How to keep a dog barking diary

What a bark diary is for

A dog barking diary is a dated log of each barking episode: when it started, when it stopped, what you heard and how it affected you. Landlords, HOAs, councils and mediators often ask for one before they act, because it shows a pattern rather than one bad night.

It helps you as much as them. Written down, “constantly” often turns out to be two bad hours a day, at the same times, with the same trigger. That is easier to talk about, easier to fix and harder to dismiss.

If the dog is your own, the same record tells you what sets it off and whether the training is working.

What to write down for each episode

One line per episode. An episode is a stretch of barking; a new one starts after a clear quiet gap.

How to make it credible

• Write it on the day, ideally while it is happening. Entries written up a week later are easy to question.
• Record times, not impressions. “06:10 to 06:35, continuous” says more than “barked all morning”.
• Note the gaps. Write down the days you were away, so a blank day is not read as a quiet one.
• Keep it about the noise, not the people. Leave out guesses about the owner or the dog’s welfare unless you saw something specific.
• Be consistent. Same format, every day, for long enough to show a pattern.
• Keep the originals. Share copies, and keep your own dated copy of anything you send.

Before you send it anywhere

If it feels safe, talk to the owner first. Many people have no idea their dog barks while they are out, and a calm conversation with a few dates in hand often goes further than a formal complaint. If a note is easier, the barking dog letter generator writes a friendly one, or a formal letter for a landlord or HOA.

If that does not work, ask whoever handles complaints (your landlord, the HOA or the council) what they need. Many have their own form or ask for a set period of entries. Use their form if they have one, and keep your diary alongside it.

This page is general guidance, not legal advice. Rules and procedures differ from place to place.

Free printable bark diary template

The template is one landscape sheet per week, with space for your details, the dog’s location and description, and the six columns above. It comes as a PDF in A4 and US Letter, or you can print it straight from the browser.

Open the printable template PDF, A4PDF, US Letter

Let your phone keep the log

Paper works, but it needs you awake, home and paying attention. DogQuiet keeps the log for you while it is open on an iPhone:

• It recognises barking on the phone itself, about twice a second, and logs each episode with the exact time.
• It saves a 10-second clip of each bark and notes what came just before it, such as a doorbell or another dog.
• It hears through a wall. The deterrent sound does not, but the microphone picks up a neighbour’s dog perfectly well.
• It exports a PDF bark report for any date range: total barks, days covered, average per day, the busiest day and hour, then a day-by-day log. See a sample report.

Be clear about what it is. DogQuiet only logs while the app is open on screen, so it covers the hours you run it. Its entries are machine-generated, not a person identifying a particular dog, and the report says so. And it cannot know how the barking affects you, so keep a line or two of your own notes next to it.

Common questions