Affordable Anti-bark Collars Under $100

[dilemmax]

Hi guys,

Can someone recommend a good anti-bark collar for under $100?

Thanks for your help!

::EDIT:: I don't mind buying one online.

Edited November 29, 2011 by dilemmax

[Sandra777]

Citronella collar - off ebay. Was about $75 all up from memory. Unfortunately citronella collars don't work on all dogs, but are great when they are effective.

[Steve K9Pro]

Citronella is a poison though. You also get what you pay for

[Leelaa17]

can I just ask, one of my dogs is, what my evil neighbours think, is a 'problem barker', mind you, he barks maybe once a day and maybe two times before 9pm (and I mean like woof woof woof, and then thats it), and then after that he's inside so he doesn't bark at all (my two dogs sleep inside as well)...

but what are these bark collars? i thought they gave a little electric shock and I don't know whether I'm comfortable with that?

[shmoo]

Citronella is a poison though.

I think a dog would need to directly ingest large amounts of pure Citronella oil for it to be considered poisonous.

And yes, you get what you pay for. You would need to know what works for your dog to kurb the barking. Some dogs don't care at all about the Citronella and bark right through the spraying until the collar is empty.

[Simply Grand]

Yes, if I was going to use an anti-bark collar, especially if I I wasn't going to be right there with the dog, I would want to use top quality, top effectiveness regardless of the cost.

I'm currently training my 7 month old Sheltie not to bark excessively using a metal can (actually a cocktail shaker ) filled with nails, screws etc. Shaking it a couple of times whenever he barks inappropriately. Cost me $0 and is working well. Although next time I would start way earlier, lesson learnt!

I do know others have much tougher situations than mine tho! Just giving my opinion.

[shmoo]

but what are these bark collars? i thought they gave a little electric shock and I don't know whether I'm comfortable with that?

Citronella collars give off a spray of Citronella, which is an oil which is (depending on the research you read) suspected to calm a barking dog or the spray is considered an unpleasant odour and the dog puts two and two together and stops barking (no bark = no spray).

A shock collar can be one of two types. One type is controlled by the dog and barking in return gives a shock (sometimes graded) or you can get remote ones that work by the human pressing a button and giving a shock (this one is used not only for barking but other issues)

[Steve K9Pro]

The dog does not need to injest citronella to cause harm, applying to the skin has been known to cause severe reactions

[Leelaa17]

but what are these bark collars? i thought they gave a little electric shock and I don't know whether I'm comfortable with that?

Citronella collars give off a spray of Citronella, which is an oil which is (depending on the research you read) suspected to calm a barking dog or the spray is considered an unpleasant odour and the dog puts two and two together and stops barking (no bark = no spray).

A shock collar can be one of two types. One type is controlled by the dog and barking in return gives a shock (sometimes graded) or you can get remote ones that work by the human pressing a button and giving a shock (this one is used not only for barking but other issues)

Thanks very much shmoo.

I was just talking to my dad about the shaking of a can with some screws and nails etc in it and we are going to give that a try. Sounds like something that we can easily do and we can start straight away.

[shmoo]

The dog does not need to injest citronella to cause harm, applying to the skin has been known to cause severe reactions

Fair enough. I'd like to be wrong... don't like the collars myself.

[Steve K9Pro]

Of course shaking of the can is simple and cheap, also will be considered by the dog as punishment if it works. Punishment applied by the can shaker.

[Simply Grand]

Leelaa, I don't want to offend you but are you sure you're being totally realistic about your dog's barking? Riley's is not actually that bad, he barks at things out of the ordinary in his environment (noises etc) and he barks at my other dog when he wants their games to go differently, it's not that much and mine are inside at night, and basically whenever I'm home, which is much of the time at the moment.

However, Riley's barking is annoying to me and to my non-dog loving neighbours I imagine it's much much more

annoying.

Just saying, when your dog barks it's easy to unconsciously tune it out and not fully realise how much they are doing it and how annoying it must be for non-dog people.

[Steve K9Pro]

Eta it is also linked to you so will not deter barking when your not home

[shmoo]

but what are these bark collars? i thought they gave a little electric shock and I don't know whether I'm comfortable with that?

Citronella collars give off a spray of Citronella, which is an oil which is (depending on the research you read) suspected to calm a barking dog or the spray is considered an unpleasant odour and the dog puts two and two together and stops barking (no bark = no spray).

A shock collar can be one of two types. One type is controlled by the dog and barking in return gives a shock (sometimes graded) or you can get remote ones that work by the human pressing a button and giving a shock (this one is used not only for barking but other issues)

Thanks very much shmoo.

I was just talking to my dad about the shaking of a can with some screws and nails etc in it and we are going to give that a try. Sounds like something that we can easily do and we can start straight away.

No worries.

Just remember timing is crucial with positive punishment.

[Simply Grand]

Sorry you posted quicker than me leelaa! I'm having good results with the shaker!

Yes it is definitely punishment. I trained Riley not to bark at me pretty quickly (I had him from 8.5 weeks and he barked from day 1) using negative reinforcement - ie you bark at me, your attention from me goes away, I freeze, look away and ignore you until you're quiet. I prefer to use either +ve or -ve reinforcement for training.

However when Riley barks at other dogs he inevitably gets a reaction from the dog, which is what he is after so I can't see a way to train him out of it other than punishment. The shaker create a sound he doesn't like - he puts his ears back and freezes when I do it. The behaviour has rapidly decreased, I can see him now work to control his barks and he now tends to woo woo when he wants Saxon to do something rather than bark

Oh just to add, the timing is hard! I only do the shake if I can do it within 1 second of the bark. If not i don't so anything other than ignore him as I want it to be clear what the punishment is for. I think the learning has been slower because I havent been able to be 100% consistent.

Hope that all makes sense!

[Simply Grand]

Genuine question K9pro - wouldn't the punishment (the sound of the shaker) serve to condition the dog out of the behaviour even when the owner isn't there?

As in positive reinforcement for toileting in the correct area conditions that whether the owner is there or not?

Or does it depend on the dog's motivation for barking (different when the owner is there or not there)?

[Steve K9Pro]

If your dog hates going outside when it rains, does it stop going outside when it shines?

[Simply Grand]

I don't get what you mean sorry

[Steve K9Pro]

If your dog stops barking because the can rattles, what will it do when the can can't rattle because your not there?

[Leelaa17]

Sorry you posted quicker than me leelaa! I'm having good results with the shaker!

Yes it is definitely punishment. I trained Riley not to bark at me pretty quickly (I had him from 8.5 weeks and he barked from day 1) using negative reinforcement - ie you bark at me, your attention from me goes away, I freeze, look away and ignore you until you're quiet. I prefer to use either +ve or -ve reinforcement for training.

However when Riley barks at other dogs he inevitably gets a reaction from the dog, which is what he is after so I can't see a way to train him out of it other than punishment. The shaker create a sound he doesn't like - he puts his ears back and freezes when I do it. The behaviour has rapidly decreased, I can see him now work to control his barks and he now tends to woo woo when he wants Saxon to do something rather than bark

Oh just to add, the timing is hard! I only do the shake if I can do it within 1 second of the bark. If not i don't so anything other than ignore him as I want it to be clear what the punishment is for. I think the learning has been slower because I havent been able to be 100% consistent.

Hope that all makes sense!

It does make perfect sense! I hope I am being realistic about his barking! haha. Look, honestly, he really doesn't bark that much when we're at home, but I don't know how much he barks when we aren't at home. We ask our (other) neighbours if the dogs are bothering them and they always say they barely ever hear them.

I do understand that to not-dog lovers the dog barking can be more irritating and I accept that, however we have talked to these people (who we have had several problems with before this, over many different things - not the barking) and they have implied they don't want to hear the dogs at all. They are in bed (most nights, but not on weekends) from about 9.30pm to 8am in the morning as to not disrupt any of our neighbours.

when we are at home we are extremely aware of when max barks (jenna barely barks at all) as to not annoy the nieghbours further because I am paranoid they will do something. The minute max barks I am out there telling him to shhh and getting him inside for a 'time out' where he can relax and then go outside after some time.

I know it's difficult to control barking when at home but I am quite lucky as i live with my dad and majority of every day, they aren't alone, so they can be controlled.

thanks very much for the advice and I will let you know how the shaker can goes!

Jenna hates any loud noise so it would work great on her but I'm not sure about max so we will just have to try it out!