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Remember that "Golden Girls" episode when Rose installs the "Bark Bell" to scare people away? 

I suspect some people in my neighborhood have something similar set up at their house. I don't know these people, they just moved in a few months ago, but I haven't seen any indication yet of dogs in their home. The past two mornings when we walked past their house on our morning walk, we heard loud barking coming from their open garage.

Cassie and Greta immediately were taken aback and were put on alert. They've never heard these barks before. I was a little stunned too; it was a really loud bark, so it was an obviously large dog. And the noise wasn't muffled, so it couldn't have be coming from inside the house. I looked as closely as I could without being obvious. Two cars were in the garage and I didn't see a dog or a crate.

This morning Cassie was ready to run across their yard and go after this mystery dog, which made me laugh. I don't have any idea what she thinks she was going to do. She's the least-confrontational dog I know.

So after the second day of this mystery barking, I formulated a theory: my new neighbors have some kind of sensor set up that triggers the sound of a dog barking when people are on their property. Am I crazy for thinking this?

I did some online research and these products are available. I found the RoboDog Barking Dog Alarm, the On Guard Barking Dog Alarm and the Electronic Watch Dog, among others.

So what do you think? Am I just not seeing the dog crate in the garage, or do you think my new neighbors have a barking dog alarm set up at their house? Do you know anyone who has one?