Followup on bark collar

[viviansnickers]

I was having a barking problem and I got the silent Bark Off buzzer type controller and it made my Snickers flinch and Reesie kept barking. DH and I hated how Snick even flinched so we threw it away. A yelp would break my heart--I could never use a shock collar. Please look into other ways of training. Pain is not the answer. I know the barking is super annoying, but hurting your dog is not the answer.

Just my 2 cents...
Viv

[Ellie May]

Tried a citronella collar here after water and coins in can didn't work. It didn't work either. She thought the thing she was barking at was the thing that was spraying her, so she just get madder and barked more. That went back to the store in a hurry. Now we just remove her from the situation instead, although she has gotten better about coming over to us and walking away from the situation when told to.

[ziggy925]

Originally Posted by manolos mom

Why not just use a bark silencer? I dont get how anyone could put a shock collar around their necks. This is so cruel. Try this instead.

Stop Dog Barking with the Dog Silencer Pro - Safe, Humane Anti Bark Control Products Bark Control Product

Well, because it may work on some dogs, but it didn't do squat with Ruger. I even called the company several times to get advice and we wound up returning it.

Tonight Ruger went downstairs and started crazy barking out the window. "Quiet," didn't work - never does, so I put the collar on him. He barked a couple more times, made a sound like "Hey, WTF," - and hasn't made another sound all night. I just took it off and he's still quiet.

I will admit I feel better since I put the resistor on the collar, and now it's more like getting his attention. I want to thank everyone for convincing me to rethink the bark collar.

The way I see it if you are going to train your dog you have to catch him the instant he does something wrong. As we all know, you don't rub your dog's nose in a mess he made, especially when you didn't see it happen. If you catch the dog in the act you are supposed to startle him and place him where he's supposed to go. The collar startles the dog the instant he barks. Often, all I have to do is put the collar on him and he stops and won't bark again.

Some of you obviously swear by vibrating collars, ultrasonic devices and sprays, but none of these devices worked at all on my or my girlfriend's dog. This is also born out in the ratings these devices get.

Again, I would never hurt my dog, and many of you make it sound like I've got Ruger strapped to a little electric chair.

[Princess10]

Originally Posted by ziggy925

Well, because it may work on some dogs, but it didn't do squat with Ruger. I even called the company several times to get advice and we wound up returning it.

Tonight Ruger went downstairs and started crazy barking out the window. "Quiet," didn't work - never does, so I put the collar on him. He barked a couple more times, made a sound like "Hey, WTF," - and hasn't made another sound all night. I just took it off and he's still quiet.

I will admit I feel better since I put the resistor on the collar, and now it's more like getting his attention. I want to thank everyone for convincing me to rethink the bark collar.

The way I see it if you are going to train your dog you have to catch him the instant he does something wrong. As we all know, you don't rub your dog's nose in a mess he made, especially when you didn't see it happen. If you catch the dog in the act you are supposed to startle him and place him where he's supposed to go. The collar startles the dog the instant he barks. Often, all I have to do is put the collar on him and he stops and won't bark again.

Some of you obviously swear by vibrating collars, ultrasonic devices and sprays, but none of these devices worked at all on my or my girlfriend's dog. This is also born out in the ratings these devices get.

Again, I would never hurt my dog, and many of you make it sound like I've got Ruger strapped to a little electric chair.

I'm just curious, is your long term plan that he will just learn to quit barking all together or that you'll have to put the collar on him a little bit each day? Does it seem like it's actually teaching him not to bark? If you put it on him with no batteries does just the "feel" of the collar deter him? I know that I try to tell Princess "Quiet" for most of her barking, and will probably have to at least sometimes for most likely the rest of her life...just wondered if these collars are the long term solution for people that use them.

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by ziggy925

Well, because it may work on some dogs, but it didn't do squat with Ruger. I even called the company several times to get advice and we wound up returning it.

Tonight Ruger went downstairs and started crazy barking out the window. "Quiet," didn't work - never does, so I put the collar on him. He barked a couple more times, made a sound like "Hey, WTF," - and hasn't made another sound all night. I just took it off and he's still quiet.

I will admit I feel better since I put the resistor on the collar, and now it's more like getting his attention. I want to thank everyone for convincing me to rethink the bark collar.

The way I see it if you are going to train your dog you have to catch him the instant he does something wrong. As we all know, you don't rub your dog's nose in a mess he made, especially when you didn't see it happen. If you catch the dog in the act you are supposed to startle him and place him where he's supposed to go. The collar startles the dog the instant he barks. Often, all I have to do is put the collar on him and he stops and won't bark again.

Some of you obviously swear by vibrating collars, ultrasonic devices and sprays, but none of these devices worked at all on my or my girlfriend's dog. This is also born out in the ratings these devices get.

Again, I would never hurt my dog, and many of you make it sound like I've got Ruger strapped to a little electric chair.

You probably didn't want to hurt your dog. Nevertheless, the dog kept yelping from a training device and it was not immediately taken off, so you did hurt your dog. Stuff happens. Lesson learned. Move on... However, I really hope that you tried the new collar with the resistors around your own neck for a few hours to see 1) exactly how much discomfort there is - discomfort vs. pain (keeping in mind that a small dog is going to experience pain much faster than a person even if they don't show it, and 2) thought during that time exactly what it felt like not being able to talk because that is exactly what is continuous suppressed in your pup over fear of being hurt.

I'm not saying a dog should bark all day and run the house, but it's a very natural behavior and IMO one or two barks now and then should not automatically be stopped (but that is what is happening now).

[ziggy925]

I guess how you use the collar depends on the individual dog. I don't use the collar all that much. I normally let him bark it out and leave him alone. It is a natural thing, and I don't want to lose my "alarm system." But, sometimes it's just too much. Even the instructions tell you not to play with your dog with the collar on as you are screwing with their natural tendencies to bark. It also tells you not to leave the collar on more than 12 hours.

At my girlfriends the neighbors complain, so I use the collar more over there. Often, he will quiet down by just putting the collar on him, and I've heard many stories about people just showing the collar to their dogs to quiet them.

I did put the collar on myself, but "my" barking would not trigger it.

The big problem with these collars is when the dog cycles the collar over and over. The shock makes the dog bark more, and that triggers the collar starting a cycle that is only stopped by the technology in the collar, which in many collars will cut the collar off.

IMHO barking is something that is very difficult to control without an external device for the average dog owner. The device you use depends on the dog, and yes, you must be extra careful with a dog as small as a Yorkie. BTW, the collar does sound an audible tone before it does anything. The idea is not to shock the dog, but for the dog to stop when he hears the tone.

[jeanm1963]

I recently watched Me and or the Dog and Victoria is totally against a dog collar that shocks the dog, not only is it painful but it can cause the dog further harm and also bad behavior, this one dog would not even go out the front door or near the back yard as he associated the PAINFUL SHOCK WITH THAT.
I know of many people who have used this product with GREAT results, my friend has a yorkie that can bark from dusk till dawn, she purchased this and now all she has to do is go to pick it up and he stops immediatly. Its very in expensive and has very good reviews. It is certainly worth the few dollars to see if this is a more effective way of training.

Amazon.com: Pet Parade Dog Repeller and Training...

[ziggy925]

I love Victoria, but again, it depends on the dog and how you use any device or training method. I watch people all the time calling their dogs over and over then punishing the dog when it finally does come. Yeah. Let's punish the dog for coming.

If you are going to use a shock collar, vibrating collar, spray collar or any physical device you must use it properly and be with the dog to see how he or she reacts. If a spray collar worked, and somehow the dog associated the spray with something stupid, you would get the same bad result with no shock.

As for the device on Amazon, look close at the reviews. There are a lot of 1 and 2 star reviews. As I've said, I did a lot of investigating and tried a lot of products before resorting to the shock collar. Actually, it's called a "bark control collar."

Anyway, how does Victoria control barking? Ceasar would have you walk the dog till it was too tired to bark, or you were so tired you didn't care.

And trust me. I only use it when I absolutely have to control his barking. He's normally quiet, but he barks plenty when a dog should bark. Anybody who knocks on the door would swear I have a Pit Bull in here.

[gidget529]

Originally Posted by ziggy925

I guess how you use the collar depends on the individual dog. I don't use the collar all that much. I normally let him bark it out and leave him alone. It is a natural thing, and I don't want to lose my "alarm system." But, sometimes it's just too much. Even the instructions tell you not to play with your dog with the collar on as you are screwing with their natural tendencies to bark. It also tells you not to leave the collar on more than 12 hours.

At my girlfriends the neighbors complain, so I use the collar more over there. Often, he will quiet down by just putting the collar on him, and I've heard many stories about people just showing the collar to their dogs to quiet them.

I did put the collar on myself, but "my" barking would not trigger it.

The big problem with these collars is when the dog cycles the collar over and over. The shock makes the dog bark more, and that triggers the collar starting a cycle that is only stopped by the technology in the collar, which in many collars will cut the collar off.

IMHO barking is something that is very difficult to control without an external device for the average dog owner..

I have owned dogs for decades of my life, so have many family members. We are just average dog owners - not show people, trainers, etc., and none of us have ever had to use a shock collar to control our dogs. Maybe it is the case of that old saying, "There are not bad dogs, just bad owners."? I'm sorry, I've worked in cardiology where we use debrillators fairly regularly to treat different heart arrhythmias. I take the use of electricity very seriously - I have known and studied the effects. I feel very strongly about electricity being used as a deterrant to behavioral problems.

[ziggy925]

This is becoming an interesting thread. The manufacturer of the collar tells me the collar delivers a static shock much like shuffling your feet on a carpet and touching a doorknob, which I've found to be extremely unpleasant.

Meanwhile, some of you make it sound like I've got a cord plugged into a wall socket and the other end attached to Ruger 24/7. When the collar goes off he jumps 10 feet in the air, his hair stands on end and lightening bursts from his paws.

Just crucify me and get it over with. I'll supply the nails and Ruger will be much happier with another owner who's not a cruel as I.

[intilis]

I too have had incessent barkers, and know how difficult it can be. Fortunately, I had sucess in the past with an item similar to the "bark repeller". It looked the same but it was blue & I got if from the Harriet Carter catalog.

With my new pup, I tried the "bark off"... what a joke! It did absolutely nothing. I started using a water pistol while saying "shhhhh". I don't want to jinx myself, but it appears to be working. Now the barking stops as soon as I say ""shhhhhh".

[ganfax]

I was thinking of getting a bark collar before reading these previous posts. I wanted to find a reliable one and make sure the collar is the way to go. I guess I shouldn't complain too much. My Molly barks mostly when we go for walks. She'll bark at some of the other dogs (not all), some of the people jogging (not all), and some of the rabbits and birds (not all). She will bark when in the house at various sounds...like other dogs that are barking. She never barks when we leave her in the house alone. I would buy a bark collar for her but I just couldn't stand the sound of her yelping in pain. I was wondering if any body has had any luck with a vibrating or scent collar. If so do you have any model numbers of the collars?
Thanks in advance,
Jeff