Dog Information

Citronella bark control dog collars?

I am looking into getting one of these citronella bark control collars for my dog becuase her barking is getting way out of hand. She starts barking at the slightest noise and anytime she sees another dog or person when I take her outside. Has anyone ever used this before and has it been effective? Also if anyone has any ideas that will help me get my dogs barking under control I'd appreciate it. Thanks! Rose - I've been trying that for the last 3 months and she hasn't caught on yet...

Public Comments

1. Sorry to be very frank but this is cruel. It's like someone spraying sewage smell in your nose everytime you talk. If your dog barks there is a reason and you should work with a professional trainer to understand and treat that reason. Using those antibarking device is choosing the lazy option instead of going through intensive training with your pet. If you want the best for your pet you should go for the training option
2. I had experience with the spray type collars and found them to be effective; 3 rottys that constantly barked were trained within a couple of weeks. The point is that this is a training method. The dogs I mentioned varied in the time of learning. One went through en entire refill of spray before he stopped. Here's a link where a couple of Vets address the collars. [NOTE: The "shock" type collars are considered a last resort] http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=651 This is the best answer I can offer.
3. No way would I stray citronella in my dogs face. It's an oil and my god the damage it could cause to the eyes and respiratory system! There are other collars that work with water. I have used and so have other family members with great success. When another dog or person approaches, try having her sit and yell QUITE. Be firm and consistent in the command and soon she'll get the idea. Good Luck to you:)
4. I have a citronella bark collar I can sell you because it didn't work for my dog. Oh, he was startled at first. Then he figured out he could walk backwards while barking to avoid the spray. Then he figured out it only sprayed about 25 times before it was empty, allowing him to bark all he wanted. The refill canisters are expensive, too. Let me know if you want to buy my used collar. BTW, this entire process only took about 1 month, so the collar is "like new."
5. lol....I agree with Tom, dogs figure out the collar......My sister, who is a vet uses this collar on both of her collies, VERY bad serial barkers, they do work to a certain extent but the dogs figure out ways around it like barking so lightly to where he doesnt set it off, or knowing how many times it sprays till its empty. Boredom is the number one reason dogs obsessivley bark.
6. using a collar is no way to train your dog it can have serious side affect also very negative personally i think it is cruel .i have been on youtube they have some very good training videos about dog that bark.shows you how to deal with it in a positive way.
7. I've been training dogs for a very long time. I have not found the citronella collars to be effective. Most dogs I know figured out VERY quickly that they can empty the collar by one spurt of massive barking... resulting in a huge amount of citronella sprayed into the air, the dog's eyes and nose. Frankly, my suggestion (since you've already been working on it unsuccessfully) would be to use an e-collar. Dogs learn from this VERY quickly, rarely get shocked more than a couple times and it is more humane than constantly being corrected for barking. It also is more humane than de-barking.