Opinions on Citronella collars

[Love_My_Bubba]

We inherited my grandfather's Pomeranian in February and now that it's summer the neighbors are telling me that she constantly barks while we are gone. I really don't want to do a shock collar so I did some research and found the citronella collars. The reviews were really mixed so I just want to see if any of the mommas here have had any success with it.

Please let me know about your likes/dislikes & successes/failures with the citronella collars.

Thanks!

[Nicole915]

I've had clients who have gone both ways, some have had great success with the citronella collars, and some dogs don't seem to care. It seems that the dogs who do best with it are the ones who are barking out of boredom, not because they see something/someone on 'their' property. If your little one is barking due to anxiety, you may see less success.

Here is the one I usually recommend. That vendor (petedge.com) is a direct to vet/groomer site (they're much less expensive on select items compared to retail), and I don't think you need to supply a license number, but if you do just send me a PM and I can let you use mine. You may also want to contact them to find out if you can return within the first few days if it isn't working.

You'll want to make sure that when you first use it on the dog, you're home in case something goes wrong. Dog barking can be one of the most frustrating behavior issues, as every dog barks for different reasons and every dog is satiated by different methods. Best of luck to you!

(*I'm not your veterinarian, and this isn't medical advice*)

[Shera971]

We had one for our last dog and it didn't work very well at all. For some reason it kept slipping to the side so the floor would get a spray and not our dog. No matter what we did it wouldn't stay put. The one and only time it sprayed in our dog's face it definitely shocked him. But he associated it with a particular bush in our backyard he was standing beside when it happened and never went there again. LOL

[mistymama]

I have a friend who had great success with it for her two small dogs. I was fully planning to buy one if our dog turned out to be a yipper. He's crated while we are gone though, and that seems to have helped him learn not to bark out of boredom, etc.

[Ola_]

I'm a big fan of managing the environment instead for my barker. It sort of depends on why your dog is barking, but for many dogs barking is self-rewarding. Is your dog outside or your windows are open that your neighbours can hear it? Can the dog see out the windows and see lots of people/dogs/bikes going by that is prompting the barking?

[Girl In The Fire]

Like others said you should get to the root of the problem...Why is the dog barking? Is it left outside or in a room with windows open so the neighbors hear etc... Rather than band-aiding it with a bark collar try to fix the real issue.

If the real issue is something that will take a long time to correct through better management/behavior modification and your neighbors are very angry I would suggest you consider debarking. Debarking is much more humane than a bark collar.