Blogs Jun 24, 2010 at 7:42 am

Comments

1
Two people are knife fighting over a dog barking, and you call the dog stupid?
2
Good Morning Charles,
I have to share with you a funny "dog barking" incident. Once while walking on University Way NE a few years ago, a fellow was a few feet ahead of me. As he approached a storefront, a dog tied to a bike rack started to bark vociferously. It startled the pedestrian who retorted loudly with pointed finger at he dog "Fuck you doggie!". The dog immediately stopped. I laughed outloud.
3
I like dog barking. Dogs have been barking to protect their masters for thousands of years. People with nefarious intent run from dog barking. Sometimes, dogs do too much barking, granted, but that is the fault of their masters. We have bred the impulse to bark into dogs. People who let every dog bark bother them have some serious problems that don't involve dogs.
4
The "Very Stupidest Cry"? I think that would have to be a Maudede post. Probably one about graffiti. My dog barking to let me know someone's trying to get into the house actually has a worthwhile purpose.

In most cases it's the owner that's stupid for not training their dog. Then again I think that kids screaming and misbehaving is because the stupid parents didn't train their children. If only your parents had taught you not to bark. (oh I just know he's going to call racism on that one)
5
Thanks to my dogs' bark, the pieces of shit who broke into my house last year got scared and ran away...barks are OK by me.
6
And here I thought "Anti-Oedipus" was the very stupidest cry.
7
The commentators here are brainier/more responsible than my neighbors in that their dogs bark only when they're supposed to. My neighbors' dogs bark because they're chained up in too small a space without exercise and/or they're neglected for up to twelve hours a day. A nonstop barking dog provides effective sound cover for a thief breaking and entering: the neighbors have either fled to avoid the nonstop barking dog or have miraculously managed to tune it out, knowing a dog that barks at everything from falling leaves to squirrels to passing cars is not at all trained.
8
Charles, the "Very Stupidest Cry" in the animal kingdom would be graffiti.
9
The only reason dogs bark is to communicate something to humans. Feral dogs don't bark; they'll whine - and they might even be given to howling, if it hasn't been completely domesticated out of them - but barking, no.

Dogs communicate volumes between each other via body language & facial expression. It's only because we're so divorced from either of these (due to our over-reliance on verbal communication) that they have to resort to barking.

Still, it doesn't make you any less of an asshole, Mudede. You don't like dogs barking, we got it. But you chose to try twisting an encounter between a knife-wielding lunatic and a blind woman with a service animal into some sort of bullshit argument against "dog-lovers".

You're an exceedingly small and petty man, Charles.
10
@7 I agree, constant barking sucks. Your neighbors should never have been allowed to get dogs since they're clearly bad dog owners. You should complain to the city and maybe they will come take the dogs away and give them to someone who will train/treat those dogs right.
11
You know Charles, I should apologize. I didn't read your article before commenting here. Now that I've read the full article I have a better understanding of your point. Correct me if I'm wrong but your point seems to be that this service dog, who's gone through months of training to guide and protect its owner, barked so much that it drove this poor man literally insane. So insane that he threatened to kill the dog and the woman and then, it seems, was willing to kill the police when they got there. All because this dog barked.

I've known my fair share of service dogs and people who need them. The only times I've ever heard a service dog bark is when their person is in danger, which in this case she apparently was. These dogs don't just sit around barking all day.

I really should have read the article before responding because my previous comment was made under the assumption that you were just a fucking idiot. I'm not really sure what you are but I really think it takes more than your normal gross idiocy to defend a sociopath willing to murder due to dog barking.

Look you want to go off on another anti-dog rant you go right ahead but that dog did exactly what it was trained to do and unless you want to put a leash on to guide a deaf person around 24x7 these people need guide dogs. So, in other words, get a fucking clue or shut the fuck up. Either way, why don't you go play with a pit bull.
12
@4 - 'the very stupidest blog.' Sorry Charles. ( : =
13
Barking is a trait we've bred into dogs. We only have ourselves to blame.
14
I am reminded of an old Far Side where a scientist is testing his dog translator and finds that the only thing dogs are saying is "Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!"
15
by Leonato

This era dogs are used as passive-aggressive, anti-social weapons: what bullets are to guns, barking is to dogs. Barking kills--a slow, painful death from a million bee stings. Communities should focus on the root cause of the conflict between barking dog and innocent human: the barking is the root cause. It's the BARKING that's the source of the conflict. The source of the conflict is not the barking-sufferer's REACTION to barking, whatever that reaction may be. Chronic barking is molestation. The party at fault is the household with the barker(s). It doesn't matter what the sufferer-of-barking does to try to get the barking to stop--they feel desperate because they're not getting support from the outlying community to get the barking stopped. I'm not talking about partial-barking stopped--I mean 100%. The barking-sufferer has a right to enjoy his or her patch of real estate unmolested by barking. The barker needs to get gone.

In a conflict between one person and a dog, the human should win out every time. Human rights trump dog rights. Who is it who pays the mortgage or rent? Not dogs. Why do we as society allow dogs to have more rights than people? Barking is a serious offense: barking makes people--literally--insane. Chronic barking causes the barking-sufferer to not be able to meet his obligations in paying the mortgage or rent and put food on the table. People, obtaining dogs, who like to have their "own petty egos stroked," are clueless as to what it takes to truly care for a dog. Being the guardian of a dog is a lifelong commitment--it is similar as caring for a human infant--dogs cost money and take time--done properly--lots of both. Leaving dog(s) in a yard unattended and unloved is a hazard to anyone not the owner who is within earshot of the barking. A barker is a menace. A barker is a health hazard. A barker is an "ignored" dog--it's time we see chronic barking for what it is: ANIMAL NEGLECT. Animal neglect has serious consequences! Things have to be done, by the community, on behalf of the barking-sufferer, in its laws, fines, punishments, jail-time, impounding dog, or seizing dog-owner's vehicle.

Communities should give power to law enforcement to seize yard barkers without the dog owner's knowledge, impound the dog(s). Or 6 months in jail. Or a US$1,000 (GBP£700) fine. If I had my wish, the dog would be euthanized within 24 hours.

Dog-haters are made, not born. Residents become hostile after years of their communities having more sympathy for barkers than for barking-sufferers, communities who spit on human need for peace and quiet where they live. Having dogs growing up, I used to like dogs. No more. Barkers are REALLY, REALLY bad public-relations for canines in general. Barking gives the whole canine species a bad reputation. Responsible dog owners should pressure "arrant dog owners who condone chronic barking" to STOP THE BARKING.

You know, how would you feel if you went to poop in your own toilet, the next-door neighbor's dog heard you from outside, barked continuously 5 feet from where you're doing your business? How would you feel if you put a dish in the microwave oven, the other next-door neighbor's dog heard you from outside, barked continuously 5 feet from where you're trying to eat a pleasant meal? How would you feel if the phone rings, answer it, the next-door neighbor's dog heard you from outside, barked continuously 5 feet from where you're trying to have a conversation where you yell into the phone "I can't hear you. What'd you say?" How would you feel if the only place you could sleep was on the floor in a closet located on the other side of the house? (This really happened.) And finally, how would you feel if this went on, day and night, for five years? Answer honestly, because you would not have had a good night's sleep in five years. How would YOU feel?

Dogs have no business around human dwelling areas. Dogs are "guests" and as such, must behave. If dogs don't behave, banish them. Dog exits off premises permanently. Don't bother with de-barking.

Mediation implies there is something to mediate, as if with chronic barking there is middle-ground or compromise. Sorry, but I'm not going to compromise my physical need for a safe and sane soundscape around my home. The dog leaves.

Nobody likes "second-hand dog pollution."
16
Leonato, you sound like a lonely and unloved person with way too much time on your hands. I've got an idea - get a dog! It will take care of all of your many problems. And if you take it out and walk it, you will have neither the time nor the inclination to write long rants.
17
Um. Charles. It is somewhat painfully ironic of you to comment on the stupidity of the methods of communication used by other species.
18
I just moved in to a great basement apartment and my neighbors dog barks at me every time I come home, sit outside quietly or say a word to my friend. It is to the point were I try not to make a sound just so I don't have to hear it's insanely loud bark. The guy will sit outside and watch it bark at me and tell his wife that it is my cats. Oh yeah, he is a cop. Bullshit, I am getting pissed.
19
Thank you Leonato for your post! I agree with you 100%

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