Bark collars

[FreeFallingFrog]

Is there any way to use these ethically, just for at night? We are on our knees because of night-time problems in the family, so please be gentle. Because of situations we never could have anticipated, we're at a point of thinking either something like a bark collar or having to look to potentially rehome/look for a temporary fosterer. DDog is extremely attached to us, and us to her, so this is a devastating prospect.
Any thoughts? TIA

Personally I dont use aversive training.

The bark collar with the odour is horrendous as the dogs may stop barking but the smell is still lingering really horrid for the dogs.

Also if another dog barks the collar will go off
If a dog is already overaroused and they get a vibration or air sprayed at them it doesnt really calm them down at all. Might make them quiet for a bit but they will still be in a pretty overaroused state.

However ignoring all of the above you may find that the barking could stop BUT and a big but you can have massive fallout from stopping the behaviour without stopping the emotion behind it. Eg dog is frustrated and barks , get bark collar and starts to chew the walls.

Manangement may be more effective but without any more info it is hard to be specific

Looks like the Aversive Pain gang have rocked up, so I’ll leave you to it 🙄

OP, please stick with force free training so you’re taking away the desire to bark, rather than suppressing it through fear.

Cannot imagine anything worse!

I speak as an owner of an 18 month old Weimaraner where it's pretty much a given that they are highly sensitive to sight and sound.

Often when our dog barks it's an anxiety reflex so using this technique would be totally counter intuitive.

Unless you can define why your dog is barking why would you jump to this?

If the dog is barking for fun or attention then maybe. But how do you know your dog is just not being reactive to what they're hearing?

We've developed a soft approach, we don't stop him barking but reassure him that he (and us) are ok.

If that doesn't work then two toots on his whistle usually does it.

If that fails then he's on his slip lead til he calms (has an immediate calming affect).

There are so many things to try before you try and shut down his behaviour

Please don't get any type of anti bark collar.

You already know why your dog barks, so try out some of the things suggested like keeping the radio on.
Sometimes dogs bark or guard because they are bored or not tired or simply feel its their job to keep you informed about neighbourhood visitors.
So, other quick (er) fixes could be wearing the dog out ... longer more active walks or teaching some complex tricks & commands.

Sometimes dogs calm down if they are able to sleep closer to us - looking at my first Tibetan Terrier, ended up beside the bed & never learnt to sleep by herself at night! Strangely, didn't want to be on the bed...

In the end, you have a lovely dog that's a bit quirky, work with what you have and enjoy your life together!

Surely the ddog just relocates at bedtime to not be near where people pass by?

Have you tried an anti-anxiety supplement like ‘Nutracalm’ or Rescue Remedy at night, plus possibly having her sleep in a quiet part of the house. The suggestion of white noise is good too.

I wouldn’t want to rehome her either . One of mine was very barky when we adopted her , and I used Nutracalm and adaptil and positive reinforcement for being quiet. She is pretty chilled these days.

Stick with training and try some calming medication, dorwest do some as do adaptil and pet remedy to name a few, please do not use the collar, they are horrible

Where does she sleep at night? Is she with you or on her own? Does she have free range of the house or could you try restricting her to a smaller calmer space with fewer sounds to be heard for nighttime? Or bring her in with you if she’s not already.

I’m only asking what might seem really obvious questions as I know when you’re exhausted it can sometimes be hard to see the wood for the trees.

My dogs have always slept in my bedroom, I’ve never had a nighttime bark issue. They’re pack animals and rest much better and feel safer when they’re with their pack.

For a dog who is reactive to noise, a bark collar is honestly the last thing you should be considering.

Bark collars aren't silent - so what's going to happen when she inevitably reacts to the noisy thing round her neck and can't stop it making a noise because she's barking at it?

Boggled that people think rehoming (with all the stress, unhappiness and disruption that would cause the dog and the family) is a better option than using an anti-bark collar.

Yes, by all means try other techniques first. But if you go down the bark collar route, this study:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228336961_Evaluation_of_plasma_cortisol_levels_and_behavior_in_dogs_wearing_bark_control_collars
should reassure you: the dogs find the collar briefly stressful, and then swiftly adjust:
'In the present study, with dogs wearing bark control collars intermittently over a 2 week period, the collars effectively deterred barking without statistically significant elevations in plasma cortisol, compared to controls, at any of the time points measured.' The cortisol was being measured to assess stress levels.

Admittedly it has a small sample size (an issue that bedevils the work on dogs and training) but it is an actual piece of research rather than a survey.

Thank you so much. Very interesting to see this research.