Outrage over barking dog signs at a popular park in Balmain, a Sydney Inner West suburb

A community is divided after the council posted a sign demanding that dog owners stop barking in an off-leash area.

The sign, placed in the exclusive suburb of Balmain in western Sydney, urges dog owners to ‘respect the neighbours’.

“No excessive barking,” it demands under an image of a dog in a circle with a cross through the center.

The sign also encourages people who notice dogs making ‘excessive’ noise to report the behavior to the council.

Most pet owners were not impressed.

“My pup likes to talk to his humans the same way we do. Get over it,’ one woman said.

Another added: “Dogs can’t read as far as I know, so it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money.”

But others argued that the sign was an important reminder to take control of your pet.

“It’s easy to teach dogs not to bark excessively. There is absolutely no need for dogs to bark incessantly as they run around,” said one dog walker.

“Dogs can have a lot of fun without barking. It just takes some training,” she added.

One man praised the sign, and complaining dogs and their owners have “taken over” and do as they please.

“In my observations, the entire Inner West is disconnected,” he hissed.

Others simply added fuel to the fire.

Can you stop the children laughing in the playground? That really annoys me,” one man said.

One asked “how much barking is good,” to which another replied, “Three.”

“It doesn’t say humans can’t bark, woof woof,” a third man joked.

One pet owner denounced the idea that all dogs can learn to stop barking, claiming there was one that solved it in five minutes and one that “never stopped.”

Another local resident said the sign was put up to “appease two whingers in the Cove.”