Originally posted by Kfamr
Uhh.. Hello?!

A dog barks. A dog is going to bark. Just like a bird chirps or a cat meows. Should I tell a bird to shut up after their whistling and 'singing' got annoying? Or a cat to, when it meows?
How often do you hear of neighbors complaining of a bird's whistle or a cat's meow? Almost never. Birds are indoor pets...........almost no one ever leaves them in the yard. Even if they are loud, its in their own walls. They aren't disturbing anyone. Most people find the songs of birds to be beautiful and enjoy their singing anyway. Of course it depends of the species too. Some parrots have a horrible shriek voice. Either way, cats and birds don't disturb neighbors. Dogs however...........some of them do. We have about 10+ dogs in the homes of neighbors that are very close to our home. Most of them are responsible owners, and we've never even heard their dogs. This one dog though, is the most annoying thing on the planet. Are you telling me that if you're sleeping at 2am, and the dog next door keeps howling and barking at the top of his lungs for hours straight.......you wouldn't be upset? That's what this dog does to us. I *hate* his barking.......I despise his voice, and many times I wish he weren't in our neighborhood. I love our other neighbors' dogs.......they're the most well behaved things. This one though....I despise him and his owners, no offense. Honestly, if my birds started singing at 2am, I would tell them to shut up too. My birds understand *shhhh*, and immediately quiet down when I tell them that. I find no reason why a dog wouldn't be able to know the same. Animals are intelligent and dogs and parrots are both known to learn basic commands very well. My neighbors' dogs quiet down when they tell them to. They DO understand. If they don't know the word, they know the tone.