Barking Dogs

• Dogs are very social animals and often bark when they are lonely.
• Separation from an owner can cause dogs to stress.
• Barking may also be the result of boredom and frustration.
• Dogs bark out of fear - this can be fear of people, objects, or other dogs.
• Dogs bark when there is a threat to their territory.
• Playing with your dog sometimes stimulates barking.
• Some breeds have a reputation for barking.

Barking can be controlled through several small behavioural changes. Some behavioural changes could be as small as walking your dog twice a day to relieve boredom.

Dogs require a certain amount of interaction on a daily basis. If your dog barks when you are away from the premises it is probably due to loneliness.

 An easy way of combating this is to provide your pet with stimulants such as balls and chew toys to keep them occupied while you are away. It can also be handy to leave something that belongs to you such as an old shoe.

 Give the dog a bone when you leave the house. This will teach your dog that when you leave there is a positive reaction.

 A fence that is correctly designed to restrict your dog's vision will help reduce barking. Obedience training and discipline are also very important when trying to stop a barking problem.

If your neighbour’s dog is barking excessively, this may be causing you and your neighbourhood unwelcome stress. Mount Isa City Council encourages you to talk to your neighbour as soon as the problem arises. They may not be aware that their dog is barking or that their dog's barking is bothering you.

You can download, fill out and print this "Dear Neighbour" letter(PDF, 63KB) and Council's Barking Dogs Factsheet(PDF, 217KB) and leave them in your neighbour's letterbox.

Give your neighbour this information and if the barking persists after a week or so, lodge a complaint with Council, giving as much detail as possible.

A Local Laws Ranger will contact you to discuss the times the dog is causing a noise nuisance and to double-check the address in question.

The Ranger will then contact the alleged offending dog owner to discuss the barking issue, giving the alleged times of the dog/s barking, provide advice on how to alleviate the noise nuisance, and explain that if the issue is not fixed within seven (7) days, the complainant will receive a barking-dog diary.

The Ranger will contact you and explain the discussion they had with the alleged offending dog owner and to give 7 days.

If the dog is still causing a noise nuisance after this time, contact Council to obtain a barking-dog diary.

If it has been identified that there is a noise nuisance, Council Rangers will conduct a surveillance and issue any compliance notices or Penalty Infringement Notices.

The Queensland Government has introduced nuisance laws to help make Queensland a more liveable place.

If you have an issue with a barking dog, a complaint should be made to Council for further investigation.

Irresponsible owners who fail to comply with Council recommendations will face significant penalties including infringement fines.

Council staff can help you with barking problems in the community so that you do not have to suffer the nuisance caused by dogs that make too much noise.

The treatment of nuisance behaviours such as excessive barking should begin by attempting to address the cause of the problem.

If these methods fail then you may wish to try a range of electronically-activated devices that are on the market such as citronella collars, electronic barking collars, and stationary deterrents to deal with excessive barking.

Council recommends consultation with your vet before using these devices.