Anti-Barking Devices

[Willyou]

Do any of you have positive experience with any of these devices that project a high pitched sound when the neighboring dogs bark. Searching the web, Including Amazon, finds reviews that are all over the place. Sometimes there is a wide disparity of reviews on the same make and model when looking at different sites. The exasperating part is Amazon where an item will be shown as having good ratings but, when you go read the reviews, most are pertaining to a different product. Can't trust them (not sure you can for anything).

Anyway, rant over, I've got to do something. Talking to the owners is not an option. I'm aware that sometimes the devices don't work with some dogs and that they also will sometimes lose effectiveness over time.

[Robert Adams]

I don't know of any that work. Not to say they don't I just haven't seen one. My neighbor had bought a box that puts out high pitched sound to try to keep the deer out of his garden. It seemed to work somewhat once you got it tuned to the right frequency but in many settings it was audible to humans. 

           If you find one that works I'd like to know. Unfortunately people keep pack animals at home and then leave them in the yard by themselves during the day and at night and everyone suffers. Luckily we didn't have any around until the new neighbor moved in with a yappy small one and now has a massive one to keep it company so slightly less yappy now. Oh I forgot to mention the stench that wafts into our back yard from them as well.  We have pets but they do not annoy the neighbors.

[fredhargis]

Like Robert, I've never seen one that works (yet). So if you happen across one let us know.

[R Clark]

If these types of devices worked consistently, it would be common knowledge and there would be no searching for reviews trying to decipher how effective they are.

Gopher and mole problems would be a thing of the past as the various sonic and other electronic devices would really repel them.

Deer strike issues would be rare as everybody would have those little whistle things on their cars.  They would be designed into cars at the factory as a safety device.  Insurance companies would give discounts for their use.

I strongly suspect the same result will come from the device you describe.  There will be a positive result at first as the dog may hear a different sound.  But soon, the new sound is no longer new, and the dog will become accustomed to it.  Then the old behavior returns.

What's really needed is bad pet owner repellent devices that work.  The bad pet owner likely doesn't even hear their own dogs barking anymore.

This whole type of situation is one of the reasons why we moved out of town into the country side.  The nearest neighbor's house is 200 yards away.  And to be fair, it's a two-way street.  Out in the country, I run my machines when I want to run my machines, not when it's least annoying for the neighbors.

[Admiral]

Deer strike issues would be rare as everybody would have those little whistle things on their cars.  They would be designed into cars at the factory as a safety device.  Insurance companies would give discounts for their use.

Actually, they don't "repel" deer, but will make the deer look up and freeze so they don't jump out into the road.  You do need to be going at least 45 mph for this effect.  I see this work every morning when I'm driving pre-dawn to rust hunt at the flea markets in the fall.  So I have a pair.

That being said, on thursday evening in a developed area (commercial on one side, condos on the other) I hit a deer going 35 mph, a young buck, and its rut season.  Pissed me off as I varied my route to the Home Depot to avoid the more rural roads where I know there are many deer.  I live in a semi-rural area (yes, they exist in NJ) with forested areas, farms, and an actual buffalo ranch 2 miles down the road.  Here in NJ, the deer population is totally out of control, and I literally have 8 to 12 of the "rats with hooves" bed down in my lawn and I go out and chase them away.  In 2017, 933 road kill deer were picked up by the State DOT in my county alone (Hunterdon), and not all road kill is picked up as they run into the fields and die, or buzzards eat them up, generally within a day or so.  Last year statewide there were 27,000 deer/auto collisions.  Hunters harvested over 50,000 in 2018.  Nary a dent in the population, which is denuding the forests.  Totally out of control.

The number of hunters has dropped off a bit here as the younger fudge aren't taking up the sport, although bow hunting and muzzle loaders are making a comeback.  You can only take deer with bow, shotgun and muzzle loaders, no rifles.  I've got a Savage Model 12 varmint in .223 that I target shoot with and would love to put a few rounds in their heads from 100 yards, that would solve my deer problem.

Sorry for the rant, its likely because I just hit one (and I hope I killed the baastard).  Good news is deer collisions are classified as "comprehensive" coverage in my auto policy so the insurance company pays for all of it (I don't have a comprehensive deductible).

[tomsteve]

what WxMan said.
im off to sell some snake oil now. it cures what ails ya and recently found to stop dogs barkin.
why not play with the dogs? theyre barkin is probably how theyre releasing pent up energy.

[EricU]

high pitched sounds are very effective on dogs, but they don't carry well.  My experience with a collar that sprayed citronella is that it worked once and then the dog decided she liked the smell.  I miss that dog, even though the only person she ever loved was my mom.  Hated everyone else.

[R Clark]

The only electronic deterrent device I've ever had that worked was an invisible fence for our strong-willed beagle.  Even then, the company had to fit her with the upgraded "collar from h*ll" because she decided she could tough out the short term pain to cross the boundary.  Once that upgraded collar was in place, she quit bolting the yard, and we quit using the fence altogether as the dog became a home-body and not interested in venturing beyond the yard.  Those invisible fences don't work for all dogs.

They also have shock collars for barking dogs, but I've never used one.  Of course, the barking dogs aren't OP's dogs anyway.

[jcredding]

I went the opposite direction when we had a neighbor with barking dogs - every time they barked I stepped out with an air horn and blew it toward the neighbor’s house (but not close to the dogs - not their fault). She would come out and get the dogs. Eventually, she asked where I got the air horn because it worked so well with the dogs . . . She never did figure out who I was training and thankfully moved.

[Foggy]

Had a neighbor that would put her dogs out after the 11 pm news, turn up her AC, then go to bed. Dogs would want back in and bark all night. It took a few 3 am phone calls for her to get the message.