I've finally admitted I have no other options. I put off the collar for over 3.5 years as I worked with various trainers and behaviorists to try to lessen Lucy's reactivity towards everything that walks past our house. We moved from an apartment to a house because I didn't feel it was fair to my neighbors to have such a barky dog next door. Even in a house though, you can clearly hear her from the outside.
Every dog, car, bicycle, squirrel, cat, etc gets a rousing RAWR RAWR RAWR for a good 2-3 minutes straight. $1000's of dollars in training and hundreds of hours sitting by the window waiting for someone to come past so I can reward her BEFORE barking haven't made a dent. For my sanity, it needs to stop. My agility instructor is the one who suggested a bark collar, as she is convinced that barking is self-reinforcing for Lucy. I put it off for almost a year after she first suggested it, but now I'm caving.
I bought a bark collar that came recommended by someone here, but now I need help using it. Do I start it on the lowest setting and build up until she stops? Or will that just build tolerance? Do I start at a moderate level and hope to cut it out immediately? At what point (if any) do I realize it's not working?
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.
Every dog, car, bicycle, squirrel, cat, etc gets a rousing RAWR RAWR RAWR for a good 2-3 minutes straight. $1000's of dollars in training and hundreds of hours sitting by the window waiting for someone to come past so I can reward her BEFORE barking haven't made a dent. For my sanity, it needs to stop. My agility instructor is the one who suggested a bark collar, as she is convinced that barking is self-reinforcing for Lucy. I put it off for almost a year after she first suggested it, but now I'm caving.
I bought a bark collar that came recommended by someone here, but now I need help using it. Do I start it on the lowest setting and build up until she stops? Or will that just build tolerance? Do I start at a moderate level and hope to cut it out immediately? At what point (if any) do I realize it's not working?
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.