Barking Collars?
Long time no see MyCorgi! I'll have to update you with Gonzo pictures asap...my little boy has grown so much!
I'm back with a problem I'm sure all, or at least most of you, dealt with. Gonzo barks. Constantly. I take him on long walks, he calms down a bit. I play with him for two hours on end...calms down. A little bit. But still, no matter what I do, he has everything a dog could possibly need, he still barks. I've tried bopping him on the nose and butt, putting him in his crate, ignoring the behavior...nothing seems to work! I've considered a barking collar, the kind that lets out the high pitch frequency. I've also considered a shock collar...a young married couple of mine, the man swears on it and says it doesn't hurt them, just suprises them unpleasantly. Kori, his wife, however, says she doesn't like it, but does admit it helped their Pinscher.
Any advice/opinion would be appreciated!
I'm back with a problem I'm sure all, or at least most of you, dealt with. Gonzo barks. Constantly. I take him on long walks, he calms down a bit. I play with him for two hours on end...calms down. A little bit. But still, no matter what I do, he has everything a dog could possibly need, he still barks. I've tried bopping him on the nose and butt, putting him in his crate, ignoring the behavior...nothing seems to work! I've considered a barking collar, the kind that lets out the high pitch frequency. I've also considered a shock collar...a young married couple of mine, the man swears on it and says it doesn't hurt them, just suprises them unpleasantly. Kori, his wife, however, says she doesn't like it, but does admit it helped their Pinscher.
Any advice/opinion would be appreciated!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Juneaux and Maximus on
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I had the same problem! I was talked out of a bark/shock collar, and I'm glad:) I'm not sure we can judge how much or how little it hurts them. I'm assuming you have Gonzo indoors?? We had Juneaux outside, and I couldn't get her to hush her butt unless she was in. Inside she's an angel, literally! There was just too much going on outside with neighbors and such, that she was just barking NONSTOP, at all hours of the night!
Our problem was fixed of course when we got Max. They tire themselves out, and after an evening walk are both pooped! We feed them, and they'll play a bit, and then silence.
Is he just a barker, or a really hyper dog? I'd get a Cesar Millan book, see how he deals with it. I know someone suggested that too. If he's just a real wire, maybe its his diet? I wouldn't get him one of those collars though--just doesn't "feel" right, but of course he's your dog, and they are legal, lol!
Good Luck!
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Permalink Reply by Sam on
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Rather then resorting a shock collar may I suggest that you work specifically with the barking routine. Mr. Spray Bottle often works wonders with barking. You must be prepared at all times using this method and have a command such as "quiet" or "no bark". While you walk him you do have physical control. Make sure he walks close to you so corrections can be quickly given. Inside you may find that it suits you to keep him on lead tied to you for easy corrections. You must have good timing, be consistant and keep at it. Let me know if you have success.
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Permalink Reply by MagnoliaFly on
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Before putting a shock collar on your dog you should wear one and see if it causes you pain. IMO it is complete BS that "the dog doesn't feel anything and it just surprises them unpleasantly". I've sat in on aggression consults where dogs rolled onto their backs in complete fear after a shocking bark collar was placed on them on the lowest setting and peed on themselves while screaming in agony. Please don't subject your dog to this. Shock collars are unsafe for a variety of reasons. I'm glad you aren't comfortable with the idea.
If training your dog to stop barking isn't working with the usual positive reinforcement methods (treats for being quiet and adding in a "quiet" cue) then you may need to figure out if your dog is getting enough mental stimulation. Under-stimulated dogs will bark for attention or to amuse themselves. Barking is a self-rewarding behavior and feels wonderful to the dog, especially if they are getting attention for it (yelling, hitting, "bopping on the nose", being thrown into a crate are all attention giving behaviors). Also realize you have a corgi. Corgis bark.
There are a few books you can read about barking and training problematic barking to cease:
Barking - The Sound of a Language and The Bark Stops Here are both good books.
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Permalink Reply by Lauren + Winston on
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blahh ive never been a fan of electric fences or shock collars.. i dont think its right to shock or even mildly hurt a dog for doing something that comes naturally (barking, exploring--but winston has a wooden fenced in yard because exploring is dangerous! haha)... winstons the most hardcore barker i know, he'll bark at anything and sometimes i want to rip my ears off my head... have you ever considered why your dog barks? usually winston barks because he needs something, like let out, his water changed, if another dog needs let in, if theres a big bad UPS man outside, or if hes bored and wants to play! sometimes ill just throw him a rawhide or give him a kong with a little peanut butter if i am busy or tired. usually that will settle him down adn keep him busy until he either takes a nap or finds something else to do.
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Permalink Reply by Sarah C. on
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There are "e-collars" that have a vibrate function instead of a shock function. It does not hurt, on my own arm it felt like a cell phone going off, or maybe one of those three-bulbed massagers going on and off suddenly. I had no need for it, but supposedly it gives the dog a start instead of actually shocking them.
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Permalink Reply by Lisa on
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The spray bottle works for our sheltie. Shelties like to bark more than any dog we have ever had - some owners actually have them surgically de-barked. All I have to say now is "Rowdy, spray bottle!" and he stops barking until something new gets his attention. I have just accepted the fact that he LOVES to talk. When Charlie chimes in with his big dog bark it can be really noisy at our house. My husband thinks its really funny to watch them get into a barking contest - it just gives me a headache. I love them anyway and dont know what I would do without them.
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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on
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Just don't give up on this; you owe it to yourselves and your neighbors. You CAN succeed at this.
I don't know how we got so lucky, but our dogs are remarkably quiet, barking only at visitors/intruders (the "doorbark"). They do sometimes bark at passersby from the front yard, more than I'd like but tolerable. Home alone, they are silent. Walking or hiking, they are silent.
Al occasionally barks for attention when he wants to play, but not an incessant yapper by any means.
We tried the squirt bottle to discourage them from jumping all over me at the door when I come home from work -- got to the point where all we had to do was point our fingers like a gun and say, "squirt bottle!"
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Permalink Reply by Sam on
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I wish the squirt bottle worked with Ein. He just turned it into another thing that he thinks starts one of his favorite games called "chase". The only thing that he will stay quiet for is a treat and I often have reservations about that because I don't want him to get fat and I don't want to run out of treats lol.
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Permalink Reply by Alex on
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We got lucky... just like John Wolff said. Dee Dee only barks when she hears someone or something suspicious... AND mail person (this one is special. Don't know how they know, but they know.)
When she was a puppy, we trained her not to bark too much. We used spray bottle & can (with some coins). We stopped using spray bottle a while ago since she started to dislike water all together. She still hates the can. She lived in an apartment until she was 7, and then to a house. Since we moved into a house, we haven't been as strict on barking. Well, she now barks more than before. If you want your dog to not bark, you have to constantly trying, and remind them not to bark. It is their natural thing to do, so if you stop telling them no, it comes back. I'd recommend spray bottle, coin can, and constant training, but never a shock collar!
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Permalink Reply by Laura Jones on
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Just my two cents worth. We bought a bark collar for KC last summer while we were having an extended visit at my parents house, it took one day for her to learn and then she stopped, we kept it on her when she was outside in the kennel during the visit but once we were home we took it off of her and if she ever started barking outside all we had to do was pick it up and she quit. And as a side note, yes we have tried it ourselves.
Anyway, my aussie likes to bark at the neighbors pony size dog behind us and their sheep that they aren't supposed to have in town. Valentines Day while my sister in law was at my house watching the kids then somebody from the street behind us came over and chewed her out for the dogs barking in the backyard, threatend to turn us into the police and have our dogs taken away. So we went out and bought a collar for Levi, (him and KC had eaten the other one last fall when they got it off the counter). Just like with KC it only took about a day for him to learn, and when we hear him we tell them no barking and call them in to the house. Now he only has to wear it when we are going to be going to be gone for long periods of time. Corgi's are very smart dogs as everyone knows and they are quick learners.
Not that I enjoyed spending the money on them, at $40 each but if it comes down to that or having my dogs threatend by the neighbors then I choose the collar. We recently had to go out of town for 48 hours on a family emergency and we put the collar on Levi but left one off of the two corgis, I was worried the whole time we were gone that we were going to come home to either the dogs gone, or nasty notes because Taz likes to bark loudly when he plays and I do not think he is old enough to have the collar put on him. So call me a cruel dog owner, but the bottom line is that that is what worked to for us, we live in town and yes there are others peoples dogs barking too but I know that mine are not part of the problem anymore, although Taz maybe part of it, we are trying "Mr. Spraybottle" with him to no affect, he thinks that is a whole new game to play and bark at. IMO you have to do what you feel is best for you in your situation.
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