I think the important thing here to remember is we all have to live together!

It is a natural instinct for a dog to bark whether that be for protection, fear, happiness whatever and you are absolutely right there are many people that do not like dogs, however, dogs have a place in this society and therefore it would be wrong to hide them away or continually shut them up on the off chance that someone will appear at your door and doesn't like dogs. That's their problem and not the dog owners.

I think i can see where Blitz is coming from with this one.

I allow a short bark at the door, and thats it. Barking at people, barking when out in the garden, barking when im in the same room is just not allowed. Although tbh mine rarely barks anyway, probably because thats how he has been raised and trained. He hasnt barked at the door for ages, and when he does its a really quiet one that sounds more like a cross between a woof and a snort.
One newish set of neighbours didnt even know i had a dog for about 18 months because the barking was a rarity.

A guy behind my house allows his goldie to bark at everything and everyone, and tbh it can make life pretty miserable. Especially when it barks constantly from 6am on a sunday. Its booming, incessant, and unneccesary. Just because he doesnt care, it doesnt mean the people living around him want to hear it. Can't even sit in the garden without having the peace disturbed.

In fact, at any one time, i can hear a barking dog. Usually ones bunged out in the garden because they have lazy owners.

A small amount of barking is acceptable, its in a dogs nature to vocalise as a warning, and when over excited, but i think its all owners responsibility to teach their dogs to stop on command.

In the OPs case however, i dont see the problem. As long as the dog wasnt barking at the person when the door was open, ( i've never opened mine until ive given the command to stop and calm has been restored) which is a problem and rude imo, then the woman was obviously just a tit.

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I dont mind my mob barking for a reason but i will shut them up if it goes on.Last summer my only neightbours were out in the garden and i still had Indie who was barking i told her to be quiet and my neighbours shouted not to tell her off thats what dogs do but it was getting on my nerves.A couple of weeks ago just as i was going to bed Koda started i thought it was because he was objecting to me leaving and told him off and he still carried on so ignored it shut my door turned off the light and he shut up the next morning my outside front door was open i lock the inside one but leave the outside one unlocked so people can leave things in the porch.Koda i think saved me from a burgler

Well my neighbour (no dogs, 2 kids) has been burgled 3 times.
Whereas I (4 dogs, no kids) have never so much as been approached by a tarmac laying cowboy.
nuff said.

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Its not a case of incessant barking annoying the neighbours though is it? Someone came onto the dogs territory, it barked, perfect, lets hope it does it in the middle of the night when it is someone unsavory.

You'd be peed off if someone came to your house and told you your curtains were horrible, so why is it ok for them to tell you your dog is?

Well I am lucky in that my next door neighbours have 2 staffie crosses that bark a bit...it means that I don't have to worry too much if one of my dogs barks a bit as well. Not that they bark that much anyway but it's comforting to know that they couldn't object. I'd rather hear a dog bark than a baby cry. Another good think is that I know exactly when the postman is going to deliver in the morning, as next doors dogs bark before mine do.

awww i must have a very lazy dog Tummel just looks at the door when someone knocks/rings I'm sure if someone tried to break in he'd go nuts though

I hope that wasnt ained at my thread

As far as im concerned if my dog barks or howls why im out ..hes settling in still so no i dont give a toss what the neighbour might think.. i have to endure their dogs barking up to 3am in the morning and various other things.
If he barks at the door..hes protecting his property But he doesnt bark at the door often.
I think its ridiculous to own a dog and expect it not to bark.

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If he barks he gets removed from the situation...more for my ears than anyone elses ......he barks because he is unsure... apparently this is common in a lot of Manchesters

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Some people are nervous around dogs, perhaps that is why the lady said what she did: nerves. The comment "he's not too friendly is he?" is hardly the world's worst insult. I am nervous around large dogs, so I do not appreciate being barked at, having unleashed dogs run up to me unsolicited, dogs owners allowing their dogs to defecate next to my picnic blanket etc.

I see Blitz's point too. Some (not all) dog owners can be bloody inconsiderate. A neighbour's dog barks incessantly over weekends for some reason. They are in the house, I can see them moving around, and not one of them makes a move to silence the dog. There is nothing more annoying than an incessant, high-pitched yapping going on for hours on end, for no reason, for the whole of Sunday, believe me. It appears that owners are often "deaf" when it comes to their own dogs.
Dogs barking when someone is at the door or in the property, fine. Incessant barking for no reason: inconsiderate.