We have two dogs, Woody, a male golden retriever, and Morgan, a mixed breed dog from the SPCA. It is about this time each year, as the weather gets colder and the air gets drier that they realize their barks and conversations carry to other dogs in the neighborhood. These conversations between dogs start at about dusk and usually continue all night long or as long as the vocal cords will allow. It is only a couple of dogs at first but after a couple of weeks, it is a full-blown barking community. I would imagine that they are sharing really important information like food comparisons, how the opossum tasted that Woody wrestled out of the compost pile, how come birds don't play too long before they die, etc...But after all that I think that they just bark...and bark...and bark, plucking on my daughter's (whose bedroom is adjacent to their living space), our neighbor's, and my last nerve. All of my attempts to curb this behavior were in vain, as soon as I would correct them and turn my back they were at it again. At times, if we turned the spotlights on in the backyard they would stop for a short while, thinking I was going to step out and reprimand them, only to start back up when they realized I was not. Feeling exasperated, I began my search for a humane way to intervene.
Lucky for me, it was not a very long Google search and it seems I got it right after reading several reviews, not many articles were available. I came across the Petsafe Ultrasonic Outdoor Bark Control Unit, which was in stock at my local Petsmart. This unit emits an annoying high-pitched sound whenever the dogs bark, this cues them to stop and has worked very well from the moment I installed it in the backyard. It looks like a birdhouse, so I hung it on a wrought iron plant hanger in the general vicinity of the dogs. Later after having emailed the manufacturer about the effect that it may have on our two rabbits, I learned that this device throws out and receives the bark sound within a 150-degree cone emitted from the front of the device. This is very helpful information when placing the product and allows for very accurate placement over the coverage area. In my reading, most people that have been unsuccessful are those that allowed it to remain on indefinitely. Since I do not want the dogs to bark at night, I turn it on when I arrive from work and turn it off when I feed them each morning. I am hoping that this will develop a routine for them that becomes normal behavior so that at some point in time in the future, I can remove it and only reintroduce it if the barking habit returns. I highly recommend this product and hope that it may help some of you too...
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