Barking Dogs - City of Burnside - SA.Gov.au

Neighbourhood CommunicationNeighbours can help each other to solvebarking problems by communicating to eachother their concerns and needs. Neighbourscan assist by identifying the reasons forexcessive barking and noting what ishappening in the area when the dog isbarking.Don’t forget, the owner of the offending dogmay not know the animal is causing anuisance.Approaching the dog’s owner should be thefirst step when the problem arises and stateyour case clearly and politely. He or she maynot be aware of the barking situation.Provide the dog owner or keeper with a copyof the diary contained in this brochure.If the dog owner is unapproachable or youare not comfortable approaching them, tryplacing the ‘Dear Neighbour’ lettercontained at the bottom of this document intotheir letterbox including ticking any tips andtimes that may help resolve the complaint.If the neighbour takes no action or does notagree that a problem exists, you shouldcomplete the “Barking Complaint Forms” andreturn to Council for an Animal ManagementOfficer to investigate.Lodge a complaint with CouncilTo lodge a complaint with Council youmust first show that you have spokenwith your neighbour and have tried toresolve the problem with them.Then you can start the procedure for lodginga barking dog complaint as follows:1. Identify the correct address of theoffending dog;2. Complete the ‘Barking Dog ComplaintForms’ in this document;3. Keep a diary of the dog’s barking habitsfor a period of (7) days, noting the date,start time, number of barks, timeceased and total number of barks inthat time period;4. Forward to Council the Barking DogComplaint Forms and your completed(7) day diaries signed by you;5. Continue to keep a diary of the dog’sbarking habits, this will monitor whetherthe problem continues or improves as aresult of any action taken. It can also beused as further evidence for expiations,orders or legal proceedings should thisbe required.In most cases the solution can be found bycommunication between neighbours andshould be sought prior to lodging a complaintwith your Council.