From time to time, landlords and apartment managers will get calls from tenants or neighbors about their tenant’s barking dogs.

A loud dog can turn a nice neighborhood into a place unpleasant to live in. No matter how much one loves dogs, excessive barking is difficult to endure.

People who are sleep-deprived due to barking, who work evenings and need sleep during the day, or people with medical problems can become intense in their response to excessive barking. Excessive barking is known to increase the blood pressure and stress levels of those within hearing distance.

If you are the tenant who receives such a call, be open to listening to the problem, avoid becoming defensive, angry or going into denial. No one is going to take the time and energy to call you unless there has been ongoing barking that doesn’t let up.

There are solutions to the problem. Here are some hints to help solve the problem of a nuisance barker:

• Notify the tenants that there has been a complaint about their dog(s).

• Giving a dog more exercise often does wonders in eliminating excessive barking by releasing the pent-up energy that causes them to bark.

• Pet stores, dog boarding centers, and some veterinarians offer very low cost (or free) barking control classes.

For full answer please go to spokesmanhomes.com
Landlord Association of the Inland NW
3 S. Washington Street, Spokane, WA 99201
www.landlordassoc.org • 509-535-1018