# Anti Barking Collars



## SarahH (Jul 15, 2008)

Hello

has anyone ever used one of those anti barking collars on their dog? We have an 8 month Golden Lab who barks (according to neighbours) when left on her own whilst we go to work (I only leave her for about 4 -5hours max) and then come home at lunch time. She has so many toys to play with, it looks like toys r us in my kitchen.
She NEVER barks when we are with her.
The neighbours have complained to the council! (They are at home during in the day where as previous neighbours worked, so no complaints).

Please advise if you can.


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## cassie01 (Jul 11, 2008)

Anti bark collars rarely work. they generally just make dogs anngry, worse or aggressive. id suggest talking to a proffessional, positive, reward based behaviourist. they will find a much kinder and friendlier way of dealing with it.
just let your neighbours know that you are working on the problem and your sorry for the inconvienience.


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## badwolf (Jul 17, 2008)

No such thing as an anti bark collar, 

there are drive your dog insane collars

there are cruel to the positively evil collars

but nothing that you can put round a dogs neck will stop them barking.

a behaviorist may well be able to help you.

the questions are.....why is the dog barking?

what triggers the dogs barking?

what stops the dog barking?

the why? is possibly seperation angziety(sorry spelling) so what can be done to either reduce it or re-focus the dog on a more positive behavior instead of barking.

triggers? many things may be a trigger , in our house the front door being nocked is a trigger for my dog to bark, if herd of all sorts of nioses that can trigger a dog to alert bark, passing cars, kids in the street ect

sorry but no easy simple product is available to solve the barking problem , it is like all things to do with dogs best resolved by finding out the root causes and problems not with a instant quick fix solution.

All in my humble

Badwolf


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## cav (May 23, 2008)

I would never use one of these collars on my dog


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## griffpan (Feb 2, 2008)

IMO these collars just cause more problems rather than deal with the barking problem. If it was possible it might be a good idea to set up a camcorder while your away to see when your dog starts barking and how often and for how long etc. Then you could consult a good behavourist to try and help you sort the problems if needed.
another thing that might help is if you could get somebody to pop in while you are out.


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## azz0r (Jun 7, 2008)

Short term solution: Speak to your neighbour and tell them your addressing it and ask them to give you a fortnight more of it.

Record your dog while you away. It might be a good idea to take your dog a long long walk before you goto work.

We're talking an hour or so walk, to really shatter him, this will be good for you and him!


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## Fade to Grey (Nov 10, 2007)

they dont really work. they run out so often and they're more likely to go off when the dog sneezes than when they bark.


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## lisap82 (Jul 20, 2008)

we have an aboistop anti bark collar and it has worked a treat for us. if benson is playing up a lot late at night he gets what we call a 5 min sin bin where he has it on for 5 mins and this usuall calms him enough to stop. when we first got it we did so for exactly the same reason as you with the neighbour reporting us a lot even hough their dog barked more, anyway, we used to put it on him when we left him. however we found that when we let him out when we got home and took it off him he was dying to shake as if he did so with it on, it went off. so once he know what the sound and smell meant we started leaving it on a shelf so that if he barked it still stopped him.

most of the time he is brilliant now but after a couple of months of not having it in there he gets a bit cocky so we put it out for a couple of weeks again just to remind him. 

i get that a lot of people think its mean and that it winds the dogs up. but with the threat of the collar benson is as good as gold. and we now find that just to show him it will quieten him down.

just to clarify, the type we use is an aboistop anti bark collar. when on the neck, if the dog barks it makes a psshhtt noise and squirts towards their nose, you can either get fragrance free refills o citronella (we find citronella best because we dont actually put it on his neck much so we find he needs to smell the associated smell). the collar is expensive, i paid about £90 and refils are about £8, they use less and less over time as they learn from it. batteries are about £4 and i guess we replace it every 3 months or so.


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## cassie01 (Jul 11, 2008)

Fair enough it stoped your dog, but it wasnt permanant as it didnt stop the cause of the problem. I personally cant believe any one would use them, Id much rather get to the root of the isuue then scare my dog into behaving. But then it suprises me how many people dont care if their animals live in fear if they get some peace and quiet. If your dog had a different temperment and was less forgiving he could have developed some serious aggression issues once he realised it was you that provided the collar that upset him so much. I would never recoment one of those things to anyone.


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## badwolf (Jul 17, 2008)

Cassie

did you say 'scare my dog into behaving' 

please dont say that is how you prefer to train animals

Badwolf


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## cassie01 (Jul 11, 2008)

no i didnt mean me. i meant that is what the antibark collars do. I prefer my dogs to love and respect me and behaviour because they want to.


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## LittleFluff (Jun 5, 2008)

badwolf said:


> Cassie
> 
> did you say 'scare my dog into behaving'
> 
> ...


I think Cassie meant that she'd rather get to the root of the problem than the dog being scared into behaving 
Which is definitely a good idea so many things treat the symptoms rather than the problem. I have, however, heard that the anti bark collars do help in extreme circumstances used by professionals but i've never experienced it first hand so i can't comment.
Have you tried contacting a behaviourist who can help you with reinforcement training first?
Have your neighbours met your dog maybe they would be more understanding if you were to take your dog round and say hi really sorry i'm working on the issue etc.
I also think recording her is a good idea as you can never be 100% sure of the severity of the problem without hearing for yourself (there are some vindictive people about who just don't like animals) but I guess you know what your neighbours are like and whether they are like that. Is there any chance she could go to work with you?
Lots of luck


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## cassie01 (Jul 11, 2008)

If your dog only barks when you are out it could be that something is scaring your dog or it may be seperation issues. Recording it with a camera may help enlighten you. taking it to work with you may be a good idea, if its not possible some dogs do actually settle better if they are left in the car. obviously parked in the shade with a window down. You can get grates which fit into the window to stop your dog climbing out.


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## Lovemydog.biz (Jun 23, 2008)

Hi Sarah

I've never used the anti barking collars so dont have any advice on that.
As with some of the other posts I would definitely consult a professional to see whether its separation anxiety as why your dog is barking. Generally dogs are pack animals and dont like being on their own but there are things that you can do.

Just go through the following check lists, do you do any of the below:

1.Do you ever close the doors in the house when you are in so that your dog cant follow you about where ever you go ? Start doing this if you dont.

2. Does your dog sleep in your bedroom with you ? If so change it straight away and make sure she sleeps somewhere else where you can separate her by closing a door.

3.Do you ignore your dog on coming home until she has settled down and call her over once he is calm and when you want to greet him?

If she doesnt bark when you are home it might be separation anxiety, in which case I would rigorously stick to the above three training exercises.
Keep popping in and out of the house in short intervals and ignore her when you return, act as if its not a big deal and perfectly normal for you to go in and out. Rattle your keys when you are at home all the time when you are actually staying in doors so she doesnt know when you are going straight out of the house and doesnt start feeling anxious knowing that you are leaving.

One other suggestion if you havent tried it is to get a Kong that you fill with treats. Fill it with her favourite treats and a piece of chicken right in the end, you can then seal the end with some peanut butter. Give this to her just before you leave and it will occupy her for a while when you are out. Dont advertise the fact that you are leaving, if you've got her used to being on her own and closing doors behind she will gradually get used to being on her own.

Whatever you do dont make a fuss of her as soon as you get home as that means that its a big deal for you to leave her and what you want is for her to think its totally normal to leave her on her own. Even if it takes 3 hours for her to calm down when you come home ignore her until she settles and you can call her over then.

You may have tried all these things already, I dont know, but I hope they help.

Designer dog collars, designer dog leads, designer dog coats from UK pet boutique Lovemydog


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## Nina (Nov 2, 2007)

azz0r said:


> Short term solution: Speak to your neighbour and tell them your addressing it and ask them to give you a fortnight more of it!


Great advice. speak with your neighbour and assure them that you are taking their complaint very seriously.
A good long walk before you leave is also good advice, and a radio left on a talk station should also help. Try leaving a treat ball which will make him work and keep his mind occupied and DON'T make a big deal out of your leaving. This can add to his excitement and stress knowing that you are going out. In fact I would ignore him completely before going and give minimal attention on your return. This should help and the best of luck.


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## lisap82 (Jul 20, 2008)

Originally Posted by badwolf 
Cassie

did you say 'scare my dog into behaving'

please dont say that is how you prefer to train animals

Badwolf

It would actually seem that cassie is accusing me of being cruel to my dog by "scaring [him] into behaving" rather than saying she does this. it would seem to me from the 2 posts that i have been involved with on here that people are very quick to judge others. he barks because he is a dog, its what they do!! if i were to resolve the route of this as cassie suggests, i would have to get a cat and funnily enough i have 2 dogs because i love dogs and they are my pet of choice.

i was merely giving a bit of balance to all the negativity in the thread to give the person who was asking the question my good experience of the collar.

i actually feel a lot of dissapointment in this forum having joined for some friendly chat and advice with a friendly community and have been faced a few times now with very judgemental attitudes. sorry for giving a bit of balance to your biased attitudes.


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## LittleFluff (Jun 5, 2008)

lisap82 said:


> Originally Posted by badwolf
> Cassie
> 
> did you say 'scare my dog into behaving'
> ...


Don't take offence, I think these things can get quite flared up as it's a sensitive issue, but I think that anti bark collars can work. I know that the different types of collars (electric, noise and i think spray ones) are all judged on their own merits with shock collars being the debated one (banned in Wales but there is a lot of opposition to the banning from trainers etc who say it has worked for last chance dogs). So if it's worked for you then fair enough. I think people are trying to put across there are other things to try as well, but you're right the thread is on the collars and it is only fair that there is a view from someone who has used them and found them to be suitable in their circumstances.


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## itsmeanthony (Mar 10, 2011)

Hello

We have a maltese that barks at everyone who visits us. We decided to try a high pitch anti-bark dog collar and I must say that most of the time it is effective, because every time our dog barks, attention is diverted to the high pitch beep. We use the collar only when we have visits, otherwise we don't put that thing around dogs neck.

It might not work on every dog but it's quite succesful for us and the most important thing is, it's not harmful and doesn't cause any pain.

We haven't tryed the citronella collar, because it is a bit large for our dog but people say, it is efficient.

But avoid shock collars, they are inhumane and they cause pain.

Cheers


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## Malmum (Aug 1, 2010)

I tried one on Bruce, it vibrates every time he barks - trouble is it goes off when any of them bark, so was useless in this house!


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## ZeusBeagle (Oct 11, 2010)

Hey!

I have a similar problem in that my neighbour has complained to the council about our pup, and I looked into all the anti-barking deterrents but didn't have the heart to use the collar and thought i would want to exhaust all other options first.

I ended up filming my dog when we had to leave him - and it turned out that he actually wasn't barking and the few times he did it was a couple of barks lasting no more than 20 secs and then he would go back to bed.

We leave him with a frozen kong and take him out for an exciting, interesting walk before we have to go out and he just sleeps and shows no sign of separation anxiety whatsoever.

He probably barks more when we are home but I refuse to let the neighbour intimidate and ruin all the hardwork we have done with Zeus' training, which was set back when he started complaining because we started to give zeus attention when he barked to "shut him up" quickly which obviously Zeus saw as a positive. So we have returned to that when he does bark we ignore him and only give him attention when he is calm and it's working :yesnod:

Training a pup takes time and neighbours just have to understand, especially if you are doing all you can for your dog


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## tripod (Feb 14, 2010)

itsmeanthony said:


> Hello
> 
> We have a maltese that barks at everyone who visits us. We decided to try a high pitch anti-bark dog collar and I must say that most of the time it is effective, because every time our dog barks, attention is diverted to the high pitch beep. We use the collar only when we have visits, otherwise we don't put that thing around dogs neck.
> 
> ...


The sound based ones are also very very very very aversive and therefore sufficiently aversive to certain indivuals to cause suffering ie. inhumane.


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## newfiesmum (Apr 21, 2010)

Does anyone realise that this post is nearly two years old!

Nevertheless I shall put in my twopennyworth - the dog is not barking simply because it is a dog. My goodness, what an attitude! Dogs rarely bark for no reason, and if you believe a dog barks because it is a dog, why would you want to use something as aversive as an anti bark collar to stop it? That would mean he is not allowed to be a dog, wouldn't it?

If the dog only barks when the poster is out, it is going to be difficult to get to the root of the problem, and I would agree that a recorder or better still camcorder would answer a lot of questions. Never mind, probably already sorted by now.


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