i was not in a great mood last night....uncontrolled barking pisses me off.

if dogs are going nutz and barking for whatever reason there is..i am going to be upset and stressed...and so are my very nice neighbors...if i am stressed and unhappy, the dogs are not feeling too great either cuz they are the ones who get in trouble for pissing me off.

we can keep the barking to a minimum here. we do that by stopping or containing the barking BEFORE it starts or as soon as it begins.

we have operating hours when we are here working...9 am-2pm and then we have quiet hours from 2pm-9am when no one but me is here.
as long as the dogs are quiet, they can wander in and out of the house to the yards as they wish...they like to do what i like to do..putter around quietly, play a bit here and there, have a nice cuddle or even a long nap.
unfortunately at least three or four times a week...someone does show up here in the quiet times unexpectedly. then they all lose out cuz i have to round up the barking fiends and shut them all back up in the house. it sucks..their quiet, puttering evening is wrecked...my quiet/puttering evening is wrecked, the neighbors quiet/puttering evening is wrecked because an unexpected visitor drove the dogs nutz.

someone better have a pretty damn good reason for disturbing the peace around here or it totally pisses me off. i minimize the noise and disruption by following a rigid routine....i lock everyone in 30 minutes before people are due to start arriving around here. it keeps the crazy freakoid barking contained within our four walls..it is not a perfect solution but it certainly helps keep the neighborhood outside noise level down.

dogs will bark at pretty much anything..they bark to communicate that they hear something or are excited about something or they want something. so when a dog is barking..i pay attention..i actually listen to them....oh big bambi is barking by the side gate! this means she is done in the bottom field and wants to come back in the house. my job is to meet her needs so i immediately go to the gate and get her and bring her back into the house. i don't think she should have to stand at that gate barking over and over again to communicate her needs and wants...and i don't think our neighbors should have to listen to her barking over and over and over again while she is trying to get us to listen to her and help her open the gate to get back into the house where she wants to be.

i don't let the dogs outside until i am actually ready to take them for their walk. a bunch of frantic and impatient barking dogs running the fences and screaming their heads off and bugging the neighbors is NOT a good way for their walk to start. so i get myself ready and organized, get done whatever it is i have to do first..open the gates in preparation for their frantic explosive run outwards and then i open the flood gates and let them go....and because of this routine..i was the one in control. they all rush out barking their foolish heads off..for maybe one minute or two but then they start sniffing or swimming or pooping or peeing or just running in high speed and it is quieter and more peaceful....a far quieter and more controlled beginning of a brand new day....which i am sure our neighbors really appreciate.

with the amount of dogs we have living here...minimizing and containing the noise factor is our biggest challenge each day. we need to pay attention to who is barking and why and actually do something about it right away.
bambi cannot be left barking over and over at the side gate...jesse cannot be left barking over and over at his fence, phoebe cannot be left barking over and over in the cat run, people cannot come here unannounced in the dogs quiet and free times whenever is convenient for them, 20 frantic dogs can't be let out loose in the yard to bark and run around and wait til someone gets around to taking them for their walk...all of this just creates noisy chaos.

so here are the relatively simple noise containment saints rules...

don't come here outside our operating hours especially unannounced.
if we hear a dog barking, stop what we are doing and go get the noisy dog and make him or her stop by giving him or her what she wants...like back into the house.
don't let the dogs out until we are ready to give them what they are all freaking out about..like their first morning walk.

we are supposedly the higher species here...we are the ones who should be able to think things thru and figure the not so great consequences to all of us (human and animals) of a herd of uncontrolled, bezerking, barking their heads off, foolish dogs. our job is to protect both the animals and saints from those not so great consequences by keeping it as quiet and peaceful around here as we possibly can....and that takes a lot of dedicated work plus a good portion of common sense and personal responsibility to keep everything as quiet and settled as we possibly can.

it is far less stressful for me...for the dogs..for our neighbors...for the staff and volunteers too if we keep a lid on the noise level...and consistent, clear and thoughtful routines really help...as long as everyone works together to keep to the routines which ultimately keeps the peace....and peace is very important to the wellbeing of all of us here.