Bark Collars...

I tried an electric collar on Finn once, and it didn't go over well. I had it on a very mild shock, used it on myself first. I zapped him four times for coming into the kitchen (that's what I was using it for) within a twenty minute time frame, and never had to zap it again. That sounds great, doesn't it? :) Except for the fact that not only did he not come into the kitchen, he didn't come anywhere near that end of the house. He cowered in the bedroom.

I took it off of him and about an hour later, put it back on to train him not to cry when he was outside alone (he's definitely a people dog). I wasn't even able to zap him once, because as soon as I put the collar on him, he just lay down in the corner of the yard. I hated it. It basically made him afraid to move or do anything. And, he's a pretty tough dog. It worked great for my dad's dog, though. I think it depends on the dog. I've never tried the citronella collars.

Thank you, everyone for your input.

Phred- no dog collars on the cats, though they could use some sort of training! LOL.

I am very relieved to hear that they aren't really 'painful'. That was my first fear. But, as Finn's mom said, I am concerned that the beagle won't understand it, and cower or react some way negatively. BUT, I must trust my neighbor on that, it is her dog, not mine.

For those of you that think you must love the breed/baying, I scratch my head at that one! How do you love 30 minutes of baying at 7 am on a day you don't go into work? I can over look the day light baying, but when it interferes with the sleep thing, I get grouchy. :)

Thanks again for everyone's input!!!

i know that there are people that feel assured at a barking dog. i had a neighbor that had a dog that barked 24/7. They said they never heard it bark. It was very annoying to say the least.

If my dog barks I get up to see what is happening because it doesn't bark unless it senses real danger. The UPS man can come and go and I never know it because they are best buds. If she has ever seen you in the past then you are ok and she will not bark. We have deer frequently and she will always alarm with a braying bark.

I have thought about getting a collar like The invisible fence. i hear that these are ineffective for some breeds. One of my friends had a lab that learned that he could run fast through the Fence and it only hurt once both ways. It would run out and then later in the day run back in.

We have a training collar that we use on Bunny, since she gets overly excited and jumpy when we have people over. She's also a toe licker... Its one with the remote, has a 1-5 setting and it beeps and shocks. It works great for her. We can even have her outside off leash and she will respond with just the beeps of the collar. We dont even have to shock her anymore. She's learned that where there's a beep, there will be a shock if she doesnt listen. Of course, she's also learned that just having it on means behave.

I've never put it on Eli, as I think he would freak out, and doesnt need it either. I think it really depends on the dog if it will work or not.

IMO... bark collars are just another training bandaid. Throw them in there with prongs, chokers, and anything else that controls a dog using pain/fear/avoidance. In general, they are a cop-out, and not solving any real issues. In fact, they create issues. I would much rather have a barking dog (and do no training) than have a barking dog who becomes fear-aggressive because of all of the negative associations that a bark collar can cause.

I would discuss it with your neighbor. Ask her if she has ever taught her Beagle a "quiet" command, a solid "come", "leave it", etc. Encourage her to get into Obedience classes with a local Obedience group or a certified behaviorist. Beagles definitely are vocal, and they need to be taught when enough is enough. Yelling at him to shut up isn't going to cut it, either. Nothing, no spraying/beeping/shocking collar, is a substitute for being present and training your dog. Beagles are also huge foodies, so using lots and lots of treats, good timing, and positive reinforcement for being quiet could probably quiet him down fairly easily. Training is not an instant fix and it requires more effort than pushing a remote (if even that), but it won't create a fearful, freaked out dog who is much more likely to bite first and bark later.

I have a bark collar for Jasper. It was that or us getting evicted. I love it. He droops a little when he sees it but he knows what it means and he doesn't "test" it very often. It has six levels of correction, the mildest feels like a small static shock and the highest like a hard static shock. I've zapped myself with it and it was startling but not painful. Which is the point. :)