Indoor Apartment Sheltie - Will Neighbors Hear the Barking?

I think part of it depends on the building structure.
At our old apartment (mid-70s/very early 80s wimpy construction) you could hear everything through the walls so I imagine our neighbor did hear barking when we left. At our new condo (early/mid 00s solid construction) you can only hear inside noises coming through the door, so in the breezeway. Olive's bark can carry and the only noise complaint we've gotten is our HVAC system.
 
It depends on so much. I had a Sheltie that never barked unless there was someone at the door. Now I have two--one barks outside when she is playing and very rarely at any other time; the other barks at me when he wants to eat, go out, or play, and no other time. If I'm not there to bark at, he doesn't bark.
 
I'm in an apartment with my sheltie and we haven't had any complaints. :fl She does bark and is a very protective sheltie. Her biggest trigger is when my neighbors are entering or exiting their apartment. She runs up to my front door and goes nuts. Once my neighbors are in their apartment, she stops barking. This is something I've been trying to train her not to do since I moved in and have not been able to break this habit. I usually put a gate against the door, so she can't get too close.

She also has issues with neighbors in the hallway or on the elevator, so I usually take the stairs and pick up her up if we see someone.

I have to feed or leave treats out for her when I leave my apartment or she will bark. She has a little separation anxiety.

So I don't think shelties are the best apartment dogs. Some are better than others. With adequate exercise and training, you can manage one in an apartment, but it will be more work than many other breeds.
 
My Chandler was raised in an apartment and he was quite a barker but, only when he heard someone in the hall or coming off the elevator. I never had one complaint in the 5 years we lived in apartments and 4 of them I had a Gypsy who was his back up barker.

I usually found in a building that allows pets other dog owners are pretty tolerant becuase they don't want you complaining about their dogs. I just usually introduced myself to neighbors told them I owned a Sheltie who enjoyed barking and if he got on their nerves to please let me know. Like I said I never had one complaint.

Enjoy your future pup.
 
I think it really depends on the dog. We have lived in a condo building with our sheltie for 3 years, since she was a puppy. She grew up here.

She's fine and doesn't bark much except when she is playing (usually outside). We did work hard on training her with barking, though.

I've had other dogs (other breeds) here and they were bothered by the train noise of the two lines outside and people moving outside our hallway. Buffy grew up with it starting when she was a puppy, so it doesn't really faze her. She does bark sometimes, but she's not super barky.

I think it becomes a nuisance when the dog barks at EVERYTHING. With shelties, I think they often have some kind of purpose for barking.

If you have more than one sheltie the barking issue will be worse. But if you are very careful when you buy one.... either get a pretty chill puppy and train train train or get an older dog with no history of barking.... then you will probably be okay. Also, you have to tire out your dog and exercise him/her regularly. To be honest, any dog can be a nuisance barker in the right environment. Although shelties are known for it, I think it's an issue many dogs have. The most annoying barkers I know in my neighborhood are a terrier, a corgi, and a border collie, and for all of these I suspect that it's because they don't get enough exercise.

I know the barking and anxiety in the breed was a concern with my husband when we got a sheltie, so I'm glad it really hasn't been much of an issue with Buffy.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. There were lots of good information in here. Much appreciated. Looking forward to being a Sheltie owner soon!
 
I recently moved into an apartment with both my dogs, Romeo and Juliet. A very quiet neighbourhood with alot of babies. My upstairs and downstairs direct neighbours all have newborns.

My dogs are barky in general and would alert me whenever my neighbours came home or if someone was at the door or if there was a weird noise. Repeatedly. Until I shush them. Juliet is more sensitive to noise than Romeo, but when one barks, the other will chime in. :rolleyes2:

Juliet has some separation anxiety too, and has been heard howling before when I left her with Romeo alone in the house.

Being conscious of all this, I made a point to do what I can to reduce their anxiety and manage the sounds they'd hear from outside.

I tire them out physically the night before (I am not a morning person and can't do morning walks!) with walks or training or whatever. On weekdays, they'd be so beat they can't wait for me to return to work so they can sleep for 2 days straight.

Before I leave the house, I turn on the stereo and play all 3 volumes of "Through a Dog's Ear" (classical music designed to calm canines apparently), close up the house (but leaving a fan or the aircon on for ventilation), and just before I step out, I give them a stuffed frozen kong. By the time they are done with their treat, they've gotten over me leaving, and just fall asleep.

I watch them on webcams I have in the house, and they actually don't bark as much (when the neighbour returns) as when I'm around. That surprised me. :lol:

I have DAP spray and the wall plug in diffuser on the way in case as well, but from what I'm observing in the cameras, they seem to be doing just fine.

When I'm home, I condition them to accept sounds they might hear (construction going on nearby, the lift going 'ding', etc). And I train them to be quiet on cue. And I use that cue often (rewarding often also) when they decide to tell me (repeatedly) that they heard something weird.

It's harder in an apartment with shelties but not impossible - you just need to be conscious about it and actively train the dogs.
 
Hi and welcome to the boards. I'm also in SoCal. :)

What your neighbors hear will depend on the apartment structure (some places I have lived, no one knew I had a dog, other places, I could hear their dogs scratching themselves).

And the pitch/type of bark your dog will have. My older dog has a deeper pitched bark (think bigger dog) and you can't hear it much through the walls/windows. However, my younger one has a higher pitched, a bit more yappy bark...and he howls too (separation anxiety). I can hear him sooo much easier.

And lastly, I think what sets off the dog will also determine how much of a nuisance it is or isn't. If the dog barks at traffic/people and you're facing a busy street/sidewalk, then that may not be good. If the dog only barks when it's playing or someone at the door, not as big as a deal. I'm not sure if you can tell those things from a puppy or not, but I would let the breeder know what you want. If you're adopting, let the adoption ppl know.

My two dogs come from the same breeder and her lines are typically quieter than other dogs. I really think barking occasionally is okay, but mindless barking is what will do you in with the neighbors.
I've never had anyone complain though. So that's a good thing. I have, however, complained about my neighbors dogs. Usually it's because the dogs are smaller and more high pitched yappy and barking incessantly for no reason.

Good luck!
 
On this topic, what is the best way to work with the puppy on barking? Jagger barks outside when he hears other dogs, which is okay, but I don't want him to turn into a bark-at-everything guy. Scout came to us with the voice softened, so it wasn't as in your face as this little guy's ARF!
 
My little guy is VERY quiet, and we live in an apartment. From what I've been told, you just have to enforce the no barking right from the start. We lucked out - Indie hardly ever barked, so it took us some time to teach him to "speak" ha ha. Now he will bark when he is excited, and we allow him to express this with a few barks, but then we enforce the "no more", so no neighborly complaints :)
 
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