Is it humane to use a shock collar to control excessive barking?
I have found no method of training that will control barking in small nervous dogs. Noise, vibration and spray collars all failed.
LOOKING FOR ACTUAL RESEARCH TO BACK UP CLAIMS
@Ch Mickey UD
You’re a fool.
The dogs are yorkshire terrier/poodle crosses. They get an hour or longer run in the forest off leashes.
Tags: dogs, fool, leashes, mickey, noise vibration, poodle, yorkshire, yorkshire terrier
August 29th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
A shock collar helped with one of my dogs. For the rest, I could train them just fine. Something else that people don’t often think about..small dogs need just as much exercise as do big dogs. I know. I’ve owned all sizes. So take your dogs running every day or almost every day. A tired dog is a quiet dog.
Some people have had a lot of success using squirt guns, spray bottles, etc. It worked the first time on my one dog, but when my husband’s nephew moved in, the barking started up again and the spraying didn’t work. So we went with a shock collar that worked. The nephew moved out a few months later.
You’ll probably get a lot of flack for using shock collars, but sometimes nothing else works. I know plenty of people where they only had to use the shock collar once or twice when everything else failed.
August 29th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
It is actually more humane and effective to have the dog undergo a bark softening procedure.
It is a five minute procedure done under anasthesia that will leave your dog with a soft bark that will not annoy you or the neighbors.
Dogs will happily bark right through a bark collar, ignoring the shock.
Bark softening is more humane and effective.
Here is factual information about the procedure
http://www.naiaonline.org/articles/archives/debark_qna.htm
August 29th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
It’s not the shock I have a problem with it is the prongs. I have seen many dogs with very bad wounds from the prongs rubbing on their skin.
Shock collars have 2 small metal prongs that sit on the dogs throat, this is what delivers the shock. Whenever the dog moves their head, these little prongs rub.
If you are using it for short intervals for training purposes then it would be fine, but if you planned on leaving it on the dog that would be a big no, it is not humane.
ADD – Debarking or bark softening is illegal in some countries so check first.
August 29th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
"small nervous dogs" – what, are you using shock collars on Chihuahuas? That is sick! You obviously have not trained them properly. Well, apparently you have used passive methods and not actually time with hands on training. It is not humane. Humane is an abstract concept, it is a matter of opinion just as some people think beating a dog with a 2 X 4 is a human way to train it.
You can google for plenty of accounts of shock collars killing dogs and not helping.
Most dogs bark because they are left alone and are bored.
August 29th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
Discipline your dogs and be consistant about it. My dog (11 month old great dane/boxer/rotweiller) doesn’t bark at all unless you provoke it while playing. I have honestly only heard her bark once in the last 2-3 months.
She simply knows that she is not allowed to bark and so she doesn’t. Even when other dogs are barking at her, or when she sees people walk by the house. She does do a very quiet growl when people come to the door, but it’s just enough to hear and stops as soon as it starts. We allow that because it’s nice to know when people are at the door
You are in control, so show it.