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                    Barking dogs and roaming cats

                    A dog wearing a muzzle.
                    Learn how to manage your barking dog and prevent your cat from roaming.

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                    Barking dogs

                    Excessive barking can be annoying for neighbours and nearby residents. Dogs often bark because they are bored, lonely or frustrated due to lack of exercise and mental stimulation.

                    If your dog is barking, there are a number of actions that can help:

                    1. Take your dog for more regular walks.
                    2. Enrol your dog in obedience training, which creates an interesting environment to keep your dog stimulated.
                    3. Block the view of movement outside the property if your dog is barking at people walking past.
                    4. Ensure your dog is in good health.
                    5. Seek professional advice.

                    Your neighbours can complain if your dog is often noisy or disturbs the peace unreasonably. Under nuisance laws, we can investigate complaints about noise from domestic animals in the community. If your dog constantly barks you may be fined or taken to court where you could be ordered to take action to stop your dog barking.

                    What can I do if my neighbour's dog is barking?

                    • We recommend speaking to your neighbour to resolve the issue in the first instance. In many cases they may not know their dog is barking.
                    • Submit an online report to us, so we can investigate the issue. Ensure you find out where the barking is coming from, to enable us to respond.
                    • Keep track of the barking and when requested by an animal management officer, complete a dog noise diary as accurately as possible.

                    ​Roaming cats

                    We encourage cat owners to keep their cats confined to their homes and inside at night as it’s the best way to keep your cat safe. Stray or roaming cats create a nuisance by trespassing on other peoples' property, and they can also kill local wildlife.

                    Neighbours can object to your cat on their property and your cat can be seized by our animal management officers.

                    How can I stop my cat from roaming?

                    There are many options available and it can be a simple fix to keep your cat confined to your property:

                    • Buy or build a free-standing cat enclosure, or build a cat enclosure attached to an existing structure.
                    • Get cat-proof fencing.

                    Each year we collect approximately 200 roaming cats and sadly attend to a number of cats that are killed on roadways.

                    If you’re a resident and there's a cat causing a nuisance in your area, you can report it online for us to investigate.

                    ​Report an issue

                    We can investigate ongoing issues with a barking dog, noise from domestic pets or stray and roaming animals – including unowned or feral animals in public and cats trespassing on your property.

                    If you have concerns for the animal's welfare, or if it is causing any danger to the public, please call us immediately on 03 9658 9658.
                    Track the progress of an existing report.
                    Enter report reference number:
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