Hope noone minds me posting this, the recent thread about dogs barking got me thinking about an app I recently used which may be of use to others.

My neighbour told me my dogs were barking several months back so I decided to try to record them when I left them to see what was going on. The app is called Sleep Talk Recorder- as the name suggests it's intended for recording you while you sleep to see if you talk! I figured since it ONLY recorded when there was noise and saved the sound clips with the time and duration individually it was perfect. So, rather traumatically for me, I left my phone at home and recorded them.

I was soon able to identify that it wasn't my adolescent breed known for being on the gobby side as suspected, but 'alarm' barking at the front door by another two. I live in a cul-de-sac and my neighbour is always out fiddling with cars letting his antisocial dog run riot (but that's another story), who regularly visits our driveway. Curtain over the door, radio turned up a bit, problem solved.
It's also a great way to keep a record if you do have a real persistent problem as it saves every log by date and time.

Would have been weeks of stress and trial and error if it wasn't for this app! Just had to recommend it. And I am nothing to do with the company, just adding cause I just realised how much of a sales pitch that seemed like :D it is free, I got it on Android but I'm sure you can get it on everything.

What a fab idea! Just downloaded it for my ipad, goning to try it out when I go to work this afternoon. We don't have any near neighbours but im just curious as to if mine bark!

You have to set it up first, it needs to "know" the quietest sound it can ignore, ie in my case it was the radio, so I left my phone on the side with the radio on, and then the loudest noise it can record- I spoke directly into the speaker as I wanted to record everything louder than the radio. It's very clever!

I liked the fact that I didn't have to go through 3hrs of recording. It just gives you a report and says it was active for say 3 hours and took 4 recordings. Then let's you play each one and displays the time it started and ended and the duration. It then stores them in a kind of library in the app.

Ooh brilliant, must give this a go!  I know there are issues here with sound when I'm gone - Phoebe is a barker I know, spooky barking but my housemate has told me that the howling from Opi that I thought had stopped has really not.  And I confirmed it yesterday - I went out front to help a friend with a handsfree set, so as far as the dogs knew I'd gone out walking without them - about 10 minutes in and Opi howled and they all joined in!  :-O

So I need to get to grips with this and find out the extent of the problem.  This should help, thanks :-)

WOW sounds cool I'm going to give it a try though my neighbours say they never hear my dogs when I'm at work.  Interested to see if I snore or speak in my sleep too LOL!

Just tried it, downloaded onto my tablet and left it on while I went out for 2 hours. Either it malfunctioned or my dogs slept like babies the entire time, it didn't even feature any claws clicking on the laminate.

MsTemeraire, I knew mine was working as the first time I used it there were two recordings, me closing the door and me coming back into the house! Mine didn't record the dogs walking on the laminate/ceramic tiles either. Might be worth leaving it recording and making a few noises just to make sure ;)

I'll give it another go.... it recorded me going out, but not coming back again! Total silence for 2 hours, except for a bleep from my tablet when the battery had finished recharging. Maybe I need to recalibrate the app. I have it on my phone too, so I'll try the phone next time.

What ever you do, don't use this app for its intended purpose.
I've heard a few stories about people who have set it beside their bed, played it in the morning, only to hear strange voices having a conversation, when there's only been one person in the house !.
I'm not easily spooked, but that really gave me the willys ! lol.

> What ever you do, don't use this app for its intended purpose.

Uh-oh! I was going to experiment with it tonight.
I should be all right with two large dogs in the room, shouldn't I? Dogs can hear ghosts as well, right?

I tried it last night and I had no idea just how active my dogs were during the night. Every half hour to hour one was up shaking ( heard the disc on the collar rattle) going for a drink or walking around sniffing. They were grunting in their sleep, snoring, dreaming, chasing and barking in their dreams. Noisy little devils. I was quiet in comparison, very little snoring but lots of tossing and turning, no wonder I am still tired in the morning. It was very interesting

Now are you reallysure it was the dogs you heard ? lol.

Intriguing stuff lol!

I've just left it going while I popped to Morrisons.  No howling but 4 lots of barking - the last lot is Phoebe, which was me coming home, and I expected that.  It's a problem, as her bark carries the best out of everyone's but she's noise phobic.  I need to step up a gear with her response to comings and goings (she gets wound up very easily) and to my car engine.

The other 3 were all Jolly and Linc barking, with Remy joining in - that one was play, it's the only time he barks like that but the other two are most likely barking at stuff outside.  So, I need to finish frosting the windows (Linc stands on the back of the sofa and looks over what's up already, and sets J off), and it's about time I got some blinds up too really.

That's the easy bit, Phoebe is the challenge as usual as of course I can't be there to work her when I'm pulling on to the drive!

Used it for me last night and yeah now I've lost weight I no longer snore and I didn't say anything in my sleep :)  Will leave it in with the dogs tonight and see what they get up to.  No strange voices were recorded.  Are you sure that it wasn't you and your previous lives chatting to each other LOL>?

Now are you reallysure it was the dogs you heard ? lol.

Well if ghosts have changed to tinkly collar tags instead of chains, and they are noisy drinkers that bark and run in their sleep, then maybe it wasn't the dogs !!!!