It’s a dilemma around here every Spring and Fall. On those gorgeous days with perfect temperatures and breezes, should the windows be open or shut?
We’re sure non-dog people never even think about the consequences of the decision the way dog people do. Is the fresh air worth the aggravation of barking at every little noise?
Without the filter
It’s not that we buy into the “happy little dog” stereotype. Our pack of four isn’t particularly barky. But they do react when they hear something out of the ordinary. Here in the Chicago area, having the windows open to outside noises isn’t a daily occurrence. Most years the house is shut up from November to at least March. And again from June to September. Like Oprah once said back in the day when she was host of A.M. Chicago; If Chicago had good weather, everyone would want to live here.
But we don’t, usually. The dogs aren’t accustomed to all the everyday outside noises; the mowers, the blowers, the trucks and deliveries, the in-and-outs of every neighbor up and down the block. Or if they are, because dogs have better hearing than we do, they’re used to those noses being muffled by closed windows.
We know we could train them to be quiet when the windows are open. But, in all honesty, it’s a process that takes time and energy that just isn’t worth it to us. Like everything in life, you have to weight the cost / benefit ratio. Training a dog to suppress an instinct is a long process. For the few days a year, the value isn’t there for us.
Predictable behavior
It’s absolutely normal that dogs react to the unusual. That’s sort of their job as house dogs. They’re supposed to let us know when something is going on. But does it have to be so loud? It’s one thing when the dogs bark outside in the yard. The volume is mitigated by the open space it gets lost in. Even when they go nuts at the garbage pick-up truck (they’re convinced it’s trying to steal our stuff). It’s another thing when they hear the truck from inside, lying next to you, and start up.
So the discussion on beautiful days revolves around the cost vs. benefit of windows open or closed. Open usually wins. And there’s a lot of “shushing” that goes with it.
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