Bark collars (barking, train, cross, outside)

[PullMyFinger]

What do you folks think of these? I have a whiney neighbor who is starting to throw stuff at his own fence the minute my little dogs bark. We have worked hard to get them in the house the minute they start to bark, no way my dogs have barked for more than 30 seconds at a time in the last year.

BUT....I don't want to be a bad neighbor so I was thinking of trying a bark collar on my older dog. His bark really is loud and annoying (especially if you don't love him like we do).

Any ideas? Thanks.

[cleosmom]

I did a no bark collar on my Tony when he was younger as he had much to say from previously being tied up by his former owners. If a leaf blew off the tree from the next county, he had something to say. He did NOT wear it all the time, only early morning hours, prior to 7:00am and after 10:00pm at night and only when he was outside, never inside.

[lauramc27]

Honestly, I don't like them. Are your dogs barking constantly when outside or is it just a few minutes then they stop. Did the neighbor bother to think that throwing things against the fence makes them bark louder and more Maybe invite the neighbor over a few times to get the dog used to them and their voices, this may help.

My parents have a neighbor with a little dog and a horrible neighbor that lives behind her. Her dog barks and this guy does the same thing and yells at the dog from the fence so of course Bella barks more and louder. Sometimes people have to be smarter than the dog. My parents don't have a problem because the dog knows them and all they have to do is say, "oh, Bella, it's ok" and she quites down.

[DawnMTL]

I bought a citronella collar (it sprays a light blast of lemon scent when the dog barks) for Artie so that I could let him out in the back yard in the early mornings to pee.

I never -- NEVER! -- thought it would work on my stubborn beast. But y'know what? Like a charm. It worked like a charm!

The first time I put it on and he barked, he turned around to look at me with such a WTF???? expression on his face, I laughed out loud. But he didn't bark again. The next day, one bark at a squirrel and then he came onto the deck and lay down. I guess he figured that the barking just wasn't worth the lemony aggravation.

Now, a few years later, it's still working like a charm. To be honest, I'm not sure if there's any more lemon stuff in it (even though I refill it once in a while, when I think of it). I even know, for a fact, that there have been mornings when I forget to switch it on. And, for all I know, even set to on, I'm not sure that the battery still has juice. It took him about a week of "single bark and shpritz" for him to realize, "Uh. The collar's on. No-bark time. I guess I'll wait until later, when I'm naked."

In all seriousness, this was a fabulous invention. And for it to work on Artie (aka Mr. Stubborn-pants), it's a miracle.

[foxywench]

your not being a bad neighbor,
i personally wouldnt bother, (and ive found electronic bark collars tend to exhasperate other issues) just be sure if he starts barking your right there to correct him and/or bring him indoors...let the neighbor throw all he wants at HIS fence as long as its not a risk to the dog...as long as your not letting hi stand out there and bark for more than a few minutes id let grumpy neighbor be grumpy...

Citronella or ultrasonic may be a better bet but can be sound sensitive so not a good choice if you have multiple dogs or dogs close by...lol

[cittic10]

I have some pretty vocal dogs and the "quiet" command works every time.

I recommend teaching that first and if you still need a collar then cross that bridge when you get to it.
You ask what we thought of them, well I think they are punishing the dog for a behavior they don't know is unwanted rather than rewarding for the behavior that is. Most of the time all you need to do is teach them what you want them to do. People sometimes just don't want to bother with training the dog and would get some magical device to do it for them.

Never the less 30 seconds of barking is far from being a nuisance.

[DawnMTL]

Originally Posted by cittic10

I have some pretty vocal dogs and the "quiet" command works every time.

I recommend teaching that first and if you still need a collar then cross that bridge when you get to it.
You ask what we thought of them, well I think they are punishing the dog for a behavior they don't know is unwanted rather than rewarding for the behavior that is. Most of the time all you need to do is teach them what you want them to do. People sometimes just don't want to bother with training the dog and would get some magical device to do it for them.

Never the less 30 seconds of barking is far from being a nuisance.

Could you come over every time Artie sees the mail man? Artie can't hear me say "quiet" ... he's barking too loud.

He does, though, respond to "Enough!" or -- even better -- "Inside!" (if we're in the yard) but I have to say it so damn loud, my throat is raw.

He's a small dog -- only 35 pounds -- but I always say that he's the Barry White of the canine world. DEEP VOICE, little body.

[Dashdog]

I also have had great luck with the citronella collar first with Jazz now Chaos. Both having herding breeds in them they tend to like barking if I am around great they will stop when I tell them but when I am at work and Chaos hears something outside she goes out the pet door and has too much to say about it. When I first got her I asked all my neighbors to let me know if she was barking and one was kind enough to let me know before it became a big issue thus she got the citronella collar Jazz had and I told me neighbor what I was doing and to let me know .....my neighbor claims bo more barking.

[PullMyFinger]

Thanks for the advice! I'm going to try the citronella.

[cittic10]

Originally Posted by PullMyFinger

Thanks for the advice! I'm going to try the citronella.

Aren't there times you want your dog to bark?

Have you tried any training yet?

Originally Posted by DandJ

Could you come over every time Artie sees the mail man? Artie can't hear me say "quiet" ... he's barking too loud.

He does, though, respond to "Enough!" or -- even better -- "Inside!" (if we're in the yard) but I have to say it so damn loud, my throat is raw.

He's a small dog -- only 35 pounds -- but I always say that he's the Barry White of the canine world. DEEP VOICE, little body.

Did you ever train your dog a command for quiet or are you just shouting "Enough!" out of frustration and expecting your dog to know what you meant by that?

You dog can hear your commands even when they are barking. They have to know what it means and be trained using consistency and positive reinforcement. And you won't have to use it every time the mail man is there because once you get your dog out of the habit of barking at the mail man, then it becomes a habit of not barking at the mail man. Yes, getting to that point does take a little patience and work but if you were a dog, would you rather get sprayed in the face with oil for doing something you have always done and didn't know was unwanted or would you rather your mom just took the time to explain it to you using cookies and fun little practice games?