Hunny Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 Our 3 year old labby loves to bark. She will bark for attention (although is not so bad with that anymore) will bark when she see's people walking past, can see the neighbours, the neighbour's cats, birds, horses being ridden, when it's windy, when the leaves flutter on trees, she will often sit out on her bed on the verandah and throw out a bark here and there at the sky I am sure, she will bark at nothing much in particular. She is a very happy and extremely socialable dog. She loves going to the kennels when we go away, and the kennel owner said she is the first one to bark when he is around. She is a gorgeous dog but she just loves the sound of her own voice. I've been told about vibration dog collars. Are they good? Or a big no-no??? Thank you. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosetta Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 Unless it bothers you or you have complaints I wouldn't worry about it personally. But if you need to use a collar I think the vibration collar is the best to start with - the most gentle option IMO - and better than the citronella collar which behaviourists have told me is awful for dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poodle wrangler Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 I had a persistent barker, causing neighbour problems. Tried the collar that made a noise- worked for 48 hours only- until he got used to it. Used an ecollar as last resort: Effective, so that I only had to put the collar on (battery worn out) for him to stop barking. If the barking isn't bothering the neighbours, I'd not waste $$ on collars. Ecollars are only designed to be worn for ~6 hours, so if no-one's home 8hours+, they're no solution, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 Unless it bothers you or you have complaints I wouldn't worry about it personally. But if you need to use a collar I think the vibration collar is the best to start with - the most gentle option IMO - and better than the citronella collar which behaviourists have told me is awful for dogs. I must admit, I thought the same :). I have dogs who love to bark at the birds and this wasn't a particularly big issue, until a new neighbour moved in next door and put out a bird feeder . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunny Posted November 23, 2013 Author Share Posted November 23, 2013 Thank you for your lovely replies. I've not had any complaints from neighbours, I do check with closest ones to make sure they are not getting annoyed. I've never had a dog that has barked so much before and it's the only thing that that bothers me...it's probably just me and the OH that worry about it though. She does have quite strong opinions! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 Unless it bothers you or you have complaints I wouldn't worry about it personally. But if you need to use a collar I think the vibration collar is the best to start with - the most gentle option IMO - and better than the citronella collar which behaviourists have told me is awful for dogs. I have used a collar that had both vibration and 'stim' mode options for training with Labs. They HATED the vibration mode, but didn't seem to mind a low stim (I never used a high level). I disagree that vibration is the gentler option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 Yep agree - if it's not bothering you or the neighbours then ignore it. Collars as a last result and not citronella - have seen dogs completely shut down, change personality, become very unhappy and withdraw with their use. If you need to try a collar try a pheromone collar like Adaptil first, then vibration - nothing else IMO. Some Adaptil spray in beds during the day I found helped as well and made for a happy but quieter Westie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 She does have quite strong opinions! :) Don't think Labradors are known for their "shrinking violet" personalities. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
korbin13 Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Personally I would be addressing the issue now before it does become a complaint and then that adds stress to the situation. And just because no one has complained yet, doesn't mean it's not disturbing people. Some councils have collars that you can hire, so that may be an option before forking out a lot of money for one. Or perhaps a reputable behaviourist? Good luck with it and good for you for thinking of your neighbours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Personally I would be addressing the issue now before it does become a complaint and then that adds stress to the situation. And just because no one has complained yet, doesn't mean it's not disturbing people. Some councils have collars that you can hire, so that may be an option before forking out a lot of money for one. Or perhaps a reputable behaviourist? Good luck with it and good for you for thinking of your neighbours exactly, I would put up with it for a while hoping the owner was trying to fix it, if it didn't stop I would compain. Dogs that bark all the time annoy the crap out of me. Dogs that bark and shut up don't worry me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Dogs that bark and shut up don't worry me. I may have misinterpreted the OP's post, but it sounded as though her dog is that sort of barker :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 To me it sounds like she barks a lot. I may be wrong though. Barking occasionally at something then being quiet wouldn't bother me, but barking very regularly and often would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosetta Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 It seems to me the obvious thing to try first is to remove the dog from the stimuli as much as possible. A quiet room inside or an enclosed den outside for a few hours a day may quieten her down. The OP has checked with the neighbours and nobody is bothered. It is better to try simple measures first rather than calling in behaviourists etc. Hopefully she is allowed inside Hunny? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunny Posted November 24, 2013 Author Share Posted November 24, 2013 Thanks everyone :) Danny's Darling...she certainly is no shrinking violet! :laugh: She does bark a lot, but she does stop also. From what I can gather from the neighbours, she doesn't bark at all really during the day when we are not here..I thinks she spends all day sleeping and conserving her energy for when we are home! She sleeps at night in the laundry. She used to be able to go in and out to the garden as well, but we've stopped that after she'd go out and bark for awhile, then come back in for a bit..go back out and bark a bit more...etc etc....when it was time to get up, our eyes were hanging out of our heads and she's be snoring her head off. She barks mostly in the morning at the walkers, neighbours moving about, everyones cats....and in the evening for the same reason. If we are out in the paddock, and people are walking past, she will stand and shout at them. She can get pretty vocal about it all. If she barks continually, we put her inside the laundry for a short while and she is fine then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Oh I didn't add, good on you for being proactive about your dog, :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poodle wrangler Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 I've been doing some clicker training with our new puppy and there are free videos for dealing with barking. I'm new to clicker training, so perhaps others can advise where to start? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizT Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 I had a persistent barker, causing neighbour problems. Tried the collar that made a noise- worked for 48 hours only- until he got used to it. Used an ecollar as last resort: Effective, so that I only had to put the collar on (battery worn out) for him to stop barking. If the barking isn't bothering the neighbours, I'd not waste $$ on collars. Ecollars are only designed to be worn for ~6 hours, so if no-one's home 8hours+, they're no solution, anyway. The E-collar I used to break my GSD of barking habit had a "No longer than 12 hours" recommendation..so was fine for overnight while I was at work (night shift) and the family slept but my neighbour didn't! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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