Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsThis Thing Worked
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2018
So, I adopted a tiny, 3 month old miniature poodle mix from a shelter. She's crate trained, and happily spends time there during the day. Generally, she's so quiet that I have to go hunting for her. I feel I should add here that my puppy is, overall, no shrinking violet. She is curious and pretty fearless. Whether this has contributed to our experience with this collar or not, I have no way of knowing.
A recent layoff, holiday season, record cold weather, and lack of foresight kept me mostly at home. My puppy and I bonded. We really bonded. Kiddo reasonably concluded that we were a pack. All was copacetic, until I dared to leave. Then my silent puppy became a barking, howling menace. Though she seemed comfortably ensconced in her crate, was fed, exercised, and emptied, though she had the most engaging toys and a full, delicious Kong, though I followed the trainer's advice of no salutations coming or going, there was no way she'd quietly accept me walking out the door. Miss Kiddo wasn't having it.
I live in the city, in an apartment building, on the 3rd floor. After sneaking out for 15-30 minutes, I'd walk into the building and hear her as soon as I entered the vestibule. As understanding as my neighbors are, I couldn't expect them to stay good natured, listening to a distressed puppy. Worse still, after even such a short time, Kiddo was sitting in her crate looking overwrought and miserable.
My vet suggested a citronella collar, but after watching dozens of videos, I'm convinced that they're well-intended, but probably somewhat cruel; spraying that intense scent up a dog's exquisitely sensitive nose didn't seem right. I looked around on Amazon, found, and ordered this collar. It arrived quickly, but once it was here, I was a bit plagued with the guilt of inflicting the device on my pup.
I consulted a dog behavioralist who told me, emphatically, not to use a no-bark collar of any kind. "The dog will be traumatized by it", she said. "She'll associate that trauma with her crate or, worse still, with your leaving, and the problem will expand and worsen." She offered suggestions as to how to handle the separation: the very same techniques I'd already tried.
Back to the training videos on YouTube. One, in particular, spoke to me. "You're not there to correct the dog", the trainer said. "The only solution is a no-bark collar." I took the collar out of its box, turned it on, put it to my throat, and did my best imitation of a bark. Before the first woof left my throat, the device sounded its tone. A serious, mid-range tone, not particularly loud. I kept barking; the tones got progressively longer and, after three times, the device vibrated, much like the vibration from a smartphone, but probably less intense. None of it seemed too jarring, more just insistent. While I was barking and beeping, Kiddo came over to watch. She tipped her head and started to whine at the collar. Weirdly, she seemed to want it, because when I offered to put it on her, she sat very still and wagged her tail.
She wore it happily, running around the apartment, playing with her Lambchop, growling at her tug toy; it did not go off. Finally I crated her and went to take a shower. Coming out, I heard a whine and then a tone. Her whining stopped. Later, I went out for my 20 minute trial and came back to.... silence. Not only that, but my puppy was lying down in her crate, looking as if I'd awakened her. She came out of her crate happy and calm. Since that first time, I've been in the room on the rare occasion when Kiddo has let out a yip that set off the device. I've watched as she's stopped and cocked her head at the tone. It seems like a what-the-heck moment for her. Not frightening, just attention getting. She goes on with her play, just not with the barking.
My conclusion: this thing worked. Not only that, but I believe that Kiddo's barking was actually amping up her anxiety. With this collar telling her not to bark, she seemed better able to calm herself. I actually believe that this device is far less cruel to my puppy than letting her bark. I'm certain my neighbors are happier.
If only every problem had so easy a solution.
