I recently moved from Alabama (with my banjo on my knee) and and my beloved insane 9 year old Jack Russell mutt is not taking it well AT ALL. His separation anxiety has gone through the roof; when I began re-crating him for the first time in years due to major upswing in destructiveness and ‘accidents’, he first tore up everything in the crate with him and ultimately managed to break out by breaking two of the bars and Shawshanking through the narrow opening (I was mad but it was impressive as hell).
I’ve moved into a busier neighborhood than he was used to, and while it’s not super-loud it’s louder than he’s used to, and he’s also taken to barking more than he ever has- not incessantly and usually in response to other stimuli (namely other dogs in the neighborhood). I’m afraid of him barking when I’m not here and the neighbors complaining, because I’d sooner lose some toes than this crazy dog.
So, to the title: has anybody ever used an anti-bark collar? There seem to be several kinds, but the mild-shock and citronella-spray seem to be the most common. For that matter, has anybody used any other kind of anti-barking device?
And secondarily, has anybody got any tips on coping with separation anxiety in an older dog? (I know he’s confused and will settle down more in time hopefully, but he’s 24 pounds of concentrated destruction when he sets his mind to it and as I’m renting that’s a bad thing; nothing too terrible so far, but I want to keep it that way.)
ETA: I’m not concerned with his barking when I am home- I can control that with a “No!”- but his barking when I’m not home.
I’ve used the scent collar on my dog. The “your dog is barking” is a slight hyperbole, although it turns out she did bark a bit more than she did before. Turns out she doesn’t like the new dogs who moved next door, and they really like to play in “her” backyard. So she was barking because there were strangers in her turf.
I put the scent collar and it seemed to work. Again, her bark was less an anxiety issue and more a “I’m defending the manor” bark, lasted a minute at most, and was at most 3 times a day during a 12 hour period (I taped her).
Oh, and that’s another thing I had to do the previous time she was accused of barking (it wasn’t her that time). The animal behaviorist asked to videotape her, to make sure she was indeed barking, and see what was going on around the time of the barks, to figure out if there was a trigger. The first time, it wasn’t her, it was some other new dog that does bark everytime she’s outside. The second time, it was as I described above, my dog was barking because strangers were getting too close to the house.
I think the scent collar solved most of it (if anything, she stops after one bark), or else she got accustomed, because I haven’t gotten any more accusations and it is taking me longer to refill the scent collar (I was refilling it once a month, then once every 2 months).
I’ve seen the mild-shock colars work in two dogs who barked evey time the breathed. These two pups were on the “Stop barking or be put down” level of compulsive barking. Both fixed within three days of receiving the shock collar. After day four the owners were able to switch the collar to “beep only” mode.
All that said, I’m afraid that if you use one of the negative-reinforcement tools you will only exacerbate your real problem - the anxiety. You should really talk to doctor about giving him something to counteract the stress. He’s probably to the point now where the stress hormones are on a “do loop” and will only keep increasing until brought down by medication.
It may take no more than a week of induced relaxation to get him back on an even keel.
You need to talk to a dog behavior specialist, not a vet. Vets tend to not know squat about training dogs. Choose one that does not use punitive measures as those tend to create other problems. Anxiety-based behaviors respond very poorly to aversives – just gives the dog something else to be worried about.
I have known dogs to de-sensitize themselves to bark collars, essentially getting conditioned to bark through the (whatever). It depends on how intensely they want/need to bark, and how thick-skinned they are. Jacks are high-energy, low-impulse-control, insensitive dogs by nature, so my best guess is, try some training rather than a gadget. And please, no sedatives. That’s crazy talk.
The shock collar didn’t work at all on my dog. I don’t have any experience with the spray collar.
I’ve read that with super-high-energy dogs like Jack Russells, when they get neurotic like this, it helps tremendously to take them on more and longer fast-paced walks and runs to burn off energy. Cesar Millan is one trainer who promotes this and says it can help a lot.
Some dogs will bark even with a shock collar. If the collar isn’t delivering enough of a shock to actually injure them (i.e., if you’re using it properly), they just don’t give a shit. I had a dog like this. We ultimately accepted that he was just vocal (beagle mix), and that his barking couldn’t be heard outside the house.
WRT the scent collar, I have been told that some dogs learn that if they bark long enough, the citronella cartridge will run out and stop bothering them.
Sedatives, at least for a while, are probably a fine idea. Not drugging him into a stupor, mind you, just giving him enough to overcome his anxiety so he can get used to the new environment. Right now, it sounds like he’s so anxious he *can’t *get used to it. By artificially calming him for a while, you give him a chance to recognize that nothing is actually threatening him. Hopefully, the lesson will stick when you take him off the drugs.
We have a shock collar for our new dog and he has turned into a practical angel since he’s had it. He barely barks at all and in all ways that are apparent is very happy overall. I would highly recommend them. Also, test it out yourself to see just what your dog is having to live through when they do bark. I did, and while it wasn’t painful it was definitely unpleasant.
I know it is not my dog emptying the cartridge all the time because I try it (by blowing in front of the sensor) before putting the collar on my dog. Hence, I think most of the time I was the one wasting the scent, not my dog.
BTW, there are veterinarians who are specialized in animal behavior. My dog had an appointment with one, but like I said, she’s not that much of an anxiety barker, and the behaviorist was unimpressed. She was the one who told me to videotape my dog.
My dad had a Lakeland Terrier that wouldn’t stop barking. He tried a collar. Either because the collar malfunctioned or the dog was that stubborn, she ended up with burns on her throat. He ended up having her “debarked.”
My dog’s a mix of Lab/retriever and he’s got a bit of chow in him…stubborn sometimes. We live fairly rural but there is still a fair amount of traffic and I was concerned about him not coming when called and getting hit. I bought a collar, set it to minimal and zapped myself and it wasn’t terrible but no pleasant either. I used it on my dog however it also has two tones you can send, a nice beep for good and for bad a squelchy rasp.
Anyways I only used the current once or twice, once Booker associated a voice command with a “nice” beep with no zap and vice versa he was great he was great. It’s collecting dust these days and that suits us.
I’ve had and used two in my life. Both were just noise- a high-pitched beep every time the dog barked.
It worked like a charm on my parents’ weimaraner.
On my spaniel/beagle, the stupid thing didn’t actually function correctly. She was a very busy, boisterous little dog and the collar would go off if she bounced around too much and frequently wouldn’t if she was barking. So it went off more-or-less at random and taught her nothing. It was the cheapest model and I just gave up on it because she wasn’t actually that bad a barker (the foster who had her before me gave her up for barking, so I had assumed it was a big problem and it turned out not to be).
I haven’t tried citronella or shock collars. There’s a little dog at the vet’s office who has a citronella collar on all the time and she’s an angel and never makes a peep.
2 Good ones
Guardian - they make a variety - the outdoor model (looks like a birdhouse (standard) or bird feeder (deluxe). NOTE: Bark-Off now has put its worthless piece of crap in a bird house-shaped box. Ignore it.
Guardian also makes a smaller unit for indoors - I’m guessing the sound is too much for close range (or they are trying to cover all bases)
Good Life Dog Silencer Pro has the ability to limit sensitivity plus a remote clicker to manually activate it.
The boxer learned the first day. The Scottie still has to bark once every damned day to be reminded.
The pit and lab tried to tear down the fence to get at the device.
Both makers warn that highly aggressive dogs will not respond well.
We have used, and occasionally still use, a shock collar for our Belgian Malinois - basically, a giant version of a JRT (really - smart, stubborn, high energy, territorial.) It works. The model we use delivers a mild enough shock that he ignores it totally if strangers are around, and that’s okay - we want him to bark if someone comes into the yard - but it stops the stupid barking, like when the neighbors’ cat prowls around the shrubs. I’ve never tried a scent collar, but that wouldn’t be a great solution for ours, since he’s a working narcotics and tracking K9.
That said, I think others are on the right track when they suggest doggie sedatives. It sounds like the real problem is anxiety, not barking. Our retired K9 - German shepherd - suffers from horrible separation anxiety, and is getting worse as he gets older and more senile and deaf. Doggie Prozac is our next step, but for now, we sometimes give him a dose of Benadryl if he has to be home alone for a little while. For a tiny dog, I’d recommend using liquid/children’s formulations to get the dosage right. Of course, I’m not a veterinarian, so check with your own before giving OTC meds to your own critter.
We tried the Citronella collar on our Bichon.
It seemed to work the first few times we used it, but after that, Andy would just ignore it.
He did come in the house smelling very citrus-y, though.
Friends- 2 separate instances - Shock collars worked very well to keep dogs in fence boundaries
Barking - Years ago I dated a dog rescuer who re-trained shelter dogs as helper dogs. One dog had almost continuous whining as neurotic behavior if you weren’t paying direct attention to him or engaging him… In his crate it was non-stop. IIRC it was why the original family gave him up to the shelter. She would zap him when it got really bad and he would shut up, but then an hour or so later he would start up again. I think he couldn’t help himself or else he wasn’t smart enough to hold the whine=zap association in his head. It seemed the urge to whine was more powerful than the danger of getting zapped.
So if your dog is not psycho it will probably work, but some behaviors are so ingrained they are almost compulsive.
I will forewarn you the yelp a dog makes when they get a strong zap is hair raising and unearthly. Some owners may not be able to stomach it.
All Jack Russells are a tad neurotic (and while Ollie is a ‘half breed’ he is, like Spock, more pure in behavior than the purebreds), but he’s not psycho. He’s the sweetest dog I’ve ever known when he’s the center of attention, but he had TERRIBLE separation anxiety when he was a pup and 9 years later with the move it’s resurfaced. (He’s been in the same house for almost 7 years so I doubt he has the remotest sense of ever having lived anywhere else, so I think he’s just shellshocked, but at the same point I don’t want to get a complaint that might ultimately lead to a choice of getting rid of him (which is never going to happen) or having to move.
My first question would be, are you sure he’s barking that much while you’re away? A lot of dogs bark their fool heads off when backed up by their pack, but won’t make a peep when they’re alone. Taping him to find out how much he’s barking and what triggers it is a really good idea.
Either way, you need to deal with the real problem (anxiety) rather than the symptom. If he’s as bad as you say, I’d vote for seeing a vet and getting him on some doggie downers for a little while to break the cycle.
Meantime, start trying other anxiety-relief methods. They make a stress-reducing pheromone spray for dogs that might help. Thunder Shirts are supposed to be very effective for some dogs.
We tried a shock-collar on our dog for barking, but she mostly ignored it. I don’t see one of those working well for your situation; I suspect they would increase his anxiety.
There was a complaint made about a dog barking in my building, but it was indeterminate where the barking was coming from. I like to think it wasn’t my dog, but it’s possible it was.