Starr]

Walk your dogs. They are making the other dogs happy, a reason to bark. :D  I'm sure they don't bark for just your dogs/family.

[Guest submarines]

You supply unlimited joy and excitement to all the neighborhood dogs. :hurray:

[PrairieSong]

The dogs in my neighborhood bark a lot...and when one or two start they often all chime in. I don't have a dog but I often walk in the evenings and dogs bark at me as I walk past. I guess just try to walk your dog as early as you can to avoid disturbing people who go to bed early.

[Catwoman]

If other people have their dogs outside, it's not your problem if they start barking when you walk your own dog down the street.

 

If anyone is to blame for the noise, it's the people whose dogs are outside in their yards, whether in dog runs or behind fences.

 

You have nothing to feel badly about (although it is very sweet that you are trying to be so courteous!:hurray:)

[Jean in Newcastle]

If people don't want their dogs to bark they should keep them inside or put a bark collar on them or train them not to bark.  You shouldn't feel badly about walking your leashed dogs on a public street.  

[kitten18]

You shouldn't feel bad for walking your dog even if it's late.

IMHO, If people have dogs that bark they shouldn't be left out in the yard at night.

[Hikin' Mama]

I don't think it's a problem. I have dogs and if I don't want them to bark at passersby, I bring them inside. Have fun walking your dogs! :)

[Sisyphus]

Not a problem- dogs bark, it's what they do. Keep them in (the neighbors) if you don't want them to bark. Because my dog barks at everything, it certainly wouldn't be the winds, or the squirrels, or the leaves fault if she barks, any more than it is yours out walking your dog. So we keep her in after 9 pm (she is very old and not out except to go pee anyway) since if she was out, she would be barking.

 

Walk away!

[Forget-Me-Not]

Has someone complained? Or are you just concerned about causing disturbance at that hour?

[Sugarfoot]

We have a lot of dogs in our neighborhood. it's not at all uncommon for someone to be out walking (with or without a dog) at 11pm here. It's also not uncommon for my dogs to be out in our yard. They definitely bark if they notice, and I or one of the kids bring them in. At that time of night, they're only out briefly anyway, but I feel that people have every right to be walking their dog, and my dogs are my responsibility.

 

The houses in our neighborhood are not closely spaced, and the yards are large, so I don't necessarily worry that my dogs' barking will wake our nearest neighbors, but I still don't let them bark.

[poppy]

I too would feel badly for the neighbors of anyone who leaves their dog out all night to bark at passersby.

I would not feel even a tinge of pity for the people who own the barking dogs.

Either way it's not your problem.  Walk your dog when you want.  You are being a responsible pet owner.

[I talk to the trees]

If you ran out to get the newspaper in the morning, and you saw your neighbor walking by, wouldn't you say, "Hello, Mr. Smith!" That's what the outside dogs are doing, and it's perfectly normal dog behavior.  (A bark to say "stay the he!! off my property" is perfectly normal as well.) If the neighbors want silence, they need to 1) put their dogs inside, or 2) not have dogs.

 

eta- Another way to think of it: If you were jogging alone, without dogs, at these hours because it was the only time you had to do so, would you feel guilty? No one could possibly complain about that, since you are doing something necessary for good health. Walking your dogs is also a healthy thing to do.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Good for you for walking your dogs.  Even if your fence was reliable, it is still better for your dogs - more exercise (mental and physical.)  You are not in the wrong.  If other people are leaving their dogs out and they bark, that is the problem of the other dogs' owners.  One suggestion?  Would it be possible to walk your dog a little earlier in the evening (like after dinner) and then just take the dog out on a leash in your yard to potty before bedtime?  It might be less of a disturbance in the evening. 

 

We have a lot of people who walk their dogs at the crack of dawn (a need since they have to go to work.)  Those aren't a bother.  (I should be out there now, but I got sucked in.  I promise to get off and go walk my Bear.)   

[EmilyGF]

I don't like dogs at all.

BUT, if a dog is leashed and being walked legally, that's fine. Has anyone complained? This seems like what people need to deal with if they live in a neighborhood - just part of life.

[Danestress]

I agree with the others that if anyone is irritated at the barking dogs, it's the owners of the dogs they will be irritated with - not you.  You are doing what you are supposed to be doing.  The dogs are also, theoretically, doing what they are supposed to be doing, but if the owners are leaving them outside unattended for long periods of time (whether confined by an electric or physical fence or not) they allowing their dogs to be aggravating.  I think it's a bad practice.

 

My dog barks at people who walk by.  He is confined to an electric fence (which he is totally unwilling to cross, because despite how big and tough he acts, he's a wiimp).  I know it intimidates some people  because he comes to the edge of his boundary (about 3 feet from the street) and barks, and he looks intimidating.  I don't leave him out for more than 10 or 15 minutes without being there with him, because I don't like this dynamic.  If I am outside too - doing yard work - he is much less focused on who goes by.  My neighbors report that if they say his name as they walk by, he tends to not bark.  So if he is out and barks at them, some of them find that just saying, "Hi Rover! How are you?"  makes him stop barking.  That might work with other dogs - I am not sure.

 

Keep walking your dog. You are doing the right thing.  Train your own dogs not to bark back or tug as you go by .  My dog never barks at dogs as we are walking past their house and they bark at him. I did a better job with that piece of training, I guess, than with teaching him not to charge our boundary and bark.   Your walks will be more pleasant if your own dogs are trained not to focus on other dogs, and the other dogs barking, while irritating, is not on you.  We have a steady stream of walkers where I live, and they are all doing what people out to do - walk their dogs, get exercise, enjoy the day, etc.

[momto10blessings]

It's not your fault if neighborhood dogs bark. Walk your dogs and don't worry about it.

[StephanieZ]

This is absolutely not your problem! You are free to walk your dogs in all public places at any hour! That the neighbor dogs bark when you pass is up to their owners and impacted neighbors to determine if it is a problem, but that is up to the barking dogs neighbors to decide if it is a problem and the owners to train if needed. You are in the right. Don't sweat it. The neighbor dogs are behaving badly, but it is not your fault. Keep doing what you are doing!

[marbel]

I feel like I'm misunderstanding.  You feel bad because when you are walking your dog, other dogs bark?

 

No no no!

 

Walk your dog!  It's good for your dog and for you!

 

I will admit that my dog barks when other dogs go by.  That is my problem. We go out and shush him or bring him in.  Of course when we walk, some dogs  bark.  That's the way it is in a dog neighborhood, I think. 

 

 

 

 

[katilac]

Simply as a courtesy to the other neighbors (the ones without dogs, lol), I would do my very best to walk my dogs closer to 9 rather than 11. 

[gardenmom5]

if the owners want to have outside dogs, then their dogs might bark at things.  it could be a squirrel or other small animal - doesn't have to be another dog.   it's the owners choice.  if it bother's them their dogs are barking at hours they are presumably asleep - well, they can take them in their house.

 

I would only feel bad if it was my dog barking first and set off the other dogs.  I'm assuming your dogs aren't initiating the doggie conversation.

[EKS]

If a dog is outside barking at a bad time of day, it is the owner's fault.  You are doing nothing wrong.

[Chris in VA]

Boy, you are a heckova lot more compassionate than me. It never occurred to me to not walk my dog because someone else's barked. I say take your dog out when you need to! I don't think people who leave their dogs out are even really hearing them and being bothered, or else they'd bring them in. 

 

Are you worried that your dog is reactive while walking? (I don't hear that, but just wondering.) 

My trainer/boss told me to take a high value snack, like cheese, with me when I walk a reactive dog. Then every time the dog starts reacting (inappropriate pulling, acting up, that sort of thing) just quickly call the name/get the attention of the dog and offer cheese. So--bark!bark!--"Fluffy, CHEESE!" Soon Fluffy will hear the bark and turn to you for cheese. 

 

But that's just if yours is participating in the bark-off or is reactive. 

[Flowing Brook]

A couple years ago my dog was attacked by a dog that was in its yard lose without a fence.  The people blamed me for it because I should not have been walking past their house. My dog was on the road at the opposite side of the street of their house on a leash. In the eyes of the police their dog was at fault not mine. I think the same principle applies for barking dogs. If the owners don't like it they can bring their dogs in the house. I think it is very kind of you to consider this.

 

[Danestress]

A couple years ago my dog was attacked by a dog that was in its yard lose without a fence. The people blamed me for it because I should not have been walking past their house. My dog was on the road at the opposite side of the street of their house on a leash. In the eyes of the police their dog was at fault not mine. I think the same principle applies for barking dogs. If the owners don't like it they can bring their dogs in the house. I think it is very kind of you to consider this.

So it's sort of like the 'my kid is never wrong' theory of parenting:).

[Flowing Brook]

So it's sort of like the 'my kid is never wrong' theory of parenting:).

 

Are you referring to me or the other people? Just curious what you mean?

[Danestress]

Are you referring to me or the other people? Just curious what you mean?

 

I'm sorry I wasn't clear.  I was trying to say that if you were walking past a house with a leashed dog on the opposite side of the street, and a dog ran out of its yard and attacked your dog, it's really hard to make the case that it was your dog at fault.  Obviously (to me, at least) the attacking dog that was outside of its owner's control was at fault, not the leashed dog that was in the street, under its owner's control.  Only an idiot needs a police officer to come tell them that.  But of course, we see parents all the time that can not accept that their child could be at fault, so I guess this is just the dog owner version of that dynamic. 

[LibraryLover]

That's their problem, not yours. I walk my dogs daily as well, and while I try to avoid walking by houses with crazy barking dogs, I can't always. When I am not home, I often put my dogs in the back bedroom so they can't see or hear people walking by the house.  If I don't  want them cooped in one room, I close the front window curtains to limit the noise. If people don't want their dogs to bark, they need to use similar strategies. Leaving a dog outside all night is questionable practice, I think.  Dogs want to be with their people.

[LisaKinVA]

Everywhere I can take our dog for a walk has a dog...and if one dog barks, they all start barking.  They bark at various times of the day and night.  Having a puppy, that needs to go out more frequently, we've had to take her out around 10pm, and then again around 6am.  If I worried about the barking, my dog would never go out (there are certain dogs who will crazy bark if they are at their gate 100 yards away and spot us...another who will run alongside his fence and bark and growl...stray dogs we may or ay not "bump" into, among others).  I don't go out of my way to purposely set the dogs to barking, but there is only so much I can do, YKWIM?

 

I'm really thankful, that my dog doesn't usually bark in response (she's not mute...but just more interested in other things on our walks).

 

 

[katilac]

Everywhere I can take our dog for a walk has a dog...and if one dog barks, they all start barking.  They bark at various times of the day and night.  Having a puppy, that needs to go out more frequently, we've had to take her out around 10pm, and then again around 6am.  If I worried about the barking, my dog would never go out (there are certain dogs who will crazy bark if they are at their gate 100 yards away and spot us...another who will run alongside his fence and bark and growl...stray dogs we may or ay not "bump" into, among others).  I don't go out of my way to purposely set the dogs to barking, but there is only so much I can do, YKWIM?

 

I'm really thankful, that my dog doesn't usually bark in response (she's not mute...but just more interested in other things on our walks).

 

I'm not a dog person, so this is a serious question: can't the dog just pee in your yard if it's very early or very late? and take the walk at a different time?