This is not a joke. Ford, a car company, has spent quite a few man-hours working on a noise-cancelling dog kennel. This should not be too surprising when considering that there are certainly a few folks at the company who absolutely love their pups. Pair this with the fact that more companies are giving employees time to do extracurricular projects, and it’s not too hard to imagine how this likely came about. Regardless of the circumstances, the prototype is real and the company even released a video showing off its current state.
The effects of fireworks
Most folks who own dogs (or have in the past) would likely state they don’t need further proof that canines are afraid of fireworks. Ford teamed up with Graeme Hall, also known as “The Dogfather,” to discuss his experience helping 5,000 dogs with behavioral problems.
He estimates that half of the dogs that he has interacted have shown signs of fear when hearing fireworks. In the video showing off the prototype, Hall clarifies that this is because fireworks are different than natural sounds. He compared the noise of fireworks to that of thunder, another sound that most dog owners would agree is troubling for their pups to hear.
https://youtu.be/3Kc9xzuWP5Q
“Many animals find fireworks scary – and compared to people, dogs can hear things that are four times further away, and across a much wider range of frequencies. Preparing in advance of firework displays is the key – and part of that is to identify a place where your pets feel safe and happy,” said Graeme Hall, “The Dogfather”, one of the UK’s best dog trainers.
The technology involved
If you watched the video above, the puzzle pieces likely started to fit together better when Ford clarified that the technology used in its prototype kennel is from what it uses in its cars. A bit of a deeper dive reveals that the tech implemented here was first introduced in its Edge SUV.
Like the Ford Edge, this kennel uses microphones to pick up high levels of noise and counteract it with audio that reduces it to an amount that is negligible. For the kennel, this is for fireworks; for Ford Edge, it is obtrusive sound from the engine and transmission.
Availability
As mentioned early on, Ford’s noise-cancelling dog kennel is simply a prototype. It is just one of the ways that the company thinks it can use what it has learned in the car industry to help in other areas of life.
Until the company releases its kennel, dog owners will simply have to help their pups make it through by making some fresh maple bacon ice cream and serving it alongside a Cock-A-Doodle Brew Bowser Beer (for the humans who also must endure, of course).
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