We should not overlook that dogs communicate with their distant colleagues by barking. It's not always distress. They have conversations. I am not personally bothered by barking dogs unless they sound distressed, in which case I would go and knock on the door and ask what was going on and call the council if I thought something was wrong.
I do worry that dogs and their owners can be victimised by people who use the law to bully not to help.
That said, I agree with James that our population pressure makes life miserable for everyone - and was totally unnecessary. When I was a child dogs took themselves for walks and it was no big deal. Some do still in my street today, but they are the exception; most lack traffic sense.
We have neighbours on all sides who seem to like to know there are noisy dogs to discourage burglars.
And, give me a loud-mouth but happy dog any day over traffic noise and construction racket.
Sheila Newman, population sociologist
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Dog owners should not be subsidised by ratepayers