barking dog collars

1416 Views 16 Replies 12 Participants Last post by ownedbypups2010, Jun 21, 2009

joycee

Discussion Starter · Jun 17, 2009

My dog barks a lot. He is only 7 months friends and family say i should get a dog barking collar. I don't know if i can do it. I have tried everything i can think of he still barks a lot. My friend is a dog trainer and thinks i should get one.
I don't know if i could do this to him. I need advice on the collar . They say it wont hurt him. Is this true?

Joycee

1 - 17 of 17 Posts

Curbside Prophet

· #2 · Jun 17, 2009

It depends on what type of collar you're speaking of. If it is a shock collar for owner-absent barking, how else can the collar be effective if it doesn't cause pain?

There's not enough information in your post to recommend any collar, and you should hire the services of a CERTIFIED dog trainer before employing one.

Marsh Muppet

· #3 · Jun 17, 2009

joycee said:
My dog barks a lot.

Define "a lot".

joycee said:
I have tried everything i can think of...

Describe what you have thought of.

joycee said:
My friend is a dog trainer and thinks i should get one.

Define "trainer".

joycee said:
They say it wont hurt him. Is this true?

Define "hurt".

I'm not being a smartypants, but there are situations where a bark collar may be appropriate, and situations where it is not. A quality bark collar will have several levels of correction. The working level will be sufficiently unpleasant to make the dog unwilling to bark and receive the stimulation.

It's normal for some breeds to bark much more than others. Depending on his breed or type, you may have to learn to live with more barking than you find pleasant.

If your dog has been properly socialized, gets all the exercise he requires, gets lots of attention and mental stimulation, has completed (at least) basic formal obedience, has been checked by a vet to be sure there's no medical causation, you've trained the dog to attend to you, and he still barks excessively, then a bark collar may be the right move.

IMNSHO, he's still pretty young for it. It's also generally a bad idea to concentrate on extinguishing specific behaviors. By using a bark collar, you may just be trading one obnoxious behavior for another. You may like the new one even less than the barking. Deal with the complete dog.

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TooneyDogs

· #4 · Jun 17, 2009

It really depends on what kind of barking you're dealing with:

FEAR/SPOOKY barking (thunderstorms/loud noises/self defense)
ALERT barking (possible 'intruder'/people or dogs outside/doorbell)
EXCITEMENT barking (squirrels/favorite toy/food)
DEMAND barking (I want my food now!...can also be partly Excitement)
BOREDOM barking (chained in the backyard with nothing to do)
FRUSTRATION barking (I don't understand! I can't get at it! Fence/barrrier barking)

Obviously, a bark collar is not appropriate for some of these situations.

whisper1662

· #5 · Jun 17, 2009

We had to get one for our lab who is big barker. Animal control had been to our house two times with the neighbors complaining and the next time that they came out we were going to be fined $1500. We got the one that makes the noise when they bark, it worked wonderful. No more complaints. I would recommend this type of collar.

Bonnie Napholc

· #6 · Jun 17, 2009

I have tried a "shock" collar as a last resort on a large dobermann and it made her bark more...it was the kind with gradual shock levels. The prongs also gave her a rash down her neck. If at the time they had the lemon spray type collars I would have tried that. I would recommend the lemon spray collar it sets off a lemon spray mist with every bark aimed at their face. Like the others said you haven't given enough info to go on but best luck to you and deal with the barking as best you can now before it becomes a habit.

winniec777

· #7 · Jun 18, 2009

There are collars that bark?? Where do I get one of those? I have this cute canine ventriloquist act in mind for it and could use the extra $$$$...

Sorry. Just struck me as funny. Re training collars, I would agree that these should only be used after other methods have failed and I would only use them if you feel really confident that you'll do it properly. I put tools like these in the same category as home improvement projects that are usually beyond the skill set of the average DIY'er. Ever try to use a professional grade floor sander to refinish floors? You can do a whole lot of damage to floors, walls, and yourself if you don't know what you're doing. Same thing with training collars.

Finding out why your dog is barking is key to fixing the problem. This article may be helpful as you start looking for other solutions.

http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/excessive-barking

Marsh Muppet

· #8 · Jun 18, 2009

Whether I would use one on a dog has a lot to do with the dog's essential nature. If the dog is prone to panic over new experiences, you'd be better of working out another solution. Some dogs are really not good with surprises.

ownedbypups2010

· #9 · Jun 18, 2009

IMHO i would never ever use a collar that stopped a dog from barking. for many reasons, my mom used them and they never worked, it would make the dogs bark more and they would break all the time because the dog got so tired of being shocked, to me it is inhumane to use anything that "shocks" them to stop them from barking. i mom tired them for about a week and finally would just use the "shush" command and it worked, ya, it was very very tiresome but over a few weeks it worked. now the only time they do bark is when something goes "bump" in the night like a prowler or something. other than that she has no worries.

with a 7 month old they could be barking for many reasons ( like listed by Tooneydogs) first we need to know why the dog is barking, then we can recommend a remedy.

IMHO i always and will forever allow my dogs to bark no matter what, it is natural for a dog to bark. that is how they communicate, but, that is IMHO only, many will disagree but, to me that is how i feel.

txcollies

· #10 · Jun 18, 2009

IMHO i always and will forever allow my dogs to bark no matter what, it is natural for a dog to bark. that is how they communicate, but, that is IMHO only, many will disagree but, to me that is how i feel.

Try having a dog that constantly barks for the sheer joy of hearing themselves talk, and you might change your mind.

Or you've never dealt with a collie or sheltie.

maryannims

· #11 · Jun 19, 2009

I have a Giant Schnauzer...he likes to guard his patch...its his job! The Citronella collar seem to work for him! I thought his beard would get in the way, but he doesn't bark so much with the collar on.

Marsh Muppet

· #12 · Jun 19, 2009

txcollies said:
Try having a dog that constantly barks for the sheer joy of hearing themselves talk, and you might change your mind.

Or you've never dealt with a collie or sheltie.

...or a Coonhound who rattles windows for a half mile radius.

joycee

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jun 19, 2009

Thanks everyone for all your advice and opinions . I personally don't think its a problem with the barking. But we have always had Greyhounds and this is our first English Pointer. So the rest of the family is not used to the barking. So for now i do not agree on the barking collars.The rest of the family will have to deal with it for now.
We will keep working on him.

Thanks Everyone
Joycee

Marsh Muppet

· #14 · Jun 19, 2009

English Pointers are dogs with pretty big wheels. There's a pretty good chance that he's barking out of frustration, borne of pent up energy. EPs are built to cover many miles per day, as opposed to your Greys who are super sprinters. It's common for Pointermen to have the (adult) dogs run alongside an ATV, and do it while dragging a 20ft. length of heavy steel chain. An EP could run circles around my Golden, and my guy can easily do 12 to 20 miles in a day.

Conrad

· #15 · Jun 20, 2009

I have a cheapo one from walmart I sometimes use for my wife's doxies. They'll pretty much sit in the backyard all day and bark at squirells if they could.

When I brought my mutt home after about a week she started barking at night... Tried letting her out to potty, no dice.. figured she was either hearing things or just bored. I put the collar on her for one night and she hasn't barked from boredom since. Actually she hardly barks at all now unless someone comes to the door or if she's playing.

Cracker

· #16 · Jun 20, 2009

Hmmm. Did the OP ever actually answer the questions posed?
Nope.

I wonder what "they will just have to deal with it" means?

Looks like the OP wasn't looking for suggestions, just back up on not using the collars. Yeah, good luck with that.

ownedbypups2010

· #17 · Jun 21, 2009

txcollies said:
IMHO i always and will forever allow my dogs to bark no matter what, it is natural for a dog to bark. that is how they communicate, but, that is IMHO only, many will disagree but, to me that is how i feel.

Try having a dog that constantly barks for the sheer joy of hearing themselves talk, and you might change your mind.

Or you've never dealt with a collie or sheltie.

my mother has 3 dogs who LOVE to hear themselves talk and i love to hear them all the time, to me IMHO dogs barking are the most wonderful sound i have heard and will continue to hear

dogs should never be told to be quite! it is the dogs natural way of communicating, so, why stop them from doing so?

FYI i do have a few dogs in the neighborhood who love to hear themselves talk and it is wonderful

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