Dog Silencer Pro, partial Review...

Well, I've been meaning to do a complete review on the Dog Silencer Pro. With my schedule, I haven't really had the time to really put together all my thoughts on the product in an organized, informative, blog yet. I will give a brief review for now, to give someone finding this blog for the first time, something to base their buying decision on.

First, the Dog Silencer Pro, definetly does something. As to completely silencing a nuisance dog, still up for debate. What I found more effective, was a call to Animal Control (actually my wife made that call). Being that the neighbors are right behind us, and we can see right into their yard, and the dog barks "at" us, my wife was fed up. Even if the barking was curbed, the barking wasn't completely ended. She documented the dog barking for an hour one day, and gave in, and begged Animal Control to do something. Animal Control seems to be very effective in our area at convincing the neighbors to be better animal owners. The Dog Silencer Pro may have trained the dog slightly. We did notice less barking when we were outside. But we also haven't had the Dog Silencer Pro on for over two weeks. That's one of my gripes about the product (so much for being able to use outdoors!), it's primarily for outdoor use, but if you get it a little wet, forget about it! So right now I have a Dog Silencer Pro that's sitting on the counter doing nothing for me. We'll see how they are about getting me a new one.

As for their 30-day guarantee. I didn't get a chance to test that. I kind of want to keep the product, and make some modifications to how I set it up, and the direction and height of it. But I'll get into those details in another blog. I will be testing their 1 year warranty. I'll let you know how that goes.

So far so good!

For about 1 week, we have lived in a localized Bark Free Zone. When my family walks the neighborhood, we of course still hear dogs barking. But nothing more than background noise. I have found one house that the dogs are a little out of control, and wonder how those neighbors feel about the dogs. I understand a little barking, the kind to 1: Warn, or 2: Let the owner know it's time to be back inside or give some attention. But all in all I have enjoyed a week of comfortable afternoons relaxing on my front porch and enjoying the evening cool breeze.

That said, still not sure if the Dog Silencer Pro really accomplished what it said it would. Because up until we had to retire the device (it's currently not working, need to contact the company), the dog barked just as much as before the product. Part of me likes the fact that the device at least "yelled" back at the dog. The real reason the quiet has persisted, is the dog isn't there anymore. Or at least I hope it's gone. Originally when I talked to the owners of the problem, he told me it was his sons dog and they would be living with them temporarily. So I think the temporary has ended, and I'm praying that it stays this way.

I do plan on keeping the Dog Silencer Pro, as long as they give me a new one. I want it just in case, I might try different placement positions in the future. But just knowing I have something that might curb nuisance dog behavior leaves me partially re-assured.

Back to work, I hope if you are having a barking dog problem, you are finding some peace somehow!

Silence is Beautiful!

Nothing beats a clear night, the peace that comes from just relaxing and listening to the silence and enjoying all that God has given us. Tonight I was able to enjoy my backyard and the beautifulness that is silence and just find a moment to relax and enjoy the peace. For a moment, I had no schoolwork, no work to do, no deadlines to meet, and no dog barking. I pray for this every day and night, and I pray this for everyone that needs just a moment to reflect and relax. Everyone needs some time to just shut off the senses, and just enjoy the silence.

I will return to my review of the Dog Silencer Pro this week. But for now I'm just enjoying the silence. Not sure if I'm giving the Dog Silencer Pro credit, it hasn't been on for the past 3 days. I'll fill you in on my thoughts soon.

But for now, just enjoying a Bark Free Zone!

Dog not so bad today....fingers crossed!

Today was beautiful, and with beautiful days comes people out, kids playing, birds chirping, and bakring dogs. The latter not so welcome, especially when the dog doesn't know when to stop. So today I needed to get a lot of yard work done. My wife washed the car, I did all the yard work, and baby slept. That was pretty nice, if you have kids you know what I mean. I did all the yard work with my Ipod on. My new headsets block out almost all the noise, so even if the dog was barking I wouldn't have heard it. But I know my wife would have, so I kept waiting to see her come in the back yard to let me know. But surprisingly I got done with my entire yard without the dog getting started. Usually when I make it to the back fence the dog lets loose. So to push our luck further, after the yard was done, my wife was done, and the baby was up, we all jumped in the pool. That I thought of course would set off the dog. But he stayed pretty behaved the entire time we were out today. If only I can count on days like this again, I could finally start enjoying my beautiful backyard again.

Now there is a variable that changed that I must note. We have been testing the Dog Silencer Pro for the past 3-4 weeks. As I have mentioned in previous posts, we haven't had much of a chance to see if the Dog Silencer Pro has been doing it's job because of the rain. Well my wife went to check on it the other day (because the dog had been barking) and found that it had gotten wet. Per the instructions, we took it inside and laid it on its face to let it drain and dry. But that meant today we didn't have it out with us. Surprisingly it also meant, we had a quiet dog. Part of me was wondering if the Dog Silencer Pro had been going off inadvertently because of surrounding noises. This may have been alerting the dog, or annoying it. Whichever, a day without the Dog Silencer Pro and we had a pretty well behaved canine. As for giving credit to the Dog Silencer Pro. I'm not ready to give that verdict. Plus I have some gripes about the product I need to express in my review. I am happy however to have been able to enjoy an entire day with my family without the stress that comes with a nuisance barking dog.

Good luck to you out there with a barking dog problem. I only hope you find relief somehow. Soon I will start updating my website (still in the works) to have links to local Animal Controls and procedures on reporting dogs. For now, just cross your fingers, and pray that the dog just shuts up!

(any products promoted are strictly advertisements and are not endorsed or have they been reviewed by BarkFreeZone.com)

Nice Weather, Bad Dog!

Well in my previous post I commented on how our neighbors nuisance dog had been pretty subdued because of the weather. Well beautiful weather is back, and as we went out to clean up the pool, true to form our neighbors dog decided to greet us with an onslaught of continuous barking. As for the Dog Silencer Pro, review will be coming soon, and I have a lot to say about what you get for the money. As for my plan to set up a hedge is still in the planning stages. I truly wish we could afford full size plants to create an immediate border, but our budget prevails and we'll have to wait for mother nature to fill in the gap once we decide to plant it.

I could use some suggestions on the hedge. I've seen what I want, and it is a year round hedge that right now in most places lots of its leaves have red tips to it. It's normally used as a low hedge, but if left to grow tall can reach over 15 feet. I've added a picture of what it looks like in my Dad's backyard for anyone to let me know what it is. I also like it because it only grows in about a 2 and a half feet deep area, letting use keep most of our yard.

Dogs don't bark much when it's raining

It's a catch 22 with the weather we have been having in West Texas. At least for my household. When the weather is nice our neighbors dog is mainly left outside, and of course has been the main reason for me starting this blog and website. But when it's raining, there is not much activity outside, including dogs barking. So as for my review of the Dog Silencer Pro, it really has lost about a weeks worth of real testing because of the inconsistencies in the dogs patterns. However it may be, we have realized a significant decrease in the dogs barking. The other day though when the weather broke, my wife had to leave the house for a good part of the day because, once the weather was nice, the dog was out and barking.

We'll see, I still would like to maintain and help people by giving them the resources to report and stop nuisance barking dogs. I have spent countless nights reading posts by other horror stories, and also studies on the effect of this type of nuisance on a persons health. Eventually I would like to have as much information that could help with people suffering at the hands of inconsiderate neighbors, with handling them. Ideally our neighbors would realize the problem on their own and address it. Problem is most people maintain that if it bothers you so much move attitude. If only that option were so easy.

My wife and I would like more land eventually, but for now we plan on planting some hedges to help create a privacy and sound barrier. Limited as that might be, it might help if the dog can't always see us.

Certain days it's hard for dogs not to bark....

My wife has been really bummed this entire week because of the weather. When the sun isn't shining it really affects her mood. However that may be, I have been okay with it because with the rain, comes less barking. Apparently owners of nuisance dogs don't like to leave them in the rain. Which thankfully isn't a bad thing, for the dog and myself. I've noticed a dramatic decrease in the dog barking, but not the non-stop silence I would hope for every day. Our log (we keep a log of the barking dog) is still riddled with times when the dog is less than acceptable. But for the most part, the rain means more silence everywhere. Which is okay by me, I'll take rain and a movie with no barking dog any day!

Alas, the reason for my blog tonight. I have been hearing all the neighborhood dogs barking a little extra tonight, but no fault of their own. It is the Fourth of July weekend, and that means all the home grown pyrotechnics are in full swing. I'm guilty of enjoying a good backyard fireworks display myself, and because of this I just chock up these days leading up to the Fourth of July as a freebie for the dogs. Thankfully, like I said before, it has been limited by the weather...the dogs, not the fireworks.

As for my reviewing of the Dog Silencer Pro, I'm unable to really gauge it this week. With all the rain, there really hasn't been any chances to see if the dogs are barking, or barking less, or not at all. Monday marks week three of it's operation. I plan on giving it the full week to see if there is any significant improvement, based on the products request. The company offers a one month guarantee, and I plan on holding them to that. I think I will wait until the fourth week to complete my total review of the Dog Silencer Pro product.

Until then, I hope everyone has a safe Fourth of July, and a BarkFreeZone so you can enjoy your neighborhood!