No Bark Dog Collar - Anti-Bark Collar :: Good or Bad?

[sammi_jo]

I have a question about the below collar for dogs. Apparently it's not as harsh as the shock collars, but still prevents barking using a vibration or a high-pitched noise. I don't have an issue with my dog barking, but my friend who keeps her two large dogs outside said that they like to bark and wanted to get them shock collars. I told her nooooooo for the shock collars, but then she mentioned the high-pitched noise one, and I said I had never heard of it before.

I'm not sure how I feel about using something like this to train a dog to stop barking. I'm all about positive reinforcement training and taking the time to address the source, as opposed to a quick fix collar. Any thoughts? Suggestions? Perhaps something I could say to her to try something other than an aversion collar to begin with?

Thanks!

http://www.petco.com/product/109271/Pet ... lar-109271

[Nettle]

Thank you for caring enough to help these dogs avoid punishment.

IMO it would be a waste of money, because one dog can bark and set off the other dog's collar. This can really stress out sensitive dogs, and so has the potential to cause other problems.

Much better to find out why the dogs are barking (bored, lonely, left outside on their own etc) and then address that.

We can help if your friend would like to post on the 'Training' section.

[doggiedad]

i like training my dogs not to bark. i use several commands to stop the barking,
"no barking", "quiet", i can make the quiet signal (place one finger over my lips.
shoosh sound optional). i don't leave my dog in the yard so rarely do i have to stop
him from barking.

[telpinaro]

I don't really have any concrete suggestions... I do understand people who, as a last resort, wind up using a shock collar for barking. It's generally people who have dogs that bark while the owners are away and they have neighbors who complain. They wind up with a choice between getting the dogs to stop barking NOW or being forced to get rid of the dogs... so they use a shock collar, hating it every second. They were in a community that could evict them if they didn't stop the dogs from barking, and they were desperate.

Training them not to bark is all well and good (and convenient; I've used it to train my dog not to bark when he's ready to come inside so I can have a quieter signal)... but it might only work while the owners are present. I've seen collars that spray something when a dog barks, perhaps those would work? I don't know much about them, but it seemed like more of a distract rather than punishing.

[Wes]

Telpinaro, please read the rules for the forum. We do not advocate any sort of P+ or P- training here, and the spray collars definitely fall into that category. Citronella can linger for up to an hour and if it smells foul to us, imagine how much of a punishment it would be to a dog!

[telpinaro]

Like I said, I didn't know about them, so I was asking! I never said to actually use it... I thought there were some that spray air beyond the dog's nose. I have seen Victoria use canned air as a distraction on her show. I know it's online and you can't hear my tone... I was just hoping there would be a safe option that an owner could use while away from home until a dog learns to be calm while alone. There are apartments and communities that can kick you out if you don't get rid of "obnoxious" dogs, and won't wait for you to train them.

[Sabrina]

I was just hoping there would be a safe option that an owner could use while away from home until a dog learns to be calm while alone.

From what I've read, I agree with Nettle that it's

Much better to find out why the dogs are barking (bored, lonely, left outside on their own etc) and then address that.

For example, some dogs may only need an adequate walk before being left alone and then an interactive toy to work on (like a Kong, etc) to be calm while alone. Other dogs will need more work, and still others much more work.

Barking while alone isn't one of my dog's issues, but he does have low-confidence levels. I've learned to stop focusing on things I don't want him to be doing, and instead focus on what I do want him to be doing - this has helped improve his confidence and general calmness.

So, when dealing with barking while alone - it's like you said, the goal is for the dog to "be calm while alone". All the different permutations of "anti-bark" collars focus on, well, trying to stop barking. So even if the collars "work" and the dog stops barking out of surprise/total confusion/etc, they don't promote calmness because they can't address what is causing the dog to bark - like boredom, loneliness, or fear.

For the sake of all dogs and owners in difficult living conditions, it would be wonderful if there were a shortcut to calmness - but an anti-bark collar isn't.

[Herman's Human]

I briefly tried a citronella spray collar with Herman who was a very sensitive dog and he nearly shut down. I choose not to use this collar again. Just my two cents worth.