Quote:
Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom  I talked to a trainer yesterday at the shelter where I volunteer and asked her about these ultrasonic devices. She likened the effect of the sound to fingernails on a chalkboard -- to some people, this sound is horrible and it bugs them - to others, no real effect. She said it'd be the same with this ultrasonic sound for dogs.
She said we should always be very careful when using it, most especially on a group of dogs bc you could be "punishing" all the dogs, when really only one dog is doing something wrong -- so it can be very confusing for the dog who wasn't doing anything. She said you can also end up decreasing "good" behavior if it's not used properly. |
I only have one dog, so I don't have to worry about the multiple dog affect, and we were always far enough away from any other dogs so that it wouldn't bother them. And as I said, my dog would get so hyper that I felt it was not good for her health (or our safety). I would rather zap her with the ultrasonic sound that she obviously doesn't like (thank God she is one of the dog's that it bothers!) the 3 times I had to use it than allow her to get so absolutely crazy that it was becoming dangerous.
It is not a good thing when you are walking a 6 lb. dog on the other side of the street from a person walking 80 lb. pit bulls and that little dog goes nuts, ESPECIALLY when the person with the pit bulls is having a hard time even handling them. All I could think of is one of these times, one of these huge dogs is going to get off it's leash and kill both of us because Beanie is acting like a crazed animal.
I spent 2 months trying to stop the behavior with positive reinforcement, making her sit when she started her crap when we were walking, then giving her a treat. This went on, and on and did NOT work, her behavior deteriorated. I took her to a private training lesson and tried everything the trainer told me to do (including using a squirt bottle - she thought it was a game), didn't work.
She is starting to get a little "mouthy" again and if it starts to get out of hand, I will use it again. So far, saying NO has worked, but one never knows with this dog.
Anyway, for the people here who are trying it, good luck and please post your results.