Barking Dog Citation. I guess not everyone loves DOODLES!

[DANYELL]

Has any one ever gotten one? I have to go to court on Januray 3rd to fight it. I have 3 doodles ages 4, 2 and 6 month. Yes they bark at the mail man and when they play ball. It's only one neighbor that is complaining about them. OC Animal care has been at my house 5 times in the last 6 months. I am feeling like a bad pet perent. The oldest one is even  going to training.

[Jacque Reynolds]

Hi Danyell, I have worked for the courts (courtroom clerk) for over 20 years, my husband is a DA and I went to law school...so, my advice to you would be to find your local animal control laws and read them. Become familiar with the one you are being charged with (they have to have a code on the citation) and then you can read the code to see if your dogs have caused a disturbance according to the code.
If you plead guilty or no contest you are admitting guilt and you won't be able to then have the judge consider your argument that the charge is mistaken...you will be able to give info for "sentencing" but not to dispute the charge.
If you believe that your neighbor is using this law to harrass you, plead not guilty and they will make the neighbor come to court to testify.
If your law states that your dogs are not allowed to bark for a certain time frame (in our area it is 1/2 hour per day, cumulative) then your neighbors have to PROVE that it is YOUR dogs, and not someone elses, that is barking during that time.
You can call other witnesses, such as other neighbors, to testify that your dogs do not bark excessively...but you need those people to be present. You can't just tell the judge that other neighbors "said" xxx...
Best wishes...this isn't fun...you might want to attend mediation with your neighbors to see if you can work out some sort of arrangements...

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I will be following this, Danyell, so please keep us posted. Jacque thank you for your input; it is invaluable and there are many dog owners who need to be aware of how to respond. Sometimes it is our dogs and we need to figure out what to do and sometimes it is an ornery neighbor or one who thinks it is your dogs when in fact it is not...
Something I would do is set a tape recorder when I was gone to actually tell how much my dogs are barking and I would talk to other neighbors.

[Jacque Reynolds]

You are welcome! People get so upset when a citation is issued and most people don't know what to do...they just want to get it over with and that usually means a guilty plea but that can cause long term problems with animal control issues. I'll be very interested in finding out what happens!

[DANYELL]

Thank you Jacque. I am going to fight this because if i dont the fine just goes up every time next door complains. I am home all day with my dogs most days and I dont think they bark that much because if they did I would be going insane if i had to listen to them.

[DANYELL]

Its the neighbor this time. Were not the only people that have dogs on this block. I will let everyone know what happens on the 3rd.

[Kare]

Well, three dogs could be making quite a racket. I worked very diligently with Clooney to stop him from barking at the mailman. Just consistently "disagreed" with that behavior as Ceasar does and now he runs to the door with a little growl, but doesn't bark anymore. It really was a simple as always saying "NO."
I imagine it would be a lot harder with three doodles.

I have lived with a constantly barking lab across the street though and I do have sympathy for how annoying it can be. That lab would bark through the fence straight at my house for hours and I would have to close the windows and turn up the TV to hear it. That family really had no business having a dog. He lived out in the front yard, lonely all the time--rarely walked. I was home with toddlers at the time or I might have taken him out and walked him myself. I never filed a complaint, but I sometimes hoped someone would.

Best of luck to you, let us know what happens.

Kare

[DANYELL]

Kare
I so understand where your coming from. We also have a couple of dogs in the neighborhood that bark and howl all day long to the point that I said something to the owners. I went outside thinking something got ran over. I am home all day and if my dogs were barking as much as the neighbors say I would be loosing my mind. I do have my little ring leader Rocket in home manners training class hes graduating next week with flying colors. I have been working on the not barking at the mail man because it bugs me to listen to the racket of 2 barking dogs but under the barking law its okay if they bark at the mailman and anyone that comes to the door.
danielle

[Kare]

Well, beyond the barking law, it's probably hard for the neighbor to distinguish whether the dogs are barking at the door... or just barking. Have you tried enlisting a friend to come knock on the door while you are there and can immediately admonish them and stand in front of the door "claiming" it? (You probably won't know what I'm talking about if you haven't watched the Dog Whisperer.) It really worked for me. And I absolutely will not open the door until Clooney has backed up from it and is in a sit. When I first started doing that it took 2-3 months before people didn't have to wait for about 5 minutes before I opened the door.

Now squirrels... that's another thing. Can't seem to stop Cloon from barking at squirrels. I have an avo tree and they just carry them off. I used to scare them away with a BB gun, but the neighbor behind me called the police and I ended up with a cop at my door on a Sunday morning, asking where "The Weapon" was. Yikes. Got a squirrel trap (live catch) & caught 5 squirrels in 3 weeks! Clooney goes nuts when we take them up to Fairview Park to release.

[Lori]

I think the key is to make sure you stop the barking immediately.  I have two mini-schnauzers and that breed is known for being vocal.  My little one will bark at anything that moves and was a real challenge on the leash until someone suggested a squirt bottle with just plain water and that has been a life-saver.  It has reduced 90% of her barking on the leash.  If my dogs bark when in the patio, they have to come in.  It only takes one to start it then the other two jump in for moral support.  My condo neighbors have been fine with my dogs because I manage their behavior, but have complained about dogs that were left outside to bark all day.  Now I just have to show my dogs the water bottle and the barking stops.  It was an easy fix.  You can get the small squirt bottles at Walmart in the dollar shampoo bins and strategically place them around the house and yard for quick access.  Good luck!  Sometimes it's the grouchy neighbor that needs a squirt with the water bottle!

[Donna Vee]

Yikes! I also live in Brea with TWO doodles. Let me know how it goes.

[DANYELL]

I won. : )

 

[Jacque Reynolds]

FANTASTIC!!! Congratulations! I am so proud of you for doing this! I'd love to hear the details...if you would like to write to me personally, I am at utahjac at yahoo dot com