bark collar?

[anniehall423]

Looking for suggestions for our 75lb standard poodle. We have a fenced yard. Whenever a large truck goes by, he will run from our deck, down into the yard, and bark at the truck as it drives by. Same goes for people walking. We live in a relatively quiet neighborhood, so not a ton of traffic, but the barking is driving me crazy. He is also destroying our yard. The perimeter of the yard/where yard meets fence is almost all mud and dirt now from where he has torn it up while running.

I tried a collar with a low shock (I know this is a no-no. No need to flame me. I used it for two days and felt horrible. Never again). What about the collars that do a beep and then vibration, but no shock? Any luck with those? We also tried a citronella collar and it worked perfectly for a few months, but it's not stopping him anymore. It functions properly-just is no longer effective. Any suggestions??

[cmeon]

What kind of fence do you have? Is he outside while you aren't there, or are you home (with time to work with him a little)?

[anniehall423]

We have a wooden fence, but you can see over it and between the slats of the wood. I am typically at home. I will leave him outside if I'm running a few errands (1-2 hrs), if the weather is nice. Definitely have some time to work with him.

[dr.girlfriend]

Are you sure the citronella collar is still functioning the way it should? We had one that worked great for about 5 months, and then in the last few days our dog started barking up a storm. The collar was not spraying, or the few times it did it was spraying kind of randomly instead of right when she started barking. I tried changing the battery but it didn't help. We have a new one coming in the mail. Totally worth it not to get the 6-am-bark-athon when all the early birds walk their dogs past our house. :-P

[cmeon]

Given that he can see over/through the fence, he really shouldn't be left out when you aren't there. You might be able to get away with a dog run or outdoor kennel if you need to (and consider it safe), but, he shouldn't see the street.

This is called barrier/restraint frustration- it's not a normal behavior (tends to affect very reactive dogs), but, it's not uncommon. There are entire classes devoted to dealing with reactive dogs and barrier frustration- I do recommend you at least talk to a behaviorist or solid (positive methods) trainer, especially if you're having leash issues (often goes hand in hand), too.

Counter conditioning is the most effective treatment for this kind of issue- you teach the dog that seeing another dog/people/truck means treat time! I love using this for doorbell barkers- my dogs all think the doorbell means cookie time, so they get a quick bark in and run to the kitchen and plant their butts.

[cmeon]

Also- my sympathy on your yard. You can see the ring of dirt that surrounds ours in my sig pic (if you can see those)- our dogs have worn a path around it just playing fetch out there! Big dogs are not yard friendly.

We did find that ours, at least, bounces back a LOT in the spring!

[anniehall423]

Thank you both for the advice! I suspected the bark collar may have stopped working properly, so I ordered another one and he's still barking : (

I am curious why I should not leave him outside if I'm not there. If I'm home and he is outside, he does the same thing. Or are you saying not to let him outside without me at all? The reactive description is very interesting! I have never heard of this before, but it makes sense. he is the sweetest dog. Adores children, strangers, plays well with other dogs etc. However, if he is on his leash and encounters another dog, he growls and seems aggressive (although I'm thinking more reactive, from what little I read about it after you posted!) Thank you for the information!

[cmeon]

Because this is truly stressful for him, it's simply not kind to leave him out there when you aren't there to call him in/distract him/work on desensitizing him. I'm personally of the opinion that it's unsafe to leave dogs outside when people aren't home, and wouldn't recommend it to anyone (not chastising you- my opinion is not particularly popular in the world- LOL)- but, it is especially problematic when you have a dog who reacts to stimuli this way. If your fence is tall enough to see over, it's definitely short enough to jump, should he get the nerve or another passing dog- and it can get ugly.

Your description is perfect- reactive dogs aren't bad dogs! They're usually sweet, happy pups when they're not behind a "barrier" (leashes definitely count). And they do tend to react to counter conditioning/training really well!

[kris356]

Feb 23, 2016 19:22:23 GMT -5 anniehall423 said:

Thank you both for the advice! I suspected the bark collar may have stopped working properly, so I ordered another one and he's still barking : (

I am curious why I should not leave him outside if I'm not there. If I'm home and he is outside, he does the same thing. Or are you saying not to let him outside without me at all? The reactive description is very interesting! I have never heard of this before, but it makes sense. he is the sweetest dog. Adores children, strangers, plays well with other dogs etc. However, if he is on his leash and encounters another dog, he growls and seems aggressive (although I'm thinking more reactive, from what little I read about it after you posted!) Thank you for the information!

in addition to what cmeon said, others reason not to leave them out when you are not home is it can be potentially life threatening if they get stung, another animal like a deer or raccoon gets in the yard or theft.

[katietornado]

Feb 24, 2016 15:49:09 GMT -5 kris356 said:

Feb 23, 2016 19:22:23 GMT -5 anniehall423 said:

Thank you both for the advice! I suspected the bark collar may have stopped working properly, so I ordered another one and he's still barking : (

I am curious why I should not leave him outside if I'm not there. If I'm home and he is outside, he does the same thing. Or are you saying not to let him outside without me at all? The reactive description is very interesting! I have never heard of this before, but it makes sense. he is the sweetest dog. Adores children, strangers, plays well with other dogs etc. However, if he is on his leash and encounters another dog, he growls and seems aggressive (although I'm thinking more reactive, from what little I read about it after you posted!) Thank you for the information!

in addition to what cmeon said, others reason not to leave them out when you are not home is it can be potentially life threatening if they get stung, another animal like a deer or raccoon gets in the yard or theft.

Yep.  My one dog is allergic to bee stings.  I was out in the yard with him when he was stung and his face and tongue started to swell up.  Had to rush him to the vet for an emergency injection of Benadryl.  If I hadn't been there, things could've gone very badly.  Before I knew better, I left my other dog in the yard while I went to school.  Within ten minutes, he'd broken through our fence and was running through the neighborhood.  My neighbors held onto him all day, and I am so grateful they did.

[gamechanger22]

A lot of dogs will display a behavior called "being cage-brave". It's a feeling of vulnerability not knowing what kind of threat is on the other side. I've also heard of multiple theories that state a dog will bark MOSTLY out of fear.