Pure Parents

Question:

Well other than reading a bit about them the only experience I have is vicarious through a well known UK trainer/behaviorist John Rogerson who stated in his experience they were as useless as any of the other anti bark collars as the dogs learn how to get around all these devices – with the citronella collar they learn to empty them pretty quickly and keep on barking… OTOH I have seem folks post here who said they had decent results.So YMMV. My experience with the ultrasonic collars seems to bear out JR’s results though – the dog figured out how to bark ‘around’ the collar – and the collar would go off if another dog barked too – it hangs on the wall in the dog room and when the battery is fresh it ‘clicks’ every time the dogs bark! Nancy – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Does anybody out there have any experience with the new (?) citronella > based anti-bark collers? > Of course, any barking problem should, if at all possible, be corrected > by other training methods and behaviour modification, if possobile, but > these are considered to be a humane (and to my mind) certainly better > "last resort" than electric-shock collers, and certainly than debarking. > I found out about them because my daughter works for the Humane Society, > and they recommend them (again, with the above caveats). > It is a regular webbing collar, with a small plastic box at the > bottom (where dog tags normally hang).  The box has a small reservoir of > liquid citronella, and a sensor which senses the vibrations when the dog > barks (and which can be adjusted for less or more sensitivity).  When the > dog barks, a short burst of citronella is released up towards the dog’s > muzzle area.  Apparently dogs don’t like the smell of citronella, and > quickly come to associate the bark with the "unpleasant" smell. > The one that the H.S. carries is made by Vetoquinol/Immunovet, and is > called the "ABS" (AntiBarking System);  it retails for $139.00, > including a refill on the citronella. > We actually have two dogs (of our 3) for whom it was recommended, after > much training, visits from the behaviorist, etc..  One, our alpha dog, > has situations in which she simply *will* bark no matter *what* we do > (and so we are to try the collar on her *just* in those situations, as > we don’t really want or need to stop her barking at "normal" barking > times).  The other is a Siberian – need I say more? > Anyway, just wondering if anyone has any experience with them, and also > wanted to give you all the information on them, as I know there have > been some "what to do about barking short of debarking" threads here > recently.   >        [Note: my email address is the above username, at netcomdotcom] > — >               I am:  mom, attorney, advocate for fathers >                      http://www.parentinglaw.com >                      Actually, I’m a lawyer -and- I play one on tv.

Response:

Does anybody out there have any experience with the new (?) citronella based anti-bark collers? Of course, any barking problem should, if at all possible, be corrected by other training methods and behaviour modification, if possobile, but these are considered to be a humane (and to my mind) certainly better "last resort" than electric-shock collers, and certainly than debarking. I found out about them because my daughter works for the Humane Society, and they recommend them (again, with the above caveats). It is a regular webbing collar, with a small plastic box at the bottom (where dog tags normally hang).  The box has a small reservoir of liquid citronella, and a sensor which senses the vibrations when the dog barks (and which can be adjusted for less or more sensitivity).  When the dog barks, a short burst of citronella is released up towards the dog’s muzzle area.  Apparently dogs don’t like the smell of citronella, and quickly come to associate the bark with the "unpleasant" smell. The one that the H.S. carries is made by Vetoquinol/Immunovet, and is called the "ABS" (AntiBarking System);  it retails for $139.00, including a refill on the citronella. We actually have two dogs (of our 3) for whom it was recommended, after much training, visits from the behaviorist, etc..  One, our alpha dog, has situations in which she simply *will* bark no matter *what* we do (and so we are to try the collar on her *just* in those situations, as we don’t really want or need to stop her barking at "normal" barking times).  The other is a Siberian – need I say more? Anyway, just wondering if anyone has any experience with them, and also wanted to give you all the information on them, as I know there have been some "what to do about barking short of debarking" threads here recently.          [Note: my email address is the above username, at netcomdotcom] —                    I am:  mom, attorney, advocate for fathers                           http://www.parentinglaw.com                   Actually, I’m a lawyer -and- I play one on tv.

Response: