Best bark collar?

[UniquityBelgians]

Can anyone recommend a good bark collar for a dog with a high pain threshold?

There are so many loose and barking dogs in my neighborhood that I can't even let my dogs outside without yelling at them every two minutes to be quiet. It makes it stressful to let them out and so I find myself avoiding it. I have 1/3 of an acre but find myself confining them to their dog run when they're out because if I get a complaint I'll lose my business and be fined for having too many dogs.

I NEVER had trouble with barking before moving here. There are three dogs across from us that go nuts constantly and the loose dogs in the neighborhood have taught my dogs to fencefight, URGGH!

I have tried three different kinds of (shock/vibration) bark collars and the citronella collar. My dogs don't respond to the shock collars. I was told to find ones with long prongs and make sure the collar was really tight. Still didn't work. I even shaved the throat of the dog I wasn't showing at the time and he still didn't care. I can't remember the brand names but I'd know it if I saw it. I paid $300 for one, what a waste of money! Every now and then I'd play around with them and it'd give me a shock and I sure found it painful, but my dogs have high pain tolerance and self-reward themselves.
The citronella collar was useless, my dogs outsmarted it immediatly; They would turn their heads to bark so the spray wouldn't get in their face. Now they have too much coat and it just goes directly into their hair.

I'm going to get a couple of those ultrasonic bark control things to keep on either side of my yard and we'll see if those help to keep the other dogs in the neighborhood quiet. Now I'd just like to find a brand of bark collar that actually works. Seems like over the years the bark collar become more and more ineffective. My husband's uncle's hunting dogs have collars from 20-30 years ago that will stop a dog in it's tracks. I will pay any money for a collar that works!
The collar will strictly only be for outside potty/exercise time when the barking is all nonsense, usually generated by the dogs across the street that will bark at a molecule in the air. It won't be used for inside or when they're in the dog run, when they only bark at actual threats. And they DO know the difference -- I am just sick of running to the window every second to 'remind' them, when they know better.

I'd love if anyone can tell me which collars they found worked and which didn't. Thanks in advance!

 

[Dekka]

Try the spray collar again.. but make it really loose. So it almost dangles... many makes then 'tip out' and the spray doesn't get lost in the coat.

 

[UniquityBelgians]

But before they had enough coat for that to happen, they just turned their head to avoid the spray. They looked ridiculous outside barking with their heads turned to one side, but they easily outsmarted the collar in no time.

 

[Greenmagick]

The ultrasonic things...I have heard really bad stories about those. They punish all dogs within hearing range of it regardless of whether or not they are barking. Some dogs are very senstive to them and have been reported to cause some behavioral problems

 

[Kat09Tails]

Tritronics bark limiter. It's a great collar. 5 settings, a counter to tell you how many times it's gone off. It's really effective.

I am not a fan of the ultra sonic boxes. IMO they are truly a cruel invention because they punish every dog in the affected area every time a single dog barks. Also, it is NOT EVER your job to correct your neighbors dogs any more than it's their job to correct yours.

 

[UniquityBelgians]

The ultrasonic things...I have heard really bad stories about those. They punish all dogs within hearing range of it regardless of whether or not they are barking. Some dogs are very senstive to them and have been reported to cause some behavioral problems

Interesting, I thought that it made them stop because the dog was curious to listen; I didn't realise it was actually painful to their ears.

 

[UniquityBelgians]

Tritronics bark limiter. It's a great collar. 5 settings, a counter to tell you how many times it's gone off. It's really effective.

I am not a fan of the ultra sonic boxes. IMO they are truly a cruel invention because they punish every dog in the affected area every time a single dog barks. Also, it is NOT EVER your job to correct your neighbors dogs any more than it's their job to correct yours.

Thanks I'll look up that collar!

I didn't realise those ultrasonic things were actually a punishment system, I just thought the noise made the dogs stop to listen. Believe me though, I do believe it is SOMEONE's job to make those dogs stop barking (the owners just don't care!) One literally barks NON-STOP 8 hours 5 days a week while they owners are at work. Despite notes being left and dog control being called. I video-taped the dog for an hour straight while it spun in circles barking repeatedly (seriously, mentally screwed up, reminds me of videos of puppy mill dogs in tiny cages), and I'm going to give the owners a copy so they can see how distressed their dogs is when they leave it unattended.

 

[Kat09Tails]

No noise ordinance? Leave a note? Carrier pigeon? 90% of all problems are fixed simply by talking to your neighbors.

 

[Dekka]

The spray collar I have (not that I have used it in years) sprays a wide area when its down and loose, so unless they really swivelled their heads it would still get them.

 

[UniquityBelgians]

No noise ordinance? Leave a note? Carrier pigeon? 90% of all problems are fixed simply by talking to your neighbors.

Yes, like I said above, dog control has been called several times and the neighbors have left notes -- they don't care (even though they're fined each time!). Some of the neighbors joke about letting it out of the yard or killing it and I'm wondering when that will become reality. Once they see my video maybe the owners will change their tone.

 

[UniquityBelgians]

Maybe I'll try a different brand of citronella collar then. My friend has one I can borrow. She claims her Belgians don't mind the scent LOL, it didn't work for her, she'll probably just give it to me if it works for mine.

 

[lizzybeth727]

It's a great collar. 5 settings...

One thing I hate about most bark collars is the different settings. Most collars (granted, I've never looked into them too deeply but do know of a couple of brands) start at a low setting, and then if the dog continues to bark it gradually goes up to a higher setting.

The problem with this is that, especially with dogs with high pain thresholds, they build up a tolerance to the shock. It starts low, at a tolerable level that the dog doesn't mind; the low level is also the warning that it's about to get worse. It gradually gets stronger and more painful, but by that point the dog is prepared (mentally) for the pain and soon learns that it only gets so bad (the highest level becomes tolerable).

Basically, the collar trains the dog not to mind the pain.

Behaviorial psychologists (and animal trainers such as Karen Pryor) will tell you that for a punishment to be effective, it needs to be strong enough to extinguish the behavior in 2-3 trials. In other words, if the bark collar were effective, the dog would learn after 2-3 barks not to bark while in the front yard. If the behavior doesn't extinguish in 2-3 trials, your punishment method is not effective and needs to be reevaluated.

So I guess what I'm saying is, if you're shopping for a bark collar, make sure it's one that will give an immediate punishment of the strength that will make the behavior extinguish in 2-3 trials.... while also not causing psychological harm to the dog in he process.



(To any curious lurkers who may be reading this: This is the problem with using punishment to train a dog.... The method of punishment has to be strong enough, but not too strong. You don't want to traumatize a dog. That's why a lot of trainers are afraid to recommend punishment: the majority of the time it either doesn't work, or it causes psychological side-effects that are worse than the original behavior. You should be VERY experienced wih training before trying punishment methods. Positive reinforcement training is much more user-friendly.)

 

[Greenmagick]

I dont know that I like the citronella collars either. If they do work on the dog (ie the citronella is punishing enough for them to stop) it can be bad because the smell lingers in their nasal passages etc. Its not a immediate punishment that goes away when the barking stops...it continues "punishing"

 

[Kat09Tails]

No you misunderstand. The 5 settings are owner controlled.

Bark Limiter G3 - Tri-Tronics Bark Limiter G3, Electronic Dog Collar Training, Limit Barking

It is really effective. How effective? Last time I changed the batteries in my lab's bark collar was a year and a half ago. If she was challenging the collar constantly it would not have that kind of battery life.

 

[UniquityBelgians]

I have to agree with that, the last one I had had 7 settings that gradually got worse and I thought it was stupid. If you do it right the first time, you shouldn't need to do it again, right? Most dogs learn to pause before barking again so that it will continue to shock at the lowest level. I want something that works consistently and stops the behaviour immediatly.

Greenmagick -- good point, I never thought of that. Plus with it being loose, I'd be worried about it coming off. My dogs frequently pull of eachother's collars during play, I have to keep them on pretty tight.

Kat09Tails, that sounds great. I'm definatly going to read some more about that collar!

 

[lizzybeth727]

The 5 settings are owner controlled.

That's good then, and you clearly know how to use it! I hope everyone who uses it is as educated as you!

 

[AdrianneIsabel]

I laugh at how many dogs don't even blink at citronella. Honestly, they're used a ton at the training facility I attend and I've only met one welsh terrier that was really effected by the deterrent.

I think Kat has a great recommendation.

 

[Dekka]

I know of quite a few dogs who didn't care about the shocks (not tri tronics though.. they have HIGH levels) but do not like the spray. You can get citronellaless sprays too, so its not the smell but the spray that is aversive.

It is harder on dogs with coats.

We got it for Sport when we got him. Dekka's brother has a spray collar and its a little TO aversive for him, but she is in a new appt where he can here all sorts of things (even though its lovely she is looking at moving as he is NOT happy)

 

[Aleron]

I use regular, cheap Innotek and they work well on most of the dogs, although one of the older dogs will sometimes bark through it now and my old GSD has totally stopped noticing it. I set the level higher one them by triggering them to go off several times before putting them on the dog (the ones I have stay at a level, instead of going to one each time). I didn't get citronella collars when I bought them because after talking to a lot of people with them, they sounded like not only were they really hit or miss as far as effectiveness goes but they tend to malfunction a lot too. They can be effective for some dogs but I have heard of a lot of dogs who outsmart them. Some dogs just don't respond to the e-bark collars either though, at least not the ones that you can't set it at a very high level to start with.

I have had no luck with the ultrasonic things. I have tried collars and two different free standing units and my dogs don't even seem to notice them more than once. Maybe they couldn't hear it over all the barking I think you'd have to have very sound sensitive dogs for these devices to work.