Was it a Full Moon?!

I started this blog primarily because I was, and still am frustrated with nuisance dogs. As I was outside this weekend, I was uspet to hear many dogs in the neighborhood that were barking non-stop. The only saving grace was most the dogs were far enough from our house, that when my wife and I went inside it wasn't so bothersome. But it made me think. Are other neighbors annoyed? Are they reporting these dogs? Are they doing anything? But I actually stumbled on something that made me realize, I must not be the only one. I always keep track of the visits to the blog, even though I haven't had any comments, I am getting traffic. Normally I have 10-15 unique visitors. That means people are searching for solutions to nuisance dogs. I sure don't have the end all solution, but I'm hoping to help people come up with some. This weekend I noticed a spike in searches for "silencing dogs" or nuisance dogs. Surprisingly this coincided with an increase in dog barking in my neighborhood. Coincidence or not, it made me realize people are suffering from peoples inability to take care of their novelty pets. I love dogs and animals just as much as the next, but if a person isn't able to keep their dog quiet, they shouldn't be allowed to have one.

If you are on the fence about reporting a nuisance dog to Animal Control or the appropriate authorities, I urge you to follow thru and report. It is important to report incidences of nuisance dogs to animal control. Part of their responsibilty is to educate people of properly handling a dog. That also includes educating pet owners of the real reason a dog barks.

Coming soon, I will start posting the contact information of your local Animal Control. If you know your local Animal control contact information, please let me know. I would like to compile a complete list of Animal Controls across the US and the proper procedures for reporting.

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!

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 :)

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.

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 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.