Anti bark collars and anti bark devices

[CorvusCorax]

A collar will work on fluffy dogs if their neck hair is brushed out properly and it is fitted properly/the contact points are actually making contact. The cheapy things off Amazon or Ebay are not always the best option.

Not getting into a debate on the rights and wrongs of usage, just wanted to point this out

 

[JBM]

More specifically it will not work on Sammys and any similar types that have 3 layers of fur

I have tried but the base layer isn’t very easily moved aside
Huskies yes even tho they are fluffy their hair is a lot more workable
The sammy bottom coat is like wool
I don’t use them but just to point out as I tried one of the vibrate ones

 

[ArklePig]

Good luck with the white noise machine. We had this with Fodhla when she first arrived, due to cats mostly and a bit of radio 4 and a blanket over her crate really helped.

ETA I meant to ask when this started? Could it be the weather? Mine is really peed off in the heat and is grumbling a bit.

 

[CorvusCorax]

I also use a radio in the kitchen as the young dog will mouth off if she can hear me doing stuff with the others.

 

[splashgirl45]

Good luck with the white noise machine. We had this with Fodhla when she first arrived, due to cats mostly and a bit of radio 4 and a blanket over her crate really helped.

ETA I meant to ask when this started? Could it be the weather? Mine is really peed off in the heat and is grumbling a bit.

It started last summer, the cat moved in during June and I didn’t know he had a cat,, just that my dogs started barking during the night, it’s my 6 year old boy that starts it mostly and as I e had him since he was 8 weeks I knew it was strange behaviour, so I apologised to my immediate neighbour and they told me that the new person had a cat and that it had been on their flat roof(which is attached to mine) then I did hear it running across the roof so shut the dogs in my living room which is at the front of the cottage and it stopped for a while. It was ok during the winter especially if it was raining as I assume cat stayed indoors…just got worse a couple of months ago although last night and the night before all was quiet.., maybe cat was too hot

 

[ArklePig]

It started last summer, the cat moved in during June and I didn’t know he had a cat,, just that my dogs started barking during the night, it’s my 6 year old boy that starts it mostly and as I e had him since he was 8 weeks I knew it was strange behaviour, so I apologised to my immediate neighbour and they told me that the new person had a cat and that it had been on their flat roof(which is attached to mine) then I did hear it running across the roof so shut the dogs in my living room which is at the front of the cottage and it stopped for a while. It was ok during the winter especially if it was raining as I assume cat stayed indoors…just got worse a couple of months ago although last night and the night before all was quiet.., maybe cat was too hot

This just confirms what I suspected all along, cats are a menace
I hope you find a good solution.

 

[splashgirl45]

Agree Arklepig, if he would just lock the cat flap at night it would save a lot of bother but he doesn’t want to do anything to stop him doing “what is natural”, it also kills the local birds as well which is upsetting as we all have bird feeders out in our gardens, obviously that is during the day

 

[twiggy2]

We have an anti bark collar for one of the collies, he barks at night, no trigger as non of the other 7 bark, if there is a trigger than they all bark about it.
He just barks repeatedly in monotone, he will start at 3or 4 am for about 40 mins or so then stop.
The collar he has is not activated by other dogs barking as it is the vibration from his throat that makes it go off not the sound, it makes noises, sounds and can give a shock but that is and always has been turned off, I don't want to shock him and its not necessary. He used to trigger everyone else but a few nights of yelling like a fish wife out of the window and they all learnt to ignore him. For what it is worth we don't have neighbours so no-one to hear my tuneful tones.
I qould try white noise and radio, try to work out if it is one dog triggering the other and maybe just put the culprits in your room or hallway outside your door?

 

[splashgirl45]

We have an anti bark collar for one of the collies, he barks at night, no trigger as non of the other 7 bark, if there is a trigger than they all bark about it.
He just barks repeatedly in monotone, he will start at 3or 4 am for about 40 mins or so then stop.
The collar he has is not activated by other dogs barking as it is the vibration from his throat that makes it go off not the sound, it makes noises, sounds and can give a shock but that is and always has been turned off, I don't want to shock him and its not necessary. He used to trigger everyone else but a few nights of yelling like a fish wife out of the window and they all learnt to ignore him. For what it is worth we don't have neighbours so no-one to hear my tuneful tones.
I qould try white noise and radio, try to work out if it is one dog triggering the other and maybe just put the culprits in your room or hallway outside your door?

I don’t have a hallway, you go upstairs and straight into the bedroom, I don’t want to start having dogs in the bedroom as I spent quite a bit of money on a nice light grey carpet and I know what a pain it is to keep carpets clean with moulting dogs. I have amtico flooring downstairs for exactly that reason, dogs in the bedroom are a very, very, last resort as I don’t think it would stop them barking, I need something to immediately deter them, I can stop them by shouting quiet from my bedroom but that doesn’t stop them from starting to bark and I’m hoping if this thing works during the day in combination with me saying quiet they might get the message…

 

[Clodagh]

I really don’t think anti bark collars are the work of the devil though, it was instant relief with Scout. It hasn’t changed him in any way, it just vibrates at him, which I presume is unpleasant when triggered. It beeps first.
And I am totally with you on dogs in bedrooms. Although Tawny does come in as we are getting up, she’s the last dog with upstairs access.

 

[twiggy2]

I don’t have a hallway, you go upstairs and straight into the bedroom, I don’t want to start having dogs in the bedroom as I spent quite a bit of money on a nice light grey carpet and I know what a pain it is to keep carpets clean with moulting dogs. I have amtico flooring downstairs for exactly that reason, dogs in the bedroom are a very, very, last resort as I don’t think it would stop them barking, I need something to immediately deter them, I can stop them by shouting quiet from my bedroom but that doesn’t stop them from starting to bark and I’m hoping if this thing works during the day in combination with me saying quiet they might get the message…

I really don’t think anti bark collars are the work of the devil though, it was instant relief with Scout. It hasn’t changed him in any way, it just vibrates at him, which I presume is unpleasant when triggered. It beeps first.
And I am totally with you on dogs in bedrooms. Although Tawny does come in as we are getting up, she’s the last dog with upstairs access.

I dont have dogs in bedrooms either so I do get that, the one thing to check if you buy a collar is how it works, the one we have allows an alert bark or 2 before it vibrates.
I also would not use a collar for walking etc as I would deal with the issue that makes them bark rather than stop the bark.

 

[splashgirl45]

I dont have dogs in bedrooms either so I do get that, the one thing to check if you buy a collar is how it works, the one we have allows an alert bark or 2 before it vibrates.
I also would not use a collar for walking etc as I would deal with the issue that makes them bark rather than stop the bark.

I am not keen on using a collar but wanted other people’s experiences , am more interested in a remote signal to stop barking . One of my terriers is a barker when she sees other dogs and people and it’s quite difficult to stop her when she is excited and I wouldn’t want a collar vibrating non stop if she doesn’t know why it’s happening . I have a pet corrector spray that I have used when the postman etc arrive and that stops them immediately and I can praise for stopping, I now just need to pick the can up and all is quiet. In case anyone thinks I am cruel , It’s not to spray at them you press the button pointing away from them and it hisses so gets their attention quickly.

 

[Ditchjumper2]

I have used an anti Bark collar. We were on holiday and it was a cheap next day delivery from Amazon. It beeps then vibrates. And it worked. She then only had to have it on but not turned on and still respected it. I don't do dogs upstairs either

 

[splashgirl45]

So I got a device that is supposed to stop dogs barking that sits on the table Not a collar. I’m a sceptic about these things which is why I started the thread. Ever since it has been on none of them have barked at night and they bark less during the day. They used to bark if someone walked past the front of my cottage during the day and all I get now is a low growl, they still bark if someone knocks on the door or the postman puts post in the letter box but otherwise it’s very quiet. So maybe it works, I’m still a skeptic but can’t really avoid the evidence of the last couple of weeks.

 

[SilverLinings]

I don't have any experience on anti-bark collars, so unfortunately I can't offer any advice on that.

As you say the dogs are reacting to the noise of the cat could you leave a radio playing all night in the dogs' room, maybe some plinky-plonky type music like jazz that is erratic and most likely to block out the cat noises (which R4 speech programmes probably wouldn't do unless on very loud)?

If the cat is in your garden then I would suggest an ultrasonic cat scarer, which would at least keep the little beggar further away and hopefully make it a bit harder for the dogs to hear it.

Good luck, I hope you manage to settle the dogs at night.

 

[splashgirl45]

I don't have any experience on anti-bark collars, so unfortunately I can't offer any advice on that.

As you say the dogs are reacting to the noise of the cat could you leave a radio playing all night in the dogs' room, maybe some plinky-plonky type music like jazz that is erratic and most likely to block out the cat noises (which R4 speech programmes probably wouldn't do unless on very loud)?

If the cat is in your garden then I would suggest an ultrasonic cat scarer, which would at least keep the little beggar further away and hopefully make it a bit harder for the dogs to hear it.

Good luck, I hope you manage to settle the dogs at night.

It seems you haven’t read the thread or my update I have tried all you have suggested and as I’m in a terraced property music loud enough to stop them hearing the cat would also disturb my neighbours

 

[JBM]

So I got a device that is supposed to stop dogs barking that sits on the table Not a collar. I’m a sceptic about these things which is why I started the thread. Ever since it has been on none of them have barked at night and they bark less during the day. They used to bark if someone walked past the front of my cottage during the day and all I get now is a low growl, they still bark if someone knocks on the door or the postman puts post in the letter box but otherwise it’s very quiet. So maybe it works, I’m still a skeptic but can’t really avoid the evidence of the last couple of weeks.

Extremely interesting do you mind sharing the system you’ve found?

 

[Aperchristmas]

So I got a device that is supposed to stop dogs barking that sits on the table Not a collar. I’m a sceptic about these things which is why I started the thread. Ever since it has been on none of them have barked at night and they bark less during the day. They used to bark if someone walked past the front of my cottage during the day and all I get now is a low growl, they still bark if someone knocks on the door or the postman puts post in the letter box but otherwise it’s very quiet. So maybe it works, I’m still a skeptic but can’t really avoid the evidence of the last couple of weeks.

Great news! If it's working, let's not question it! And if it stops working you'll have other avenues you can explore. I have a feeling that this will break the habit though and you and your neighbours will have a better night's sleep from now on. I'm sure they will appreciate you being so thoughtful about how to fix the problem.

 

[splashgirl45]

Extremely interesting do you mind sharing the system you’ve found?

No problem , I’m happy to share. It has 3 settings and I used it on the small dog setting and it didn’t seem to work so put it on the next one and that did seem to work , I’m still a bit skeptical and wonder if the cat is wandering elsewhere as none of them have barked at all during the night … it’s just run out of charge this morning and it will be interesting to see what happens during the day… I got it from Amazon and it has 5 star reviews but some of them are from a hand held device so I took the reviews with a pinch of salt…

 

[JBM]

No problem , I’m happy to share. It has 3 settings and I used it on the small dog setting and it didn’t seem to work so put it on the next one and that did seem to work , I’m still a bit skeptical and wonder if the cat is wandering elsewhere as none of them have barked at all during the night … it’s just run out of charge this morning and it will be interesting to see what happens during the day… I got it from Amazon and it has 5 star reviews but some of them are from a hand held device so I took the reviews with a pinch of salt…

That’s really cool! I’m off to research how that works! Must be some kind of frequency?
I’m glad it’s worked for you so far, you’re probably getting a better nights sleep!
Maybe the frequency (if that is how it works) annoys the cat and she’s staying away from your house as well? The double team effect

 

[luckyoldme]

I have to reply . I want to say what it's like being the neighbours in this situation.
Our neighbours had dogs barking all night. We like the neighbours but it has severely tested our patience. It has taken everything to not report the issue and literally brought me to tears.
We had this for four years and only managed to cope because we work away during the week.
It's not just the barking, it ends up that you're actually like awake wondering if it's going to start.
I'm not having a go at the op but just saying what it's like for the neighbours.
There are however two things I would like to point out.
1) your dogs are affecting other people's quality of sleep. If I was in that situation I would feel very stressed myself and would do anything I could to stop the problem. ..including having them in the bedroom if that shut them up...at least that way the only person inconvenienced would myself as the owner of the dogs
2) there is no reason why anyone else should change their or their pets behaviour to accommodate your owning dogs. If someone is deliberately setting them off that's different but a cat being let out at night is perfectly normal

 

[Clodagh]

I have to reply . I want to say what it's like being the neighbours in this situation.
Our neighbours had dogs barking all night. We like the neighbours but it has severely tested our patience. It has taken everything to not report the issue and literally brought me to tears.
We had this for four years and only managed to cope because we work away during the week.
It's not just the barking, it ends up that you're actually like awake wondering if it's going to start.
I'm not having a go at the op but just saying what it's like for the neighbours.
There are however two things I would like to point out.
1) your dogs are affecting other people's quality of sleep. If I was in that situation I would feel very stressed myself and would do anything I could to stop the problem. ..including having them in the bedroom if that shut them up...at least that way the only person inconvenienced would myself as the owner of the dogs
2) there is no reason why anyone else should change their or their pets behaviour to accommodate your owning dogs. If someone is deliberately setting them off that's different but a cat being let out at night is perfectly normal

I agree with what you say but OP is doing something about the situation and is determined to stop the barking.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Whilst I know how annoying nuisance barking can be, I just can't ever imagine myself popping a pet animal out the back door at night and thinking 'good luck, hope you don't trespass on anyone else's property, shit in their gardens or annoy anyone else's pets'.

Dog owners are expected to do a lot of accommodation that cat owners are not and the OP is clearly trying her best to resolve the situation.

 

[luckyoldme]

Whilst I know how annoying nuisance barking can be, I just can't ever imagine myself popping a pet animal out the back door at night and thinking 'good luck, hope you don't trespass on anyone else's property, shit in their gardens or annoy anyone else's pets'.

Dog owners are expected to do a lot of accommodation that cat owners are not and the OP is clearly trying her best to resolve the situation.

I'm not saying she isn't, but for me it's interesting to hear it from the other side.
Particularly that the dogs can't sleep in the bedroom.
I haven't got any pets at all so I'm not really interested in the cat ownership v dog ownership argument!
I probably would have a problem with cats too if they came between me and my sleep .

 

[splashgirl45]

I have to reply . I want to say what it's like being the neighbours in this situation.
Our neighbours had dogs barking all night. We like the neighbours but it has severely tested our patience. It has taken everything to not report the issue and literally brought me to tears.
We had this for four years and only managed to cope because we work away during the week.
It's not just the barking, it ends up that you're actually like awake wondering if it's going to start.
I'm not having a go at the op but just saying what it's like for the neighbours.
There are however two things I would like to point out.
1) your dogs are affecting other people's quality of sleep. If I was in that situation I would feel very stressed myself and would do anything I could to stop the problem. ..including having them in the bedroom if that shut them up...at least that way the only person inconvenienced would myself as the owner of the dogs
2) there is no reason why anyone else should change their or their pets behaviour to accommodate your owning dogs. If someone is deliberately setting them off that's different but a cat being let out at night is perfectly normal

If you read my post properly you will see that I am upset about this and was looking for a solution. I was explaining why the dogs were barking and why should a cat be allowed to do exactly what it likes . It wouldn’t kill it to stay in at night and it would also be nice if it didn’t kill the birds which we now have hardly any!!!!! I am friends with my neighbours and this is why it’s been driving me mad. Having them in the bedroom would be right next door to my neighbours bedroom and unless I tape their mouths shut I can’t stop them before they bark!!!! Anyway I seem to have solved it as they haven’t barked at night for a couple of weeks . There is always someone on here that likes to put the boot in without reading all of the post

 

[luckyoldme]

If you read my post properly you will see that I am upset about this and was looking for a solution. I was explaining why the dogs were barking and why should a cat be allowed to do exactly what it likes . It wouldn’t kill it to stay in at night and it would also be nice if it didn’t kill the birds which we now have hardly any!!!!! I am friends with my neighbours and this is why it’s been driving me mad. Having them in the bedroom would be right next door to my neighbours bedroom and unless I tape their mouths shut I can’t stop them before they bark!!!! Anyway I seem to have solved it as they haven’t barked at night for a couple of weeks . There is always someone on here that likes to put the boot in without reading all of the post

If you want to be offended fine.
You have dogs and they keep your neighbours up at night.
I'm merely letting you know what a strain that puts on people.
If people can have dogs barking at night then I can tell people that dogs barking at night is a problem

 

[JBM]

If you want to be offended fine.
You have dogs and they keep your neighbours up at night.
I'm merely letting you know what a strain that puts on people.
If people can have dogs barking at night then I can tell people that dogs barking at night is a problem

The whole point of this thread is that op knows it’s a problem and is looking for solutions.
They are also being kept up at night!
You’ve also commented this AFTER they found a solution already?? Can’t say I understand the point

 

[luckyoldme]

The whole point of this thread is that op knows it’s a problem and is looking for solutions.
They are also being kept up at night!
You’ve also commented this AFTER they found a solution already?? Can’t say I understand the point

The op posted 8 days ago saying the dogs are barking and keeping the neighbours awake.
It's the others neighbours fault because they have a cat doing cat stuff.
Now it's ok because they haven't barked for two weeks.
Weird.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Yes, that's generally what happens in life, there was a problem, there's now a solution, the dogs aren't barking and that's 'OK'. I'm guessing the OP meant 'a couple of days' rather than 'a couple of weeks', because she doesn't have a time machine, but the device she has bought seems to be working, if you read the thread you can see the timeline. The dogs wouldn't be doing dog stuff if the cat wasn't doing cat stuff

 

[splashgirl45]

Yes I did mean days but I was so annoyed I rushed to post, and obviously I know how annoying a barking dog is and I spoke to my neighbours and asked them if they heard the dogs, and when they said they had I apologised and told them what I was trying , they are dog people themselves and they understand. my original question was has anyone tried anti barking devices so I really didn’t need someone making me feel even worse than I did when I posted.. it’s is now 7 nights with no barking