Cruel?

[underpar]

Totally serious....it appears I'm the jackass in the neighborhood who has the dog that barks constantly! We have 2 GS's, one is 10 years old and only barks when she's in the house and the doorbell rings or someone knocks on the door. The other one is 6 months old and she starts barking as soon as she hits the back yard. I can keep her from barking verbally as long as I'm in the yard with her. However, as soon as I come in and leave them alone, the young one goes ballistic!

TTP, is a bark collar too cruel to consider? Do they work? I'm F'in tired of the barking!!!!

 

[swampratt]

Someone poisoned my neighbors dog. and i had a friend that had his dog poisoned.
That is cruel..
A bark collar is not...Keep up that barking and something bad may happen to your dog.
Hat to say it like that but it happens.

 

[aviator41]

Nothing cruel about a bark collar.

Some dogs really need help learning not to bark at every damn thing.

The problem is the dog will eventually learn that when the collar is off, they can bar their heads off again.

 

[Okie4570]

Not cruel, they're used for training often. Aviator is correct, there are some smart ones that will get it figured out quick, to where you'd have to put it on every time it goes out.

 

[underpar]

Are the remote shock collars a better route then? Shock them at different intervals to ingrain the behavior desired?

 

[turkeyrun]

They work. Why would you take it off when inside or whenever. Put it on and leave it.

They are more humane than the shock collars, but sometimes the shock collar is needed.

Do what you need to stop the problem.

 

[Okie4570]

Are the remote shock collars a better route then? Shock them at different intervals to ingrain the behavior desired?

A smart dog will behave when the collar is put on, I've seen a couple of labs do this. I've also seen dogs that were not trained right with a collar and they ruined a potentially good dog.

They work. Why would you take it off when inside or whenever. Put it on and leave it.

They are more humane than the shock collars, but sometimes the shock collar is needed.

Do what you need to stop the problem.

The probes will wear into their neck if left on all the time, causing an open wound and infection

 

[criticalbass]

There is one collar that emits an adjustable vibration that dogs don't like, but there is no shock. They are pricy, and same problem with smart dogs as the other methods. A well designed bark collar is probably your best bet, and if the dog is a smart one, just leave it on most of the time.

 

[BadgeBunny]

They make these:

http://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-Outdoor-Ultrasonic-Bark-Deterrent/dp/B000UZNLGA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392333604&sr=8-1&keywords=dog+bark+silencer

If your dog is even remotely smart and has even the slightest hint of a rebellious nature it will probably take more than one technique, all used together, to get the barking under control.

We had one that never barked when we were home, and we could never catch her barking ... Until GC and I shut 2 car doors like we were leaving together and he left me in the driveway and drove off down the street and she thought no one was home ... Little stinker! Didn't make a sound until she heard him turn the corner at the end of the block. Barked her dang head off until she heard him turn the corner again, coming back home ... If she only heard one car door shut, she wouldn't bark. If she heard the patrol car start and not one of our POVs, she wouldn't bark. Any other car in our drive or the neighbors' drives ... no barking ... She was something else!

I'm not a big fan of the collars but the neighbor used on (the one that emitted a noise when the dog barked, not a shock collar) and I'll be danged it worked on him. Mind you that dog is sharp as a tack and he spent several days -- 2 or 3 weeks actually -- trying everything he could think of to get around it ... He made all kinds of strange sounds! Still, to this day, if I am in the back yard and he is trying to get my attention, he will make the oddest gurgling sound ... Still does ... BUT ... He does not bark very often at all ... and the collar has been off him for several months now.

 

[surjimmy]

You can also have them de-barked, more expensive then a collar but it's for good.