Dog Legislation: 1 Strike Policy for Nuisance Barking

Written by Colin Seal

06/16/2014 Dog Bark Collar, Barking Dog Collar

Strict legislation against nuisance behaviour in WA is a must-read for dog owners.
With legislations hardened for the fight against nuisance behaviour, fines get seriously high and dogs may be at risk. Educate yourself if you have a dog and take preventive actions so you can continue to keep your beloved friend in your home.

Dog Laws: All it takes is one bark!

According to the law, one barking complaint is all it takes to start an investigation for nuisance behaviour. This not only puts you and your dog at risk but any dog in WA. These laws have been made tougher and nuisance behaviour has been taken more seriously because of society living close together.

This legislation opens up a two-way street. On one side it can take care of nuisance barking and get people to start preventing it. On the other side, it can get seriously wrong very fast. A neighbour might be complaining about the wrong dog or the wrong neighbour and although an investigation is will be done, some trouble might be experienced by the unsuspecting neighbour.

This law was changed from a three-strike policy and investigating single complaints could become costly and ineffective. For one reason, the complaint must have been for a legitimate reason for barking but the owner must still go through the investigation. Many people do not agree with the 1 strike policy and say that it is merely not enough to prove that a dog is a problem. Not only can this law be inconvenient for the owner but it’s bad for the dog as well.

What is nuisance barking?

Nuisance barking for most people is barking too much. This is when dogs bark at reasons we cannot understand or have no patience to understand. There is no such thing as barking for no reason because barking is how our dogs communicate. Understand your dog and what their barks mean so you can help them and take care of the problem.

Nuisance barking is not a problem when taken care of early. You can train your dog and prevent nuisance barking from developing. Make sure that your dog doesn’t bark at harmless things that don’t need his attention. A puppy tends to bark at almost everything strange to them and this can be solved with proper training. Once your dog is trained, they will only bark when told to or during emergencies such as an unwelcomed guest.

What are the Laws against it?

The current law states that if your dog disturbs a person by making noise by barking or otherwise, they can make a complaint and the rangers will start an investigation on you. Under the Dog Amendment Bill 2013, a ranger can issue the dog’s owner an order to address the problem within 6 months from the issued date.

If the owner of a “nuisance barking dog” fails to comply with the order, they will have committed an offense and face fines of up to $10,000 depending on if your dog is classified as a dangerous dog or not. Nothing has been said on what would happen to the nuisance barking dog.

How can I prevent nuisance barking?

If you want to effectively control your dog’s barking to prevent anything from happening to him, you would want to understand why they’re barking. Depending on your dog’s training and temperament, the solutions may vary and its best to try them all. Here are the most common ways owners can prevent nuisance barking.

• Playing
• Walking
• Exercise
• Toys
• Training
• Understanding why they bark and addressing the problem.

Now, these 4 are very general terms. Walking can mean regular walks in the morning and in the night and training can mean obedience training or just any other training. It basically means that you need to give your dog physical activities to fulfill their physical needs which usually prevent barking.

However, these solutions don’t always work. For example, Rosy and Tyson’s problem was never solved with these common solutions.

With persistent dogs, we recommend using the proper Bark Control Collar and proper training for effective and long-lasting results. Remember that these do not train your dog by shocking them but with static stimulation being used as a correction. Although there are trainers and dog owners the use these devices improperly, the recommended levels are usually the lowest levels with the appropriate response from your dog. With enough time, proper training and rewards for behaving, your dog’s nuisance barking can either be eliminated or prevented early on.

Here for you and your dog,
Colin Seal