We used a spray bottle of water and the "quite" command with both our dogs. If we are walking them and see someone coming toward us...we just say "quite" and they usually won't bark.
My neighbor Pat summed up her experience with no-bark collars quite nicely:
Her Schnauzer Max is used to their quiet country home - so when they come to their cottage (next door to us) on a busy lake with lots of neighbors/dogs/kids/activity - Max will bark. A LOT. Pat spent a lot of time trying to keep Max quiet - and of course her husband grew upset with the dog for all the noise he was making and wanted to get rid of the dog... finally it got to the point where they didn't always bring him along - but then they needed to leave early because the dog was home, etc. Or he'd get locked in the house, while the rest of the family was outside. Bottom line, Max was causing a lot of resentment. And that's never good.
Then Pat bought a no-bark collar. Max made the connection right away that barking caused him discomfort - so he shut up. Once he shut up, he got to go to the cottage each weekend, and go for boat rides and play with the grandkids and run along the fence with MY dogs - Max was finally having a bunch of fun instead of getting yelled at. And because he could run and play, he got tired, which just lowered his whole energy level and made him a truly loveable dog to have around.
Now I know that with diligent training, Max could probably have been taught to not bark. Yes, the widget is a shortcut. But if the shortcut produces happy humans and happy dogs - is it so awful?? It's not like Max wears the collar daily - only when the level of stimuli that create the urge to bark is high.
The fact that the dog isn't barking isn't in an of itself "bad." What is bad is that this is still a dog that's out at the lake with no manners, no respect, and no obedience. Which we know without asking, because a dog that has manners, respect, and obedience doesn't bark uncontrollably. And since that lack of training and respect, enabled by the widget, could easily get him killed, it is very bad indeed.
susan
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a wabbit, Fuzzy Wuzzy had a dandelion habit! RIP little Wuz... don't go far.
I am no dog expert, but it has been my limited experience that some breeds are less likely to bark, some breeds are easier to train, and some dogs will bark their heads off unless the behaviour is consistently corrected.
Our first dog was a Border Collie, Lab, Blue Heeler cross. She only barked when a stranger came to our house. When camping she was quiet, she would growl a warning if someone came into our site, but that was it. As soon as I spoke to her she would quiet down.
Mum's dog is a Multi, Lhaso crossed with other small yappy dog. She never corrected his behaviour when it came to barking. One weekend spent at my house and he no longer barks when he is visiting. We live on a very busy street and there is lots of stimulation. I would remove him from the perch that let him see outside, call him Bad Dog in a stern voice and after 2 days he stopped barking. I never hurt him and he still comes to me for affection, just does not bark when I am around.
IMO there are some situations for which a no-bark collar is just the right tool. I agree one should never be used as a first step. To say that a dog who barks more than an acceptable amount has NO manners, obedience or respect is simply not true. Just like most things in life, dog training isn't an all or nothing thing. It's a process, a continuum. A dog who needs work in one area may very well exhibit excellent manners, respect and obedience in other areas.
* This post was
edited 04/10/12 07:09pm by Pawz4me *
Me and the DH
Two boys and two dogs (and two cats who prefer to stay home)
2008 Forest River Georgetown 350DS (bunkhouse model)
2001 Honda CR-V
I agree 100% Pawz. Not only that but My estimation of (needs work) might be very different from the next guys. Respect is a very powerful word, Human or animal.
Dogs will be dogs. 99.9% of us use widgets to control them - isn't a fence a widget because we aren't absolutely positive they'll stay in the yard? Isn't a leash a widget because there's always that outside chance they'll take off after a squirrel?? I suppose there ARE dogs who are so perfectly trained that they never make a misstep - but *I* prefer mine to have their own personality....LOL!
Whether or not my neighbor has her Schnauzer perfectly trained is none of my business - I figure Max is much safer in the care of people who are concerned with his conduct rather than ignoring him.
Deb and Ed M wrote: Dogs will be dogs. 99.9% of us use widgets to control them - isn't a fence a widget because we aren't absolutely positive they'll stay in the yard? Isn't a leash a widget because there's always that outside chance they'll take off after a squirrel?? I suppose there ARE dogs who are so perfectly trained that they never make a misstep - but *I* prefer mine to have their own personality....LOL!
Whether or not my neighbor has her Schnauzer perfectly trained is none of my business - I figure Max is much safer in the care of people who are concerned with his conduct rather than ignoring him.
You're exactly right. Fences and leashes are often widgets. I've known more than one person who used their leash or their fence as a way to avoid training their dog. And I've had to listen to them tell me how the dog died when it "got loose." From what I hear, watching your dog ignore you calling it and run in front of a car is not a lot of fun. Watching it die afterwards is even less fun, if that's possible.
But using a leash as a back-up to training is not a widget. It's a safety measure the same as using a seatbelt in your car. You do it because it's the law and because something could happen, and if it does the leash keeps the dog safer. Using a leash and saying "I never let my dog off of it's leash" is using a widget, and it's a set-up for disaster. Ditto a fence. There's a difference between having a dog that might at some point when the owner is not there, leave the yard, and a dog that, with the owner standing there telling it to stop, continues to challenge passersby, or "runs off" and won't come when called. There's a difference between backing up your dog's training when you walk down the street by putting a leash on it to both comply with the law and ensure that if the dog forgets itself and bolts after a cat, it won't end up dead, and having a dog that you can't stop from barking excessively when it is standing in front of you,in a situation that it's been in repeatedly.
Again, the problem is not that the collar stops the barking, its that it stops the effort to learn how to handle and train the dog. Anything that causes people not to train their dogs is a bad thing. I think it's great that they love their dog and want to include him, but what they need to do is include themselves in a good obedience class and learn how to teach their dog to behave in public.
I've worked with some of the best trained dogs there are, searching for criminals in the dead of night. I've worked with and owned dogs in SAR, and I've had more than one dog that people tended to regard as "perfect." None of them lacked personality, or the ability to have fun. They in fact all have a lot more fun because they can be taken into situations that dogs without their manners and skills cannot, and because they can be given more freedoms than most dogs, and more chances to interact with other dogs and with people. That allows their personalities to develop and to shine. Poor manners and disobedience are not necessary to personality, and strapping a shock collar to a dog's throat is not what I consider to be a personality booster, either.
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