Just about every block has one—a dog that won’t stop barking. So many people complain about it in Albuquerque, hence the city is trying a new approach to bring some peace and quiet for neighborhoods and to keep the peace between neighbors.

Instead of officers coming over to a home after each complaint, they’re going to wait to see if the neighbors can work it out before Animal Welfare or the courts get involved.

“The barking is non-stop,” said local Hannah Brown. It can be pretty annoying—a neighbor’s dog that just won’t stop barking at all hours. “My husband works nights so the dog barking during the day is really affecting his day-to-day life,” said Brown.

From trying to sweet talk the dog, giving it treats, talking to the owner and even anti-barking devices, nothing seemed to work. “It kind of looks like a birdhouse and it omits like a dog whistle,” said Brown referring to the anti-bark device. “It’s supposed to deter the dog from barking but he barked his way through.”

So the Browns kept calling the city’s Animal Welfare Department for help. “We do get a lot of calls on barking dogs,” said Adam Ricci with Animal Welfare. Complaints of dogs barking are well documented on the city’s 311 app, but instead of going door-to-door for each issue, the city is trying a different approach. “The new process if we get a complaint about a barking dog, we’re actually sending out two mailing letters out,” said Ricci. “One to the pet owner, one to the complainant.”

The letters say they’re giving the pet owner seven days to curb the dog’s barking. If the problem continues, they will pay a visit to the home or even take the case to court. The new system also requires the people complaining to keep a log of the barking, something the Brown family did.

Animal Welfare said they hope the new method will allow their officers to focus on other problems like loose and aggressive dogs, and for the neighbors to work out this problem so the Browns and other families have some peace and quiet. “That would be everything,” said Brown. “To be able to enjoy our yard the way we’re supposed to enjoy our yard.”

Animal control officers did give the neighbor a noise citation for his barking pit bull mix. They said when they called the owner to tell him they were at this house checking on the complaint, he told them, “dogs bark.”

This week-old tactic to handle dog barking complaints also includes mediation, so neighbors can discuss the problem with an owner and talk about solutions, like more training or keeping the dog inside.