The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Noisy dogs driving locals barking mad
pets: Residents make 2,500 complaints to local authorities
Noisy dogs are driving Tayside and Fife residents to the brink of despair.
Councils have received 2,500 complaints about noisy animals in the past two years.
While complaints have been received regarding crowing cockerels and clucking chickens, a Courier investigation found noisy dogs made up the majority of the objections lodged.
Dog behaviourist Carolyn Menteith said it is often boredom that leads to pet dogs making such a noise.
She said dog owners in Courier Country must take responsibility and do more to give their pets a more fulfilling life.
The problem was so bad that one local authority drew up proposals for a “pet police” policy.
Under the plans, new tenants would have been limited to a maximum of one dog or cat per household.
However the report was withdrawn after animal sanctuaries raised fears of an influx of surplus pets.
Neighbours in Courier Country are getting into a flap about noisy dogs and boisterous birds.
Councils have received 2,500 complaints in the past two years – including about crowing cockerels and clucking chickens.
Noisy dog complaints make up the majority of the figures although hens, ducks and parrots have stirred up a row.
The figures were released following a freedom of information request about complaints made against noisy animals.
Dog behaviourist Carolyn Menteith said it is often a wave of boredom that is driving pet dogs to make so much noise.
Carolyn, who was named Britain’s Instructor of the Year in 2015, said: “Obviously people living in flats are living in much closer proximity and if your neighbour’s dog is barking you are far more likely to complain about it.
“Living in flats is a difficult environment for a dog but it’s not impossible and you just have to work a little bit harder at it.
“Dogs are a social species and they like being with us and having their family around them but if you leave a dog alone for eight to 10 hours a day they will bark.
“They’ll also be bored rigid and at this time of year it’s even worse because people don’t exercise their dogs enough because it’s wet and horrible.”
She continued: “Dogs bark – that’s what they do. If we don’t want them to bark then we have to give them a much more fulfilling life.
“Tired dogs are more likely to sleep when their owners are away whereas bored dogs will go self-employed and one of the things that self-employed dogs do is shout.”
In Fife there were 763 noisy dog complaints in 2014-15 and five calls about cockerels, hens, ducks and parrots. The figure dropped to 595 noisy dog complaints last year with nine calls about other animals causing annoyance.
In Dundee there were 286 noisy dog complaints in 2014-15 with one complaint against a cockerel and one against another bird.
The latest figure available for last year put noisy dog complaints at 214 with just one other complaint against a bird.
Perth and Kinross environmental health department received 157 dog complaints in 2014-15 which dropped to 124 last year, although they also received calls about peacocks, cockerels and chickens.
Angus received 163 dog complaints and three bird calls in 2015 and 171 dog complaints last year with two complaints against birds.
Carolyn said one of the problems is far too few people train their dogs, with estimates that less than 70% are actually trained.
She said there are more than 200 breeds of dog in the UK and an awful lot of them – especially family dogs like labradors, retrievers and spaniels – were bred to do a job.