Stop Barking!

Peace and quiet are cornerstones to a positive home office environment. That's easily said (but rarely achieved) in a household with two dogs that simply refuse to stop barking. It's impossible to think, much less conduct business, while enduring the cacophony of crazed canines. No matter how many times I've yelled at our dogs to stop barking, or fuzzy slipper missiles I've thrown (don't worry, I always miss), our furry friends simply refuse to shut up. I can't count the number of times my concentration has been shattered by the dogs barking ... there I am, deep in thought, in the midst of Internet research or knocking out an article on the PC ... when the dogs start to wind it up, needlessly.

It's rarely a human being that gets them barking.

The most frequent objects of their attention? Most often, it's squirrels and rabbits, along with the occasional neighborhood cat or dog. But those pesky squirrels are the worst ... driving the dogs into an absolute barking frenzy at least a dozen times every day. A pair of noise canceling headphones would do nothing to cut the clatter.

After scouring the Internet for methods and products to get the dogs to stop barking, I stumbled on a very simple solution. This after having given thought to various electronic bark collars and ultrasonic gizmos.

The barking problem in our house is enabled by the dogs' complete view of the front and back yards, through a sliding glass door and full height windows. These vantage points ensure that any time the dogs look hard enough, they'll catch sight of a critter. The cycle repeats itself over and over every day. The longer a dog (usually the male) stands sentry at a window, the more likely that they'll see something that will send them into a barking frenzy. They'll then run back and forth, barking from window to window to catch a better view.

The solution?

In a nutshell, it's out of sight, out of mind.

Left to do their own thing, the dogs will sleep most of the day. So I've taken to confining them in the laundry room, rather than allowing them run of the house while I'm out working in the office. They have plenty of room to stretch out and lounge, but are freed from the distractions that the full height windows provide. The dogs will not bark unless they can see what's happening out in the yard.