Yes you can do it safely and know whether they bark or not. We use a Cloud Cam camera which has video and audio. We have a temp stik that monitors temp and humidity. I have the camera wired into the inverter so if the power goes off we can still see, hear and if necessary talk to our dogs. The temp stik will let us know if the fiver is getting too hot since we have it set to check every 15 mins. The cloud cam is also positioned to show us a night light which will not burn if the cg lost power. Lastly we use a Verizon mifi which is not dependent on the cg's internet and is secure. All this info is monitored by our smart phones.
With all that being said, most of our trips without Lucky and Lucie are not over 30 mins away generally speaking. The longest we have stayed away was 3 hours and that was at a Triumph Quartet concert in P. Forge. We were only 30 mins with traffic away.
It can be done with today's technology safely.
