• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Kol's Notes

  • HOMEMADE DOG TREAT RECIPES
    • Dog Cakes
    • Dog Cookies
    • Dehydrator Dog Treats
    • Frozen Dog Treats
    • Grain-Free Dog Treats
    • Other Dog Treats
  • DIY DOG MOM
    • DIY Dog Beds
    • DIY Dog Collars
    • DIY Dog Toys
    • Painting Projects
    • Paper Crafts
    • Printable Planner Stickers
    • Sewing Projects
    • Storage & Organization
  • DOG MOM LIFESTYLE
    • Dog Mom Shopping
    • Dog-Friendly Cleaning
    • Apartment Living with Dogs
    • Dog-Friendly Gardens & Decks
    • Pet Supply Storage and Organization
    • Tips & Tricks
  • DIY DOG CARE
    • DIY Dog Grooming
    • Dog Training
    • Canine Health & Fitness
  • DIY DOG HOLIDAYS
    • Valentine’s Day
    • Easter
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas

How to Minimize Dog Noise in an Apartment

13 April, 2014 by Jodi Chick 23 Comments

721 Shares
Share
Tweet
Pin721

Noisy dogs are one of the most difficult apartment living problems to solve. No one wants live alongside a dog who is always making a racket and no one wants to be that neighbour either. Part of being a good neighbour is taking steps to help minimize dog noise in an apartment. These tips can help.

* * *

A bit of noise comes with the territory when you are apartment living with dogs.

Sure some dogs are better suited to apartment life than others, but every dog is “doggy” from time to time. They run, they jump, they play, the squeak toys and sometimes, they bark. Thus is life with dogs. While the occasionally noisy romp or bark is unlikely to irk even the most quarrelsome of neighbours, consistent day to day dogs noise is obnoxious and makes it difficult to enjoy your own living space. No one wants to be that neighbour. Luckily, there are a few simple things you can do to be a good apartment dweller and ensure that you minimize dog noise in your apartment.

 

Minimize Dog Noise in an Apartment with these tips

 

 

Shut the Woof Up! 

Barking is annoying, no matter how you look at it. Kolchak has a way of whining like he’s been stabbed whenever meat products are about. Felix likes to woof whenever it looks like Koly is having too much fun playing tug or wrassling with me. (He’s totally the fun police.)

  • Teach your dog a reliable “hush” command. For the record, Kolchak’s “hush” command is “CRAM IT, KOLCHAK!” and it works like a charm. You can teach your dog to hush using these tips.
  • Eliminate or restrict access to barking hot spots. We’ve told you guys how Felix is a wee bit sound reactive (and by a wee bit, I mean he is utterly convinced that keys in the hallway means Michael Myers is outside the door.) I use a baby gate to keep him from loitering in the entry way, he only has supervised access to the deck and we listen to audiobooks, the radio or the TV to cover any ambient noise that comes with apartment life.
  • Recognize barking triggers to better manage them. Try to note what sets off your dog barking and either eliminate the trigger or train to desensitize against it. We’re working on Felix’s “fun police” barking by settling him in with stuffed Kong before Kol and I play. I manage Kol’s “meat mania” by feeding the dogs before I eat, so he’s full and by providing bully sticks or other meaty chews for him to enjoy if we have company over for appies or snacks.

 

Thumpity, thump thump!

DSC09262a
Confession time: my dogs are allowed on the furniture. My dogs sleep all up in my bed. Let’s be honest: I’m lucky the let ME on the furniture! Since dogs can’t gracefully set their feet on the floor and stand, there is a fair bit of bumping and thumping that comes with getting on and off the furniture.

  • Make getting on and off easier.  We built a DIY Dog Ramp to help prevent the dogs from jumping off the bed and landing with a thud (and to protect Felix’s ACL from being torn again or the other one from blowing out.) I’m working on a short table/stair case to make getting of the couch easier and less jumpy. In the meantime, I’ve tossed a couple of thick dog beds in front of the sofa and I encourage the dogs to jump on those.
  • Teach your dog the “four on the floor” command. This was one of the best commands we learned in puppy school (and why I always recommend people take a positive reinforcement training class with their new dogs). All it takes is a simple “FOURS, Kolchak” reminder and my bouncy puppy is all decorum and good behaviour again. Jumping is a pin in the tail! Check out how to train “four on the floor” with this video.
  • Provide an outlet for bouncy behavior. Take advantage of public spaces get in a little tug of war time. Sometimes we’ll take a tug on our walk and use to as positive reinforcement for good behavior. My dogs loves jumping around after a flirt pole at our local park. If you must play bouncy games in the house, Pamela from Something Wagging suggests doing it on the bed. A thick mattress and the dead space between the frame and the floor can help muffle any wrassling noises. You can also buy Noise Isolation Feet to go under furniture to minimize bouncing-related noises.

Use Decor to Diffuse Noise

 

DSC00015a

 

 

Minimalist design may be all the rage, but the truth is that decorating can help to minimize noise in an apartment. Using a variety of fabrics and finishes can help to diffuse sound and make the impact of sounds like barking, whining and banging less noticeable.

  • Hang drapes. Fabrics help to diffuse noise and the more generous the curtains you hang, the better they will work. For best results, choose a heavy weight fabric that is 32 oz/yard or more. (If weighty fabric is outside your budget, you can use multiple layers of a lighter weight material. This is great if you’re looking to line your curtains with a light reduction fabric. Choose a porous material and avoid products like leather, vinyl or acrylic-faced fabrics.
  • Carpeting is your friend. Even if you decide not to carpet your entire living space with a noise reduction foam and carpet, using a plush throw rug with a noise reduction carpet pad underneath can make a huge difference.
  • Choose noise reducing wall art. Canvases are a better choice than framed pictures. For added noise reduction, you can cut pieces of noise reducing foam to fit between the canvas and the wall. They also make decorative wall panels meant to absorb sound that can make an interesting wall feature.
  • Think outside the box. A friend of mine lives in an apartment with a family of tap dancing hippos living upstairs. She covered a few large box frames (like the kind canvases are stretched on) and covered them with a non-porous neutral coloured leather, filled the backs with noise reducing foam and then hung them an inch from her ceiling. She’s lost a bit of ceiling height, but her upstairs neighbours say they can’t even hear her dogs anymore.

Do you have any tips to help reduce dog noise in an apartment?

Comments

comments

Filed Under: Apartment Living with Dogs

Previous Post: « Easter Rabbit Photo Prop for Dogs
Next Post: DIY Treat & Train Apron Tutorial »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Christina Berry

    14 April, 2014 at 7:04 AM

    Great tips, thanks for a great post! I’ll definitely be sharing it because I know so many people who have dogs in apartments (and crowded neighborhoods)!

    Reply
    • KolchakPuggle

      15 April, 2014 at 10:00 PM

      Thank you!

      Reply
  2. Laika

    14 April, 2014 at 7:19 AM

    Thank good I’m living in a house. Mostly of the noise I am making is ..tap tap tap from my nails when I walk over the floor.

    Reply
    • KolchakPuggle

      15 April, 2014 at 10:00 PM

      Yes, I daresay, living in the house was quite a bit easier. Luckily, we have carpet so the tappity tap isn’t an issue!

      Reply
  3. Lara

    14 April, 2014 at 7:27 AM

    Great tips! We live in a town-home and share walls on two sides.

    I installed frosted window film to cut down on Ruby barking out the window when other dogs went by and it’s worked like a charm. I know my neighbors appreciate the more peaceful days!

    Reply
    • KolchakPuggle

      15 April, 2014 at 9:59 PM

      The window film is a great idea for dogs who bark at the windows. Genius!

      Reply
  4. Jessica

    14 April, 2014 at 10:52 AM

    We’re lucky to be in an older-construction townhouse, which means the walls are actually not paper thin. Also, my neighbor on one side is a devoted dog person who has (no kidding) described Silas’s Doberman-volume barks as “adorable.” As for the neighbor on the other side? If he can handle my husband SLAMMING the kitchen cabinets, I figure he can handle Silas.

    The one thing I am *really* careful about is our patio. Silas will bark every time the neighbors make a noise out there, so I try to listen and make sure no one else is using their patio before I let him out there. I also try not to let him bark at everyone coming home from work and in our front gate, so that’s usually Kong time.

    Reply
    • KolchakPuggle

      15 April, 2014 at 9:59 PM

      The patio is a giant hot spot for barkery and nonsense at our house, but we’re working on it. Our building is wood framed, which means noise travels like a mofo. We’re definitely planning a ton of quality “kong on the patio” time this summer.

      Reply
  5. Emma

    14 April, 2014 at 12:06 PM

    The only thing Mom can think of is not to own a hound…we just love to hear ourselves! Good points you have, though.

    Reply
    • KolchakPuggle

      15 April, 2014 at 9:54 PM

      LOL, I hear that! Kol is generally quiet, but when he does bark? it’s an all out assault!

      Reply
  6. Kate Obrien

    14 April, 2014 at 1:10 PM

    Great points Kol. Recognizing the triggers is key around here, although luckily neither Jack or Maggie are big barkers.

    Reply
    • KolchakPuggle

      15 April, 2014 at 9:54 PM

      *jealous* Can I get them to have a word or two with my nutbars?

      Reply
  7. Colby

    14 April, 2014 at 3:26 PM

    We don’t live in an apartment, but I still try to keep my dogs quiet in the house. I never really thought about the decor to decrease the noise, but I think I will do that for my boys.

    One thing that I do with my dogs is turn on the radio when I’m not home. It’s not for their enjoyment, but to keep them from hearing some of the outside sounds which often triggers Linus and his barking.

    Reply
    • KolchakPuggle

      15 April, 2014 at 9:53 PM

      Yes! The radio is so helpful! Felix likes talk radio, even though it bores me to death.

      Reply
  8. Jeanne Pursell

    17 April, 2014 at 12:06 AM

    Excellent post Jodi!! Hey, I sent you a message on Facebook…STILL in disbelief!!

    Happy Thursday!

    Reply
  9. Jessica Rhae

    17 April, 2014 at 5:03 AM

    When you said “thump” I thought you were going to talk about tiny thumps outside that make them bark. That’s Chester’s issue. He even barks at tiny thumps INSIDE NOW (like setting a glass on a table or closing the cupboard). We lived for years in an apartment but he was never as barky as he is now. I am not sure I could do it now but fear it might be a necessity someday.

    Reply
    • KolchakPuggle

      26 April, 2014 at 7:48 AM

      I was honestly 110% convinced that Felix would never be an apartment dog. We’ve had some HUGE success with noise desenitivity training. I can recite the Harry Potter books, but ambient noise makes it so much easier. I also found that reinforcing his “grumpy old man chuff” (this cute, gruff little almost bark that is very quiet) super helpful. More and more, he does this as opposed to barking…

      Reply
  10. Singing Dogs

    19 April, 2014 at 5:11 PM

    Nice tips Jodi.

    Reply
    • KolchakPuggle

      26 April, 2014 at 7:45 AM

      Thank you 🙂

      Reply
  11. megan

    29 September, 2017 at 4:20 PM

    I wish I could figure out noise reduction from the hallway. When I leave coda whines and howls. You can’t hear it from outside but the hallway door might as well be open with how loud it is!

    Reply
    • Felix

      29 September, 2017 at 5:00 PM

      That one is TOUGH. First, of you don’t already have one, get a solid core door. It will do a much better job of dampening sound. You can also get accoustical door seal kits that seal off any air leaks.

      If there’s a way to keep your pup in an area away from the door (like a bedroom) that can help too. Good luck!

      Reply
  12. Danyon Satterlee

    26 August, 2018 at 6:03 PM

    Hi! Thank you for this post. I know this is so long ago now, but do you know how your friend hung the panels from the ceiling? Did he/she have to use screws at all to mount it? I am considering trying that for my loud neighbor upstairs. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Felix

      27 August, 2018 at 6:48 AM

      Hi Danyon, She used a product that was suspended from the ceiling using a wire hanger. This isn’t the same brand because she doesn’t remember what brand she used, but it’s the same look. There are absolutely less expensive options on the market! She just liked the bright white colour and design. (Affiliate link) https://amzn.to/2wr3rpz

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Get the Latest Tips and Tricks from the DIY Dog Right to Your Inbox

Kol’s Notes is an Etsy Affiliate.

Footer

Load More...Follow on Instagram

LET’S BE FRIENDS

Jodi Chick is a lifestyle blogger from Vancouver, BC (That’s in Canada, eh?) who believes anyone can have a pet-friendly home that doesn’t feel like it’s gone to the dogs. When she’s not arguing with her sassy puggle, she can be found in the kitchen, the craft room or on the couch, binging on Netflix and putting stickers in her many day planners.

USEFUL LINKS

PRIVACY POLICY

CONTACT

ABOUT

WORK WITH US

THE INFORMATION SHARED ON THIS SITE IS THE RESULT OF MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE ONLY AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS MEDICAL ADVICE.
PLEASE CONSULT YOUR VETERINARIAN BEFORE CHANGING YOUR PETS DIET OR MAKING ANY OTHER HEALTH DECISIONS.
ALL POSTS AND CONTENT ARE THE PROPERTY OF THIS SITE AND CANNOT BE DUPLICATED OR DISTRIBUTED WITHOUT EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Copyright © 2019 Kol's Notes on the Foodie Pro Theme