To That Neighbor with the Barking Dog, Don't Worry.
I always wondered how much of a nuisance my dog's barking was to the neighbors. How many of them heard, and who hated us for it?
My dog, Sasha, is a constant barker. I've heard her barking for more than ten years. She's a dynamic barker, puts her whole body into the shout, pressing her paws on the surface of whatever couch or bed she's on and pushes in, sinking her claws into the material.
It's how I had to get a new mattress, because she destroyed my old one with her barking. It's why I had to move my bed away from the window, so that when she slept with me she couldn't immediately see outside. It's why I'm so used to the noise of dogs barking, because I've heard it so often that it doesn't really even wake me up.
I always wondered how much of a nuisance it was to the neighbors. How many of them heard, and who hated us for it?
A neighbor of mine got a dog. I don't know who, I'm not that social. But either they recently moved in, or they recently got a dog. And that dog could be a german shepherd, but again, I'm not social enough to find out. Just the observations I make when I drive to and from the neighborhood.
What I do know is that the dog barks a lot. I hear it from my house. From my room, from my bathroom, from my kitchen and my living room. The dog also barks like Sasha sometimes, so much so that I wonder how the heck that dog came back all the way here from Texas.
So, could it be possible that my neighbors heard Sasha barking? I'm going to say yes. It might even have annoyed them.
But I'm not annoyed by this dog. As a loud-barking dog owner with a little bit of social anxiety, I could understand if they felt worried that their neighbors might hate them. Or maybe they don't care, maybe they aren't loaded with anxiety like I used to be. Either way, I don't mind their barking dog. At least it sounds enthusiastic and healthy.
And one day, I might even be able to tie the dog to their bark and that dog to their owner. Right now I can only consider it might be one or two houses away from me. One day I could pet that dog. And tell that owner, in person, that they don't need to feel worried about their neighbors hating the noise.
At least one of them is fine with it.
