Sterilising your dog is the simple answer to prevent unwanted litters — and sadly, thousands of unwanted dogs are dumped and destroyed every year. Aside from that, registration is cheaper for sterilised dogs and there are associated many medical and behavioural benefits with sterilisation. For more information, contact your local vet.
If your dog is already registered with the City and has recently been sterilised, you may be eligible for a partial refund of the unsterlised registration cost.
Dog Sterilisation Refund Form
Barking complaints are common. Dog owners are often not aware their dog barks, they may have higher tolerance levels, or they do not see it as a problem.
Barking complaints can be time consuming and complex, and we rely on the complainant recording accurate evidence and completing the required documentation to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
What is nuisance barking
Barking is a dog’s way of communicating, so not all barking is considered nuisance barking. Nuisance barking is persistent barking that negatively impacts a person’s lifestyle, and includes:
- Barking at traffic, people or other distractions long after the distraction has left
- Barking, howling or whining regularly and for long periods of time without a defined cause.
Guidelines from the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries
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Barking more than six minutes in an hour between 6am and 10pm on any day
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Barking more than three minutes in any 30-minute period between 10pm and 6am on any day
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Barking more than 240 times between 6am and 10pm, and more than 32 barks between 10pm and 6am on any day.
What laws govern nuisance barking?
Nuisance barking issues are dealt with under the Dog Act 1976 and associated regulations. While there are guidelines to assess if barking is at nuisance levels, there are no measurement tools in the Act that specify what constitutes nuisance barking. Cases need to be assessed via the barking diaries and other evidence provided.
Additional information can be found on the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries website.
How do I lodge a barking complaint?
Consider speaking with the dog owner first
Complainants are encouraged to speak with the owner when a dog’s barking becomes a nuisance. Complainants should inform them when the barking is happening and the effect it is having. If the complainant is not comfortable talking to the dog owner, they can complete and drop off or post a Neighbour Notification Dog Barking Form as an informal way of advising and giving the dog owner the opportunity to address the issue.
Dog barking complaint process
1. Initial complaint: lodged with Ranger Services
If the complainant has tried to communicate with the dog owner either in person or via our Neighbour Notification Dog Barking Form and the barking has continued to be unreasonable, the affected person should contact Ranger Services on 9411 3444 or email.
Please be aware that it is essential the complainant identifies the property where the dog resides.
Response: Both dog owner and complainant are contacted
Ranger Services will contact the involved parties. The dog owner will be notified of the dog nuisance complaint and ways to reduce barking. The complaint will then be closed.
Unreasonable barking continues
2. If the barking has continued to be unreasonable, the complainant will need to contact Ranger Services on 9411 3444.
Ranger Services will advise the complainant to complete Form 7 (an official complaint form, which is part of the Dog Act requirement) and a 14-day dog barking diary.
The completed diary is submitted to Service Support for assessment.
The City will also accept other forms as evidence, such as CCTV cameras with audio. These will need to be submitted to Service Support for assessment.
Ranger Services will distribute a letter to the immediate neighbours of the barking dog for their feedback on barking in the area.
Please note, the complainant will be notified if a diary has been completed incorrectly, or if the dog noise is considered reasonable as per the guidelines for nuisance dogs.
3. Action taken
If our investigation determines the dog is displaying nuisance barking, a Noise Abatement Notice may be issued to the dog owner.
A Noise Abatement Notice is an official document requiring the owner to stop or lessen their dog’s nuisance barking below nuisance levels, within 14 days. The order remains in effect for six months from the date specified in the notice. The complainant must keep a dog barking diary for those six months.
After six months the Noise Abatement Notice will lapse, unless genuine complaints have been received during this period.
4. Penalties
If the barking continues, infringements can be issued for each day the offence continues. An infringement will be issued if deemed a breach of nuisance guidelines.
The penalty for nuisance barking is a breach of section 38(5) under the Dog Act 1976 and has an infringement of $400 for a dangerous dog and $200 for all other dogs.
Repeat offenders may be liable for prosecution in court. The maximum court penalty is $10,000 for a dangerous dog and $5,000 for all other dogs.
Understanding the causes and possible solutions:
Swipe to see more
| Issue |
Possible solution |
Behavioural issues
Psychological issues
Separation anxiety |
- Professional dog training
- Vet assessment
- Play soft background music
- Never reward your dog for excessive barking
- Don't let your dog inside or give it attention when it barks
- Teach your dog to stop barking on command
- Use anti-bark devices for a short-term remedy or behaviour modification
|
Boredom
Excessive energy |
|
| Reactive to animals and passers-by |
- Restrict the dog’s vision through gates and fencing
- Confine the dog to an area away from people or vehicles
|
| Physical discomfort |
- Adequate shelter
- Food and water
|
| Distractions |
- A soft radio playing in the background may block out external noises
- If your dog barks at regular disturbances ,keep it inside or enclosed during these times
- If your dog is barking at distractions over the fence, move the dog or put a barrier to keep it away from that area
- If your dog barks at gaps in the fence, fill in the gaps
- If your dog barks at passers-by, block the view
|
Further tips on how to manage excessive barking can be found online at the
PetCoach. For more information, contact your vet or an animal behaviorist.
Dog boredom busters
- Bustercube®: available at most pet shops and some vet clinics. This is a cube puzzle with different chambers in it. You fill it with dry food and your dog will knock the cube around until the food has been eaten. Quite advanced toy but great for dogs who have graduated from easier ones.
- Treatball: similar to Bustercube but a ball shape. Available in a few sizes but have found dogs with strong jaws can break them on occasions. Not quite as hard as Bustercube® for dogs. Available at most pet shops and some vet clinics.
- Kong toy: a great toy for all dogs and good investment as they are practically indestructible. With their unusual shape they are great as a throw toy and even better as a treat holder. Fill it with your dog’s favourite treats and it will keep them occupied for hours. Try putting in peanut paste and then dry food. It sticks to the inside and lasts longer. Also great in summer, yogurt or other treats can be frozen inside the Kong, taking longer to get out.
- Empty drink bottles: a cheap and easy way to keep your dog amused. Simply rinse out and leave to drain. Remove the lid and the plastic ring around the top of the bottle. Once dry, divide your dog’s dry food portion into two or three bottles. You can vary the size and shape of the bottles to give the dog more or less of a challenge. You may have to knock the bottle around a few times so that some food comes out and your dog gets the hang of it. Most dogs catch on very quickly. As they get better at it, divide the food into more bottles, or maybe graduate to something like a Treatball or Bustercube.
- Ice blocks: these are better in summer, but most dogs are happy to give them a go anytime. Simply rinse out empty milk containers and open the top. Put in anything your dog may like, such as table scraps, peanut paste, dry food, canned food, pig noses and ears, chew bones, raw vegies, etc. Then fill with water to around three quarters full and maybe add a stock cube for extra flavour. Place in the freezer overnight and then tear off the milk carton and give to the dog. Small plastic containers from takeaway food and empty margarine containers are ideal.
- Treasure hunt: hide small piles of food (10 bits of dry food) in your garden and backyard, in areas that you want your dog to go in. Dogs love sniffing out food. Note: this may not be advisable if you have a wasp or bee problem in your area.
Source: Dog Boredom Busters
The City treats attacks very seriously and investigates all reports of dog incidents or attacks.
If you or your dog are involved in a dog attack, seek medical or veterinary attention immediately if required, and then contact the City’s Rangers on 9411 3444.
To assist with the investigation, try to obtain as much information as you can. This includes:
- Description of the dog or dog owner, including physical features, clothing, their vehicle, and what direction they came from/went
- Your dog’s description
- Witness information/statement
- Photos of any injuries sustained
- Location, date, and time of incident
- Medical and veterinary documentation (if applicable).
If a dog attacks a person or an animal the owner or person in control at the time may be held responsible. The number and severity of reported dog attacks is constantly monitored.
Please note: City Rangers are unable to assist in any recovery of costs associated with a dog attack. Customers may pursue this issue as a civil action between the parties involved.
Declared dangerous dogs
The City may declare an individual dog as dangerous if:
- the dog has caused injury or damage by an attack on, or chasing, a person, animal or vehicle; or
- the dog has, repeatedly, shown a tendency:
- to attack, or chase, a person, animal or vehicle even though no injury has been caused by that behaviour
- to threaten to attack.
Owners of dogs declared as dangerous must comply with the requirements of the Dog Act 1976 or face penalties, including fines.
Dangerous dogs - restricted breeds
The Dog Act 1976 and the Dog Regulations 2013 provide information on dangerous dogs (restricted breeds). Under the Dog Act a dangerous dog (restricted breed) is defined as a breed whose import into Australia is prohibited. Please see the WA Rangers Restricted Breed Dogs information for a list of current restricted breeds in WA.
You must follow legislative requirements for keeping a restricted breed dog which includes mixed breeds.
If your dog excretes anywhere that isn’t on your property, you must remove and appropriately dispose of it. The City of Cockburn has installed waste bins and dog poo bag dispensers at many park locations to assist pet owners with appropriate disposal.
If your local park doesn’t have these, or if your park has run out of dog poo bags, please contact the City directly on 9411 3444 or submit a service request.
Failure to remove excreta may result in a $100 penalty.
When registering your dog, you must make a declaration to certify that the fences and gates at your home are capable of confining your dog within your premises. Gates must also have effective self-closing mechanisms.