Protect Your Pup From NYE Fireworks With Noise-Canceling Tech for Doggos
No, it's not tiny dog-headphones. Although that would be dope.
There’s something about fireworks that brings out the animal in humans. Just one or two big booms and we’re howling and hooting at the sky, pumping our fists and spilling our drinks in excitement. But those same fireworks that we use to ring in the New Year are particularly traumatic for one member of your household: Your dog. Fortunately, noise-cancelling technology for your tender-eared best friend is on the horizon, from an unexpected source. No, it’s not tiny dog-headphones. Although that would be dope.
In their last product launch of 2018, the auto maker Ford has introduced a new addition to their product portfolio: noise-cancelling homes. For dogs. Borrowing the same noise-control technology used in their Edge and Fusion SUVs, Ford has created a high-concept dog kennel that chills out your pup and makes your home look the Jetson’s come to life.
In a 2010 study, scientists found that 46 percent of pets are frightened by fireworks; in the United States, the fifth of July is the busiest day of the year for animal shelters, which quickly become crowded by thousands of lost dogs whose flight responses are sparked by the unpredictable, incredibly loud sounds of fireworks.
A bed fit for your best friend.
Ford’s anti-firework defense strategy is three-fold: First, microphones inside the dog house sense when fireworks hit the sky. Speakers then emit opposing frequencies that cancel out, or significantly reduce, the big, booming sounds that scientists have found affect dogs at a much higher rate than both gun shots and thunderstorms. Paired with a layer of high-density cork, the kennel fosters a safe, muted space fit for a prince. That prince is your dog. Duh.
The Noise-Cancelling Kennel, which is currently in a prototype phase, is the first in a series of initiatives Ford is calling “Interventions,” which will apply existing automotive technology strategies to broader, everyday problems. No word yet on what other societal woes Ford will be taking on, but if there’s a way they could apply that “Lane-Keeping System” to oh, I don’t know, the entire landscape of Twitter, that would be ideal.
