Hi-tech solution to barking dogs may reduce complaints
13 September, 2011
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Hi-tech solution to barking dogs may reduce complaints
Brisbane City Council has 40 dog collars that record the amount of time a dog is barking so providing an answer to the common complaint of dogs barking excessively.
There are 95,000 registered dogs in Brisbane and Council has dealt with more than 5,500 barking complaints from June 2010 to July 2011.
The worse suburb in Brisbane was Bracken Ridge with 154 complaints during this time. The breakdown for The Gabba Ward shows that Coorparoo (a large suburb) and West End were the worse suburbs with 79 and 32 complaints respectively. In contrast South Brisbane had just one dog complaint.
The dog collar sits against the throat of the dog and it can measure in minutes the time a dog is barking over 10 days.
"Sometimes owners can be at work and simply are not aware of their dog barking constantly which can upset their neighbours" said Councillor Abrahams.
Some of the key reasons for excessive barking are boredom, separation anxiety, dogs being fearful or attention seeking behaviour. The barking at another dog walking past is usually for a short time only.
Under the Local Law on animal noise a dog can be deemed a nuisance if it barks for a total of six minutes in an hour between 7am and 10pm, or a total of three minutes in any 30 minute period between 10pm and 7am.
If residents wish more information on the dog collars they are invited to ring The Gabba Ward Office on Ph 3403 2165,