Putting a stopwatch on dog barking in NJ

A town in NJ - one that's only minutes away from Petville's home base - is giving a reason for neighbors to pull the kitchen timer out of the drawer. Later this month, the city council of Clifton is expected to introduce an ordinance setting a limit on how long dogs can bark.

Noisy canines will be defined as those that bark for more than 30 minutes on two consecutive days.

Police have to investigate complaints, and the city Health Department sent 11 letters last year warning dog owners that a summons could be issued if barking continued.

Not surprisingly, getting a summons is rare, because the person who complained must go to court to sign a complaint. Fines for the new ordinance could start at $250.

Comments

[Buck]

I think that is a great idea. I like the idea of limiting the amount of time they can bark. My old neighbor had dogs that would bark the entire time she was at work. It was annoying.

[Arishay Velle]

I read in a puppy training manuel that ticking clocks calmed them down because it sounded like thier mother's heartbeat.

[SJackson]

Great idea! I am a dog lover and they are part of my family but I also am home when they are outside and I supervise them! People should not be allowed to leave their dogs outside while they are at work. Dogs get bored and bark when left alone all day. It isn't the dogs at fault, it is the caretakers. The other day my next door neighbor left his 2 dogs outside while he went to work. It started pouring down rain hard for several hrs. These dogs had no shelter outside and barked constantly tugging at the back door. It hurt me so much that I wanted to steal those sweeties away from him. Barking is a real beef with me in general and is a public nuisance.

[SJackson]

Great idea! I am a dog lover and they are part of my family but I also am home when they are outside and I supervise them! People should not be allowed to leave their dogs outside while they are at work. Dogs get bored and bark when left alone all day. It isn't the dogs at fault, it is the caretakers. The other day my next door neighbor left his 2 dogs outside while he went to work. It started pouring down rain hard for several hrs. These dogs had no shelter outside and barked constantly tugging at the back door. It hurt me so much that I wanted to steal those sweeties away from him. Barking is a real beef with me in general and is a public nuisance.

[M Morrison]

STUPID!! If people have enough time to go complain to the court, they have enough time to mind their own business. I have barking dogs all around me and I tune them out. Dogs will be dogs, and if they are not allowed to be dogs, and we have to walk on egg shells because the neighbors why have them. I'm sick and tired of living for the sake of others. I understand that dogs can get annoying, and it is up to the owners to be responsible and do something. I wouldn't allow my dogs to bark constantly. It would drive me nuts. I have a guy who lived behind me and his dog barks ALL DAY....if my dogs barked for two minutes he is at my door complaining. The other neighbors complain about his dog's barking, and running at large but he denies it. Going and filing a complaint and having to pay the filing fee is stupid, and people know it. I have since moved out into the country on 50 acres only to have a neighbor WAY down the road complaining that he moved out to the country for peace and quiet. So myself and his next door neighbor are always getting nagged at. He called and complained about the noisy Cyotes at night. Only the people who have too much time on their hands, and I guess extra $$ burning a hole in their pockets go to court.

[Alison]

Thats ridiculous. Don't these people have anything better to do? How about the drivers that speed down residential streets -anyone enforcing that?? How about unleashed dogs walking around with (or without) their owners -anyone enforcing that?

How about a by-law about noisy children. I find THAT truly annoying. . .
what a ridiculous waste of time and mony.

[Donnie]

I think that this law gives the police some guideline to go by instead of just warning people that they could be in trouble. Some dog owners are very responsible and some just toss their dogs in their yard to bark all day long. I think that the people who take care of their dogs and are sensitive to the right of their neighbors have nothing to worry about.