PetSafe Basic Bark Control Collar - Effective & Accurate Bark Detection Collar - Safe & Reliable Training with Multiple Static Stimulation Levels - Waterproof & Battery-Operated

We have a rescue cockapoo who barked like crazy (and had other behavior problems). My husband and I are pretty good at training dogs, so we were getting very frustrated that we were getting nowhere with our new little addition. After sending our pup for board-and-train, we got a call near the end of the two weeks asking us to leave him for another. But even after that third week, the training center had hardly been able to do anything with our little guy.The trainer told me that he had never seen a healthy dog with the level of anxiety that ours had and recommended anxiety medication for him. We use holistic medicine for our family and pets, so this was a tough call for us but something had to be done. After three weeks on the medication he started to calm down. Not completely, but enough to where my husband and I were finally able to work with him. What a relief. But even though we managed to get him mostly well-behaved, he still had (has) two problem behaviors, one of which is the inappropriate barking.It took a lot of reading and research to get us to actually purchase this collar. It's tough to trust that this is humane, but we were finally convinced. As soon as we got it, we installed the battery and put it on our guy. We waited, and then thought maybe it was working! And then maybe it wasn't...and then maybe it was... Finally, we decided we were wishing improvement, but seeing none. So I got on the phone with the company to see what might be the problem. While on hold, I realized that they would ask me standard troubleshooting questions, so I'd better be sure I had done everything correctly.First things first -- install the battery. Since the collar is waterproof, the battery is built-in to the waterproof cover. All you have to do is insert it and turn. Check. Done. Wait....hmmm...that doesn't look like it's turned all the way, but it's tight. Got a coin and really turned. Click. Oh -- THAT'S what locked in place is.So I hang up the phone and put the collar back on the dog. As luck would have it someone walked by the house. Bark! Beep! He didn't even wince, but whipped around to see what had just happened. Bark! Beep! "Wow, what was that??" It was almost funny. He clearly wasn't in pain, just flabbergasted. It was amazing. The barking stopped immediately after that.I loved that I could hear a beep when the collar went off. It helped me to know what was happening and made it easy to evaluate his response. There's no wince or whimpering, and that made me feel confident in the collar. The concept is that the shock is super-light, but gets stronger if they bark again within three seconds (I think that's what I remember). That way it works at the dog's tolerance level -- it only gets stronger if he isn't impacted by the lighter stimulus.The electronics on the collar look huge, but it's not bad at all. Be sure to get a good fit high up on the neck to keep it from drooping down. Our dog is a 24# cockapoo and he's not at all bothered by wearing the collar. The downside for us is that the collar is not training him to not bark. It has only been a bark deterrent because it only works when he's wearing it. But I have to say, when you have a guy that just doesn't "get it", and that professional trainers find difficult to work with, you're grateful for anything that gives you you sanity, and keeps the neighbors from hating you.

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.