Is there a anti-barking collar for my 5 1/2 pound yorkie?
I have a 5 1/2 lb Yorkie that likes to bark whenever he hears a noise. We live in an apartment that has a lot of kids in the building and they make noise all the time. I would like to find a collar or something that is ok for dogs as small as him that would help him stop barking so much. Any advice would be appreciated.
KiKi
28 Mar, 2010
Don’t use barking collar. Use water spray. It works for me.
2 weeks ago my Yorkie suddenly found out she can bark (she barked before, but not the continuous kind). She found any chances to bark for two days. I got annoyed. I took out my little water spray, when she barked, I sprayed her face. She stop barking within one day.
♥ Howlarious ♥
28 Mar, 2010
i would suggest you first try talking to an animal behaviorist or a trainer before resorting to those methods.
why not FIX the problem rather than treat it w/a method that may eventually no longer work over time.
there is NO quick fix to that…he needs proper training.
Abby J
28 Mar, 2010
There are several different kind of anti-barking collars. One is the electrical shock kind. There is also one in which there is a little prong that "bites" the dog when activated. The third is a collar that releases a substances that smells bad to dogs, and is obviously the least invasive. For a very small dog, this might be best since yorkies have very fragile little necks.
Of course, I have heard stories that these collars just make the dog whimper loudly all the time, which is still a noise nuisance. The best way would be to try other training methods first:
http://www.placervillevet.com/training_your_dog_to_stop_barking.htm
Maggie Pie
28 Mar, 2010
The best remedy is to take care of the barking. A collar can help, but training is the best thing. This is a post I did yesterday regarding barking. I think it could help.
There are some things you can do to help her stop barking. I use replacement behavior a lot and it works fairly well. When my dog barks, I go to him, ask him to sit, and than praise him for sitting still and quietly. If he does not sit, I ignore him so that he does not get the idea that barking can get him attention. By redirecting the behavior, he actually tends to sit now instead of barking. While this does not work in very exciting situations, it does cut down on the noise a lot. If there seems to be no stopping to the barking even with replacement behavior, you can try using a spray bottle full of water. The minute the barking gets too uncontrollable, issue one firm no (or Shut Up, this is a command my dog actually knows that is reserved for barking, visitors think its cool because if he starts barking around them and they yell shut up he stops) and spritz her in the face with water. Most dogs do not like this at all and will immediately stop the behavior. Make sure to praise when she is quiet. If all else fails, you can purchase a bark collar full of citronella spray that works somewhat like the water bottle, but is always there. I don’t recommend electronic bark collars, mostly because there is no reason to use them, and the teach the dog little more than to be afraid of barking, something that is not good in case they may need to bark.
Edit: if you really need to stop her at that exact time, the citronella collar could help a lot. Also, try throwing keys, or a watter bottle full of coins.
baloneyjack
28 Mar, 2010
There are collars that buzz when they bark, but that’s an easy way out to a complex problem. You don’t want your dog to be afraid to bark for fear of getting buzzed. The dog is receiving attention, either positive or negative, when he continues to yap and knows that if he does it, he’ll be paid attention to. The key is training the dog to know that he won’t get any attention by barking and there’s no reason to do it, which can be done through training with treats, praising quiet times and not giving attention (negative or positive) at yappy times. I would suggest doing some research on training loud dogs before wasting money and hurting your pup.
Jimmy R
28 Mar, 2010
You do realize that the collars gives an electrical shock to the animal. For very large dogs, or hunting breeds this may not be to bad on them, but for a small dog I would not even attempt it. I had a medium size dog and I put a No-Bark collar on her. After the first few shocks she started having seizures to which she never fully recovered. To this day I regret having done this. Try other approaches please.
JR
WooHoo
28 Mar, 2010
You can get a citronella collar but the mechanism is pretty heavy for such a little guy.
http://www.amazon.com/Premier-Gentle-Spray-Anti-Bark-Collar/dp/B0002D31QU
I would teach him to reduce his barking instead.
You can teach your dog to not bark at regular noises, bark and then stop and stop barking on command. The idea is to get your dog to calm down. When he hears a sound and starts barking, acknowledge his barking (some of this barking is an alarm telling you that something is up) , tell him good boy and then tell him to shhhhh or husssshh in a low, calm voice.
The instant he stops barking, immediately give him a small treat. Associate stopping barking or not barking with a treat.
Repeat this for every sound he barks at. He will get the idea that these sounds are not worth barking at. It takes some doing but you should start to see a reduction in the number of things he barks at or the length of time he barks or the intensity of his barking.
You can also teach him to speak and then to shush or hush on command using the same treat method.
pots
28 Mar, 2010
Don’t use a freaking anti-barking collar on a Yorkie! Let alone a 5 1/2 pound one! Not only it is a temporary solutution, it might make the whole situation worse! Look up for some advices on http://www.yorkietalk.com/forum
uneverheardofme
28 Mar, 2010
I have used the shock collars successfully on several large dogs. I have a little dog (6 lbs) that I wouldn’t use that type of bark collar on even if I could get it ‘small enough’. So many things about tiny dogs are just enough different from big dogs that I consider the electric bark collar to be too much risk.
My little dog has had a habit of barking a lot like yours. Of late, I have been using the advice of Michele Welton after purchasing her ebooks on dog training, and it’s working well. My dog has reduced her barking a lot. Michele says that when your dog continues to bark at something after you have ‘told’ your dog ‘it’s ok, that’s not a threat’ that your dog is disrespecting you, it doesn’t see you as the pack leader.
So you have to train your dog in several ways at once to establish yourself as the ’24/7 pack leader’. Part of that training is that the dog learns what ‘Enough! Quiet!’ really means. Some people have suggested spraying your dog when it barks after you tell it not to. Sometimes that will work, sometimes you’ll need to combine techniques.
I really recommend that instead of forking over the bucks for a bark collar, that you fork over for some good training books and some time. Your dog will love you for it!
You can check out Michele’s books at
http://yourpurebredpuppy.com/
(I am not affiliated in any way with Michele Welton)
COLLEEN M
28 Mar, 2010
Please dont get a bark collar. I know they say they are gentle and humane but I believed it and bought one for my 3 year old lab who would not stop barking and it made his neck raw. I felt horrible ! If you must use a bark collar use the non invasive spray collar it wont hurt your little one. They sell them for dogs of all sizes at Pet Smart . The only problem may be the weight of the collar on your little pup. Good Luck