Need some advice regarding bark shock collars...

[Alishan86]

Ok...(I hope I don't get chewed out for this topic!)

When Bud is on a walk onleash or off leash he NEVER barks at any one or any dog... even if another dog is barking at him.. he just looks and doesn't respond.

When Bud is inside the house he ONLY barks when a stranger comes to the front door or he sees someone outside of a window... and when he barks... it is VERY intimidating... I still get a shock feeling when I hear him!.. and I LOVE it when he does this !...

Here is the problem... when he's outside he barks real loud at everyone that walks by my house ... and I have a walking trail that goes along the side of my house. So he goes nuts on everyone that walks by... I understand what he's doing, but my neighbors probably are going to get pissed soon enough. My neighbors live real close.

I'd really like to leave him in the back yard in the morning when I go to work but afraid he'll bark and ruin my neighbor's sleep...

I thought about getting a shock collar to put on him when he's in the backyard, and if that gets him to be quiet in the backyard...fantastic!...

My only concern is that I don't want that to effect his behavior while inside the house....meaning I want him to continue his barking at strangers while hes indoors.... I just hope the shock colar wont traumatize him too much...but would he realise the difference from when he's outside and its on and when hes inside and its not on?...

What do you guys think?

Thanks.

[jocoyn]

Not sure leaving him out all day in a fenced yard is a great idea but that is another topic

Concerning the bark collar. They get very smart about when it is on and when it is off.

They can also get around them sometimes.......by changing the pitch and frequency of the bark some can learn to avoid the shock.

[Kittilicious]

I have never used one, but a neighbor used one on his dog (it was a heeler of some sort) and he barked through it... and like Jocoyn said, it was like he found a bark that didn't affect it because his bark changed when he had it on. It took him a week or so to figure it out, but in the end it was useless.
I've heard, and don't quote me on this, that it only really works on small toy-type dogs effectively.

[Betty]

I use bark collars on my dogs when they are outside in the runs. They work very well and I've found that along with the barking they have eliminated some of the fence running.

I've always used the Dogtra collars and were very happy with them. But I just bought a sportdog brand one at my local feed store at about 1/2 the price and am extremely happy with it!

I never leave the collars on if my husband and I are not home. I've had a dog go into a cycle of barking, correction, scream,correction and it's not pretty.........

I would really think long and hard of leaving my dog outside while I'm not home. Especially in an area with a lot of pedestrian traffic. Just too much that could go horribly wrong.

[mysweetkaos]

I think they are a tool...that can be effective, but not something I would recommend for times the dog won't be supervised. We do not use them...however when we lived in Wisconsin, we tried one with K...to avoid trouble with a neighbor who just wasn't right. Anyway...we bought a tri-tronics for about $150...hoping it would work. Put it on K ONCE he barked, it got him, he cried, it got him....poor dog was scared out of his mind. I will never use one again....we just don't leave him out when we are not home. If leaving him indoors isn't an option...I would do tons of research, talk with a trainer how to use it correctly, get their opinion and expect to pay good money for a quality collar.

[jocoyn]

I had the same experience with the tritronics. Shook us all up pretty badly but 20 minutes later she realized the collar was of and off she went have not with the dogtra which I like better. Have the petsafe and it is good to, but my female defeated both of them.

[AgileGSD]

Originally Posted by Alishan86

My only concern is that I don't want that to effect his behavior while inside the house....meaning I want him to continue his barking at strangers while hes indoors.... I just hope the shock colar wont traumatize him too much...but would he realise the difference from when he's outside and its on and when hes inside and its not on?...

What do you guys think?

Thanks.

I've used bark collars for years and dogs learn not to bark when the collar is on. So basically, if there are times when your dog can't bark (going out early in the a.m. for example), you put the collar on and they are quiet. But when the colar is off, they still tend to bark at stuff they would bark at before.

A bark collar could work in your case, if you are comfortable leaving a collar (of any sort) on your dog unattended in the yard all day. Also, there is a risk of injury if the dog wears the collar more than 12 hours at a time, especially in damp conditions. The injury isn't caused by the electricity but by the contact points rubbing against the skin, causing a sore. Also some dogs will develop a tolerance for even the highest level of correction over a long period of time and the bark collar will become less effective. FWIW To me, it sounds like your dog is bored and/or unhappy being outdoors all day alone since you don't have nuisance barking issues otherwise. Of course, if leaving him outdoors all day is your only option, you'll need to find a solution regardless of the reason.

[doggiedad]

i don't think leaving your dog in the yard while
you go to work is a good idea especially with
a trail that close to your house. teach your dog
not to bark at people on the trail.

[robinhuerta]

We use bark collars on some of our dogs.....they have worked fine.
Some *do* figure out how to "bark" around the correction....but for most...it works fine.
The collars work for us with dogs that like to run and bark at each other.....otherwise, we have no other use for them...since they are not outside when we are not home.

[sashadog]

Originally Posted by Betty

I never leave the collars on if my husband and I are not home. I've had a dog go into a cycle of barking, correction, scream,correction and it's not pretty.........

I would really think long and hard of leaving my dog outside while I'm not home. Especially in an area with a lot of pedestrian traffic. Just too much that could go horribly wrong.

Although a bark collar can be a great tool, I would second Betty's advice. Leaving a collar on when you aren't home can result in some serious issues. Like she said, I've seen dogs bark, then yelp because they got shocked which then triggers the shock again, and the cycle continues. They either end up a shut down, pathetic mess and scared to set foot in the yard again or they keep barking and yelping till the battery wears out, etc... you get the picture. If it's absolutely necessary to leave him outside, maybe try a citronella bark collar first and see if that is effective for him? Just a suggestion.