Our yellow lab, Amber, will be 2 years old in March. She weighs 94 pounds, and we’re still deciding who is training whom.
Lately, I’ve been trying to stop her from incessant barking when she goes outside.
- I’ve tried to have a serious discussion with her – explaining carefully that it’s rude to stand out there and bark. I’ve told her that it might bother neighbors, and that it drives ME crazy. I’ve explained to her that I won’t let her stay outside if she’s going to bark all the time. This is falling on deaf ears. She looks at me, looking as if she’s earnestly listening and absorbing my words. Then she goes out and the barking starts again.
- I’ve tried bringing her right back in – cutting her time out down to the bone. (She comes and asks to go out. I let her out. She starts barking. I make her come back in.) We do this over and over, but she doesn’t seem to ‘get’ the cause and effect and it’s wearing me out!
- Today we put the shock collar on her and THEN let her out. My husband is in the living room, reading, and he says he’ll shock her when he hears her barking. So far – it’s working! She seems to understand that we’re not just flapping our lips when the collar goes on.
I haven’t heard any barking yet, and she’s been out over 10 minutes now….
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I don’t know if I would be able to put a shock collar on a dog, doesnt it hurt? But I guess you do have to train her….actually my son’s dog could use one. She is constantly barking downstairs and drives me nuts. As soon as she hears me walking above, she barks and doesnt stop and I’m family!
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I was averse to them at the beginning. They have various levels of shock from almost imperceptible to strong shock. We’re able to correct Amber with a very low level. She gets a warning, too, before the shock. Usually, it takes only one correction to get our point across. My husband got this for us. We also have one that goes with a no-pull leash. She weighs 94 pounds and is VERY active. We’re a bit long in the tooth, and can’t afford for her to pull us down or disregard our commands. I’ve come around to using it, although I use the other methods first. She’s still outside and still hasn’t barked, so wearing the collar is enough for her to take us seriously.
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It’s a tough decision, but it’s better to train her, than let her be a badly behaved fur-baby. 🙂
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It really depends on your pet and their temperament, Robin. Our 25 pound cocker spaniel/schnauzer cross would simply cower in the corner if we used one. Amber is full of vinegar, not realizing how big and strong she is. She also is a hard head, determined to do what she wants unless you strenuously object, really getting her attention. Since we shocked her the first time, we mostly just have to put the collar on and she seems to be getting the idea without needing to shock her.
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We had a hardheaded Chesapeake Retriever, so I fully understand.
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I’m delighted to tell you we didn’t have to zap Amber once today, and she didn’t bark when she was outside another two times. :0)
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That’s wonderful! 🙂
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