PetSafe Basic Bark Control Collar for Dogs 8 lb. and Up, Anti-Bark Training Device, Breeds, Waterproof, Static Correction, Canine - Automatic Dog Training Collar to Decrease Barking

First, I hate bark collars. I hate when they're used as a crutch by lazy owners who want to leave their dogs out all the time, but don't want to have their neighbors complain when the dogs voice their boredom. I've always been against shock collars. Then I adopted a 10 yo, stubborn ox of a dog who would not stop barking. I really don't think she realizes that she is barking half the time, she just gets in the zone and keeps going. It was awful, absolutely awful. And mind you, I do NOT keep my dogs in the yard for extended periods of time. I let them out to potty (and play if the weather's nice), but they live indoors. She just needed to be outside for a minute or two before something caught her attention and the ridiculous barking started (and wouldn't stop).I strongly suggest to anyone with a dog that barks to try some training to see if you can curb the barking. Dogs bark; they're dogs. I have three dogs, and I had never considered a bark collar for either of the others, even though they would bark sometimes. If the barking got out of hand, a scolding from me would stop it. No big deal. The third dog defied all training attempts, and in the end I caved in and got a bark collar.First, I tried a citronella collar that would spray under her nose when she barked. That worked for less than a week before she decided she didn't care - barking was much more fun. I didn't like that the spray collar would not give a warning before spraying, either. With this Petsafe collar, when the dog barks, they are given a warning vibration. If they choose to continue to bark, the vibration turns to a low correction and escalates. Most dogs should respond after the first warning, or else the first correction. Mine usually does. Actually, she got to the point where she knew what having the collar on meant, and she just didn't bark. It's an absolute miracle.***PLEASE*** Not all dogs are meant to have these devices used on them. I still strongly believe that. One of my dogs is a very soft dog that easily has her feelings hurt (she is neither scared nor submissive, just soft). I would never, ever put this collar on her. I have no doubt it would cause fear issues, and I beg of anyone who is looking to buy this collar (or anything similar) to consider all options before subjecting your dog to physical corrections. Know your dog and what such things will do to it. The dog I use this collar on will come to me, tail wagging, to get the collar before she goes outside. She knows what it does and chooses not to act in a way that will get her corrections.NOTE: Less than a year after I purchased this collar, I had to send it back. The battery lasted almost a year, which is great. When the dog started barking again, I realized that she had discovered the collar no longer had any power over her. I purchased a pair of new batteries from the local pet store, but when I tried to remove the old battery, I could not. The area where you should be able to insert a coin and then turn the battery to the left just came apart and stripped off. I did not leave the dog out in bad weather or for extended periods of time, so I'm not sure what caused it to get locked in there so good. The upside of this is that as soon as I contacted customer service and proved that I had had the collar less than a year, they provided me with two exchange options. I ended up sending the collar to them, and they sent me a new one once the old one was received. It only cost me the shipping one way and didn't take very long.My dog regressed to her bad habits for a couple weeks while I purchased batteries, contacted customer service, shipped it out and waited for its return. As soon as she had it on her (and she made sure it was working), she has been a dream outside in the yard again. She does not bark, and she does continue to come eagerly to get her collar on when it;s time to go outside (and a couple times while outside and we realized we forgot to put it on her). Not only does it keep my neighbors from hating her (and us), it makes us like her more, too!Despite my issue, I am giving this collar 5 Stars for ease of use, the varying degrees of correction (including the very important warning), and the wonderful customer service and warranty policies. From now on, I will be removing the battery periodically just to make sure it stays in good shape.

I just got an 8 month rescue who struggles with anxiety when in the kennel. This bark collar is a great price and is easy to use. Her barking has significantly decreased and it has been very effective. The color is accurate to the picture and is easy to adjust. The quality is worth it for the price.

So, let me say, I hemmed and hawed for over a year whether or not to get this because it seemed cruel. But after reading about it, and getting to the point where I wanted give the dog to a band of gypsies, or worse, I thought I'd try. Her incessant barking was ruining the social fabric of the house! (plus, she likes to ruin the fabric of the carpet- why cant a dog barf on the wood floor?? that's a different unresolved tale, however!) The biggest selling point for me was that the collar would stop its zapping in a prolonged barking event (if she was actually barking at something real)At first, the collar worked like a charm. We have a little barker, she would bark every time someone walked by the house on the street. Mind you, we live in a busy neighborhood, and foot traffic is regular. Put this collar on her, she would bark, then there would be a little "YIP!" and she would run over to me for reassurance and a kiss. maybe twice before she figured it out, then the barking stopped. she could go a week with no collar until she forgot, and the I would put it on her, and no barks, not even the initial one, for another week or so. She had figured out what volume was an appropriate one. she would say in a soft voice, "hey guys! there's someone walking on the street out front! can you believe it!!" She had learned how communicate without rattling the foundation and waking the neighbors. it was great.So. At first, the collar was great, a miracle even. then...I was laid up at home, recovering from a minor surgery. I think this change in my energy level (vicodin, people) made little doggy nervous for some reason. she had begun to bark a bit more, so I put the collar on her, because she was harshing my mello (plus, it's hard to get off the couch to reassure a dog when you have a hole in your belly). as usual, she remembered to talk in an inside voice. things were good.Then came a knock at the door. she barked, it zapped. She yipped, they knocked, she barked, it zapped. then she screamed. imagine a yip, but prolonged for a second or two. terror in her voice. Because she was screaming, it kept shocking. So she kept screaming bloody murder, and it kept shocking. She was so terrified, she ran into a corner, screaming in terror. By then, I realized there was a problem. I knew I had to get this bark collar off of her. I moved towards her, she was still screaming. She ran from me. Still crying and being shocked for it. Since I was only a couple days out of surgery (hernia! yea!!), I was a bit slow. So I lumbered behind her, trying to reassure her, but she kept screaming. And running. It could have been a comedy, except for the poor little dog thought she was about to die. This went on for what seemed like 5 minutes. think Benny Hill meets some dark film nior. By the time I caught her, and removed the collar, she had crapped herself twice- one poo was on the couch, and one was mashed into her fur. she had also peed all over.This was about a year ago. She has flashbacks. often, she winces and cowers when I try to put her regular collar (non shocking) on after brushing. She is fine with the kids, so they do it. Since I had to bathe her afterwords (that was great fun with surgically lacerated stomach muscles!), she associated baths with this horror, so would cry bloody murder in any bath (every week or 2!). Only recently has the bath routine become "ok" again. Air quotes intentional, cuz ok is not quite that, but better at least.So, I understand the need for this technology. I would recommend paying more so that you can set the shock level, maybe one with an audible warning so shocks are not necessary. I dont know. but this thing created a long lasting living nightmare for which our dog is still scarred a year later.