How to build a dog bark eliminator

[uconn2323]

Hi,

These are for sale everywhere but I could learn so much more if I try to build one myself. My dog barks while I am away from the house but not when I am around. He will stop barking immediately at the sound of my voice. So, I am wondering if there is a simple device that I can build that would play a .wav file or something every time he barks. I assume the trickiest thing would be finding a sensor that would detect his bark in the first place. Although, he stays in a basement so there are no other loud noises that would trigger this sensor. It's basically that simple, a sensor to detect the bark and a speaker that plays some sort of sound file which would be my voice telling him to stop barking.

Any ideas?

I was thinking of possibly using one of my computers for this as well. Maybe running a pc mic to the basement to detect the bark, then running a small piece of software, and then outputting the .wav file back to a speaker in the basement. What do you guys think?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Klaus]

Mike, this might sound flippant but I assure you it is not. I take it you took your dog to obediance classes and did all you could to train him to differentiate between intruder noises, where he's supposed to bark and other harmless extrenal and internal noises in your house.
Does your dog get lots of daily exercise to tire him sufficiently so he won't get bored being locked into the basement?

OK, you done all that and the dog still barks in your absence.
Your best barking sensor would be your neighbour, the one who complained about it. Perhaps rig a button, wired from his to your house to activate your voice tape or computer. Much simpler and more effective than any barking noise recognizing circuit. If you had a closed loop feedback system your dog might actually 'like' to hear your voice tell him him to shut up and bark to make it come on. Never underestimate a dog's intelligence.

I wish you luck with that problem, I had a barking dog like yours next door, luckily the owners did manage to train him that the noise on the other side of the fence was just me doing gardening. I have heard of a special collar that emits an unpleasant smell (to a dog) when he lifts his head to bark. Might be a last resort when other methods fail.

 

[uconn2323]

Thanks Klaus

Wow Klaus! I have completely covered your first paragraph as he has been to obedience school and is extremely obedient when I am around. When we are here, he never barks at sounds, not even the door being knocked on! This leads me to believe that he is barking because of separation anxiety rather than specifically at a noise he hears.

But, wiring a button to the neighbor! Awesome idea! I never thought of that! It's funny though, while she won't admit it, her dog does the exact same thing while she is gone so maybe I should wire a button for me too while I am at it

The closed loop makes sense too, that could possibly instigate him to bark more just to hear my voice!

I'll keep working on it.

Thank you for your suggestions

-Mike

 

[Noggin]

heheh a farting collar thats funny.

How about a circuit that doesn't use your voice if he barks randomly every 5 - 15 minutes? Then again he might still be confused if you're trapped in a little plastic box and just bark more

 

[panic mode]

try tasor strapped to dogs body (neck) and sound activated)

:twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Get a second dog, he's probably bored and lonely - it's not really very fair leaving a dog cooped up alone all day.