What can lead somebody to write such a program?

Well... It all began the first time I was obliged to leave Kid - my beloved puppy - alone at the house. I had an important appointment and I couldn't take him along with me. On my return, I had a very bad surprise: My clothing was torn, my furniture was corroded, my beautiful curtains were snatched, my brand new sunglasses were crushed... a real disaster! But that's not all. A few minutes later, someone knocked on my door: a very angry woman - my neighbor - came telling me how much she suffered while my dog was howling for hours (like a wolf she said, but I don't believe her 8-|). Other neighbors also complained and advised me to find a solution very quickly... The situation was intolerable. So I started asking around...

Some people told me about a collar to put around the dog's neck. The collar gives off an unpleasant substance when the dog barks. Others said that professional dog trainers may help. Something inside me knew that there was a better solution... "hmm, my dog is always quiet when I'm home. Even when I take a bath or something, Kid stays calm although he can't see me... If I hear him barking or doing anything wrong, all I have to do is to give him an order. How can I be here and elsewhere at the same time? (How to be and not to be?) Should I record my voice on a tape and play it over and over while I'm absent? No... the dog needs an order only when he's not quiet". One morning, I found the solution. Why not writing a computer program that replays my own voice when ever it detects any loud noise... a program that also replays my own voice every fifteen minutes (me singing, or talking to my computer, as I usually do)... a program that simulates my presence and interacts with my puppy! So I wrote KiddyGuard... Then the day came to test my first prototype :)

I left my puppy alone with KiddyGuard for six hours (Freedom, I'll catch ya!). When I came back home, Kid was waiting behind the door. I precipitated towards my computer to visualize the session graph. Unbelievable! I made it. Kid had barked only three times right after my departure. After that, there was no more significant noise. That was an unhoped-for progress! KiddyGuard showed me everything: how many times Kid barked, when he barked, the global noise average during my absence... with a mouse click I was able to replay the three recordings of my dog barking. Later on, I asked my neighbors if they heard anything. Nothing at all they said, and they were very curious to find out how I managed to keep my puppy quiet.

KiddyGuard was tested with many other puppies, during two years, and the results were so unexpected that I decided to spread it all over the blue planet (it's a small planet :) If you have a problem with keeping your dog alone at home, this software is for you.

Enjoy it!