[Ella Riddle]

My dog barks a lot when he’s in the yard, and I’m wondering if the Qinux BarkBuz would even pick that up from inside. I know it says up to 10 meters, but that seems like it depends on walls and stuff. Also not sure if the ultrasonic sound would bother him more outside than inside. Has anyone used it mostly for outdoor barking?

[HarrY]

The wall thing is the real issue. I had a similar setup where the dog was outside and the device was inside, and it barely picked anything up unless the window was open. Drywall and glass kill it. If your dog is out in the yard and the unit is sitting on a shelf indoors, I wouldn’t count on it triggering much.

The outside vs inside thing matters too though. Out in the open, there’s nothing to bounce the sound back, so it’s more of a straight shot at the dog. Inside, it bounces around and hits them from everywhere, which some dogs find way more annoying. Mine didn’t care much either way after a couple weeks, but the first few days outside got a reaction, then nothing.

Ten meters is a best case number. With anything in the way, cut that in half at least.

[Tom Briggs]

Mine picked up the outside barking fine through a screen door.

[Jordan Hayes]

Mine actually worked better outside than in, which seems to be the opposite of what a lot of people say. I set it up on the back porch because that’s where my lab mix does most of his barking, and the unit was basically right there with him. When I first tried putting it inside on a windowsill, it was hit or miss, but once I moved it outside under the covered part of the porch, it caught him pretty much every time he started up. I never really tested it through a wall for long, so I can’t say how that would have gone.

As far as the dog being more bothered outside, I didn’t notice a difference in how he reacted. He’d stop, look around, and trot back toward the door. Same little pause either way. What I did notice is that after a few weeks he started barking less in general, not just when the thing went off. I don’t know if that’s the ultrasonic or just him getting older and lazier, but it lined up with when I started using it.

The one thing I’d say is to actually leave it out there instead of moving it around. Mine sat in the same spot for maybe two months and that’s when it seemed to do the most good.

[Jenny Flowers]

I mostly use mine for indoor barking so I can’t say much about the wall situation. But my neighbor’s setup outside on their patio worked fine for their dog. Maybe try putting it outside with him instead of inside?

[Claire Woods]

Outdoor barking is where mine actually shines.

[Ben Kerr]

Walls kill it more than distance I think.

[Sarah J]

Mine picks up the barking even with the door shut, so the wall thing is overblown in my experience. But the ultrasound outside honestly seemed weaker to me, like it got lost in the open space. My dog reacted way more indoors than in the yard.

[Kuzela]

The 10 meter thing is basically a best case number in an open room. Out in a yard you have wind, distance, and whatever is between the unit and the dog, so I would not take that as a real world guarantee. That said, barking is loud, and if the thing is anywhere near the dog it should still trigger. The bigger question is whether the dog actually cares.

I will push back a bit on the idea that outside is automatically the harder case. In my experience with these ultrasonic gadgets, a yard can actually be the easier setup because there is way less stuff for the sound to bounce around and confuse things. Indoors you get furniture, curtains, hallways, and all that mess. Outside the unit is usually pointed right at the dog with nothing in the way. The problem outside is more about weather and whether you leave it somewhere it will get rained on, not so much the walls.

What I would say is the dog matters more than the location here. Some dogs snap out of it the first time they hear the tone and others just keep going like nothing happened. I have seen both with the same kind of device. If your dog is a serious barker in the yard, the gadget might interrupt him for a second and then he goes right back at it.

It is a decent extra tool to have. Just do not expect it to fix a yard barker on its own.

[Mar__kus]

I mostly use mine for the yard and it does pick up barking from a decent distance, even with some stuff in the way. Battery life is the thing I’d check though, mine needs charged more often than I expected when it’s triggering a lot outside.

[Carla D.]

Mine actually seems to work better outside than in. I had it in the house first and half the time he’d ignore it, but out on the deck it gets his attention almost every time. The open space probably helps the sound carry instead of getting swallowed up.

[Maya Chen]

I think the outside thing just depends on your dog. Mine got way more twitchy about it when we were out on a walk than he ever did inside. Same beep, different reaction. So if yours is already a big yard barker, I’d guess it might bug him more out there, not less.

[Jenny Mel]

If it were me I’d just try it outside first and see what happens before worrying too much about the wall situation. I had a similar setup for my dog and the thing that surprised me was that the barking detection wasn’t really the issue at all, it picked up fine. The problem was that the ultrasound just didn’t seem to carry the same way once we were outdoors. Indoors it bounces around and feels more concentrated, but outside it kind of dissipates. My dog would react at first and then pretty much shrug it off after a few days. So I’d say if your dog is mostly barking outside, that’s the harder scenario to get results with. Not saying it won’t work for you, but I’d keep expectations low and maybe have a backup plan if the outdoor barking is the main thing you’re trying to fix.

[Alex Fisher]

Mine stays by the back door and has no trouble catching my dog going off in the yard, even when he’s around the side of the house. I think people get hung up on the range number when it’s really more about where you put the thing. Outside it’s actually been more consistent for us than having it in the living room.

[Zara W]

I actually had the opposite issue with mine. It picked up everything inside the house fine, but once I moved it near the back slider it was basically useless for the yard. Ended up putting it back on the kitchen counter and just accepting it only helps when he’s indoors. Not saying outdoor use can’t work for some people, but for my setup it really didn’t.

[Alex_28]

Outdoor barking barely triggers mine half the time.

[Sarah]

I mostly care that it’s not a shock collar, that’s my main thing with these gadgets. The range and walls stuff I figure I’ll just test once it shows up. If my dog ignores it in the yard then I’ll deal with that later.

[Casey M.]

10 meters through a wall is optimistic. I’d mount it outside near where he actually barks if that’s the main problem. The ultrasound outside doesn’t seem to carry as well either, so placement matters more than the range claim.

[Ella Riddle]

Appreciate the replies, sounds like results are all over the place which is kind of what I expected. I’ll probably still grab one and just see how it goes. Not expecting miracles for the yard barking but worth a shot.

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