E Collar

[Flaves]

I had a complaint yesterday from the council about Daire barking - although i am not 100% sure it is him as they said it was a high pitched bark adn he has a deep one, anyway

I have moved them to another area of our yard to see if that helps remove them from teh area they were barking

Also i was wanting to know how the e collars work - if that is the right term.

The council refers to them as shock collars.

IF it is him, he is smart enough to learn quickly that barking is not ok

I am getting one to use and want to know the best way to train him with it

Thanks in advance

[Dory the Doted One]

Hey...did you think about asking the council officer to ask the complaint to keep a log of when the dog is barking? It shows that you are interested in resolving the problem and will give you a greater idea of what is going on.

I did this many years ago when I had a complaint, the whinger couldn't be bothered, but the other neighbours graciously provided me with the details....it wasn't my dogs barking.

I think the more information you are given the better it will help you to rectify the problem (if indeed there is one...another whinge a few years befoe the first was hysterical....because I was home 24/7...and the dogs were in the house!!!!)

I think the shock collars should be option of last resort....councils are just lazy and want to get the problem resolved as quickly as they can without thinking about the impact this might have on the wellbeing of the dog in question. Understandable when you consider how nasty some neighbour disputes can be....but still.....lazy man's solution.

[Erny]

The council refers to them as shock collars.

A good indicator they're not up with current understanding and knowledge of how far the collars have come since the 'days of old'.

I am getting one to use and want to know the best way to train him with it

The anti-bark e-collars do much of the 'work' for you. You might want to consider collar conditioning him first though, to reduce the possibility of him becoming 'collar wise'. The important thing is to use a good quality collar. I use the Dogtra with the settings I can set to suit the dog, rather than those collars which have 'set' settings and which range through the stim levels depending on whether the dog continues to bark.

Of course, it is also a matter of being certain there is no specific "cause" for the barking. If there is and you don't work on that aspect at the same time, Daire's barking behaviour could manifest in another or additional unwanted behaviour.

Before you begin using one, I'd be setting situations up so that you can be sure that it IS Daire that is the 'problem' barker.

IHF ... you also need to be aware that although good anti-bark e-collars now operate via vibration (as opposed to the older styles which were triggered by noise whether it came from the dog wearing it or not - those styles I think would be more suited to some neighourhood cats ). This means that if your dogs are mucking around and they end up knocking the transmittor, Daire could end up receiving a stim from the collar even though he may not have barked. If the dogs are in close proximity to each other Daire might pair the stim with your other dog/s.

[Flaves]

They have told me that unless the complainant rings them next friday then it is finished with

If they call next week then they will have to do the diary.

I asked the lady behind, as we got her complain as HUnta had dug a hole halfway into her yard and she was concerned -and i actually think that the barking was related to this, and she said she only hears them playing sometimes and the only time she hears them bark is when we get home because they are excited.

When i spoke to the council the ranger said 'i listened to him bark for 25 minutes'.

I said that i understood as barking dogs drive me insane but did he think that maybe they were barking as one had tried to dig to play with the neighbours dog, one they have only had 2 weeks

His answer was 'No'

I have fixed the holes and changed my electric fence set up so they cannot access the fenceline so that issue is sorted.

The barking, well i dont think it is them, yes they bark but not often and not constantly.

The complaint was at a high pitched bark which cannot be Daire

Also i have on a number of occassions told Daire off only to find him asleep - it was our other neighbours dogs.

So if I can make that mistake, then so can a neighbour.

I am happy to try anything as i will NOT get rid of one of my dogs.

I even said to the council - 'Give me a letter saying i can get my dogs debarked'

They wouldnt but am happy i am doing something about it

The ranger actually pushed the collar angle at me, a friend has one so i thought i could try it, it cant hurt

[Flaves]

The council refers to them as shock collars.

A good indicator they're not up with current understanding and knowledge of how far the collars have come since the 'days of old'.

I am getting one to use and want to know the best way to train him with it

The anti-bark e-collars do much of the 'work' for you. You might want to consider collar conditioning him first though, to reduce the possibility of him becoming 'collar wise'. The important thing is to use a good quality collar. I use the Dogtra with the settings I can set to suit the dog, rather than those collars which have 'set' settings and which range through the stim levels depending on whether the dog continues to bark.

Of course, it is also a matter of being certain there is no specific "cause" for the barking. If there is and you don't work on that aspect at the same time, Daire's barking behaviour could manifest in another or additional unwanted behaviour.

Before you begin using one, I'd be setting situations up so that you can be sure that it IS Daire that is the 'problem' barker.

IHF ... you also need to be aware that although good anti-bark e-collars now operate via vibration (as opposed to the older styles which were triggered by noise whether it came from the dog wearing it or not - those styles I think would be more suited to some neighourhood cats ). This means that if your dogs are mucking around and they end up knocking the transmittor, Daire could end up receiving a stim from the collar even though he may not have barked. If the dogs are in close proximity to each other Daire might pair the stim with your other dog/s.

Thanks Erny.

As i said, i honestly dont think it is him

Personally i think they dont like ANY dog barking - neither do i, but they could have spoken to me as i would have done something immediately

I haved move the dogs to the run on the other side of the house

I want to set up a sound recorder so i can hear if it is my dogs and how often and for what lengths of time

I spoke to my other neighbour last night for a bout an hour and i heard them twice playing - not barking just wrestling

When and if i use it on Daire i was planning on putting him in the yard seperate from the girls, him in the run and them in the yard as i am petrified a repeat of Barker will happen if one has a collar on with the rest of them

[Erny]

As i said, i honestly dont think it is him. ... Personally i think they dont like ANY dog barking ...

Dog barking can be very annoying when it occurs excessively and I fully understand (as you do) the frustrations of people who live nearby to dogs who consistently voice off. However, if it is a matter of them just being 'cranky' (and I've met those sorts too) and insist that it is your dog where you have checked to the best of your ability and beg to disagree, one possibility is to have Daire stay elsewhere for a period. Your neighbours would at some stage (if the complaint went further and unresolved) need to make diary notes of when Daire was barking and for how long and it is a very big tell-tale if they report him as barking on a day he wasn't even around.

[PooMother]

Im hearing you Flava. Daire most def does not have a high pitched bark

[Flaves]

As i said, i honestly dont think it is him. ... Personally i think they dont like ANY dog barking ...

Dog barking can be very annoying when it occurs excessively and I fully understand (as you do) the frustrations of people who live nearby to dogs who consistently voice off. However, if it is a matter of them just being 'cranky' (and I've met those sorts too) and insist that it is your dog where you have checked to the best of your ability and beg to disagree, one possibility is to have Daire stay elsewhere for a period. Your neighbours would at some stage (if the complaint went further and unresolved) need to make diary notes of when Daire was barking and for how long and it is a very big tell-tale if they report him as barking on a day he wasn't even around.

that is the plan Erny. I have moved them round this week and if it goes further and they have to fill in the diary i will either crate him inside or take him to a friends for a week to see if that changes their diary

Once of the biggest tells for me is that the anger said they bark at night

my dogs sleep in my room and are in fro around 8pm each night

So it CANNOT be them barking at night - it is impossible

Im hearing you Flava. Daire most def does not have a high pitched bark

i know. the neighbours gsd does though as she is only 6mo and she DOES bark a lot

[BigBen]

I tried the bark collar on a rescue I had (unfortunately had to be pst due to people aggression)...

The only thing that happened was that he learned to count..