idk what to do about the barking!!!

I have two beagles.... one is 5 and the other is 1... they are really loud, especially at night... I just got into a little arguement with a neighbor who lives behind me... she kept yelling for my dog to shut up, not realizing that is whats making her continue!!

the 5 year old is the one with the issue... the puppy barks but she doesnt do it as often...

im considering getting a bark collar... this has gone on too long... we have a baby coming and somehow this needs to stop... I would really rather not get a bark collar, cuz im afraid of them!! but im not sure of any other options...

does anyone have any advice? whether it be what to do to get them to stop, or advice on a good, bark collar that wont hurt them??


thank you!!

idk what to do about the barking!!!

I have experience with both bark collars and electronic collars in general as well as dealing with barking. If you want to try training before investing in a bark collar then there are a few different ways to do it...

Only take your dogs out supervised. If they start barking you call them to you or they go back inside. If they are not coming when you called then they need to go out on leashes.

You could also try using a high frequency ultrasonic tone. My dogs did not do well with this but I know of some other dogs that this works well with. You can get one that you control or you can get one that just goes off when they bark. You can get both one for inside for you to use and one for outside that goes off when they bark.

You can try a squirt bottle filled with 1/3 isopropyl alcohol and 2/3 water OR bitter apple spray which is the same thing but has bitters in it.

Or you can try using a penny can (fill an empty soda can with 10 pennies and put tape on top) when they start carrying on either shake the can or throw the can at them to startle them. I am not saying bean the dogs in the head with a can, but do make contact. See how they respond to that.

I personally have no problem with electronic collars. I know some people do, although most of the people that do have not actually used them or felt the collar work. There are many settings on a good electronic collar (vibration, a warning tone, and stimulations levels from 0-150) most of which feel like a slight buzzing until you get to the higher levels. Some settings you wouldn't even be able to feel.


Most of the people that have a bad experiences or negative opinions on electronic collars have never tried using them or have seen the results of someone who used the collar incorrectly or abuses the collar. A big part of that is training the dogs on the collar BEFORE you use it for behavior modification. The dog needs to be expecting the simulation or it may not understand what is causing the shock and attack your other dog or they might think the neighbor is causing the shock which may make the dog more aggressive to the neighbor and other people. The biggest problem with e collars is that most people do not know how to tell when the dog "feels" the collar. The dog should not yelp, jump, or bolt when it gets a pulse. The reaction should be very slight, maybe a muscle flick, a head flinch or a blink of an eye.

E-collars can be very bad in inexperienced or cruel hands, just like any other collar. A leash and a regular collar can be a tether to it's owner or it can be a noose and whip in the wrong hands.

In your situation with having 2 dogs you really need to train them on the collars completely and separately from each other before using it for the barking. I wouldn't attempt it unless I had a trainer come in to set up the sensitivity and oversee the initial training. Especially if your dogs are shy, insecure, timid, overly submissive.

Another type of bark collar is a citronella collar where when the dog barks it emits a blast of citronella spray. Similar to the spray bottle of bitter apple or alcohol but you don't need to be outside.

No matter how you try to fix the barking it will take a little effort on your part because you need to be consistent. If you decide to train while you are in the yard you might find that they become trained when you are outside but then it all goes out the window once you are not in the yard to supervise.

Personally, if I was PG I would look more into full featured e-collar training (a regular electronic collar instead of a bark collar) something that you can control because when you have a baby in the house there are going to be times where you are not going to be able to jump up and physically restrain the dogs. The e collar will fill in for those times. You can use it from a different room and you can use it instantly vs putting the baby down and walking outside or to a different room. I am not sure how many settings a bark collar has on it but e collars are much more flexible.
Another problem with any bark or e collar is most people do not put them on correctly. They are almost always put on too loose and that gives inconsistent results or requires the owner to turn the collar up to a higher setting than needed. Thus sometimes it works and sometimes the dog is getting too sever of a correction. Also since both probes need to touch the dog, you may need to shave down (and maintain) a good size of fur on their neck so you get a proper connection.

Again you have to have proper training on the collars, the dogs have to be trained separately and it has to happen long before the baby come in the house. You do not want the dogs to associate the collars with the baby or each other. If you can't afford to get a trainer to come in for several sessions I wouldn't attempt it at all. People put the collars on way too high of a setting.

As for the best collars to use, most trainers use dogtra collars. For 2 dogs if you wanted to get an e collar, I would say use the 302m model which has 1 remote and 2 collars so you do not have to carry around 2 remotes. Also the collars and remote are color coded so you know which dog gets which buttons. Dogtra also makes bark collars. I believe the IQ is the newest version. I would make sure it has a warning tone and as many intensity levels as you can get.

I have an awesome dog trainer who works with e-collars as well as several other methods. She is very gentle and calm. She is not a bully or aggressive at all. She would be a great person to call if you decided to try electronic collar training or any other different approach.

Message edited 4/26/2013 9:31:15 AM.

Re: idk what to do about the barking!!!

Get this. It worked miracles in my house with 3 large dogs.

Sonic Egg

Re: idk what to do about the barking!!!

Do you walk them? Most of the time a dog barks out of boredom. My one dog needed at least an hour walk a day (but he was high energy) or else he would bark and chew everything in the house

Re: idk what to do about the barking!!!

Thank you all for your responses!!

My dogs bark at everything... sometimes nothing at all...

if they see a squirrel... forget even trying to stop them...


i will def try all ur suggestions!

idk what to do about the barking!!!

I have a collar that gives a warning beep first and on the next bark within 30 seconds gives a static shock. I did it to myself multiple times before I used it and it feels like when someone touches you and gives you a shock. It's more just of an annoying feeling. My dog stopped barking within a day or two of use. People can say it's cruel but my life was becoming crazy bc of the barking.

Re: idk what to do about the barking!!!

I tried the spray bottle and it worked in minutes. Now I just keep it on the counter and motion to it.

But, also my friend told me that before he goes to shock collars he uses a collar that sprays citronella under the nose. He says it works pretty well and after they understand it and the barking is under control, he just turns it off and leaves it on.

link

Message edited 4/28/2013 7:59:26 AM.

Re: idk what to do about the barking!!!

We tried the bark collar and my poor dog was terrified. After a long road of incessant barking, we tried Xanax. My dog had severe anxiety. When we got him to calm down we were able to do behavior therapy.

Good luck. It is such a hard thing.

Re: idk what to do about the barking!!!

My dog barks at every sound she hears at the door, real or imagined, and what helps stop the barking is when I put her on the leash and keep her by my side, I have heard it referred to as teethering. It seems to stop her. Now, if she starts, I just say to her that I'm gonna get the leash and she comes running back.

idk what to do about the barking!!!

There is nothing better for bonding and training with your dog than tethering (my trainers call it umbilical cord training) and having your dog be supervised with you in the room at all times when they are young. It makes them much better pets for life.