***UPDATE 4-2019******

Good morning, Cindy--

Thank you for your email. I apologize for not getting back to you sooner. I checked with Dogtra a while ago, and while I was preparing to send the collars in for inspection, I realized I had been using a different charging cord than the one that came with the collars. Even though the output was the same, the actual plug on the cord was slightly different, and does not charge the collars at all. They are both working excellently.

I am thoroughly satisfied with these collars. If you would like, I can update my review and change it to 5 stars, or whatever is easiest for you.

Thank you again for the help!

****Original review January 2019****

Basically: This is an excellent product--when it works. Otherwise, I just spent another $200 toward finding a reliable shock collar. The quality is great, and some products--especially electronics--stop working, but if the problem is solved to my satisfaction, I will be changing my review to 5 stars.

I am a working line GSD breeder in southern California with a small breeding program. One of my females likes to bark non-stop for hours at a time, whenever she feels like it. My other female and my male often bark a few times during the night like any protection dog should. While my family and I sleep through the barking at night, a few neighbors began to complain. Over the past year, I have tried multiple remotely controlled collars and automatic "no bark" collars. Only one brand still works, has a long enough battery life, and enough range to reach from the house to the kennel. Unfortunately, those are remotely controlled and will not stop the barking if I am not at home.

To ensure that the dogs will not be a nuisance to the neighbors while I am away from home, I purchased two Dogtra YS600 No Bark Collars on 12/17/18. The price was very reasonable for a reliable bark collar, and the collars arrived when expected. I could immediately tell they were very well constructed, with a wide rubber-coated strap that can easily be cut to the right length and a strong buckle. The transmitter is tough, with a rubber armor coating and an impact resistant, waterproof housing. It has a low profile and snugly fits on my dogs' necks without impairing movement or shifting on the neck.

The collars came with a charger that plugs into the wall and into the back of the transmitter. There is a rubber cap to keep dust and water out of the plug when it is not charging. They charged fully in under the advertised two hours.

Each collar has ten levels of static shock intensity, as well as a pager (vibrate) mode. It also has a mode that starts with vibrate and progresses to higher levels of static shock as the dog keeps barking. I tested the fit on the dogs to ensure they were still comfortable and the prongs were in contact with the skin on the neck. They fit great, and they worked flawlessly, keeping the barking to nothing past the first bark or two. They were still working after four days. I recharged the batteries once they ran out and put the collars back on again, with the same excellent results. The batteries lasted while I was out of town for three days, plus two days after I returned.

I was very impressed with the performance and high quality of the collars, and was planning to purchase two more, so I could always have one set fully charged. However, after using them for two weeks, the dogs started barking again, and I found the collars had completely stopped functioning. At first, I thought they were just out of battery, but after charging them for several hours they still did not respond. Usually a red light comes on the collars are charging or turned off, and a green light when they are on. I tested the collars on myself to determine if the light went bad, but again, I got no response. I consulted the manual, online troubleshooting, and tried everything else of which I could think, but still have not gotten them to work.

I will be contacting Dogtra directly about this issue, as Leerburg is in no way responsible for the problem, and will request two replacement collars free of charge. If that is granted and the replacement collars continue to function for a reasonable length of time, I will change my review to 5 stars. While high quality products may draw me to a company, it is their customer service that determines if I will be a committed supporter of the company or continue to search elsewhere. The choice is theirs.

I highly recommend Leerburg. The thorough training information and tested products coming from an experienced breeder have helped me immensely numerous times. This information can be found in other places if you care to spend hour upon hour searching for it, but having all this great instruction here in one place is amazing. While I have not dealt with the customer service yet, I am confident it will also be excellent.

For the money the YS600 is a very effective collar. Combined with proper training, nuisance barking can be a thing of the past.

I purchased two; one for a Dutch shepherd, and one for a German shepherd. Both dogs are currently foster dogs. The collar appears to stay in place better on the GSD as I think the slick hair on the Dutchie allows it to slide a bit more. I can tighten it, but it then becomes a situation of it being just a tad too tight. As long as it stays in the area around the bottom of her throat, the collar is effective - so if it is a little off-center and she barks, she will get a reminder.

The collar is lightweight but fairly solid; I have not discovered any manufacturing or design issues. It is sleek and has a trim-line look to the transmitter. The strap comes very long and is easy to cut to size - lots of holes for sizing. The strap has a shiny patent leather look to it. The points that are on the collar are working with both dogs without the need to change to the longer one for the longer haired dog. The longer points can be purchased separately if needed.

The collar charges up very quickly and lasts for several days assuming the dog is not constantly barking - if that is the case, the setting is too low. The manual is very good at explaining how to properly use the collar and be successful with training. The dogs are able to eat dry kibble, chew on their antlers, etc. without a false stim. I remove the collars during play and training so as not to get a stim. when the dog is working.

The collar has a paging function and stim. levels from 1 -10. The pager has a nice strong vibrate to it so once a dog is trained, the pager will probably be sufficient to remind the dog not to bark. On either dog I did not need to go above a level 2, and then after the initial training phase, have been able to keep the collar set at level 1.

This is a very effective collar for those dogs that tend to self-soothe with barking. Combined with proper crate and separation anxiety training, this collar is a very handy tool for helping those kennel anxious dogs. I highly recommend that if you are dealing with a dog that exhibits anxiety while being kenneled, you read the Leerburg articles and view the free videos addressing crate training, pack structure, and dealing with a dominant dog. There is a lot of free information on the site to help you help your dog. Don't just buy this collar, stick it on your dog, and then walk away thinking your barking problem has been solved. Be active in training your dog and the process will go a lot faster and have a stronger positive and lasting result. This is a nice collar, it is easy to use, and combined with proper daily exercise and training, getting a handle on your dog's anxious barking should not be a problem.