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How to use dogtra bark collar

2K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  LuvShepherds 
#1 ·
Hi
I have a 7 month GSD female. She just discovered the joy of barking one month ago :) She barks for no reason (I am sure in her mind there is a reason :) Anyway it is a joy to see her mature and "protect" the house by barking away, she then looks at me for approval. I try to tell her quiet on times I don't think she should bark and encourage her at times when she is doing a good job however I do have one problem that I need your help with.

I have an autistic niece who has sensory (auditory) issues and cannot hear loud noises. When she hears loud noises (children screaming, dogs barking, people yelling) she has melt downs and tantrums. My niece also has cereberal palsey and developmental issues so reasoning with her is out of the question. We have been playing barking sounds on utube for her to get her used to when she comes to visit and stay with us with her mom, but she is not accepting the barking sounds very well. I would like to get a dogtra e- collar to use on zoey when my niece is around so Zoey will learrn that when she has the collar on she needs to be quiet but I am not sure which model to purchase. Your help and advice is greatly appreciated.

thanks
ghayda
 
#2 ·
gundogsupply.com has lots of good advice. I heard you can call them up and they will guide you.

My advice is to leave plenty of time to train your dog to an electronic bark collar before the stress of bringing in your niece. You can't just slap it on and expect the dog to understand. Some, if they are not trained with an ecollar can freak out. So plan to go low stim and go slow.
 
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#3 ·
Get a collar specifically for barking. With a regular e-collar, you will not be fast enough in pushing the button so that the dog gets a correction that is meaningful. In other words, an anti-bark collar accurately tells the dog that he is being corrected specifically for barking.

If you correct for barking with regular e-collar, there is the possibility that the dog is confused about why he is being corrected. In general, a person can't beat a good anti-bark collar in regard to timing.

My dog didn't need getting used to it. Two separate corrections and he got it.
 
#4 ·
Oh, I totally agree with Moriah. Dogtra does make a anti-bark collar. I have a Sport Dog and while it is really effective, with my sensitive GSD I can only use the lowest stim level (0) and it took time to get her to understand what was needed to avoid the stim. Works very well now. The sport dog requires vibration and sound to activate. I would try the Dogtra anti-bark if I ever needed another one.
 
#5 ·
Hi Zoey's Mom - hope you don't mind if I comment here about getting your niece used to the loud barking sound - I know you didn't ask, but I myself am a high functioning on the Autistic spectrum, so perhaps I could give some insight.

Playing loud noises to get your niece used to them is not going to work, it will only stress her to no end. The Autistic brain is wired differently than 'normal' brains, and we lack filters that can differentiate between repetitive, background noises and filter them out so as to only be vaguely and distantly aware of them (like normal people do :) ) . Many of my life-style choices are centered around maintaining a quiet environment as much as possible.

My suggestion is to train your niece to associate certain loud noises with something positive, the way we train dogs, LOL. For example, loud barking dogs drive me batty, and though I live in a rural area with homestead lots all being on acreage so my neighbors are somewhat distant, I can hear barking dogs a km away, and highway traffic over 3 kms away (and be stressed by the distant rumbling). Yet I happily go to Schutzhund training weekly and greatly appreciate a strong, powerful bark and hold from all the dogs in training - because the environment and activity is something I enjoy.

I fully support the use of a bark-collar to help your niece cope, that is a kind and caring thing to do for her. You'll find that your dog will also calm down with a bark-collar: repetitive barking seems to be self-exciting. I haven't needed to use one on my dogs, but my friends that have used one all said that it calmed their dog down in general.
 
#6 ·
I have worked for years with children on the autistic spectrum. If your niece does not already have them, I would invest in a pair of headphones. Not the ones with wires--the ones that block out sound.

Many autistic children are able to tolerate a fire drill or a loud school assembly by wearing headphones. Without headphones, some autistic children are very stressed out with loud noises.

I had a boy this year with a severe head injury (post concussion syndrome) and the headphones were extremely important to his well being when around a lot of sounds--like music class.
 
#10 ·
There are different kinds of no bark collars. One day my previous dog came out of daycare smelling like an orange. He almost never barked but for some reason, started barking uncontrollably at another dog, so they put him in an orange oil collar. He didn't like it and he stopped barking. They also rewarded him with praise when he started to bark and then quieted down. The collar alone didn't stop it. They never had to use it on him again.
 
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