Smart Owners No Bark Collar
Written: Jun 30 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Basic Idea works
Cons: Cruel and other methods are just as good
The Bottom Line: Taking the time to teach and train your dog yourself is the best way to solve any problem, and will always end up with a better result.
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| kate_fleet's Full Review: Innotek Bark Control System Bc 100 |
The idea for these sort of products is based on a biological learning process for animals called 'Classical Conditioning'. The concept is pretty simple, the animal basically learns an association between an action it does - the barking, and a reinforcement ( a reward or punishment) - the shock it gets from the collar. However, the dog will only learn the connection between the two after many trials. It isn't going to be the sort of thing that happens overnight. The first time the dog barks, she will get a shock into her neck from the collar. This initial response from the collar she will not associate with the collar as she has barked many times before and this has never happened. However, after a few weeks they make the connection and quit barking. So yeah, the product does work.
BUT. It is a cruel way to stop your dog from doing something that they innately and naturally do. The idea of the bark is to ward off invaders and protect you. If you teach them not to bark, you will be destroying one of the major bonuses of having a dog. The protection it provides you with.
However, i do understand that there are cases where it is necessary to do something, as your dog barks at everything and anything and complaints are coming in at a rate of knots. But if a scenario occurs when this is a huge problem, using the collar is taking an extremely easy way out. Yes, it will work, but you will
a) be punishing the dog for behaving naturally
b) be hurting it, how would you feel having an electrode give you a shock everytime you bark
c)cause your do to go bald around the collar
d) be wasting a lot of your own money - unnecessarily.
There are plenty of things that you yourself could do to better the situation with just a little bit more effort. Not only your dog will be grateful for this but so will you.
You could try giving the dog a treat each time it stops barking. The dog will soon associate getting a treat when it has stopped barking. This will take a while but the dog will eventually learn that not only does it please you when she stops barking but she also gets a reward. This essentially is doing the same thing as the collar except in a much more positive way. And you don't waste 100 bucks.
ONe final thing is to remember to not shout at your dog too much in order for them to stop barking. They soon become accustomed to the shouting and learn to ignore it. It will not effect them. If you rarely shout at them, when you do, they will know you mean business.
Taking the time to teach and train your dog yourself is the best way to solve any problem, and will always end up with a better result.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
kate_fleet
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Reviews written: 38
Trusted by: 6 members
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