After moving recently, we’ve acquired new neighbors and their dogs. Sounds like fun, right? The problem is, one neighbor’s dog doesn’t get a lot of attention from his family. This dog (hereafter referred to as Pupper) gets bored, and bored dogs bark. A lot. So much barking. Our family needed a solution, and we found the perfect fit: Dog Silencer Max from Good Life.
What’s the Problem?
Our family homeschools, and my wife and I work from home. We are always here. Our kids enjoy sitting outside while doing school, and I need a lot of quiet in my office to work, as I often work with difficult audio files. Pupper’s family are normal busy people who make the choice to leave their bored doggo outside all day. Now, the practice of keeping a dog indoors or outdoors is their personal choice. Unfortunately, it can (and does) have an effect on others, especially when the pup is outside all day. Pupper barks for various reasons that we’ve been able to identify. Here are the most common ones:
- Boredom.
- Another neighbor’s dog moved.
- A neighbor has a cat who mews just loud enough to be heard outside.
- He wants to play with our kids when they want to sit quietly on the porch. (Attention.)
- He dislikes weeds rustling in the wind. (Either defensive or boredom.)
- He sees the neighborhood skunk. (Boredom/attention/defense.)
- He doesn’t want anything in his yard. (Home defense.)
Now, we can’t know whether some things are defensive, and we know that defensive behaviors aren’t quieted by training, as they’re instinctive rather than habitual. We aren’t out to do the impossible. Just to get Pupper in a place where he doesn’t bark from boredom.
What’s the Solution?
Usually, hands-on training and attention can cure most unwanted behavior in a dog. This is great if you’re working with your own dog, but isn’t appropriate to do with someone else’s dog. So, a non-invasive training solution is needed. Something that won’t hurt the dog is crucial, as is something that doesn’t take constant work on our part, as we’re very busy. So I did my research and found that an appropriate tool would be one that used high-pitched sound to correct the behavior. For this, I turned to the Dog Silencer Max.
What Is the Dog Silencer Max?
The Dog Silencer Max is a device that listens for barking and responds automatically with a high-pitched ultrasonic wave. It is either plugged in or battery operated, and it is fully automated so you don’t need to babysit it. It also includes a sensitivity control and a remote so you can trigger it manually.
Does it Work?
Short answer, yes. Pupper’s barking reduced significantly over the course of a week or two. Now, we hear him bark once or twice a week. Most of the time, I don’t even realize he’s there. No more boredom barking! Pupper’s habitual barking is also completely gone. He doesn’t bark just because he’s used to barking, which is a relief, to be sure.
What Else Is Needed?
You can plug it in, but batteries are an option. You’ll either need to hang it or find it a stable flat location to position it.
For best results, a little extra training can’t hurt. Stubborn or less bright dogs won’t stop barking, or may take longer to respond. If the dog wants attention but only gets it while barking, it’s good to give the doggo some extra hands-on attention when he’s not barking. A good belly rub and a treat go a long way, especially once he’s learned to sit patiently until you’re ready to interact.
Are There Side Benefits to Using the Dog Silencer Max?
Absolutely. Pupper’s family is more responsive when he does bark. Since it doesn’t happen so often, they take his concerns more seriously. Pupper also has learned not to bark just because our family is outside, so we’re all more comfortable enjoying the nice weather when it’s here. Also, our other neighbors’ dogs bark less often. I gather that this is connected because Pupper used to start the area sound-off which used to lead to prolonged bouts of barking. Since he’s not instigating it, I keep forgetting how many other dogs are in the area.
Another side benefit is that you can use the silencer as a general training tool. If your dog jumps on people, or someone’s dog keeps coming into your yard and peeing on your flowerbed, you can just use the remote control to discourage unwanted behaviors. Since this doesn’t require interaction, one can safely and discreetly correct dogs without teaching the dog to only behave if the trainer is there.
What Are the Limitations?
There are a few major limitations which mean you must really pay attention in order to make the silencer start working effectively.
First, it’s a line-of-sight device. It has a narrow range of bark detection and resulting correction. If the silencer is not pointed to the place the dog is most likely to bark, with a clear line of sight, this isn’t going to work.
Second, the silencer does not address underlying issues. Any time Pupper is afraid or defensive, he’s going to bark. That’s normal, and the silencer can’t soothe those concerns. If he’s hungry, cold, or wants inside, he may still bark for his humans.
Third, the Dog Silencer Max is not recommended for young puppies, and may not work effectively on older dogs. Young pups still have developing ears and are sensitive. Older dogs may have high-frequency hearing loss, and won’t respond because they can’t hear it.
Is it Worth the Cost?
Yes. Oh, yes, yes, yes.
At a range of 300 feet, the Dog Silencer Max is worth the $129 price tag. If your problem is, quite literally, closer to home, then you may have a better experience using other products from Good Life. Though, that is still too expensive for me to go full-blown Oprah and buy them for everyone! Instead, I’ll just encourage everyone with a dog to get one, for the good of all quiet-loving neighborhoods. You know, all of them.
A sample was provided for review purposes.
I’m going to assume you asked your neighbor if you could use this device in proximity to their dog?
ask the neighbor? really? those idiots dont think about anything but themselves.
Oh cares about there dog
Hahahahahaahaha! If the neighbor didn’t bother to ask me if their noise polluting dog’s barking over night bothered me, why should I ask them if my non-noise polluting (to humans) device would bother them.
You’re funny.
Sure he did, just as his neighbor asked him if it is OK to leave his untrainted dog to be outside barking all day.
Thanks and keep up the good work!
My PITA neighbor keeps his dog in the house all day but at night, when he and his wife are not at work, they let it out in a side yard to pee. Usually a few times each night. Dog barks when outside. Tried the Dog Silencer Max. No effect what so ever. Even tried the chirping noise feature. No change. Is there a device that will throw back a loud (and louder) noise triggered by the dog bark? Thanks
I’m sorry, I don’t have a recommendation for a product like that. Some hands-on training might help, but that might require social interaction (shudder!) with the neighbor and/or dog. What we found was that the Silencer worked for several training tasks, so long as it was pointed in the right direction and we used the remote to trigger the Silencer when the unwanted behavior was occurring.
Does you Silencer have direct line of sight to the dog when he barks? If it’s not pointed directly at him, it won’t work at all. If there’s a fence, try mounting the Silencer in a position with direct line of sight.
Also make sure that the sensor volume is turned up enough.
Also possible: When the dog is barking, go out there and hold the Silencer and point it directly at him. Make sure the volume is up loud enough, and/or use the remote, too. The only challenge with this is that the dog might associate you with the sound and only stop barking when you’re around.
Good luck!
Hands on training? That may result in a choking and its hard to blame the dog for ignorant owners. Nope, there will be no interaction in that regard. The Silencer plugged in and is on the high side of a shed in a direct line to the dog. There is a six foot fence but the Silencer is well above that level. Distance ranges from six feet to probably 16 feet. The volume is up.
Is the Silencer pointed down at the dog, or is it level? If it’s level, it’ll just go over the dog’s head, and he’ll never hear it. We had to do some re-positioning more than once before we got ours settled in its forever home.
Other than that, I can only suggest you contact Good Life’s customer support to troubleshoot the product. It’s possible your unit isn’t functioning properly, though that’s purely speculation on my part.
Total scam. Paid into this and NEVER received the product. Save your bucks. I can at least reject the chargest on me card.
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Hello! Thank you for your post. I live in a condo and also work from home. The dog is barking a few units away for several hours whenever the owner is away. Can I leave this device at my unit entry door, and manually turn on this device whenever the dog is barking? Do you have any other solutions? Thanks
I don’t think it will work through walls, and it definitely doesn’t go around corners at all. It is a tightly focused beam, so only the dog who is being problematic is being corrected.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a better solution, other than talking to the neighbor and/or your HOA if applicable.
I installed 2 of these pointing at two different locations where our neighbours dog hangs out, it certainly works some of the time, we use them at our villa in Portugal https://www.algarvevillaforrent.com dogs can be a problem in Portugal as 95% of them live outside day and night.
How narrow is the beam to detect the barking? I recognize that the barking has to be in front of the machine, but will the beam work broadly (like a cone), or narrowly (like a laser). I can mount it up high on a shop and point it over the two yards needed.
It’s fairly narrow, but I don’t know exact numbers. I’ve seen them mounted on higher ledges/trees/walls and be perfectly effective. Hope this helps.
I have one in order. I hope it works, but I will simply not allow my neighbor and his dog to ruin the enjoyment of our home. Police and animal control, a letter from our lawyer and confrontations, all after asking politely, have had some effect, but they always seem to lax off and I will not tolerate it. The lessons with inconsiderate neighbors is simple. You make their disturbing you come at a higher cost to them. One funny thing is this. I can go outside at night and cause their do to bark like crazy in their home and wake them up for a change. . They sure don’t like that. This will be my next weapon of choice. Sadly this is war and I will never stop until I have won. Sorry had to vent! PS we have a dog and never ever let her bark outside for more than 45 seconds and never ever at night. It is not rocket science.
Silencer – totally agree with your post and I’m the same way with my dogs. Inconsiderate new neighbors leave their dog outside all day and until about 9 pm I’m stuck with lots of barking (I work from home). Please let us know how this items works for you! Well written post!
Tottaly agree man. I’m with you
45 second:30 am by the neighbors big dog is plenty of time to wake us from a sound sleep. 45 seconds at midnite is plenty of time also. Our neighbors let their dogs out at all ours to “do their thing” and do not bring them in until they bark several times (enough to wake the dead).
I bought one of these. The chirping just stopped working. Blinks the green light, no chirping comes out anymore. What can I do? I paid over $100 for this. I feel cheated.
I can only suggest you contact the company directly and see what they’re willing to do. I don’t know of any DIY repair options.
My dogs like to run the fence line with the neighbors dogs and bark a lot. My dogs also like to bark at squirrels and who knows what else at 3a. I ordered one of these and I hope it helps.