I'm done with electric bark collars

[JoeLacy]

Only put it on for one time and saw the poor dogs reaction, it's off for good. Period! No it's not Peyton, it's the Mal that's staying with me.

What are my options now?

[Lolas Dad]

Options are the spray collar that I had said to get in the beginning. There are several of them. As stated earlier it is more humane and now that you seen the reaction the dog has now you know. Had you tried the collar yourself I am sure it would not have wound up on the dog.

A few weeks ago there was a dog outside the dog park with no owner around. I was able to get a hold of the dog and I put him in the dog park. After that I called the park rangers to let them know the dog was their. This dog had an invisible fence collar on that slipped off as I was getting him in the dog park and as it slipped off I got a shock from the collar.

Someone that was coming to the park with their dog recognized the dog and said they will let the owner know where the dog was. They got back in their car and notified the owner. When the owner arrived the rangers I called earlier arrived also. As it turns out the dog has cancer and not much time to live. The owner had said nothing about the collar that was missing from the dog as I did not put it back on him. The electric collar that was on him was disposed of by myself.

I'm not sorry for what I did and if I had to do it all over again I certainly would.

[Dekka]

I have a spray collar, have really only used it once (I rented it and due to Sport finding a way to chew on it I had to buy it) It worked well and didn't seem to overly scare Sport. Though its not really a training tool, more of a maintenance tool.

[JoeLacy]

On the spray collar, what chemicals seem to work the best?

Yeah, I'm so done with the electric and it only took me seeing that ONE time. I feel like an animal abuser and guilty as hell. It did no permanent damage that I can tell and he's fine, but it was shocking to watch and a memory I would like to forget.

Shame on those who use these for any reason and shame on me for trying it on such a sweet dog. He may not have learned but boy...I sure did.

These GAWD AWE-FULL things should be outlawed and the people who use them should be arrested in the interim. Or better still made to wear them while they are in prison and every time they take a bite of food, get a reminder of what they did, while IN prison.

I think you can tell which side of this argument I'm on. I'm mad...

[Lolas Dad]

There are spray collars that just use a burst of air and there are spray collars that use Citronella. The citronella is one smell a dog does not like. When at home I had a canned air horn that I used when Lola used to bark but I took the diaphragm out of it so all that was heard was a blast of air. It would quiet her down and I did not put it in her face to be effective. When I was out I would put the spray collar on her. It took about 2 weeks and she stopped barking inside the apartment, the collar is no longer used and was returned to the store I bought it from. With her no longer barking I could not justify keeping it. So I guess you could basically say I rented it for free

[JoeLacy]

Ok, thanks, I'm off to find an air horn locally, if that does not work along with some "back to basics positive training" I'll try the spray. I may PM you on the air horn method if you don't mind.

This is my sons 4 year old Mal btw, and I have not worked with him but he lives with me for now. It's time to dust off Peytons clicker and go about this the "right" way.

I'd consider debarking if this is a serious problem. I dont know your situation, but some dogs are very OBSESSIVE and compulsive about barking. Instead of suppressing the barking or making them not bark at all, debarking allows them to bark all they want without the loud annoyance, and I think all parties would be happier.

By all means, choose what you are comfortable with. Debarking isnt for everyone.

[Zoom]

I don't care much for the citronella spray collars...think of how sensitive a dog's nose is and how long that scent is going to linger. It's a much longer "punishment" than a quick shock, though I'm not a fan of those either. Dogs with citronella collars quite often learn to bark until the canister is empty and then keep barking anyway.

What I've been doing with Vegas, my bf's dog, who likes to fly off the handle at new people coming in the door or at customers when she's at work with her dad, is to go over and look at what she's barking at, say "ok, thank you, that's enough" in a very calm voice with my hand resting on her back and redirect her to something else. That's letting her know that I see what the "problem" is and that I don't think it's worth anymore attention. She's getting to the point where she will now bark a few times, I'll tell her "thank you, enough" and she'll settle down to just watch or sniff, depending on where we're at.

[AllieMackie]

Originally Posted by Zoom

What I've been doing with Vegas, my bf's dog, who likes to fly off the handle at new people coming in the door or at customers when she's at work with her dad, is to go over and look at what she's barking at, say "ok, thank you, that's enough" in a very calm voice with my hand resting on her back and redirect her to something else. That's letting her know that I see what the "problem" is and that I don't think it's worth anymore attention. She's getting to the point where she will now bark a few times, I'll tell her "thank you, enough" and she'll settle down to just watch or sniff, depending on where we're at.

^ this worked very well with Finnegan as well. The odd noise outside will send him into a small barking fit directed at the back door (where most of our traffic comes in and out of the house). For awhile I tried just ignoring him, but I realized he kept looking at me for a response. My response is identical to Zoom's. "Thank you Finnegan, that's enough." He calms immediately when I acknowledge the "problem".

Mind you, Finnegan doesn't do this frequently... once or twice a day if that.

[Lolas Dad]

That might work for some dogs but if they are constant barkers and do not respond to a command such as that's enough then the other remedies should be tried as I suggested even before considering debarking. Debarking in my opinion is more barbaric than an anti bark collar.

It's good for a dog to bark for a warning such as someone at the door or someone breaking into the house. One or tow barks is fine but if it continues then it's a problem.

Another way to get a dog to stop barking constantly is to teach it to bark on command then teach it ok that's enough but it is hard to teach a dog to bark on command.

Lola's barking is under control. The only time she does bark once or twice on rare occasion's is when I am backing in and that is if I have been gone for a long time otherwise she does not bark at all. The neighbors in the apartment building confirmed this and not really believing them that she did not bark I had her to a friends house in PA. His wife is allergic to cats and dogs so I had her in his garage which has 3 levels and the garage door is 16 foot high and a regular side entry door. This building is bigger than a normal sized house and when she was in there not even leashed she never barked when I wasn't in their with her and I would be out of there all day long. So I guess the neighbors are right in that she does not bark.

When she was a problem barker it was when I first adopted her and I approached the next door neighbor about it. When I asked her if she heard her she said that she did but it did not bother her, I told her right then and there that I was working on it so hopefully it won't be to long. It took about 2-3 weeks for her to stop.