dog barking -- has anyone tried the ultra sonic thingie?

[oregonianabroad]

Well, we adopted the dog, in the end. She is absolutely lovely in every way, and very well trained, but she woofs whenever my neighbours leave: as they work shifts, this is in the middle of the night. Another neighbour told me she had used one of these thingies that goes in the kitchen, apparently it emits a high-pitched noise that only the dog can hear whenever it barks, so that it learns to stop barking.

First of all, is this cruel? And does it work?

I use a similar one which is a boundary fencing around the perimeter of the house and garden. This stops the dog running off when door is open or another dog/cat/animal is on other side of fence.

I dont think they are cruel they learn very quickly not to go near and would imagine that they will learn quite quick with the anti bark one too.

you could try an aboistop collar, it squirts citronella or mustard up their nose

good for cutting out unwanted barking

unfair for when dog has a legitimate need to bark

I don't know if it's kinder/cheaper/more effective than the ultra-sonic thing but they have worked very well for a few problem barkers of my acquaintance

ooh, it might not be cruel to your dog, but it would be cruel to me - i can hear those bloody things!!! Drive me nuts, there is one near me that someone uses as a cat scarer - id rather have cats! Seriously though, it is thought that young children can hear them too (if i am thinking of the right thing that is!), so not a good idea i dont think.

Aboistop collar is the way to go - don't need to have them for long - also, she might settle down once she gets used to your neighbours comings and goings. Right now she is unsure of her surroundings so might feel a bit unsure.

Hi lucyellensmummy you cant here the one i use as its ultrasonic it must be a different one

I can hear them too - my neighbour had one for the cats and I was going to break in and take the batteries out, but amazingly it BROKE after a couple of days and of course they didn't notice

I am regularly driven mad by light switches/tellies on standby etc

the longer term and most humane solution is, of course, to teach your dog to bark on command and quiet on command

it's a fun one to do too, but just a hassle that it happens in the middle of the night for you

mm - OK, how do I teach my neighbours dogs not to bark at me/dh/ds or ddog whenever we are in our garden. Its constant yap, yap yapping. You can give them attention, then ask them to stop - it doesn't change. You can tell them to be quiet - no change. Any ideas from anyone would be gratefully received (sorry about the hijack!!!)

She is fairly good at not barking during the day, but this is a real problem at night. If we go downstairs, she barks more. If we ignore her, it's still a good 20 mins of barking. Not good at 4 am, although I do appreciate she is just trying to protect her territory. Also, neighbours have constantly varying shift patterns, so will she ever get used to it?

ultrasonic just means that the sound is of a very high frequency. This was the basis of a teenager deterrant (i kid you not) that was used to stop groups of teens from hanging around outside corner shops etc as the sound was of a frequency that they could hear. As you get older the range of frequencies you can hear tends to go towards lower frequencies. There is a difference between men and women too. And of course dogs, which can hear much higher, hence the dog whistle - can hear those too. I was about the teen deterrants (saw it on the news once) as i worried about babies poor little ears.

I think its more of an irritant than cruel, so as long as you can stand it i don't think you would be cruel to your dog - bet the aboistop is cheaper though - we used to lend the collars out at our vets, clients just had to buy the refil, might be worth a try. Also, i recommend the DAP diffuser. DAP = dog appeasing pheremone. A airbourne hormone released by bitches in pup, very soothing for dogs so if the barking is out of anxiety than this might help. You plug these in like an air freshener and it constantly releases, need to use for a month or more but again, can stop.

Good idea to have a chat with your vet - make an appointment to see the nurse as she/he will be able to advise you and there is usually no charge for a nurses consult. They may be able to lend you a collar. She'll settle down i bet - enjoy her

mistle, three words - IGNORE, IGNORE AND IGNORE The wee thing is barking to get your attention and it seems to be working, as most of us humans do, you are playing their game for them. If you simply ignore the dog, don't raise your voice, or even go back indoors (obviously dont do this for long or you'll be under house arrest!).
Alternatively use an air gun!!

what dog did you get in the end? i seem to remember a thread, but my memory isnt what it was . I would say not to respond to her barking as she could well be calling you - so you are affirming that a, the behaviour is acceptable and b, there is something to be worried about. So you can't tell her off, or try to comfort her as it will make it worse. Its a difficult one - i guess ear plugs in the short term

LEM - we're under house arrest then. I generally do ignore them - even our dog ignores them. Just being out in the garden sets them off, even if we're not doing anything noisy. There are 2 of them too....

I was wondering about the ultrasonic 'gun' that you can get - clearly something that goes off automatically will be no good as we've got our own dog...

Thank you all for your replies, very helpful.

LucyEllensmummy,
Thanks for your in-depth answer. You gave some very good advice last time, which I must confess, we overlooked a little bit once we met the dog and spent quite a lot of time with her. She is a 2 y/o lab, and apart from the barking, really has settled in very well with our family and lifestyle. She gets walked twice a day (at least), and often exercised (e.g. catch at the beach/ in a field). She does really well on the lead or off, is great with the boys (who seem to be plugged into the electric mains at the moment!), as well as other dogs, and on the whole is a very loveable, well trained doggie -- we just need to knock this middle of the night barking thing on the head.

Will look into the abiostop, but thought it was more expensive at pets at home... maybe got the wrong end of the stick.

Will also consider making an appt at the vets.

Thank you again.

Glad she is working out, sounds like she has fallen on all four feet!! I have decided never to give advice to people on whether or not to get dogs after our debacle this weekend. I have a thread about it just now. Sometimes, you just have to go with your instinct.

Is she locked away at night, say in the kitchen? If so, she is just doing her job which is protecting the family. She doesn't know that this noise the neighbours are making is not bothering you, or a threat.

You would find it easier to say 'no!' when she does this at night, if she were in your bedroom (but this is from someone who allows dogs on/in beds) Plus dogs are pack animals anyway and given a choice would like to be able to be near you.

Just an update: my friend lent me the 'Dog Whisperer' book, we started doing just a couple of things differently (e.g. she enters/ leaves the house after the humans, etc..) and we have had several quiet nights in a row. I only read 1 chapter (the one about being an Alpha) and, although I was sceptical, it made an immediate impact.

Thank you again for all replies.