i have a similar thing--zack has taken to barking for a few months, mostly when he's in the backyard, apparently in reaction to hearing squirrels or other animals. It's very quiet back there, no people making noise, just some wild animals. He isn't kept in the backyard, but the door between the living room and the backyard is usually open and he goes in and out at will. Most of the time he's quiet, sniffing around and stuff. But when he starts barking, i have to bring him in right away and close the door because i have to have zero tolerance for barking.
Not only do i not like the sound. I also don't want to inflict it on my neighbors, they have a right to peace and quiet in their homes imo. the sound of a barking dog is grating on the nerves. It's noise pollution. I have to stop it, i can't let it go on. It's frustrating sometimes, i would like to just be able to say "quiet" and have him stop. He does often stop when i do that, but then, as with Milo, he starts again after a bit. So i bring him in inside where he will also sometimes bark but i am right there with him and can get him to stop, but inside, he doesn't bark as much, just once in a while, and he is able to be redirected so that he doesn't keep it up. It's not really an issue inside. He will bark briefly at things on TV, like i had The Wizard of Oz on with the sound muted, but he still barked at ToTo. But just for a few moments.
Inside, in my downstairs part where the living room is, the barking is not so much of a problem for neighbors because of how my apartment is on a corner in the back and has an upstairs above and a kitchen and bathroom on one side, and the neighbor's kitchen. The one neighbor with an adjacent wall to my living room has given me reports on Zack since i got him, and has always said she can barely hear him when he used to cry for a few minutes when i would leave
, she said it was very faint and didn't bother her a bit except she was sad that he was sad. I gave her my cell and my work number and asked her to call if he was ever making annoying sounds, but she never has. And my other neighbor has said there's no problem, he has my numbers too.
But in the backyard, the sound carries and echoes, and he just does it more, he could go on a long time if i would let him, i try to distract him by inviting him to fetch, but it doesn't work consistently enough. Life was a little easier before he learned how to bark.
In my upstairs bedroom, there is more of an indoor problem because my neighbor's bedroom is right over mine, and the sound carries through. I would love to have Zack sleep with me at this point, but because of the possibility of barking i can't. To me, it's not acceptable to disturb my neighbor at all. I would expect the same from my neighbors. I don't want loud voices or music at night when i believe i should have the ability to sleep in my own home. And my neighbors have mostly been good over the years, very rare that there is anything but peace and quiet.
One other thing i've done that works when Zack is barking outside is to have him on a 30 foot training leash and just pull him in when he barks. But while that totally worked, it's just too much hassle to put it on him every time he goes out. When i call him to come inside when he starts barking, i give him treats, so he is responsive about coming inside at those times, it will stop the barking, but i have to get up and close the door, otherwise, he'll often go right back out and do it again.
There have been a couple of days during the 13 years i've lived here that a neighbor in the building next door had a barking dog in their apartment. It happened years apart and was different neighbors, not the same people. The people weren't home and left their dog, and rather than settle down, the dog just kept on barking incessantly, and it was a very loud harsh distraught bark, the dog was quite upset, and it went on for hours. I remember it as among some of the more unhappy days i've known, it grated on my nerves and my stomach got tight, and it was a sunday, and i needed peace and quiet, my job is so stressful all week. Other neighbors were complaining. i went and looked in the window and could see the dog, a large puppy, about 3 or 4 months maybe. After many hours, i called the animal control and they came out and the noise stopped. I don't know how it stopped, i don't know what they did. Maybe the people came home. I talked to the owner later and they were apologetic and said they didn't know the dog was barking. It didn't happen again and i had the impression they either moved or did not keep the dog.
In the course of my lifetime, it has been very rare, i can count it on the fingers of one hand, that there's been a dog barking problem where i've lived, in various places over the years. With all the dogs there are out there, that's a good record. Apparently people are on top of it because it doesn't happen a lot. but when it does, it's a serious nuisance.
