More Responsible Dog Owners - Denver or Dallas ( in regards to barking ) (Plano: buying a home, neighborhoods)

[mrhotdog]

I live in the suburbs near Denver & Boulder Colorado, been here 5 years & am now moving to the North Suburbs of Dallas near Plano.

As someone not originally from Colorado I noticed that people in Denver really really really love dogs intensely. To the point where it is more acceptable to allow your dog to bark for longer periods of time during the day than socially acceptable in other parts of the U.S. and it seems to be OK if your dog barks at your neighor when they go into their yard. Almost all dogs in the Denver suburbs have all day access to the yard via dog doors when owners are gone. I've never had barking dog issues at night so I don't complain & I do like all my neighors and their dogs when they are not barking at me. But, If I would have known this prior to buying a home in Denver I would have bought one with less neighors maybe adjacent to a city park, so only 2 neighors instead of the 6 I have now who border my backyard with a combined total of 10 dogs who may bark at me periodically at any given time.

So, are North Dallas Suburb dog owners like Denver dog owners, is it a regional middle American Southern thing or just a Colorado cultural nuance. I'd like to know so I can decide if having fewer neighors bordering my property would be the right fit for me in Dallas. Thanks

[generic_tool]

I've never noticed this to be a problem. Occasionally you see a yard that has a dog like that and you remember which one it is because it's frustrating. But it's not too common. People tend to not have back-yard dogs around here cause it's over 100 for months at a time in the summer. And even in the "winter" most people don't tend to just leave their dogs out. But I suppose this also depends on the specific neighborhood you move into. I've lived in scattered places across north Dallas and haven't noticed this to be a problem. Hope this helps.

[MckinneyOwnr]

We have a dog door so our golden can go out when he needs to during the day when my wife and I are at work. Occasionally, I work from home as well. Our dog is one that barks. Our neighbors across the alley have a dog that does NOT bark. We have new neighbors to the left of us, they have two dogs, one barks, and one doesn't. There are a couple other houses with dogs that bark as well. One house is particularly bad about this, they don't have a doggie door, they just leave the dog outside and he barks constantly all day, thankfully it's far enough away that we don't really hear it much from our house.

During the day, when most people are at work, kids in school, etc... I don't mind if he barks a bit. During the evening though, when people are coming home from work, sitting down to dinner, watching tv at night... we close his door and make him stay inside if he's barking.

I'll also add that we have a lot of neighborhood kids that run between the houses, play in the alley, etc. Some of them deliberately antagonize our dog, barking at him and banging on the fence. So, I don't blame him for barking some of the time. When kids are in school, people at work, etc... he's generally pretty good. He only barks when he hears people and things outside our fence.

Bottom line is, pet owners should be cognizant of what their dog is doing and take action to prevent a dog from just barking all the time. I've asked my neighbors as well if they have a problem with our dog barking, they have all said no, so I guess we're doing a good job in limiting it when possible.

[Type O Negative]

It all depends on the owners, don't know if it is city related.
We have several dogs around the neighborhood and some bark 24/7.
I can somtimes wake up at 2am from the barking and some nights are fine.

[DoneWithDallas]

I have more problems with my human neighbors than my dog neighbors on the other side. I have to say people are a bit more uptight with their dogs here. Especially in uptown.

[Pete53FR]

Worse than dog barking is an idiot neighbor who rides his Harley up and down the alley over and over again. Almost like he is trying to annoy people. Like others have said if you leave a dog out 24/7 than they tend to bark more. Our two goldens bark just to let people know that they are there and than go about minding their own doggy business. I am glad that they bark and many years ago our cocker spaniel chased off some robbers.

I also use our dogs barking as reason not to open front door to the endless supply of scammers who come to our front door.

[mrhotdog]

Originally Posted by Pete53FR

Worse than dog barking is an idiot neighbor who rides his Harley up and down the alley over and over again. Almost like he is trying to annoy people. Like others have said if you leave a dog out 24/7 than they tend to bark more. Our two goldens bark just to let people know that they are there and than go about minding their own doggy business. I am glad that they bark and many years ago our cocker spaniel chased off some robbers.

I also use our dogs barking as reason not to open front door to the endless supply of scammers who come to our front door.

That is a positve thing about Denver, people are less prone to have loud bikes compared to my experience in IL where I saw police give the thumbs up to riders with excessivley loud bikes.

[mrhotdog]

Dallas dog owners are definitely more responsible than Denver dog owners. I've seen 40 homes in various Dallas neighborhoods so far and rarely hear dogs barking when I inspect the backyards, in contrast to when I house hunted in Denver and pretty much 50% of the yards I entered had the neighbor’s dogs barking furiously at me. I also no longer have to deal with dog owners who tie their dogs up to the children’s play equipment at parks thereby rendering that piece of equipment useless. Or, people constantly coming up to my 5yr old to see if he wants to pet their dog. Dallas is great!! Love it here so far.

[Mr. Chad]

Is there a complaint line someone could call in the event of excessive dog barking?
some people may feel uncomfortable with confronting their neighbors and would rather just remain anonymous..... Just curious

[stan4]

I must have bad luck, because three times now (in Texas), I have moved next to someone who thinks dogs belong outside all day long to bark at whatever nonsense thing is out there.

The irony is that we have 4 dogs, they only go out at potty time (or if we are all out there playing), and if they so much as make a peep, we herd them all back inside immediately because WE don't want to bother the neighbors.