Barking collars

[dmcgynn]

I know alot of you are going to say no no no to this question but I am going to ask anyway LOL. Jake has a habit of going outside through the night and barking incessantly right now I am existing on only about 2-3 hours sleep because of this since I am the one who keeps coming downstairs and yelling at him, even when we put the door on the doggy door he uses he will look outside and bark who knows what he is barking at probably some poor little bunny. Anyway, to make a lonnnngggggggg story short has anyone ever used the bark collar to eliminate this? Neighbors have been very tolerant so far but I am getting pretty fed up. Help!!!!!!!!! I am only talking about the collar for night time.

Thanks

 

[Sound Bay Newfs]

I have a friend that uses those collars on her Springer Spaniels and has had no problems with it. My dogs sometimes do the same with the barking at night. You are right, it probably is a bunny or something, but one time it was someone breaking into my car in the driveway! Can you find a different sleeping location for him. Is he crated? If he is, you could try covering the crate with a towel or something, so he is not so aware of what is happening in the backyard.

 

[brady]

that is a good idea about the towel over the crate. Is Jake barking to get a "rise" out of you?
If you lived on land with many (many) acres I guess you could just let him bark. But you would have to have awfully understanding neighbors to just let him bark. Brady only barks at things he is frightened of. We had to take the canopy off our porch swing as he would bark at it in the middle of the night. On the other hand is there something he is barking at that is near your house like a flag or something or even a flower pot, garbage can, gas grill, anything that my cause a shadow?

 

[mollysmom]

Brady, chances are there is nothing out there he's barking at. He just wants to bark. I say this because as usual, I have one of those myself. Molly starts by walking out into the darkness doing what I call the half bark. It's more of a small "woof". She'll slowly walk across the yard in the dark repeating her woof every minute or so. I think she's warning anything that could bite her that she's in the yard and please leave the area. And at other times she just likes to bark into the dark and does the big newfie bark. Nothing has to be there, she's just feeling newfie.

 

[lemch]

It's more of a small "woof". She'll slowly walk across the yard in the dark repeating her woof every minute or so.

Sampson does the exact same thing. It's commical and reminds me of dolphins and the way they use sonar to determine what their surroundings are.

Lisa and Sampson

 

[mollysmom]

LOL Lisa, your description is so fitting!!! Tell me, does this tiny woof come from the depths of her stomach? When Molly does them, her whole torso jumps with each muffled sound. Really, tooooo funny!

 

[kzdz]

I completely agree with the "barking just to bark" theory. When Quark was a few months old I heard him barking in the basement. Assuming he needed to go outside (or already "needed to go outside") I rushed downstairs. He had managed to find his way into the (for now empty) room under our garage which is concrete floor, walls, and ceiling and the size of a 3+ car garage. He was just standing in the middle of the room barking his little heart out. I think he liked the way the echo made him sound like a big dog.

Kelli

 

[AmyPC]

Are you talking the zap bark collars or the citronella spray collars?
I have heard bad things about the former and good about the latter.

I have considered one for Rory. She too just enjoys a good bark. I am forever going outside and hissing 'SHHHHHHH' out the back door. The dumb thing is she can come inside and out as she pleases, and by day always wants to be in and by night, out.

Sometimes I get so fed up with her barking I have to coax her in with food, which I KNOW is ther wron g thing as it obviously rewards her for barking!!! I just don't want her to be baited by an angry neighbour and think it's best to get her inside, quick. No complaints from anyone so far and I think I am actually super-sensitive to it - heck, I don't notice anyone else's dog, just mine. But to cut a long story short, yes I would use a citronella bark collar but not a zapping one.

PS - some local councils around here rent them, you could check with yours...