---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Local recruits made regular night trips…"
description: "\"“Local recruits made regular night trips past villages on the city’s outskirts just to make guard dogs bark, which became such a nightly occurrence tha..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/mark-bowden-7188_quote_local-recruits-made-regular-night-trips_1089849.jpg"
---

#  Local recruits made regular night trips past villages on…

![“Local recruits made regular night trips past villages on the city’s outskirts just to make guard dogs bark, which became such a nightly occurrence that few paid attention to it anymore—either that or the dogs would grow so accustomed they no longer stirred.” quote by Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/mark-bowden-7188_quote_local-recruits-made-regular-night-trips_1089849.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/mark-bowden-7188_quote_local-recruits-made-regular-night-trips_1089849.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/mark-bowden-7188_quote_local-recruits-made-regular-night-trips_1089849.jpg)

> ““Local recruits made regular night trips past villages on the city’s outskirts just to make guard dogs bark, which became such a nightly occurrence that few paid attention to it anymore—either that or the dogs would grow so accustomed they no longer stirred.””

[Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

People become desensitized to constant noise, so repeated alarms lose their warning power.

**In simple terms:** Repeated alarms become ignored.

Key Takeaway

Vary signals to stay effective.

Themes

attention desensitization warning systems

Mood

alert concerned

Type

observational practical

When to use this quote

- military patrols
- neighborhood watch
- industrial alarms
- public safety alerts

Key Concepts

psychology signal fatigue

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we keep alerts noticeable without causing fatigue?
- What alternatives exist to maintain vigilance?

A Different Perspective

If signals are too frequent, they may become background noise.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Guard dogs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guard-dogs/)

## Related quotes

> [After long centuries, agrarian civilization is weakening. Is sufficient attention being devoted to the arrangement and improvement of the life of the country people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-paul-vi/after-long-centuries-agrarian-civilization-is-weakening-is-sufficient/)

[Pope Paul VI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-paul-vi/)

> [“It's not where the dogs bark that danger lurks. It's from the silence of the shadows where you hear no bark.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-bax/it-s-not-where-the-dogs-bark-that-danger-lurks-it-s-from-the-silence/)

[Timothy Bax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-bax/)

> [Dogs, also, bark at what they do not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/dogs-also-bark-at-what-they-do-not-know/)

[Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/)

> [The dogs may bark, but the caravan moves on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-needham/the-dogs-may-bark-but-the-caravan-moves-on/)

[Joseph Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-needham/)

> [Dogs that bark dont bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/german-proverb/dogs-that-bark-dont-bite/)

German Proverb

> [I don’t want to scare the guests with a big old guard dog,” Tara protested. “Safety is far more important than worrying about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-shalvis/i-don-t-want-to-scare-the-guests-with-a-big-old-guard-dog-tara/)

[Jill Shalvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-shalvis/)

> [We are hurtling back into a Soviet abyss, into an information vacuum that spells death from our own ignorance. All we have left is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-politkovskaya/we-are-hurtling-back-into-a-soviet-abyss-into-an-information-vacuum/)

[Anna Politkovskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-politkovskaya/)

> [Oh, I never kid about Artemis. I promised her I’d sit here and do nothing, so here I am doing nothing. Much like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/oh-i-never-kid-about-artemis-i-promised-her-i-d-sit-here-and-do/)

[Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/)

> [A man once told me that his dog was half pit bull and half Poodle. He claimed that it wasn't much good as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-coren/a-man-once-told-me-that-his-dog-was-half-pit-bull-and-half-poodle-he/)

[Stanley Coren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-coren/)

> [It seems like Michael Vick is going to jail for dog fighting. Hopefully, they won't have guard dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/it-seems-like-michael-vick-is-going-to-jail-for-dog-fighting/)

[Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/)

> [True Socialism, in which everyone is truly equal, does not just resemble a prison - it is a prison. It can not exist unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-suvorov/true-socialism-in-which-everyone-is-truly-equal-does-not-just/)

Viktor Suvorov

> [Abstraction and luxury are the guard dogs of the upper class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-koons/abstraction-and-luxury-are-the-guard-dogs-of-the-upper-class/)

[Jeff Koons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-koons/)

> [It's pretty obvious, isn't it? I'm joining your crappy little renegade pack. The vampires' guard dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/it-s-pretty-obvious-isn-t-it-i-m-joining-your-crappy-little-renegade/)

[Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/)

> [Desmo is my guard dog, but he has a sweet side, too. Nothing entertains him (or me) more than when I blow bubbles and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debi-mazar/desmo-is-my-guard-dog-but-he-has-a-sweet-side-too-nothing-entertains/)

[Debi Mazar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debi-mazar/)

> [“Golden retrievers are not bred to be guard dogs, and considering the size of their hearts and their irrepressible joy in life, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/golden-retrievers-are-not-bred-to-be-guard-dogs-and-considering-the/)

[Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/)

## More by Mark Bowden

> [“It was terribly risky, maybe even hopeless. But one or two properly armed, well-trained soldiers could hold off an undisciplined mob indefinitely. Shughart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/it-was-terribly-risky-maybe-even-hopeless-but-one-or-two-properly/)

[Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/)

> [“Thomas Paine’s The Crisis—“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/thomas-paine-s-the-crisis-these-are-the-times-that-try-men-s-souls/)

[Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/)

> [“Steele gave the unapologetic impression that he could break you with his bare hands if it weren’t for his strict devotion to Jesus and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/steele-gave-the-unapologetic-impression-that-he-could-break-you-with/)

[Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/)

> [“In April 1967, Johnson had dispatched General Creighton Abrams to Vietnam as Westy’s deputy. Abrams, a famous tank commander in World War II, had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/in-april-1967-johnson-had-dispatched-general-creighton-abrams-to/)

[Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/)

> [“Westin celebrated the New Year by shooting off some hand flares. Orders were “no fireworks,” but you couldn’t expect several hundred thousand men in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/westin-celebrated-the-new-year-by-shooting-off-some-hand-flares/)

[Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/)

> [“the Tet surprise was regarded by Westy as proof of Hanoi’s weakness. Nowhere in his understanding of the war was there room for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/the-tet-surprise-was-regarded-by-westy-as-proof-of-hanoi-s-weakness/)

[Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/)

> [“Hanoi’s leaders were virtuoso songbirds of propaganda. They lived in a bubble. There were no voices of dissent in their society to check or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/hanoi-s-leaders-were-virtuoso-songbirds-of-propaganda-they-lived-in-a/)

[Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/)

> [“The fifty-three-year-old former Eagle Scout from South Carolina didn’t drink, smoke, or swear; the most colorful expletive in his vocabulary was “dad gum.”7 He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/the-fifty-three-year-old-former-eagle-scout-from-south-carolina-didn/)

[Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/)

> [“The smallest pleasure, like a mouthful of canned fruit or the chance to bathe in an ice-cold river, was a luxury, something to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/the-smallest-pleasure-like-a-mouthful-of-canned-fruit-or-the-chance/)

[Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/)

> [“There were none of the card games marines usually played in downtimes. They were too tired to concentrate, and poker was serious business.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/there-were-none-of-the-card-games-marines-usually-played-in-downtimes/)

[Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/)

> [“Opposition to the war was becoming fashionable. Popular figures—intellectuals, athletes, musicians—stepped up to announce their opposition”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/opposition-to-the-war-was-becoming-fashionable-popular-figures/)

[Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/)

> [“To me the way they were used, particularly the way their idealism and loyalty were exploited by leaders who themselves had lost faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/to-me-the-way-they-were-used-particularly-the-way-their-idealism-and/)

[Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/)

> [“the domestic enemy’s inner sanctum, the National Press Club.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/the-domestic-enemy-s-inner-sanctum-the-national-press-club/)

[Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/)

> [“Nearly everyone had a father or uncles who had fought in World War II or Korea, or both, and many had grandfathers who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/nearly-everyone-had-a-father-or-uncles-who-had-fought-in-world-war-ii/)

[Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/)

> [“Beware of men with theories that explain everything. Trust those who approach the world with humility and cautious insight. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/beware-of-men-with-theories-that-explain-everything-trust-those-who/)

[Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/)

[Explore all 94 Mark Bowden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/)

## More Animal quotes

> [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/)

[Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/)

> [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/)

Mak\_786

> [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/)

[Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/)

> [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/)

[Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/)

> [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/)

[Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/)

> [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/)

[Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/)

> [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/)

[Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/)

> [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/)

[Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/)

> [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/)

[Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/)

[Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Local recruits made regular night trips past villages on the city’s outskirts just to make guard dogs bark, which became such a nightly occurrence that few paid attention to it anymore—either that or the dogs would grow so accustomed they no longer stirred.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Mark Bowden"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/local-recruits-made-regular-night-trips-past-villages-on-the-city-s/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Animal"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/local-recruits-made-regular-night-trips-past-villages-on-the-city-s/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/mark-bowden-7188_quote_local-recruits-made-regular-night-trips_1089849.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/mark-bowden-7188_quote_local-recruits-made-regular-night-trips_1089849.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/mark-bowden-7188_quote_local-recruits-made-regular-night-trips_1089849.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Local recruits made regular night trips past villages on the city’s outskirts just to make guard dogs bark…” — Mark Bowden",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Mark Bowden",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Local recruits made regular night trips...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/local-recruits-made-regular-night-trips-past-villages-on-the-city-s/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/local-recruits-made-regular-night-trips-past-villages-on-the-city-s/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
