What is proper fence etiquette? - Page 7

chickenbutt · ‎03-09-2010

151949 wrote:
I also wanted to add that dogs can be trained to not bark all the time. it isn't even difficult to do. I never understand why anyone would put up with that.

This is very true! When Ru was little I trained him not to bark just by talking to him. I made it clear that we don't bark at the neighbors, we don't bark just to bark, and we don't bark because other dogs are barking.

He's pretty much 100% good about it. If he sees somebody on one of the surrounding properties with whom he is not familiar he will bark a couple of times. I check out the situation and tell him that it's ok, then he will stop.

He's a good boy.

Meowingkitty · ‎06-19-2010

In Arizona pretty much everyone has a six foot block fence around their property. I know some of the older houses that were built in the sixties don't but those are only a few. The houses that were built without a fence back then have put up their own but any neighborhood that was built after 1980 or so has a fence automatically when you buy it. You can stucco it, paint it or do what you want on your side of the fence. Most people do nothing because it is block. I guess we people out here automatically just assume all houses have a fence. I could not imagine not having one. Even the most inexpensive sub divisions come with a fence, usually block. You have no choice in the matter. It keeps the neighborhood looking clean.

Mama Mia · ‎03-10-2010

@surfk wrote:
@Lipstickdiva wrote:
@Lovethesea wrote:
@IamMrsG wrote:
The topic is about fence etiquette.
... and that was thoroughly addressed. Now we're getting to the core of the problem.
No you aren't. And besides, the OP didn't ask you about that.

You are assuming an awful lot in your post.

Some of you are acting as if the OP is planning on leaving her dog outside 24/7, 365 days a year to just bark.
In all fairness though, it was the OP in her/his originating post who characterized her/his own dog as being a barker.

And its s/he who also linked the desire for or necessity of a fence to his/her barking dog.

S/he could have just asked which side of the property line does one place the struts or supports when constructing a fence. But s/he didn't.

So the whole dog barking issue arose from her original description of her dog and the problem or reason for the fence.

Most dogs will, of course, periodically bark. If for no other reason than to clear their throat after a particularly dry Milkbone.

But for an owner to characterize her/his OWN dog as being a barker is telling ya something. Its not like s/he's the neighbor wanting to slap up a fence in the hopes it will quiet a neighboring dog whom everyone else calls a barker.

Instead its the owner of the dog telling us s/he's putting up a fence in an effort to maybe get her dog, a barker by her own admission, to bark less.

The fence situation and dog barking issue are two separate things though, really.

I mean, after all, one can put up a fence even in a neighborhood without dogs.

(Sounds like a children's book: "The Neighborhood Without Dogs").

Some people just put up a fence to block out the nakie neighbors as they prune their roses in nothing but garden clogs, gardening gloves and a sensible sun hat.

I just personally haven't experienced a fence itself being the cure for a dog that's a "barker". There are other solutions to that problem than thinking that a simple wooden fence is going to fix.

I just didn't want to see the OP go to the effort and expense of a fence if the real reason for it is his/her barking dog. Its a big move - and risk - to think that will quiet things down. Miost likely her dog is bored. A dog barks for a reason. And even if the reason is that it barks at everything that moves generally points to a dog that is, at its core, bored.

@surfkI live in a neighborhood of 12 foot high, 18-in thick walls and none of that stops a barker. Trust me. I hear one particular barker who must live over 2 blocks away. So that's thousands of yards, maybe eight walls, 300 trees and four sprawling house between us. And yet, some days, this dog still never stops talking to me (well, to the entire neighborhood).

Until animal control is called, of course. Then its owner apparently hears the barking for the very first time. Funny how that works. lol

OMG! Do you live in a prison??????????(love your posts)

mm

"Cats are like potato chips, you can never have just one".

debic · ‎09-02-2010

@meowing kitty wrote:
In Arizona pretty much everyone has a six foot block fence around their property. I know some of the older houses that were built in the sixties don't but those are only a few. The houses that were built without a fence back then have put up their own but any neighborhood that was built after 1980 or so has a fence automatically when you buy it. You can stucco it, paint it or do what you want on your side of the fence. Most people do nothing because it is block. I guess we people out here automatically just assume all houses have a fence. I could not imagine not having one. Even the most inexpensive sub divisions come with a fence, usually block. You have no choice in the matter. It keeps the neighborhood looking clean.

..

I wouldn't mind one like this, of course it would cost a fortune for a 2 acre lot. It's chain linked right now. I've seen some nice ones that weren't like sound walls although it would buffer barking.

~~
*Off The Deep End~A very short trip for some!*

Susan Louise · ‎03-14-2010

@wismiss From our experience, a fence doesn't change the frequency of a dog barking unless they are trained not to do so, brought inside in a timely manner after the dog starts barking, or gets a no bark collar. Just because the dog can't see 'whatever' they can still hear a disturbance in the force...so to speak...like a neighbor watering their gardens. Also, even wood fences....the wood shrinks over time, so the spaces between each board get larger and the dog can see inbetween them very easily.

Below I attached a post I contributed to a thread about a year ago that was related to a ferel cat issue. I also mentioned a nightmare with a barking dog. I hope you find it helpful

DH and I LOVE animals...however, we don't appreciate neighbors who are inconsiderate of others.
I will try and condense the story...it all started rather "innocently"...
A couple of years ago in early Spring, our neighbor across the street had a single cat living/sleeping in it's evergreen bushes. Within a month...there were 2 which mated. They started to make regular treks across the street to our neighbors next door on the east side of us.
It was easy to add 2 and 2 together. Those neighbors have their own cats which are 'indoor' cats. Our guess is the cats just happened to be passing by their yard and then started feeding them.
By mid summer, there were 7 cats...yep, the 2 adults and 5 from the 1st litter. Wanna guess where their litter box was located? Anywhere and everywhere in our backyard...gardens, lawn...AGH!!! How did we know? We have security cameras around the house...and then there is the evidence...
Now it's one thing to clean up after one's own animals...but someone else's on a daily basis? AND several of them?
Well, we tried talking/reasoning with our neighbors that fed them. They thought we just h*ted animals. That couldn't be further from the truth! So, in the scheme of things, were we supposed to just "put up" with this?
The neighbor across the street didn't mind...no p*op at their home/yards...same with the neighbors that were getting the 'joy' from their furry visitors. So, of coarse we would be the awful neighbors to even think about complaining...how inconsiderate of us!
So by late October, there were now 13 cats (the adult cats had a 2nd litter) and 2 possums...ALL 13 cats used our backyard/gardens for their litterbox and there were now 2 possums that must be eating from the food left out for the cats too.
That was the last straw! We took matters into our own hands...trapped every last feral cat and BOTH possums. The local humane society picked up every single one...relocating the possums and bringing the cats to the shelter.
So, when would this insanity end if we didn't do this? How many cats would there have been by the following Spring? With at least 5-7 feral females in heat? Do the math...
Our neighbors have nothing to do with us and we have nothing to do with them...no forgiveness on either party's part in the matter.

THEN, our neighbors to the west side of us have a mini pincher dog...what we call a 'yippie' dog. When it barks, it's high pitch. The dog would be left outside for hours. I'd be working in our gardens and I would start shaking from it going straight to my nerves after just 10 minutes.
I had to call the humane society on them too! After several written warnings, the neighbors just felt it is their dog and we are to just 'deal with it'.
So we did. DH set up a video camera with sound showing the dog barking...literally for hours (barely even taking a breath or for water) and we wound up bringing those neighbors to court...and we won! Either they were to put a no-bark collar on the dog, or to give up the dog.
So again, we are the inconsiderate neighbors who just don't like animals!
What happened to ethics? Being considerate of others...neighborly? Basic common sense?
If we had a neighbor that complained of an animal we had/or were taking care of, we certainly wouldn't be ignorant of others like what we have had to put up with...
We have common sense, and consideration for others and always try to be neighborly. We may be of a now rare breed
DH and I hope to have pets someday...but not in this neighborhood! We'll wait til we can move to a place with 20 acres...where we can't see neighbors in any direction

surfk · ‎07-12-2010

@Mama Mia wrote:
@surfk wrote:
...@surfkI live in a neighborhood of 12 foot high, 18-in thick walls and none of that stops a barker. Trust me. I hear one particular barker who must live over 2 blocks away. So that's thousands of yards, maybe eight walls, 300 trees and four sprawling house between us. And yet, some days, this dog still never stops talking to me (well, to the entire neighborhood).

OMG! Do you live in a prison??????????(love your posts)

mm

Oh. Didn't I mention that I'm commenting from New Mexico Correctional?

I always seem to forget that little detail. lol

Now I'm thinking...maybe those dogs I always hear barking all the time are hunting down escapees. THAT'S why they're always going off. They're on the scent of someone...down by the river.

Gosh. Now I have to re-think the reason for all those bright lights and warning shots that sometimes wake me up at 2 in the morning.

onewhiteSparrow · ‎08-05-2011

No matter what kind of fense you build a barking dog sound travels a long ways. It is not right for your neighbors.

The dog should be taught to not bark.... only when danger is around. If a dog barks all the time if danger was at your door you would not know.

surfk · ‎07-12-2010

@onewhiteSparrow wrote:
No matter what kind of fense you build a barking dog sound travels a long ways. It is not right for your neighbors.

The dog should be taught to not bark.... only when danger is around. If a dog barks all the time if danger was at your door you would not know.

So true. That is the difference between what is a genuine watchdog and what could be called a junkyard dog.

A true watchdog doesn't bark at anything and everything. It senses or is trained to react to intruders or suspicious behaviors or noises.

A junkyard dog, on the other hand, barks at everything that moves as its there to warn off or scare off anyone who gets too close to, say, some fence line (behind which are usually 500 slightly-dented used cars for sale.lol). Their job is to inhibit anyone (even a passing bunny rabbit) approaching or passing by...telling them to move along (...nothing to see here)!

They're totally different sorts of dogs and their barking operates on completely different levels.

I have Border Collies (smartest doggies in all the land). They're incredible watchdogs. And they almost never - ever - bark. I raised a pack of mutes!! I mean, its like weird to hear one of them bark. That's how little they bark.

But if there is someone approaching or something doesn't seem right, I know it the very moment their ears perk up and they get up to start to investigate. One will come and just nudge me as to get my attention.

And they are unfailingly right or sensitive to some approaching.

Best part is that an intruder wouldn't even know there are dogs here...till they're jumped and eaten to death by my silent partners.

MOST barkers though are just BORED and sorta lonely dogs. One can train them. One can tend to them more. One can get bark collars. One can find more entertainments for them. One can exercise them more. One can perhaps even think of getting a companion doggy for them.

A fence though is perhaps the least effective method for shutting up a barker. IMHO.

onewhiteSparrow · ‎08-05-2011

surfk, I agree with everything you posted.

Who has old junkyard cars in their yard? I thought that was shown in funny old movies. Maybe I need a road trip into different States? (smile)

Love my grandkids · ‎11-24-2013

Fence issue aside, your dog needs to be TRAINED not to bark at every stinking thing! We once had a neighbor who allowed this. Despite repeated complaints TO her in person by neighbors she did nothng.

One weekend it got so bad I called animal control and they came out and heard the dog barking. They sat and listened for 15 minutes, could not make contact with her and left a warning at her door. The next time would be a $75 citation, and after that the dog would be impounded, but NOT euthanized.

Guess what? We rarely heard the dog except for a few minutes during the day.

IT CAN BE DONE, AND NEEDS TO BE DONE. No one has the right to allow unchecked dog barking. They CAN be trained. It will take work on YOUR part. Are you up to it? hmmm.....