IP cameras to record barking dogs 24/7?

S

socalfusions

n3wb
Jul 1, 2015
7
1
I'm currently experiencing the unrelenting barking from more than one dog owner, these dog owners have previously been approached personally by myself and other concerned neighbors where they were respectfully asked to attend to the excessive barking. That of course was not enough to persuade these dog owners to take appropriate enough actions to actually reduce the barking in any significant way. Myself and other affected neighbors must now resort to contacting law enforcement and the city to find a solution to this unfortunate matter.

My goal is to put together a IP camera setup that will be able to continuously record the barking of these dogs for documentation purposes should the barking continue to go unabated. Because the barking can and has happened at unpredictable hours, sometimes happening in bursts where it is difficult to stop whatever task was being done, quickly grab a handheld camera, set it up and start recording the barking, I've opted to find a solution that can always record this excessive noise no matter what.

The setup I had in mind would be either two Hikvision or Dahua cameras with audio and a noise activated recording program. The only software that I'm aware of which will record by noise activation is Audacity which to my understanding isn't a dedicated surveillance software so I'm unsure of its effectiveness. I'd like to purchase the lowest cost cameras with audio possible as I know they hover around the $150 range. What will cables and a DVR (is this what I want to record?) cost? Is noise activated recording reliable or will anything set it off? The barking in question is taking place from ranges including short, medium and long but are all very easy to distinguish even from my sport cameras inadequate microphone from my room. I can only imagine that a dedicated IP camera with audio that is installed in an ideal position to record the barking would be more than sufficient. The camera for the front of my home would also be used for standard video surveillance as there has been recent vandalism and trash being dumped by loiterers nearby.

Is this idea something that will be as effective as it sounds for my purposes or am I looking at a very costly and complicated setup for autonomously recording this invasive noise?
 
I think the analog microphones work better than the cameras with built in mics. Will law enforcement not take a statement for a nuisance dog from you?
 
For a while now I've planned on using IP cams for both home security and for the documentation of my neighborhoods worst barking dog offenders. Barking dog's have proven to be one of the biggest challenges to the level of quality of life in a suburban environment, it's the most readily encountered assault to one's senses that occurs on almost a daily basis due to the wide ownership of the canine species.

My goal is to setup IP cameras that use the Blue Iris software to utilize the noise activation features associated with it, I can't think of any other method that would make recording and finding those recordings of barking more user friendly. The thing is I'm not sure how effective noise activation would be for this situation, would it heavily matter on the distance of the dog? Can you change the noise sensitivity of the software? Does it pick up ALL sorts of noises such as wind, vehicle traffic, other commonly encountered neighborhood noises?

Ideally I would come home after a day of work and be able to browse through all of the barking recordings which I could easily compile into a montage video which could be used to legally prosecute the dog owner (given they refused to take any meaningful action through more friendly routes).

Quite frankly barking dog laws are a joke and near impossible to enforce unless the victims are ready to jump through hoops and do an unimaginable amount of foot work to prove the barking exists and then to go through their counties legal system to personally enforce said laws.
 
socalfusions said:
I'm currently experiencing the unrelenting barking from more than one dog owner,

My goal is to put together a IP camera setup that will be able to continuously record the barking of these dogs for documentation purposes should the barking continue to go unabated.
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My suggestion is to save both your money and your time and not bother. I know what you think you are trying to achieve, the reality is that what you are proposing will not achieve what you want, and will possibly breach both state and local laws.

Issues I can see.

1. I'm assuming this will take the form of a mic attached to your house. Given there is more than one dog, how do you plan to differentiate between which dog is barking at which time, and prove that in court?
2. How do you plan to establish that the dog was barking without good reason? Dogs bark. That's a fact of life. A dog barking at an intruder is a dog doing it's job.
3. Your other post on the topic, Anyone make good use of IP cams against barking dogs?, suggest you want to record when no one is home. For noise to be offensive it has to affect someone. If you go to the local law enforcement body with recordings of barking that no one was actually around to hear you will look like a very petty individual indeed.
4. You said in your post that the barking is intermittent and is so short in duration that you can't reliably capture it without 24/7 recording. How do you plan to argue, and prove in court that it is excessive?
5. Is it even legal where you are to record Audio?


By all means install cameras, but don't expect them to provide the solution to your barking dog problem.
 
obviously you are not an animal lover, it's hard to stop a dog barking and almost sad that people feel the need to go out of there way to look for a barking dog doing nothing more than protecting they own little bit of land.

CCTV is designed for the protection of property and people not dogs in your neighbour hood. if your really upset by dogs barking, I would look at moving away from other people as dog are seen as man best friend and incase you didn't know they bark at things

This is probably the most inappropriate use of cctv equipment I have ever known.

Remember recording of audio is an invasion of privacy and will get you in more trouble than a dog barking.
 
I own a dog and do not let mine bark for extended periods like others. It is extremely agrivating and selfish. I will be looking for any good replies to gain evidence if i need to go to the next step
 
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The mic would not prove who's dog is barking, just that there is a barking dog.
And they camera can't be used to view someone elses property unless their leaving their dog on the street.
 
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whoslooking said:
The mic would not prove who's dog is barking, just that there is a barking dog.
And they camera can't be used to view some elses property unless the leaving their dog on the street.
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Excellent point. SO a useless endeavor. Perhaps earplugs? Or maybe go talk to your neighbor instead of being a chicken shit ass hole.

But I like dogs. And even if they bark.
 
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SyconsciousAu said:
My suggestion is to save both your money and your time and not bother. I know what you think you are trying to achieve, the reality is that what you are proposing will not achieve what you want, and will possibly breach both state and local laws.

Issues I can see.

1. I'm assuming this will take the form of a mic attached to your house. Given there is more than one dog, how do you plan to differentiate between which dog is barking at which time, and prove that in court?
2. How do you plan to establish that the dog was barking without good reason? Dogs bark. That's a fact of life. A dog barking at an intruder is a dog doing it's job.
3. Your other post on the topic, Anyone make good use of IP cams against barking dogs?, suggest you want to record when no one is home. For noise to be offensive it has to affect someone. If you go to the local law enforcement body with recordings of barking that no one was actually around to hear you will look like a very petty individual indeed.
4. You said in your post that the barking is intermittent and is so short in duration that you can't reliably capture it without 24/7 recording. How do you plan to argue, and prove in court that it is excessive?
5. Is it even legal where you are to record Audio?


By all means install cameras, but don't expect them to provide the solution to your barking dog problem.
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To differentiate between the dogs an exploratory and legally obtained video of the dog in question is taken, as long as you aren't trespassing you can legally record whatever you please in my state, in my case each dog has a unique bark and can be clearly labeled. It's quite simple to establish good/bad reason, excessive barking is excessive plain and simple. A dog barking at every pedestrian going for a walk throughout the neighborhood isn't defense but aggression and is quite bothersome to anyone within audible range, a dog barking at a burglar breaking and entering is a different thing. No one has to be home for excessive barking to be offensive, I'm not sure where you got that from, it's unlawful to allow your dog to bark excessively whether either party is home or not.

Interpon said:
I own a dog and do not let mine bark for extended periods like others. It is extremely agrivating and selfish. I will be looking for any good replies to gain evidence if i need to go to the next step
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You're a good dog owner among a sea of neglectful ones then, good on you sir.

looney2ns said:
I suspect the recordings would be triggered for any loud noise.
But, if you want to give it a whirl, I'd use this Mic: Bullet Mic Review
Paired with a cam that has an audio input.

This mic provides excellent recordings with the right cam.
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Yeah that's my main concern, it would likely build up with a lot of filler noise depending on the background noise going on, typically the only loud noises are barking unless it's trash day. I'll check out that Bullet Mic, thanks.

skumdifusen said:
Have you every thought of ultrasonic devices to quieten your neighbours dog.
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I have but some of the dogs are not within close enough distance to be affected by it from my home, I have used it in the past with good success though.
 
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Do you have to have video otherwise just put a voice activated reocrder outside and save the frustration
 
pal251 said:
Do you have to have video otherwise just put a voice activated reocrder outside and save the frustration
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Video would mainly be for a combination of home surveillance and also the recording of the barking, mostly it's to provide more irrefutable proof of the barking as audio only could be casually denied by a dog owner, you would have to have a detailed barking log to back up audio barking in addition to at least a exploratory video to show the dog at the house it's barking at which would prove it exists there. Audio only is better than nothing and could hold up in court for sure though, just requires more footwork to back it up.
 
socalfusions said:
No one has to be home for excessive barking to be offensive, I'm not sure where you got that from, it's unlawful to allow your dog to bark excessively whether either party is home or not.
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Your local law may be different but locally noise has to reasonably impact someone for it to be considered excessive or offensive. Obviously for a person to be impacted they need to be present when the noise occurs. Even if your local laws allow for technical breaches, where the existence of the noise alone constitutes the breach, part of the art of being a good neighbour, is being a tolerant neighbour, and part of being a tolerant neighbour means not being so petty as to complain about noise that occurred when you weren't there to hear it.

Whilst you local laws might support you in a legal sense, being petty and getting people off side is not going to improve your quality of life, and may motivate those around you to be equally petty. It can't be that big an issue because you have been talking about doing something since 2015 and still have nothing set up. If it can wait two years ask yourself if you really need/want to go down the super petty road.
 
I am also dealing with this unfortunate issue, I've tried the ultrasonic things(just plain crap and waste of money) if it works for people awesome but didn't do a thing. I am an animal lover and dog owner but the amount of barking is insane! I can hear it in every room in our house, financially moving is not an option right now even though I would love to. Honestly people shouldn't have to move because of rude neighbors or there dogs in my opinion. People should have the right to enjoy their homes without constantly being bombarded with others dogs barking. I have tried many things including talking to them several times and being very respectful, sometimes people don't realize it's as bad as it is and have no idea. We spoke to them, even let them use an expensive bark collar we bought for our dog when we first got her. Being a responsible dog owner is Paramount especially when you live in town. Unfortunately most dog owners don't give a crap and have no respect for those around them. Colonel (the dog next door) barks constantly nonstop every day all day and night. it's in their house, no one's outside or coming in their yard so there's no reason for it at all. The only time he's quite is when they are home. I have started documenting it because honestly it's driving me crazy, it keeps me up at night, wakes my baby up on a daily basis and is so intrusive I can't handle it anymore. So I am also looking for a way to document it to bring up to the police, I've been recording video of it on my phone but I can't keep it on all the time. If anyone has any ideas I'd really appreciate some help with this that won't break the bank.
 
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Attention Seeking: Dogs often bark when they want something, such as going outside, playing, or getting a treat.

Separation Anxiety/Compulsive Barking: Dogs with separation anxiety often bark excessively when left alone. They also usually exhibit other symptoms as well, such as pacing, destructiveness, depression, and inappropriate elimination. Compulsive barkers seem to bark just to hear the sound of their voices. They also often make repetitive movements as well, such as running in circles or along a fence.

How to Treat Excessive Barking
Maybe throw them a chew toy my dog barks at me when I get home he's only telling me I've been protective it's a hard one
 
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