Pavlov's Law, It worked....On me!

We've all heard of Pavlov and his famous experiments with dogs. In the 1800's he studied the behavioral responses of dogs to food. He would first ring a bell, and after which give the hungry dog a plate of food. His measurement was the amount of saliva produced after the bell was wrung. After numerous experiments the dog would respond to the bell by salivating regardless if the dog was given food or not. And today, most everyone knows of this neat little experiment. In high school you've probably done mini-experiments with fish and using tapping the glass of a fish tank to create the response in fishes when food was being served.

Well the law works on me just as well. Thanks to my neighbors dogs, and his dogs' constant reinforcement over the past year by barking at me every time I come to near to the back of my own yard, the dog has managed to create a physical response from me, even when I just think of going to my back yard. My blood pressure rises, and I have increased anxiety. And well it's just not right when you really think about it. For the past two days the dog has been much better. But that could be mainly because it has been raining the past week and the neighbors might have been keeping the dogs in. I was truly hoping my Bark Silencer Pro had been doing it's job, but I'm still not convinced it has completely worked.

I will be a happy man when I'm able to completely enjoy my backyard again. I have been debating putting in a hedge to help ad some privacy to my backyard, but the costs may be out of my budget for now. It's too bad, because it would be great to have a barrier from our neighbors yard. But I have to manage my families finances and maintain a balanced budget that keeps us within our financial means. So for now I would be happy just knowing we can go out at anytime, morning, day, night, and just enjoy hanging out. Without the anxiety of me thinking,"How long with the peacefulness last?"

Again I pray for everyone that is having a problem with nuisance noises, such as a dog uncontrolled. People have every right to enjoy what they have worked so hard to get. And in today's world, just a little serenity from the crazy world around us is what I think all of us need.

Thank you Cara!

I digress from my venting session to thank my Sister-in-Law Cara Joy Thornton. She is my first follower, and I'm pretty excited to have her following me. I can't say I know exactly what her major is(like most guys, I don't hear everything that's told to me), but I do know she has a strong foundation in writing, and to have her read even part of my blog is flattering. Of course she reads what I type by default only because I'm married to her sister, but none-the-less, I'm happy to have a follower.

So thank you Cara Joy, nothing beats logging onto my blog to see that someone clicked on the link to follow my blog. I'm just hoping that this blog isn't always about a problem I'm having with a barking dog. I'd rather be rallying other home owners to help me create a BarkFreeZone in all neighborhoods, so we can all enjoy what we all work so hard to obtain.

My next blog I go back to my venting :)

BarkFreeZone.com has a Logo!!!

Well there is one positive thing from having an annoying nuisance barking dog problem. It has allowed me to be a little creative and start thinking of things I can do with my skill-set. Eventually I will have a website dedicated to fighting for the rights of all home owners. In an ideal world we should be able to find resolution to annoying inconsiderate neighbors. My primary peeve is nuisance dogs. Hence this blog, and additionally my website, which is still growing in my mind. But for now I have created the logo for my site. I am a very part time Graphic Designer. I received my degree in Graphic Design over 10 years ago, and after a very upsetting job prospect that I lost after completing my degree program, I all but called it quits on Graphic Design. But now I have a cause, and I'm hoping to reach out to others in distress, so that we might band together and help each other beyond posts asking, "What do I do!?"

Please comment on my design, give me criticism, or better yet, tell me how much you like it! I still need recognition after all these years.

As for the nuisance dog...dogs...we realized the neighbors have decided that they are such great dog owners, they should get a puppy! So of course now there is a puppy left outside all day and night learning all the great habits of the adult dog.

I am a Christian, and I actually pray to God to help me find peace in the noise. My poor wife is home all day with the baby, and she gets no break. I pray for her more so that she can enjoy our beautiful home. Unfortunately for this summer, we've given up on enjoying our own pool.

Dog won't stop barking!!!

It's upsetting to be part of a neighborhood sometimes. Especially when there is no consideration for each other. My family is pretty quiet. Actually we could be seen as kind of boring. But what we enjoy is just relaxation, and that comes with soothing noises. Not nuisance noises produced by a dog not properly trained. I don't have anything against pets, so much as I have a problem with their owners. Dogs bark for a reason, if the reason is not valid, the owner needs to remedy the problem. Otherwise a dog just becomes the source of much anxiety to the neighbors.

Today I went out to do some yard work. I had my Ipod on, and couldn't really hear much else, other than my music. But when I shut off the lawn mower to come in for a break, my wife was in tears. Our neighbors dog, had been barking non-stop the entire time I was out mowing the yard. Even the sound of the lawn mower wasn't enough to drown out the nuisance noise produced by the dog. The dog barked for over 45 min, enough to bring my poor wife to tears, of helplessness. I told her to take the baby for a drive, to unwind. The sad thing is I had to ask my wife to leave her own home for peace and quiet. There is something horribly wrong when you have to leave your own home to find peace.

I am currently designing a website, BarkFreeZone.com, I'm hoping to bring to everyone's attention the proven emotional effects nuisance noises have on people. There are ordinances in place to address these problems, but I feel they need to be taken more seriously. Most of the actions you can take are limited, or require legal intercession, with no guarantee of a resolution. Plus, you make yourself vulnerable to your neighbor and any retaliation. If there is a legitimate documented problem of a nuisance dog there should be action taken to eliminate the problem.

Please chime in if you too are suffering from a barking dog or dogs. I encourage everyone to support a Bark Free Zone in all neighborhoods!

Week and a Half with Dog Silencer

Well can't say any great news about the Dog Silencer yet. But according to Pavlov's Law, the dog has conditioned my family to not go into the backyard. Also whenever we do go back there we get tense just knowing our quiet afternoon could so easily be ruined by our neighbors dog.

I'm trying to maintain a positive attitude and hope that this device will stop the dogs barking. However, the "training period" is painful. Per the instructions, we are to give the device 2-3 weeks to be effective. Also during that time frame, it is said there can be an increase in barking, due to the dog barking at the noise from the Dog Silencer Pro. It is very hard to think that this thing will ever work. My wife and I were very agitated by about an hours worth of constant barking.

When we are outside we turn on the audible function, mainly to confirm the device is functioning properly. My wife says through out the day she turns the audible function on, and she states it is more effective that way.

I'm hoping by Monday we can start to see results. It would be great to enjoy our backyard again.

Morning Swim, Limited Dog Barking!

Wife and I went for a morning dip in the pool. About 5 min into the swim, I heard the neighbors dog barking, but it was from inside their house. Figure the dog wanted outside, and about 2 minutes later, they let him out. He was pretty good for about 10 minutes, then he made a couple barks. But I must say, they were short lived. I went to see if the Dog silencer was blinking, and it was. Verdict is still not out on it's effectiveness. But I did enjoy my swim, and aside from a few yaps, it wasn't like it was before. Time will only tell.

Day 5 with Dog Silencer Pro

Fortunately for me, I work all day. So any barking by the dog can't annoy me. Not so much for my wife, who is a stay at home mom. But today she reported that the dog did not bark all day. Woo hoo!!! But I'm not holding my breath. The weekend will be a much better indicator. The neighbors usually leave for the weekend and leave the dog outside the entire time. I also plan on working out in my back yard near the fence. This usually provokes the dog into a frenzy. I just really pray that this device will do what it says. The more I think about the problem of nuisance dogs, or noises, the more angry I get with my neighbors and how they can disrupt the one place that I want to enjoy most. I love just sitting in my backyard enjoying watching my kid play. But ever since this problem started, I am very turned off from even stepping foot in my backyard. My blood pressure actually rises when I turn the knob to go into the backyard. And that's just now fair.

In the next few weeks I hope to start work on my website. My goal is to get any and all information to help people report nuisance noises and dogs. If you have an area that you would like me to research, just drop me a comment.

So after 5 days, the verdict is really not out for any positive or negative feedback on the Dog Silencer Pro. Per their instructions though, I will give it 2 to 3 weeks before I give a complete review with my praise or not.

4 Days of the Dog Silencer Pro

I wanted to document every day of the Dog Silencer Pro. Unfortunately, I have not been able to keep up with all my responsibilities. So my blog is delayed. The first day we didn't put the Dog Silencer Pro out, because the weather was pretty bad. And I didn't want to risk damaging the product on the first day with no chance to see if the product even works at silencing the dog. Second day, we put the product out. Fortunately there wasn't much action from the dog. Wednesday, my wife was out with our baby, and my my sister-in-laws kids. She reported the dog was barking away. She wasn't sure how to work it, and kept switching it from audible to silent. She said the dog seemed less persistent when it was on silent. But he didn't actually stop. I reminded her that the product can actually make a dog bark more in the beginning stages.

For now the key is consistency. I have the product up on my pool deck. The rails are higher than the neighbors fence, so the Dog Silencer Pro shouldn't have anything blocking it.

I'm still apprehensive of the results, but look forward to a quiet backyard one day.

Dog Silencer Pro here tommorrow!!!

It's been a long week waiting for my Dog Silencer Pro. I'm a little nervous because of the expectations I have for the product. I have bet my sanity on the ability of this product to train this dog.

I was thinking today outside, as my wife and I were trying to enjoy our backyard, how sad it is that we are the ones trying to train our neighbors dog how to behave. When all is said and done, we will have put more effort and time into this dog than the owners do. I have documented the dog being out for more than 12 hours at a time. Part of me feels bad for the dog, because all the dog wants is some attention. I hear him panting to go inside and rarely see the family give the dog interaction. As much as people humanize animals, I think this treatment of a pet should be considered unlawful. If a person claims a pet to be part of the family, then the same care given to a child should be given to the pet.

Please post your thoughts on my topics. I started this blog to hopefully reach out to like minded people that have found distress in annoying noises from neighbors. Especially nuisance dogs. Dog owners too, please chime in. I too love animals, and love the reaction my son shows when he sees any animal. When we are more stable financially, and my son is a little older, we plan on getting a German Shepard. We also plan on making sure he/she is properly trained.

So I go to bed now excited to see if my Dog Silencer Pro holds up to it's companies claims. I will definitely be posting any changes in the dogs behavior and let anyone know of it's effectiveness.

Dog Silencer Pro shipped!

My Dog Silencer Pro shipped today. Estimated delivery date is June 14, 2010. In the meantime, I went into my backyard to jump in the pool, and the dog of course decided to bark at me. I decided to blow the dog whistle, and it seemed to have lessened his duration of barking. I won't be happy however until the dog has been trained to not bark unless there is truly a danger present. I have observed the dog outside for the entire day. It seems that the homeowner leaves the dog out all day. It's upsetting to see that some dog owners don't really care for their dogs, rather they just leave them outside until they want their attention. Dogs require a lot of attention and training. If an owner isn't ready to take on that responsibility, they shouldn't own one.

Of course the norm is to have a dog when it's convenient.

In addition to the Dog Silencer, I am looking to add a hedge or some type of natural barrier for my back fence to help create some privacy in our backyard. This is more for our own privacy, since our house sits higher than our backyard neighbor. But there is the added benefit of some noise reduction from the neighbors.

If you find my post, please post your own horror stories of nuisance barking dogs in your neighborhood.

Just Ordered: Dog Silencer Pro

This morning I decided to purchase the Dog Silencer Pro. I found it on Google doing a search for stop barking device. I had done this same search before and had found many devices that promised to solve the problem of a nuisance dog. This site promises it will work or you can have your money back after 30-days from the date of receipt. Now that's really not a lot of time when you take into consideration that the site also says, give 2-3 weeks to see any results. So for the sake of being able to return the product within their guarantee if the product doesn't work, I will be marking my calendar and setting an alarm on my phone to remind me to verify the results.

Of course I don't care about any return policy or guarantee. I just want to see results, and I will let you know when I receive it and keep you up to date on any progress made.

Side note, on Sunday, I picked up a dog whistle because I was hoping to try to stop the dog on my own. I definitely noticed a difference in the dog after a couple times of blowing the whistle at his barks. However, I ran out of breath a few times, and could not remain consistent. I decided, for the sake of consistency, I would wait to purchase a machine that could stay consistent.

Another place to vent for Annoyed Neighbors of Barking Dogs!

I am now suffering from physical pain. My body aches, I perspire from the stress, my heart has been racing, and I have a difficult time focusing. It's amazing what a barking dog can do to someones body, and ability to just relax. Especially in your own home. We now have 2 back yard neighbors with dogs that are left out barking with no attention. I spoke to one of the neighbors, and he seemed receptive, but after a week, it has proved ineffective. Second neighbor is 2 houses down, and I have reported that one to the Animal Control. That tactic works, but over time the neighbor forgets about any warnings received and they revert back to bad habits, and the dog barks again. I now must repeat the process with Animal Control and hopefully find peace with the second neighbors dog.

Either way, it has now become a part time job just managing my life and stress that has come from these nuisance dogs. My poor wife and I have been at each others throats because of the added stress that comes when you are unable to relax in your own home.

This blog is really just a place for me to vent for now. I would like to create a place to help people with reporting nuisance dogs or noise in a safe and anonymous way. One problem I found with current reporting methods is it requires you to divulge all your personal information to the authorities. Although I understand the reporting methods, it unfortunately prevents people from reporting problems because of the possible implications that come from "ratting" out your neighbor. The reality is, people are not so receptive to you if you are telling them, "I have a problem with...."

I would like to start a program that would allow us to report any noise problems related to loud people, music, dogs, etc. anonymously and with some effectiveness, while staying within the law.

With that said, please post all your stories of nuisance neighbors. If enough of us our out there, maybe we can make a change!