Bark’n Mad

Options

Unlimited Monitoring Duration Record your reprimand and praise commands Use a whistle to attract your dogs attention The tri-tone whistle may be more effective at getting your dogs attention Analyse the reprimand & praise recordings in order to boost their volume Set the order bark control options are played Enable multi-colour audio analysis and display Tune the mood legend to match your dog’s barking Choose when reprimand and praise recordings are played Track the device location while monitoring Capture and email the monitor/replay screen image Export recordings to iCloud Drive and email download links Protected export and email of copies stored in iCloud Remote monitoring over iCloud Drive Use the App’s email server for emailed alerts Get alerts emailed to yourself for barking activity Optional contact email address for support Get a free ten day trial of remote monitoring and emailed alerts Full Version Support with Exceptions

Unlimited Monitoring Duration

This option removes the hidden areas of the summary graph allowing you to see all of the current session when purchased from the monitoring/review screen. It applies to the session in progress (if any), all previously recorded sessions and all future sessions.

Record your reprimand and praise commands

Once the reprimand and praise recordings have been made trash buttons (delete) and train buttons (play) are made available. Playback of a recorded reprimand is triggered by detected barking activity, praise is triggered by a period of quiet after a reprimand has been issued. After you have recorded your reprimand (and optionally praise) you may set the order in which they and the optional whistles are played in the section ‘Set the order the bark control options are played’. Note: Airplay speakers may be used. Bluetooth speakers are not supported for a variety of reasons.

Use a whistle to attract your dogs attention

You may create a whistle with any frequency up to 25000Hz, once created use the train button on the right to try it with your dog. Sometimes it may be difficult to attract your dogs attention when it is busy barking at something. A whistle may help briefly quieten it enough for the reprimand to be heard. Play around with the frequency, duration and volume then use the train button to see if this will work with your dog. If it looks like it will work then use the train button on ‘Set the order the bark control options are played’ to train your dog to the full sequence, that is whistle and reprimand.

The tri-tone whistle may be more effective at getting your dogs

attention

If the whistle only partially works then give the tri-tone whistle a go. The settings options are the same as for the whistle except this time you have three of them. Play around with each of the frequencies, durations and volumes then use the train button to see if this will work with your dog. If it looks like it will work then use the train button on ‘Set the order the bark control options are played’ to train your dog to the full sequence, that is tri-tone whistle and reprimand.

Analyse the reprimand & praise recordings in order to boost their

volume

To get relatively loud recordings for reprimand and praise you need to speak loudly near the microphone. Alternatively you can use this option to play and analyse the recording. It will then boost the recording volume on replay to the maximum.

Set the order bark control options are played

From the left hand side the first check boxes specify whether to play (if enabled) the whistle (     ) or tri-tone whistle (      ) at the start of the reprimand sequence. The next option is whether the reprimand is played (available only if recorded). The third option column specifies whether to play the whistle or tri-tone whistle at the end of the reprimand sequence. The Play Praise checkbox determines whether praise is played (available only if recorded) if the reprimand is successful. When using the train button only the selected reprimand sequence is played, not the praise recording.

Enable multi-colour audio analysis and display

With this option on the frequencies in any noise are analysed and  colour coded into the graph.  Similar barks from the same dog will show the same colour patterns. The position on the colour rainbow legend for 'playing' etc will vary for different dogs and may be customised. The yellow bars at the bottom of each graph show where the app thinks it has detected barking. To see a graphical explanation of this colour coding go to the control screen in the app and touch the info button in the bottom right hand corner. Without this option enabled the standard encoding is grey - no noise, yellow - noisy and red- barking. The yellow barking underline marker is still present. For more information see the FAQ page entry How do I read my dogs mood from the colour analysis?

Tune the mood legend to match your dog’s barking

Every dog’s bark has different frequencies. Bigger breeds tend to be lower pitched while the smaller breeds are higher. With this option you can modify the legend to better match your dog. You can type in numbers in each field or alternatively touch the padlock icon and use sliders. With sliders enabled touch any label (eg playing) and slide your finger to the left or right. The number will change together with the colour as you move your finger.

Choose when reprimand and praise recordings are played

Seconds to wait …’ - Normally there will be some noise after you start the monitoring session. You don’t want the app to recognise barking until after you have left so set this to a reasonable value for how long it takes you to go. Minimum seconds between reprimands’ - if your dog has not quietened on the first reprimand you don’t want to keep issuing them one after the other. You need a gap before you try again. The number of barks before the reprimand is issued’ - dogs barks vary. There are single sharp barks and there are fused barks where multiple barks occur one after the other without breaks. You can see fused barks on the instantaneous graph where there are multiple peaks in a single barking sequence. Some of these multiple peaks in a fused bark are counted towards this number so do not make this number too low or you will be triggering frequent reprimands. These barks must occur within these seconds’ - this provides an interval in which the number of barks above must occur. If you were there how long would you let your dog bark before you corrected it? Use a similar sort of time and then adjust the number of barks to get the reprimands fired when you want. Seconds of quiet to wait …’ - The app doesn’t want to play the reprimand over the dogs barking as it probably won’t be heard so it waits for a small gap in the barking. Keep this less than 1 second. Play praise recording if barking stops for ’n’ seconds’ - if the barking stops for this long then play the praise. See the next option as well. Praise is only played …’ - there is no point playing the praise unless the barking stops quickly after the reprimand. Note: Airplay speakers maybe used when monitoring to boost reprimand and praise volume. Full version owners may use bluetooth devices with hands free capability to monitor their dogs.

Track the device location while monitoring

This option is only available to owners of the full version. If you have not purchased this upgrade it will appear as If the full version is owned it is initially off by default: When turned on it changes to: More information is available in the usage guide.

Capture and email the monitor/replay screen image

Often when dealing with noisy dog complaints a snapshot of the monitor screen will be adequate to send to the council customer service operator especially when the dog has been quiet all day. This can save sending a large recording which contains nothing of interest.

Export recordings to iCloud Drive and email download links

This option allows the export of 16000Hz copies of monitoring session recordings to iCloud Drive and/or Documents if session recordings are being stored in a protected area. iCloud Drive is accessible to yourself on both the iOS device and your computer. Recordings stored in Documents can be accessed using iTunes file sharing. Both these areas are read and write enabled to yourself so the app treats them as unprotected. Once a recording has been copied to iCloud it has to be uploaded to the iCloud server before a link to it can be emailed using iOS Mail. Both the copy and the email are implemented on the review form where you select recordings. For further information touch here.

Protected export and email of copies stored in iCloud

Versions of the app downloaded from mid January 2016 store session recordings in a protected area inaccessible to yourself, prior versions stored them in Documents accessible to iTunes file sharing. When this option is enabled all future monitor recordings are stored in protected app storage where they cannot be modified. The export of 16000Hz copies to iCloud is done to a protected inaccessible area. Once again it has to be uploaded to the iCloud server before a link to it can be emailed. In this case because we have a session recording which has always been stored in a protected area the email of the download links also has to be protected if we are to guarantee that it is a protected and unaltered 16000Hz copy of the original monitor recording. The email is sent using the app’s own email server which is enabled for this purpose. You are able to enter the recipients, CC copies and initial user text. The app adds the links and text guaranteeing that the links are to unaltered copies of the original recordings. For further information touch here. Protected emails also send information about device location if the location tracking option is enabled by owners of the full version. See the usage guide for more information.

Remote monitoring over iCloud Drive

When this option is enabled the app stores snapshot copies of the monitoring screen in iCloud at the periodic intervals and whenever barking is detected (same logic as the reprimand). A barking alert resets the timer for the next periodic update. The remote device sees a button at the middle bottom of the initial control screen. This button is green if a monitoring session is in progress otherwise it is brown if a completed monitoring session is stored in iCloud. This device will display the snapshots as they become available. Scrolling the snapshots is available. There is also a button on the top right of the control bar which shows a muted bell, touch this to enable barking audio alerts. For further information touch here.

Use the App’s email server for emailed alerts

The option is there to use the app’s own email server or to use your own. Use of the app’s own email server requires no complex configuration. Use of your own email server is freely available when you enable emailed alerts. The pricing and fact it is not included as part of the unlimited version are designed to encourage you to use your own server. If you choose to use the app’s email server then to stop abuse each target email address requires the entry of an emailed confirmation code to activate it. When using your own server emailed confirmation codes are not required.

Get alerts emailed to yourself for barking activity

When this option is enabled the app emails snapshot copies of the monitoring screen at the periodic intervals and whenever barking is detected (same logic as the reprimand). A barking alert resets the timer for the next periodic email. Up to 10 email addresses can be entered. When using the app’s own email server a confirmation code is required and a button is provided to email the confirmation code to the entered address. Once confirmed the confirmation button is replaced by a tick. For further information touch here.

Optional contact email address for support

If the app crashes (disappears and you return to the home screen, this also happens after some fatal error messages) a crash report is automatically generated. This report respects your privacy and contains no user identifiable material. If you enter this email address then you give me some way of providing personal service and contacting you regarding any problems that have occurred.  

Get a free ten day trial of remote monitoring and emailed alerts

Just what it says. For ten days you can have a no obligation trial of remote monitoring and email alerts. To make it easy to setup the app’s own email server is included in the trial. if it is what you want then you can either buy the options you want or get the full version.

Full Version Support with Exceptions

Enables all current and future in-app purchase options with the exception of use of the app’s own email server for email alerts.

Restore Your Purchases.

Use this option if you have made in-app purchases and either reinstall the app on your device or install it on a second or subsequent device. The subsequent devices need to use the same iTunes login. Unfortunately it is not possible to share in-app purchases with family sharing.
© 2023 John Hall
iOS Apps
for the iPad and iPhone by John Hall

Bark’n Mad

Options

Unlimited Monitoring Duration Record your reprimand and praise commands Use a whistle to attract your dogs attention The tri-tone whistle may be more effective at getting your dogs attention Analyse the reprimand & praise recordings in order to boost their volume Set the order bark control options are played Enable multi-colour audio analysis and display Tune the mood legend to match your dog’s barking Choose when reprimand and praise recordings are played Track the device location while monitoring Capture and email the monitor/replay screen image Export recordings to iCloud Drive and email download links Protected export and email of copies stored in iCloud Remote monitoring over iCloud Drive Use the App’s email server for emailed alerts Get alerts emailed to yourself for barking activity Optional contact email address for support Get a free ten day trial of remote monitoring and emailed alerts Full Version Support with Exceptions

Unlimited Monitoring Duration

This option removes the hidden areas of the summary graph allowing you to see all of the current session when purchased from the monitoring/review screen. It applies to the session in progress (if any), all previously recorded sessions and all future sessions.

Record your reprimand and praise

commands

Once the reprimand and praise recordings have been made trash buttons (delete) and train buttons (play) are made available. Playback of a recorded reprimand is triggered by detected barking activity, praise is triggered by a period of quiet after a reprimand has been issued. After you have recorded your reprimand (and optionally praise) you may set the order in which they and the optional whistles are played in the section ‘Set the order the bark control options are played’. Note: Airplay speakers may be used. Bluetooth speakers are not supported for a variety of reasons.

Use a whistle to attract your

dogs attention

You may create a whistle with any frequency up to 25000Hz, once created use the train button on the right to try it with your dog. Sometimes it may be difficult to attract your dogs attention when it is busy barking at something. A whistle may help briefly quieten it enough for the reprimand to be heard. Play around with the frequency, duration and volume then use the train button to see if this will work with your dog. If it looks like it will work then use the train button on Set the order the bark control options are played’ to train your dog to the full sequence, that is whistle and reprimand.

The tri-tone whistle may be more

effective at getting your dogs

attention

If the whistle only partially works then give the tri- tone whistle a go. The settings options are the same as for the whistle except this time you have three of them. Play around with each of the frequencies, durations and volumes then use the train button to see if this will work with your dog. If it looks like it will work then use the train button on ‘Set the order the bark control options are played’ to train your dog to the full sequence, that is tri-tone whistle and reprimand.

Analyse the reprimand & praise

recordings in order to boost their

volume

To get relatively loud recordings for reprimand and praise you need to speak loudly near the microphone. Alternatively you can use this option to play and analyse the recording. It will then boost the recording volume on replay to the maximum.

Set the order bark control options

are played

From the left hand side the first check boxes specify whether to play (if enabled) the whistle (     ) or tri-tone whistle (      ) at the start of the reprimand sequence. The next option is whether the reprimand is played (available only if recorded). The third option column specifies whether to play the whistle or tri-tone whistle at the end of the reprimand sequence. The Play Praise checkbox determines whether praise is played (available only if recorded) if the reprimand is successful. When using the train button only the selected reprimand sequence is played, not the praise recording.

Enable multi-colour audio

analysis and display

With this option on the frequencies in any noise are analysed and  colour coded into the graph.  Similar barks from the same dog will show the same colour patterns. The position on the colour rainbow legend for 'playing' etc will vary for different dogs and may be customised. The yellow bars at the bottom of each graph show where the app thinks it has detected barking. To see a graphical explanation of this colour coding go to the control screen in the app and touch the info button in the bottom right hand corner. Without this option enabled the standard encoding is grey - no noise, yellow - noisy and red- barking. The yellow barking underline marker is still present. For more information see the FAQ page entry How do I read my dogs mood from the colour analysis?

Tune the mood legend to match

your dog’s barking

Every dog’s bark has different frequencies. Bigger breeds tend to be lower pitched while the smaller breeds are higher. With this option you can modify the legend to better match your dog. You can type in numbers in each field or alternatively touch the padlock icon and use sliders. With sliders enabled touch any label (eg playing) and slide your finger to the left or right. The number will change together with the colour as you move your finger.

Choose when reprimand and

praise recordings are played

Seconds to wait …’ - Normally there will be some noise after you start the monitoring session. You don’t want the app to recognise barking until after you have left so set this to a reasonable value for how long it takes you to go. Minimum seconds between reprimands’ - if your dog has not quietened on the first reprimand you don’t want to keep issuing them one after the other. You need a gap before you try again. The number of barks before the reprimand is issued’ - dogs barks vary. There are single sharp barks and there are fused barks where multiple barks occur one after the other without breaks. You can see fused barks on the instantaneous graph where there are multiple peaks in a single barking sequence. Some of these multiple peaks in a fused bark are counted towards this number so do not make this number too low or you will be triggering frequent reprimands. These barks must occur within these seconds’ - this provides an interval in which the number of barks above must occur. If you were there how long would you let your dog bark before you corrected it? Use a similar sort of time and then adjust the number of barks to get the reprimands fired when you want. Seconds of quiet to wait …’ - The app doesn’t want to play the reprimand over the dogs barking as it probably won’t be heard so it waits for a small gap in the barking. Keep this less than 1 second. Play praise recording if barking stops for ’n’ seconds’ - if the barking stops for this long then play the praise. See the next option as well. Praise is only played …’ - there is no point playing the praise unless the barking stops quickly after the reprimand. Note: Airplay speakers maybe used when monitoring to boost reprimand and praise volume. Full version owners may use bluetooth devices with hands free capability to monitor their dogs.

Track the device location while

monitoring

This option is only available to owners of the full version. If you have not purchased this upgrade it will appear as If the full version is owned it is initially off by default: When turned on it changes to: More information is available in the usage guide.

Capture and email the

monitor/replay screen image

Often when dealing with noisy dog complaints a snapshot of the monitor screen will be adequate to send to the council customer service operator especially when the dog has been quiet all day. This can save sending a large recording which contains nothing of interest.

Export recordings to iCloud Drive

and email download links

This option allows the export of 16000Hz copies of monitoring session recordings to iCloud Drive and/or Documents if session recordings are being stored in a protected area. iCloud Drive is accessible to yourself on both the iOS device and your computer. Recordings stored in Documents can be accessed using iTunes file sharing. Both these areas are read and write enabled to yourself so the app treats them as unprotected. Once a recording has been copied to iCloud it has to be uploaded to the iCloud server before a link to it can be emailed using iOS Mail. Both the copy and the email are implemented on the review form where you select recordings. For further information touch here.

Protected export and email of

copies stored in iCloud

Versions of the app downloaded from mid January 2016 store session recordings in a protected area inaccessible to yourself, prior versions stored them in Documents accessible to iTunes file sharing. When this option is enabled all future monitor recordings are stored in protected app storage where they cannot be modified. The export of 16000Hz copies to iCloud is done to a protected inaccessible area. Once again it has to be uploaded to the iCloud server before a link to it can be emailed. In this case because we have a session recording which has always been stored in a protected area the email of the download links also has to be protected if we are to guarantee that it is a protected and unaltered 16000Hz copy of the original monitor recording. The email is sent using the app’s own email server which is enabled for this purpose. You are able to enter the recipients, CC copies and initial user text. The app adds the links and text guaranteeing that the links are to unaltered copies of the original recordings. For further information touch here. Protected emails also send information about device location if the location tracking option is enabled by owners of the full version. See the usage guide for more information.

Remote monitoring over iCloud

Drive

When this option is enabled the app stores snapshot copies of the monitoring screen in iCloud at the periodic intervals and whenever barking is detected (same logic as the reprimand). A barking alert resets the timer for the next periodic update. The remote device sees a button at the middle bottom of the initial control screen. This button is green if a monitoring session is in progress otherwise it is brown if a completed monitoring session is stored in iCloud. This device will display the snapshots as they become available. Scrolling the snapshots is available. There is also a button on the top right of the control bar which shows a muted bell, touch this to enable barking audio alerts. For further information touch here.

Use the App’s email server for

emailed alerts

The option is there to use the app’s own email server or to use your own. Use of the app’s own email server requires no complex configuration. Use of your own email server is freely available when you enable emailed alerts. The pricing and fact it is not included as part of the unlimited version are designed to encourage you to use your own server. If you choose to use the app’s email server then to stop abuse each target email address requires the entry of an emailed confirmation code to activate it. When using your own server emailed confirmation codes are not required.

Get alerts emailed to yourself for

barking activity

When this option is enabled the app emails snapshot copies of the monitoring screen at the periodic intervals and whenever barking is detected (same logic as the reprimand). A barking alert resets the timer for the next periodic email. Up to 10 email addresses can be entered. When using the app’s own email server a confirmation code is required and a button is provided to email the confirmation code to the entered address. Once confirmed the confirmation button is replaced by a tick. For further information touch here.

Optional contact email address

for support

If the app crashes (disappears and you return to the home screen, this also happens after some fatal error messages) a crash report is automatically generated. This report respects your privacy and contains no user identifiable material. If you enter this email address then you give me some way of providing personal service and contacting you regarding any problems that have occurred.  

Get a free ten day trial of remote

monitoring and emailed alerts

Just what it says. For ten days you can have a no obligation trial of remote monitoring and email alerts. To make it easy to setup the app’s own email server is included in the trial. if it is what you want then you can either buy the options you want or get the full version.

Full Version Support with

Exceptions

Enables all current and future in-app purchase options with the exception of use of the app’s own email server for email alerts.

Restore Your Purchases.

Use this option if you have made in-app purchases and either reinstall the app on your device or install it on a second or subsequent device. The subsequent devices need to use the same iTunes login. Unfortunately it is not possible to share in- app purchases with family sharing.
© 2023 John Hall
iOS Apps
For the iPad and iPhone by John Hall