First, I have to say that you're probably going to regret
not having tried this sooner
One of my GSD was very much a recreational barker, came to me that way at 15 months old. I tried to manage it, tried to modify it and finally resorted to a bark collar. I researched both spray and electronic collars and in every way, the electronic ones seemed better - more reliable, more durable and more effective. So that's what I got but then of course, felt very bad about using. I had always heard horror stories about e-collars and how wrong i was to use them for any purpose. But...well, if my dog was going to be able to enjoy time outside while keeping the neighbors happy I needed to do something. So I put the collar on her and sent her outside. And wouldn't you know it, after about three barks she was quiet! No bad effects, the sky did not fall and she was the same sweet, goofy dog she was before. And I thought that it was too bad I didn't get one of these years ago because it was such a simple solution.
Not only that but it actually had a positive effect on how she acted towards "strangers" coming in the house. Prior to using a bark collar, she was rather guard-y towards people she didn't know walking into the house. It was not a huge problem, as she could just be put away until they got in then she was fine afterwards. However, with the bark collar on because she didn't bark. And because she didn't bark, she didn't act one bit guard-y towards people coming in the door. She greeted them politely and that was that.
I don't use bark collars on all of my dogs but have used them on multiple dogs over the years. Never had any issues with the use of them. The dogs are quiet when wearing their "Barkies" and not when they are not.
And now to comment on some comments LOL
Please don't tell me that this is cruel. I've exhausted my other options, and I need it to stop. I just want help so that I'm using it properly and it can extinguish the behavior quickly.
Bark collars are unlikely to truly extinguish the behavior. Most dogs are smart enough to know when they have the collar on and when they don't and they become trained to the collar. This means when you want your dog to be quiet, you put the collar on and they will be quiet. But with the collar off, they are still likely to bark at stuff. Once they are trained to the collar though, most dogs rarely test it. Some people have had luck with using "dummy collars" once their dog is trained but I suspect that only works for some dogs. Some dogs will figure out that there's no longer a correction at a point.
So I guess in your case, I would recommend starting low to avoid that scenario and see what kind of results you get, then turning it up as needed. I'm curious what others would advise though.....and did you ask your agility instructor what she would recommend?
Having used "self adjusting" bark collars (we call them Barkies at my house
) for years, I can say that starting low and going up does lead to tolerance in some dogs. Some of my old dogs have/had learned to totally ignore the stim, even at the highest setting. It took years for that to happen though. What I would probably do in the future with dogs of mine who "need" bark collars would be to get a better collar with more options (the Dogtra is a good one), start with the low setting for training purposes then set it in the more moderate range for maintenance. That way the dog understands what the stim means and how to avoid it before being exposed to a higher level but won't develop tolerance with long term use.
Seren came to me having worn a shock type collar. She had a big hairless patch that was red, scaley and raw (likely from the prongs, not the shocks themselves) I do think being shocked has negatively affected her (not saying cruel, just its IMO inhibited her drive). I plan to put the spray collar on her when she goes out in the yard this summer once I get more spray to put in it.
It's a shame the people you got her from used an e-collar on her without following the instructions not to leave it on for an extended period of time. I have not had the experience of bark collars inhibiting drive but I don't use them when I want my dog to be excited (and possibly bark-y). I use them when the dogs are just hanging out in the yard and I'd like them to
quietly hang out.