Hello,
I've been doing some reading on here to find out some info about e-collars but would like some other perspectives on my particular situation.

First off, Maverick is a cocker/poodle mix, he weighs about 20 pounds and is 1 year old this month. He is just a house pet and we marker training with him, basic obedience stuff.

My new issue with him is his barking. We have a fenced in backyard that he loves to roam around in, but behind our yard is a small park where people often play at or walk through and he barks like crazy at them...chasing them to the end of the yard, etc. We have tried giving corrections for this and it seems to help but 10 minutes later, he's back at it.

Lately my solution has been to snap a leash on him and take him for a vigorous walk and tire him out. That seems to help too but not long term.

I'm wondering if an e-collar or barking collar is the way to go. Something that will give him an instant correction when he barks so we don't have to run out there, grab his line and correct him.

Any help, thoughts, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
If you think an e-collar is a good way to go, what type would you suggest for a dog Maverick's size (20 lbs)?
Thanks!

Hi, there are many different bark collars. They definitely have some for small dogs. There are a few that start at level one and each time the dog barks, it increases the level of stim until it peaks at level 7-10 (depending on brand). Some collars also give the dog a 3-5 second break in between stims to give the dog a chance to learn not to bark to avoid the stim.

Amy, here's a bark collar Leerburg sells, and you can read the accompanying explanation Ed wrote.
http://www.leerburg.com/815.htm

Hi Amy,

I don't think stopping the barking will solve the problem here. I think your dog may be showing signs of territorial aggression. There isn't a lot wrong with this in my book but it can lead to problems down the line if you don't deal with it now, or at least understand it.

I'm assuming that the reason he chases these people from one end of the fence to the other is the fact that he can see them? If so, modify your fence to block the view and also put in some hedges/shrubs to prevent him running the fence.

I'd be willing to bet that a no bark collar won't do much good in this situation. You'd be better either training this out of him while working on a long line and prong (you have to be there on the end of his line, it's no good running out and correcting him after they've gone past the fence) or watching him closely with an e-collar on him and correcting him as soon as it starts.

The level of correction should be severe whichever method you use so the dog learns that this behaviour is not very nice!

HTH

John

I have to disagree with John on this one.

Stopping the barking will most likely help trememdously. Take it from me! I have an extremely territiorial dog, and when she has a bark collar on she has learned to be a very well behaved girl in a crate or in a fenced yard. If the bark collar is off for a number of days, she will go right back to her default behavior.

The bark collar is the best route because the timing is perfect, if you are giving him physical or even ecollar corrections you have to watch every second which isn't practical.

Just get in a routine of putting the bark collar on every day, just like putting on a wristwatch.

I think it will help solve your problem.

 Quote: cindy easton rhodes

If the bark collar is off for a number of days, she will go right back to her default behavior.

Hi Cindy,

This is kinda the point I was trying to make. Yes the bark collar will "fix" the immediate problem while it's on, but it won't do anything to change the dogs attitude to that situation. Well I actually don't know if it will, you'll know the answer better than I will as I'm still trying to learn all this stuff.

 Quote: cindy easton rhodes

The bark collar is the best route because the timing is perfect, if you are giving him physical or even ecollar corrections you have to watch every second which isn't practical.

Just get in a routine of putting the bark collar on every day, just like putting on a wristwatch.

I think it will help solve your problem.

Agreed on the timing of corrections. I didn't intend to give the impression that I meant watch him every second but rather train him when he's allowed his "free time" in the garden.

I could be talking complete rubbish but it's just what would make most sense to me right now.

Cheers

John

Perhaps a combination of John and Cindy's suggestions would be the best option.

Edited by Elaine Haynes (06/09/2007 06:08 PM)
Edit reason: typo

John,

You admit you are still trying to learn, so I would caution you about giving advice on topics that you don't have experience with.

You are going to have to be out in the yard with the dog on line every single time to "correct it out of the dog".... the bark collar is the easier, most consistent and clear method for dogs in the situation.

I will totally disagree with John on his approach, in dog training timing is everything and the bark collar will deliver the correction at the appropriate time much more accurately than a person on a long line or holding a remote.

Hi Cindy,

OK, so it's clear I'm missing something but I don't know what yet. I simply don't understand how the dog can learn that the behaviour is not acceptable to the owner if the owner is not there to give a correction?

Or is it not the point to make it unacceptable to the owner and simply have the dog associate the behaviour with bad things?

Either way, will the dog not revert to the original behaviour when the collar is off?

I'm not trying to offer advice on anything I post about, just an opinion, and it's through this kind of chatter that I learn best.

Cheers

John

There are times you want the dog to know that he will be corrected whether the owner is present or not.

In my opinion, and in my experience this is one of the issues best solved by the dog learning some impulse control.

A lot of dogs load themselves up by barking and they get more and more out of control if you allow it to continue. A bark collar is a great tool for this particular situation, I have used it on multiple dogs over the years with this issue.