Barking Dogs

Interesting story here; I would suggest stiffer fines rather than taking people's dogs. If you ignore a dog and leave it tied up outside all day, of course it is going to bark.
Take barking dogs from owners: Winnipeg councillor
Updated Sun. Sep. 21 2008 1:56 PM ET
The Canadian Press
WINNIPEG -- A Winnipeg councillor wants the city to be one of the first in Canada to make a bark as bad as a bite by giving animal inspectors the power to take away dogs who incessantly yap day and night.
Councillor Mike Pagtakhan believes it's time the city's animal bylaw is given some teeth.
"Something needs to change," Pagtakhan said. "Barking dogs are a problem and if it's identified as a major quality of life issue, we ought to be able to do something."
To illustrate his point, Pagtakhan recorded his neighbour's vocal dogs and played the tape at a recent city meeting. The two-minute video, Pagtakhan said, was just a taste of what he and many others have to put up with around the clock.
"It drives you nuts," he said. "It almost becomes intolerable. It becomes too much . . . my neighbours are going insane."
Those particular dog owners are being taken to court, but the dispute won't be heard until next spring -- too late for homeowners who want some peace and quiet now, Pagtakhan said. The city should have the power to take dogs away after owners are warned three times, he said.
City staff are now studying the possibility and are expected to make a recommendation in a few months.
While many cities warn owners who rack up complaints, and some cities even take them to court, Tim Dack, chief operating officer for the city's animal services branch, said he doesn't know of any community in Canada that takes barking dogs away from their owners.
But he said many owners can be completely oblivious about the impact their canines are having on neighbours.
"They just don't think that maybe you have shift workers in your neighbourhood or someone is at home sick or you have retired people who are home during the day and it does bother them," he said.
"People think that most people work during the day but it's not true."
The proposal has sparked a heated debate online. Many have applauded Pagtakhan's proposal, but some dog owners have said their pets are simply acting on instinct and they fear being targeted by vindictive neighbours.
"People need barking dogs to protect them in the bad hoods," one blogger wrote. "If you ask me politicians bark too much."
Some animal lovers say if dogs are barking constantly, it's usually a cry for help.
Shelagh MacDonald, Program Director Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, said her two dogs would likely bark all day long if they were left tied up in a yard for hours on end.
Dogs who bark all the time are likely bored, not getting enough exercise or not getting enough attention from their owner, she said.
"The dog is barking because it's being neglected in some way," she said. "A responsible dog owner has a responsibility to provide proper care for the animal but also to make sure that it is not annoying other people."
Taking a dog away from its owner after repeated warnings is probably not a bad idea, MacDonald said.
"At some point, there has to be some consequence," she said.
Calls about barking dogs are the most frequent complaint fielded at Winnipeg's animal services department. The department received nearly to 1,000 complaints last year and 700 so far this year.
Although Dack said many of the disputes can be resolved before they have to go to court, the city can't take dogs away now unless they have bitten or attacked someone.