Mediator Steps in When the Bark Is as Bad as Bite

The city of Beverly Hills has come up with a novel solution to the problem of dogs that bark, bite or otherwise disturb the peace. Instead of fining the dog owner and thereby creating another potential source of friction between neighbors, City Atty. Steven Rood calls in a mediator.

Matthew Margolis, who lives in Beverly Hills and owns the National Institute of Dog Training in Monterey Park, has been providing free counseling to owners of troublesome dogs since last spring, when Rood asked for his help in resolving what appeared to be a rapidly escalating dispute over a barking canine.

Margolis, who said he solves dog problems by thinking like one, calls Rood’s program “Doggy Court, Margolis Presiding.”

Sometimes both parties in a complaint meet in Rood’s office while Rood describes the problem to Margolis over a speaker telephone. After Margolis hears both sides he usually is able to offer advice that is acceptable to everyone, Rood said.

House Calls

On other occasions, Margolis has visited dogs and their owners at home to get a better grasp of the pooch’s personality and environment.

Margolis has helped Rood with about 30 cases so far and has made about 10 house calls. Rood estimated that this approach has saved the city thousands of dollars in court costs and untold hours of attorneys’ time. He also pointed out that it has saved money for the dog owners, who could be fined, made to give up their pets, forced to hire attorneys to defend lawsuits--or all three.

Most of the cases have involved dogs who bark excessively; a few resulted from complaints about vicious dogs that escaped from their yards and attacked people and other animals.

It all started with the case of a Beverly Hills businessman whose dog was barking night and day. The next-door neighbor had complained repeatedly to the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which reported the problem to Rood.

“The two homeowners were in a real dispute,” Rood said. “The conventional legal methods--prosecution--didn’t seem to be a solution. A fine wouldn’t mean that much.

“People have tremendously strong feelings about their dogs. They are extensions of themselves, of their personal egos.”

Rood said someone had told him about Margolis, who has trained dogs for a number of Beverly Hills residents and is a reserve animal control officer for the Los Angeles City Department of Animal Regulation. When called, Margolis agreed to investigate.

Destructive Dog

“The owners had lived with the dog for years,” Margolis recalled recently. “It was always outside and it was not housebroken. It was destructive. It barked day and night, dug holes. They tried moving it to another part of the yard, first the front, then the side. Nothing helped.” Finally, the city attorney told the owner that if the barking did not cease the owner would be fined and the dog would be banished.

“I said first of all it didn’t sound like a barking problem,” Margolis continued. “The dog just wasn’t obedient. I looked at the dog and it was a very sweet dog. I said, ‘As far as I’m concerned the dog should be brought in the house and have obedience training.’ I stayed three hours. The owner said, ‘I know you’re right.’ ”

The dog went through obedience training. It stays in the house at night now and the neighbors have stopped complaining, according to Rood.

Another time, a vicious-dog problem was solved when its owner agreed--after consulting with Margolis--to build an inexpensive, breakout-proof fence. Margolis did not advise training for the dog because, he said, it was too old.

In a third case, the owner of an elderly Doberman pinscher had received so many complaints about the dog’s barking that she was considering a muzzle for her pet or having its vocal cords operated on.

Margolis said both approaches were inhumane, Rood said. The owners had a large lot in the hills and, at Margolis’ suggestion, they moved the dog to an area where its barking would not create a nuisance.

People at Fault

Margolis, co-author of a book called “When Good Dogs Do Bad Things,” pointed out that much of the time people are the source of the problem. For example, he said, if a dog is barking at night, it’s because it is lonely. The pet “takes a bum rap” because the owners keep him outdoors.

“Everybody wants the dog to bark (as protection against intruders). When he barks, they say, ‘Good boy, good boy.’ They don’t know how to turn it off. Then they keep the dog outside. The last thing you want is that.

“It’s all part of responsible pet ownership,” he said. Margolis also believes it is cruel to keep a dog outside all the time, and he reminds owners that “there are millions of people living in apartments. They almost have to have a better trained dog.”

Rood, a man who empathizes with dog owners as well as their suffering neighbors, said, “It’s very terrible to be a victim of a dog’s noise. I have had cases where dog owners have been involved in injunctions, civil suits, with attorneys fees over $20,000 each. In each case, Matt was able to resolve the problem.”

In three instances, owners enrolled their dogs in Margolis’ training program, but in the other cases he has received no payment for his services, Rood said.

Rood said he has never had neighbors come back with complaints when dog owners have taken Margolis’ advice.

“What Margolis has done is enable me to not have to go to trial,” Rood said. “Court time and attorneys’ time has been saved. It might take me about 10 hours’ preparation for a trial. For a small case, that is a lot of time.”

In addition, Rood said, he has become something of a “mini-expert in dog barking.” Now he’s even thinking of getting a puppy of his own.