Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 11-15 of 297
 Worked Perfect! May 30, 2006
E. Antic (Erie, PA)
20 out of 21 found this review helpful
Well here's the story of two occasional barkers and one terribly nasty neighbor.
About my dogs:
Ginger: Jack Russel/ Beagle mix, 30lbs, 3 years old, short hair, spayed, female.
Guppy: Sheltie/ Beagle mix, 28lbs, apox 6 years old, med-long hair, spayed, female.
Both are crate trained, however they are not generally crated on a regular basis and never more than 6-8 hours. They have never barked while crated. In fact the only time they do bark is at the rabbits in my yard, or when the doorbell rings, or maybe once when they need to be let outside. I am currently unemployed so my dogs have been able to play out in the yard since the spring. They have had more than adequate attention, exercise, and walks as a good chunk of my day is spent playing with them, or working in the yard supervising them. We even have central air, when they are alone even in summer, they are always comfortable. They have kongs and other toys to keep them busy. They travel with us on family vacations and they participate in camping, hiking, etc. They're alone about 50% of the time. We do not spend so much time with them that it would seem abnormal to them to be alone. Generally speaking they are very well behaved, well socialized, healthy, and well taken care of dogs. Previous to our townhouse, we lived in an apartment complex and received no barking complaints what so ever.
About my Housing:
I have lived in my townhouse for over three years, and got along with the neighbors just fine. Then one day our one neighbor started complaining about dog poop. Our yards are fenced off, so I have my own yard. I pick up poop twice a week, and none really gets near the fence. No one, including my landlord, understood the sudden BS from that neighbor. There wasn't much poop to speak of, and my yard is my yard. Period. And so, I suppose, the feud began.
About the Barking:
After the feud started, and in three years, we got two complaints about barking: One was when our beagle/jack russel mix was just adopted, and the other was a year and a half later when the neighbor called the police. The first time ~I~ was actually barking and making a racket while teaching my dog the "Speak" command. If you can teach them to speak, you can tell them not to speak. The other involved a police officer standing in my front bushes shinning a flashlight into my window. The first time was a human making noise, the second...well if someone shines a light into my house, while climbing in my landscaping....at night....it's my dogs JOB to bark. As far as I am concerned: Case Dismissed. No other complaints were ever made by any neighbor. So on a whim we decided to video tape our dogs and take a 15-20 minute walk. They howled. They howled non-stop. We were pretty surprised because we can't imagine any behavior this bad, since the feud started, and ~not~ having been cited by the police or evicted in three years. So it must be fairly new. The video tape also revealed my neighbor pounding on the wall and yelling non-stop. It's not clear if the wall pounding or the barking started first...but it was clear my neighbor had successfully reinforced my dogs barking behavior. Surprisingly both dogs howled, and one has a history of abuse prior to her adoption, and hardly makes noise of any kind, let alone howl. So this was a problem. A big problem. As they did not bark when we were home, and how could I control or punish this behavior if I was not home? That night the police showed up right after we made our video. They said if we actually got caught, we would have been fined. My neighbor has a long history of harassment, and even if my dogs were tempted to bark by my neighbor, I knew it wouldn't be good for my lease if I actually got cited. Although two complaints in three years seemed really minor. So if they barked this much on a regular basis I would have expected more than two complaints and I did not.
The Solution:
I am vehemently against electric shock collars and de-barking surgery, and consider them to be ~~exceptionally~~ cruel. (Electric shock collars are even illegal in some countries for this reason.) So those were not options for me. I would move first. After a long night on the internet I decided to try the citronella collar. Independent studies have shown they are much more effective than shock collars for barious reasons, and many many reviews here at Amazon and pet supply websites were positive. So we gave it a try.
You can not put the collar on the dog and have a quick fix! As with anything concerning dogs, you have to be there to further the training. If you want a quick fix...this is not necessarily it. It takes several days to work. Although....as far as barking goes......that is pretty quick. We decided to use it on Ginger, as Guppy seemed to howl with her but only after she started. Ginger is also the most persistent barker, while Guppy gives an occasional warning low bark at the doorbell etc. The manual states that you should be there to supervise the dog in the beginning. This is important because the collar holds about 25 barks/sprays. If your dog was persistent enough, and smart enough, they will quickly learn that after barking for 5 minutes, they are now scott free to bark all they want. I think if you reach this point, the collar no longer has any meaning and you can forget about it working if they learn to out smart it. So if you're going to spend the $100.....make sure you have a weekend to put into the training.
Also it is crucial that you adjust the collar so that it has just the right amount of space between the dogs throat and the spay-box. Too much space and the collar will go off at random noises, too tight and it might not go off at all. The manual suggest that gravity keeps the box at the dogs throat, so if they scratch and it gets kicked to the back of their neck, it should gently fall back to place at their neck when they sit up. That's been the best rule of thumb for me. It is not supposed to pick up the barking at the mouth, it is supposed to pick up the vocal cords at the throat.
Also it should be noted that this is not intended to control whimpering or crying. This is to control the full blown bark. Living in an apt attached to another apt all I really needed to do was to control full blown barking. They will learn quickly that they can fly under the radar with a whimper. I don't' particularly care about that myself. Dogs bark. You wouldn't want to spend the whole day totally silent, and neither do they.
I only use this collar about 20 hours a week. It should NEVER be used 24/7. In fact once it is used properly for a few weeks, you should not need it at all. The key to this collar is that it disrupts barking consistently. It does not necessarily punish the barking. The spray is fast, slightly loud, and lemony fresh. So they feel it, hear it, and smell it. It is designed to take away attention from what makes them bark. They even sell non-scented spray for anyone who finds the odor offensive. I hardly smell it at all myself, and it isn't sticky.
Personally I still felt bad in using it. My dogs did not understand where the spray was coming from, and they will run from it at the beginning. They don't run from the collar, but they do know now what it does. And they will not bark when it's on.
Actually Ginger does not have to wear it anymore at all. We got a new neighbor whose dog barks NON STOP. And Ginger would bark right back at her nonstop. We tried for days to socialize the dogs so they could be outside at the same time. Guppy would give up after a few minutes, but Ginger and the neighbors dogs would bark at one another until hey were raw. After we used the citronella collar, and Ginger learned barking was unacceptable, she didn't bark under most circumstances. The neighbors dog still barks non stop at her but she just stares or whimpers. We had 5 baby bunnies the in the backyard, and she did not bark. We visit a friends farm occasionally where Ginger's run into turkeys, cows, goats, and cats....things she generally only sees once a year or so. So she has been exposed to a number of things which would make her bark, and a few new things since. There has been very very little or no barking since the collar and without her having to wear it.
We've videotaped the dogs at home about 10-12 times now with FANTASTIC results while no one was home, and as I mentioned before she's been taken to a few get togethers at farms and places she's never been, with people she's never met, and there was no barking with or with out the collar.
In fact today Guppy cornered a rabbit just out of her reach, and she barked at it nonstop. I went out and put the collar on her, thought I thought her hair might be a little too long for it, and it worked great. After 3 sprays you could tell she wanted to bark very badly, but she did not.
A Few Tips:
* You really have to start out using it in a situation you know your dog will bark. Especially with occasional barkers. For me I got my other neighbor to bring out her dog. This gave me a chance for my dog to try to bark quite a few times under my supervision with out letting the spray running out and reassuring her she was a good dog. You should do this for a few days to make sure they don't outsmart it. It took me about 2 days with a fair amount of want-to-bark situations to make sure Ginger was properly trained.
* The battery is very odd, but you can find it at photo depts. in Target or Wal-Mart rather than paying the obscene prices at pet stores.
* Once your dog learns what the collar does and the barking is under control, I use it switched off a good part of the time. Maybe every other time I use it I turn it on. This way you don't run down the batteries, but the dogs get pretty consistent feedback. Other people have even bought one collar, trained a number of dogs, then made "Dummy" collars with fake boxes on them that don' spray. Hopefully you will not need the collar after you train, but if you do there are a number of cost effective ways to use it.
*If you must buy the collar in store....bargain with a manager about the price. They normally run $20-30 more expensive in store, and are almost ALWAYS on sale online. Petsmart will honor their own web prices. PetCo only seemed to honor Petsmarts prices, but not the web prices. So find out when they are on sale, or buy them online. Usually they come with free shipping.
* I'm told you can rent them in some states from vets and kennels. Call around. On the off chance it won't work for you, you won't have dropped the $90-100 on the collar. Or check eBay for a cheap one.
*Because they are about $100 I find pet stores don't move them in and out of stock very much. For this reason you may find you bought one that DOES NOT come with an on/off switch. It is an older model...and it is not worth $100. This model runs down the battery significantly. You will not be happy with this model. Return it.
So.....that's the story. I'm sure everyone's situation and dog is different. The collar worked WONDERS for me, and I recommend it to anyone with a barking problem. Most of the negative reviews I've read on Amazon, sorry to say, showed a lot of human error. Really if you follow the manual, and put the time in to train your dog, it works just like it says it does. I haven't had any clogging or operational problems what so ever.
EDIT: It is now November 20th....the dogs are not barking (even when the neighbor ponds on the wall when we're gone hoping to get them to bark). We have not had to buy any batteries or citronella. 7 months and it still works like a dream.
 depends on your dog September 3, 2005
joecat
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
while this may be a great product for some dogs, if your dog is like mine they are not bothered enough by the spray and just continue barking until the spray runs out (it doesn't take long to get past 25 barks) this just teaches them that if they bark enough the annoying spray will go away. I would suggest borrowing one from a friend before investing the $70 yourself. Also, if your dog has long hair you will need to shave their neck to get it work properly.
 Expensive--but it works March 15, 2005
J. Bosse (San Diego, CA)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
We have a pomeranian and needed her to stop barking as we live in an apartment complex. We spent $100 on the initial collar. At first, it worked really well. She knew that if she barked she would get sprayed. But ... after a while it stopped working so effectively. It now only goes off about 1/4 barks. We have had to replace the battery many times as it apparently wears out quickly even if you are not using it and the citronella cans aren't cheap either. Also, our dog figured out that if she barks enough, the collar will empty and stop doing it because the citronella collar doesn't hold that much. Over all, if you have the money and REALLY need your dog to stop barking it works. But for us, it's really just too expensive (to purchase and maintain).
May work for you, may not. March 8, 2007
Randall Summers
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
We have a one year old border collie/blue heeler mix dog that we had just picked up from the animal shelter a few weeks before. The problem we quickly discovered is that the dog barks. She barks at the neighbor dogs across the fence, she barks at squirrels, birds, everything. Before we got the dog we had turned our neighbors into animal control for the fact that their dogs barked all night. Now I had a dog with the same problem.
I looked around the web for a solution and came across the Premier Gentle Spray Anti-Bark Dog Collar. Most of the reviews were absolutely glowing, so I placed an order and waited for it to arrive. When it did I quickly read the directions, filled the reservoir, put in the battery and put it on the dog.
We put the dog in the back yard (where she lives) and waited.
No barking!!!
Occasionally I would hear a little bit of a bark and then it would stop. I assumed that she had forgotten about the collar and had barked, gotten sprayed, and quit. I was happy to say the least. No longer did I have to put up with her barking, or interrupting dinner to run outside and scold her (in January no less). When she came inside for the evening I would take the collar off and refill it. When she went out the next morning, the collar was back on. This went on for a few bark free days.
Then one day I forgot to refill the collar and she barked it empty. Now we were back to barking. Bark Bark Bark Bark Bark.
That's where we are now. I used up the one can of spray and haven't bought any more because I'm not sure if it is worth it. The directions say that you should use this as a training tool and not as a no-bark babysitter. They recommend that you reward the dog when it doesn't bark and basically set up a positive/negative reinforcement using treats and attention for the positive and the spray as the negative. They also tell you not to have the dog wear the collar all of the time.
First off, I work all day. I bought this to stop the dog from barking both when I'm away and when I'm home. I can't reward her for not barking when I'm not home. Second, the dog lives outside. That's when she barks, not in the house. If the dog is not to wear the collar all the time, then what good is it?
For the record, the collar worked well. It sprayed when it was suppose to. It didn't break, and it did cut down on the dogs barking until I forgot to refill the canister and the dog barked it empty. I think this would be an excellent product for someone with an inside dog that barks and who is home to positively reinforce the dog when it doesn't bark.
If your dog lives outside and you aren't home all the time, either stock up on the refill canisters and hope your dog stops barking before you run out, or buy a different product.
I gave this item three stars because the collar itself worked; it sprayed when the dog barked. I didn't give it more stars because it didn't totally stop the dog from barking. I didn't give it less than three stars because it was my fault and not the fault of the product that I forgot to refill the collar and the dog barked it empty. I would like to have had a bigger reservoir for the spray so that it didn't have to be refilled as often. I would also have liked to have have a second canister of spray included with the collar. The PetSmart location near me has the refills for $16. I think that is a lot of money for a little can of spray. If you do decide to buy this product I would strongly recommend that you buy one of the sets that comes with a second canister of spray, or that you buy a second canister when you place your order. Also be prepared to spend the time with the dog to stop the barking, and don't just use the spray to shut the dog up.
 Doesn't work on all dogs. April 29, 2005
DaisyRocket (Belfair, WA United States)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
I have used this collar on all 5 of my Aussie/Border Collie cross dogs since about August or September and I have used about 1 and 1/2 cans (total)of the spray and have not had to replace any batteries yet. However, they only wear them about 20-25 hrs a week. This collar has worked well for me. All of the dogs are different and one of them is a little more willing to bark occasionally and get sprayed. My sister, however has 9 month old puppie of the same breed cross and the spray had no affect on her at all. She just kept on barking like nothing happened. What I did before I purchased the collars was to rent one from a local kennel and training center to see if it would work on my dogs before I spent the money on them and I really didn't want to put shock collars on them. So any one considering this product I would recommend renting or borrowing one first to make sure it is compatable with your dog before you spend the money.
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