Have you looked at reviews on dog-specific sites? Here’s a collar on PetCo.com (major US pet supply store) with 28 pages of reviews. PetSmart.com is another store like that.
That’s odd. Both of the ones I’ve used will buzz to give the dog a warning and then actually shock. So once they learn the routine, they get one free bark. Then it’s a minute or two until the warning buzz resets.
A friends teenager tried it out on his hand and it made him jump, so it wasn’t just a vibrate. The first one could be set at different intensities. The first time we tried it, it worked like a charm. Within two days the barking was over.
The second dog we had barking trouble with, years later, didn’t respond so well. He was both stubborn and stupid. Not a good combination for learning. Fortunately that time we were in a house, not an apartment.
Do they work when you’re not there to trigger the remote?
Is it actually a static shock? It looks like it just emits a sound. The vibrating collar I used also had a ‘sonic’ option’ which my dog seemed not to notice at all.
OK. It’s not like I actually want to shock my dog, but if that’s the only option then I will, temporarily; the above-linked one doesn’t shock the dog either. It just emits a tone of varying levels.
I don’t mean to sound like I’m dismissing advice, because really I will take anything that can help - but if it won’t help, going on the info I’ve given, then please don’t assume that I just don’t want advice. If you know what I mean.
My dog flips out at stuff occasionally and barks her tiny fool head off. The thing that I have found that stops her in her tracks every time is baying like a hound dog. I just make a long, “OOOOooooooooo!” sound and she stops and looks at me as if to say, “What the hell are you doing mom?” She is quiet as a mouse afterwards. This also works if you are trying to get her attention to stop her from tearing up furniture or other things like that as well.
As for barking when you leave the house she just needs to be tired out. Take her for a long walk before you have to go out so that she is content just to sleep on the couch for a while while you are gone and you should have no trouble. Jack russell’s are difficult to tire out so I wish you the best of luck!
We always went to a big pet store that had multiple kinds of corrective collars on display, so we could compare. We never got the kind with a remote. For the first dog, he was only barking when we weren’t there, so the collar had to be automatic. The collar senses the first bark, it buzzes. It senses a subsequent bark, it shocks. The shock is silent. The dog may yip.
Buying for the second dog, the collars with the remote were nearly $50 more expensive. We decided it wasn’t adding that much value.
It sounds like a market has arisen for “bark collars” that don’t shock. I don’t see the point. Most people only turn to collars as a last resort, and a dog that’s sent its owner to a last resort isn’t usually the sort that will stop barking for a vibration, a noise, or a bad smell.
Yes, there are collars available that deliver an actual shock from their battery. And not just A shock. If the dog keeps barking, the collar shocks with each bark. (Different brands are programed differently. Some will only shock so many times in a row.)
The ones we got always came with a video and a pamphlet saying to be sure to watch the video in order to ensure the safety of your dog. If the packaging isn’t warning you about the dangers of using it improperly, it’s probably not a shock collar. Non-shocking bark collars are a next-to-the-last resort.
I know absolutely nothing about such collars, I was just pointing you towards someplace where you can read more reviews of products.
I am not a dog trainer, but I’ve trained many dogs. Just working with the dog doing “sit” and “stay” would help.
My technique. I buy turkey livers (any liver would do, but I can get turkey nearly free from a turkey farm). I cook the liver and dice it up into very tiny pieces. I let the dogs taste a piece, which totally gets their attention. I tell them to sit. I make sure I have their attention. I give a tiny piece of liver as a reward. I make them stay as I walk around a bit. Reward if they stay, if not I begin again. Repeat over and over and over. For 30 minute blocks a coupla times a day.
Once they reliably sit/stay, begin giving the commands in a progressively quieter voice until you are barely whispering. Make the dog associate whispering with training/reward and it keeps them observing you for cues.
When the dog barks, instead of trying to compete volume wise, get the dog to sit/stay. Keep commands quiet. It takes time, but done daily it can work.