Citronella collars on annoying little dogs

[Writer]

So I have an annoying little dog (15 lbs.) with a higher than average bark. I just bought a citronella collar to curb his barking and it never sprays when he barks.

Has anyone else tried a bark collar on a dog with a high-pitched bark? Is an ultrasound collar better? I would NEVER do a shock collar or surgery.

Any suggestions?

[chookie]

1. Take it back

I am presuming you bought it from a vet office. Take it back -- if it isn't spraying at the sound of a bark, it is malfunctioning.

I hope a properly functioning collar helps.

What breed of dog is it? How old?

You might wish to talk to a good dog trainer. First of all, they would have to "diagnose" why your dog barks so much, and then prescribe a course of behavior modification to make the barking less of a problem. Often what they will train the dog to do is to bark a few times and then stop, unless you order it to continue barking. Training it, particularly if it is one of the pesky barking breeds, will take a lot of patience, but you sound like a nice person who will give your dog the attention it requires to alter its behavior.

Good luck from me and my (not-a-barker) pomeranian Marigold.

[Writer]

2. Actually we got it from a pet store

Our dog is a mini American Eskimo and is just over a year old. He acts like a guard dog, many times running back and forth along the fence, barking at our neighbor's dogs.

We do know a good trainer, but we really were hoping the money we spent would be worth it. I did read on one site that dogs with higher-frequency barks do not activate citronella collars as much... although I don't know if that's necessarily so. It work well when we "bark" into it. ;)

[Corgigal]

3. I got a shock collar for my dog

I only had to use it twice. What the dog learns is the tone that you warn him with before you zap the pup. Now if he's acting up, especially with the barking, just by putting the collar on forces him to get his act together. I never thought I would use one either but in the long run, it's better then telling them to stop, having them ignore you and getting a headache. The dog also learns that barking makes the human do what they want them to do. Can't have that or you will get a bunch more behavioral problems.

Good luck, however you solve this pup problem.