dog home alone all day,out in the garden barking at all the passers by

Maybe the RSPCA inspector can call and let the owner know that someone is
concerned about the treatment of the dog and tell her that she will be monitored
with regard to the dogs treatment,if the inspector arives try and see if you can have a quiet word yourself if the owner is not at home and tell him of any
concerns you may have,she can be made to look after the dog properly and they will come back to check she is doing that,if she can't cope they may help her with rehoming if she wanted to go down that route.I know that there is nothing worse than a constant barking dog,but it's the owner at fault not the animal.Good Luck

If the dog is causing a noise nuisance, the Environmental Health Department of your local Council may be able to take action against the owner.

If the dog's outside all day, does he have enough food and water? The RSPCA would have plenty to say about it if it didn't. Has the dog got shelter in bad weather? Poor thing - and poor you, having to hear the incessant barking!

A friend of mine was in the same situation and the RSPCA said as long as the dog had water there was nothing they could do. The Environmental Health people might help if the noise is bad. Poor dog, perhaps if he was looked after properly he wouldn't be so boisterous and noisy. My dog is a lunatic but with plenty of exercise he is no problem. The EH might also help if the parties become a nuisance. (The owner's parties, not the dog's parties).

A second thought, you say he is barking at passersby - is he threatening? Could be something could be done if anyone felt threatened by him?

We had a similar problem with a neighbour's dog which was left out in the garden & hated being alone. It barked, squealed and cried all the time until its owners came home. Poor dog

The RSPCA were only concerned that there was food, water and shelter and said it was separation anxiety - well I'd already worked that out!

I called our local council and they sent someone round to have a word with the owner which has helped - I wish their children were as quiet...

Perhaps the neighbour simply doesn't know what the dog is doing while they are out. They'll come home from work, get a lovely welcome from the dog, and think all is well. It might be a nice first step to have a quiet word.

We had a little dog when we lived in a 'Queenlander' house, ie a house on stilts with lots of room underneath, so the dog was comfy when we were out. When I went back to work after my youngest lad started school, I asked the net door neighbour if the dog barked at all when we were gone. She said yes, she did, but if we didn't mind, she'd let her stay with her. I was more than happy for this, so our little dog slept on Mrs B's verandah when we were out! Mrs B liked the company, and I loved the fact our dog was happy.

But, that first day back at work, when i got home, I had no idea my dog had been a noise nuisance.

I have just read these messages and it seems that it is a growing problem. People are now not only owning one dog but two or three. Owners are out at work all day so are having to keep them out of doors to save the mess inside. I have suffered for the last seven years from this problem. They keep one dog outside winter and summer but also have about four more who come out to bark at anything that moves. Not only this but a Cockerel that crows from first light to dusk. There are reasons why I cannot do anything to complain and have tried to move house but when prospective buyers here the noise it obviously puts them off. What about cruelty to neighbours?

The owner of the dog that barks at passers by should be warned that, under the "Police Act", anyone the dog barks at can report the dog. The police can then remove the dog and it may well be put down. This has happened.
I worked in animal rescue for many years; mostly cats and dogs. I've seen far too much neglect. It's always the animal that pays the ultimate price.

I sympathise! I love my peaceful garden, and like nothing better on a sunny day than to pull out my sun lounger, equip myself with a big pile of reading material and soak up the rays... BUT, over at the back, there is a big, grey dog, whose owners leave him out all day. He lets out a big, gruff, single bark every 30 seconds all day long, and it drives me mad! I'm sure he's well fed and watered, he's just lonely and bored, He'd be welcome to come and lie next to my lounger and keep me company - as long as he shuts up! Maybe I'll kidnap him...

Poor dog. We're really lucky round here, as there is a doggie daycare place where dogs can go to play and run off steam if owners are going to be out for the day. My dog goes every now and then. If I have to leave her for a few hours, she has got into a routine of settling down in her basket for a long snooze (although, usually I find my sofa is warm when I get home!)

It does help to have a couch potato dog who loves to lie around and daydream!

I had this problem when I lived in Kent. MY neighbours in a semi-detached small house went to work at 8 a.m. and their little dog, which was probably lonely, barked all day until they got back at 6 p.m. I asked them politely if they could make some arrangement to take it to work with them or get another dog to keep it company. The reply was foul-mouthed abuse. I contacted the RSPCA and they said that a dog being left alone did not amount to neglect.
Your best route is certainly a complaint to your local Environmental Health Officer on the basis that it is a noise nuisance.

Dogs are pack animals and need company either of other dogs or of their human pack. My neighbour has four gorgeous black labradors, alone together all day, and I never hear as much as a whimper from them. My point is that if dogs are not, by nature, solitary animals, could it not be deemed to be cruel to leave them on their own for long periods?

Yes Annobel they certainly are content in company. When I send my dog to the doggie daycare place, you would not know there were so many dogs in there. They have a rule about not barking and growling at each other and the dogs seem to understand that very quickly - it's so quiet when you go there, but there could be 30 dogs running around having fun. Doesn't take much to make a dog content.

Barney our rescued JR seems to know how lucky he is to live here he has never barked when he is left alone for a short time,i have asked my neighbour to listen out for him on many occassions and she has said that he is never heard at all,I think it is loneliness and bordom that does it for most dogs,when we had 2/3 dogs a few yrs ago mr glamma had them out for walks 3 times a day and they where too tired to bark,its such a shame these animals are left on their own.

Here's a poem from the American poet Billy Collins. I love this one, especially the fourth line! - and the title!

Another Reason Why I Don't Keep A Gun In The House

The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark
that he barks every time they leave the house.
They must switch him on on their way out.

The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
I close all the windows in the house
and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast
but I can still hear him muffled under the music,
barking, barking, barking,

and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra,
his head raised confidently as if Beethoven
had included a part for barking dog.

When the record finally ends he is still barking,
sitting there in the oboe section barking,
his eyes fixed on the conductor who is
entreating him with his baton

while the other musicians listen in respectful
silence to the famous barking dog solo,
that endless coda that first established
Beethoven as an innovative genius.

Billy Collins

Mishap