Do barking silencers really work?

May 3, 2007 1:23 PM

Has anyone ever set up a dog silencer in their backyard? (Like this one.) Do they work?

Spring is here which is the time of year that we enjoy opening windows and puttering around in the garden. It's also the time that our neighbours start letting their dogs, who love to bark, outside. We're surrounded on all four sides by dogs: four behind us, one on each side and two across the street. The two little dogs in the house behind ours get their panties in a bunch if we even stand outside our patio door. That starts a chain reaction for all the other dogs to pipe up. In the past we've tried talking to the owners, calling the township, no change.

Any other suggestions are welcome.

Thanks!

posted by KathyK to home & garden (10 comments total)

I had a neighbor dog like that. I would speak to the dog, throw him a pack of hotdogs or what not and then he quit barking when I came out.
posted by stormygrey at 1:30 PM on May 3, 2007

The sonic anti-bark thing worked for a while on our St. Bernard, but then he started ignoring it. We had a much cheaper smaller version bought from PetSmart, however.

As much as I hated it, I had to go to a shock collar for a few days and then he quit barking except for when someone he doesn't know approaches the house (which is fine with me).
posted by mrbill at 2:21 PM on May 3, 2007

This part makes me suspicious:

This revolutionary technique stops only nuisance barking and is designed to have no affect on instinctual or protective barking.

posted by desjardins at 2:23 PM on May 3, 2007

I don't have experience with these devices themselves, but these kinds of things always work better on some dogs than others, depending on how sensitive they are, how strong the urge to bark is, and whether they can tune it out/get used to it/whatever is going on when some dogs start ignoring them.

You will find differing opinions as to how humane things like this are. It's not obvious that stifling such a basic instinct isn't harmful, though, especially if some dogs are more affected by it but other dogs keep barking anyway (which, given how many dogs are near you, isn't unlikely). So, honestly, it doesn't sound like a good solution for your situation. Not that I know of a a better one, unfortunately. Maybe you can teach them to bark in harmony and get them on Letterman.
posted by mattpfeff at 2:47 PM on May 3, 2007

get yourself a big bad dog and join in!
posted by Salvatorparadise at 3:06 PM on May 3, 2007

We've had two neighbors with dogs that barked all day. Both dogs were barking because they were lonely, understimulated, and locked in small backyards with nothing to do. After talking to the neighbors about it (they shrugged it off) and talking to the city about it (they'll fine the owners twice, then put the dog down... not the direction I was hoping to go) we decided to try the ultrasonic 'silencer'. The two dogs were very different, as was their response to the silencer:

The older dog, a huge indeterminate breed, would let out wailing howls from the moment its owners drove away in the morning until the moment they returned at night, after which they would take it into the house and it would be quiet... it was just lonely and wanted its family around. Being an old dog, it had lost most of its hearing in the higher registers (this happens to people too) and it couldn't hear the silencer at all.

The other dog was a Labrador puppy that spent all day outside while the humans were at work, barking at anything that moved (people, cars, butterflies, wind). When they got home they'd play with it for about 5 minutes and then leave it alone outside again, where it would resume barking (the owners were overheard talking about how they had to get a white-noise generator to drown out the barking so they could sleep). This dog could hear the silencer just fine - it would bark, the silencer would respond, and the dog would stop barking and look towards the silencer as though it had just been reprimanded. This worked for about three days, after which I noticed that the dog was barking all day again. I went out to check on the silencer, which was working fine... the problem was that the dog was barking because it was understimulated and nobody was paying attention to it - except for the faithful silencer, which was always up for a conversation. The dog would bark, the 'silencer' would trigger, the dog would happily run around in circles until the silencer turned off; then the dog would run up to the silencer, look at it expectantly, and bark to set it off again. It looked so frickin happy that it had found a friend.
posted by foobario at 3:47 PM on May 3, 2007

This part makes me suspicious:

This revolutionary technique stops only nuisance barking and is designed to have no affect on instinctual or protective barking.

Me too. They spelled effect wrong, too.
posted by ORthey at 5:12 PM on May 3, 2007

Link isn't working for me. Pity. I'd love to shut-up that damn dog next door...
posted by Thorzdad at 4:41 AM on May 4, 2007

I asked the same question previously. It didn't work. Neither did talking to the neighbors or yelling at the dogs or banging pots and pans. The only thing that has worked is calling the cops. Repeatedly.
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:42 AM on May 4, 2007

This part makes me suspicious:

This revolutionary technique stops only nuisance barking and is designed to have no affect on instinctual or protective barking.

Me too. They spelled effect wrong, too.

No, I think they meant that the device wouldn't make your dog start barking with a fake British accent.

What's worked for me is to go out and throw a bucket of water (or turn on the hose) on the neighbor's dog and yell, "shut up!" After about three times the dog quiets down with a simple shout from me. I did have to give her one "reminder" after having been gone for over a year though.

I recommend you check with the neighbor before using this technique.
posted by Pollomacho at 9:54 AM on May 4, 2007