Bark control collars

We recently got a Jack Russell as a friend for us and our female. He, however, is a big barker and barks at any noise. When we are home he is inside and doesn't make a sound but when we go out he stays outside. He always barked when we put him out but whenever I get home again, I don't hear anything so I hoped and presumed that he only barked for a short period. Today I got an anon letter in my mailbox saying that our dog's barking is disturbing the neighbourhood and if it doesn't stop, they will take further action. My female doesn't bark at all. So how do I get him to stop barking? I have seen the bark control collars in Big W. Do these work? I really don't want to rehome him. He is such a lovely dog and gets on so well with the family. My only other option is to keep him inside whenever I go out. Any ideas?

We had a large Bitsa dog with a barking problem and our neighbours also complained. We hired a citronella collar from the council. It was a few years ago, so I can't remember how much it cost, but it was cheap and the refill cans of citronella were not expensive either. Basically, the collars sprays citronella under the dog's snout each time they bark. the dog doesn't like the smell so they make the negative association between barking and citronella and they stop barking. In theory. Our dog didn't mind the smell at all and he had emptied the collar within about 10 minutes. He went through two large refill tins in a day and a half. I have heard people say the collar was effective, but it didn't work for us. Maybe see if your council or local vet has any to hire rather than buying one.

We also tried Bark Busters. It was expensive as we actually had two dogs and you have to pay for both of them even though only one dog exhibited problem behaviour. From memory, it was about $600 for both dogs for 'gold' membership. The theories were all good, the trainer was lovely, we certainly learnt to better understand the dogs' behaviour... but it didn't fix the barking of our big dog. In fact, it didn't fix any of his problem behaviour (oooh... he had LOTS of problem behaviours!).

Finally, we put the dog on Valium as a last ditch effort. Started on a low dose and built up to maximum dose. Didn't fix the barking. At all.

Our neighbours were very patient, but they were fed up and quite honestly, so was I. DH was devastated as the big dog was really his dog and DH loved him. We were unable to change the dog's behaviour and he was not suitable to rehome. When I had my second child he began showing jealous and aggressive behaviour and ultimately we had to have him put down.

I'm NOT suggesting you will need to have your new boy put to sleep, but perhaps the vet would be the best place to start for advice? Do you know the dog's history? Has he always barked? Bark Busters didn't work for us, but I believe they have a really good success rate. Good luck.

the citronella collars usually work really well. My sister had a problem barking dog who came to visit us every so often and the citronella collar was the only thing that really helped. Just make sure you fill it up, point it in the right direction, turn it on and do NOT let the battery run out!!!

Other alternatives could include some behavioural training, places like Bark Busters send someone out to retrain the animal - not sure how pricey it would be if you have a very resistent barker though.

Maybe he feels insecure in the yard? You could try some measures like blocking his line of sight into the street, repositioning his kennel so it's close to the back door, make it really cosy inside, etc. Also keeping them entertained when you're at home (walks, playing, kongs, bones when you're not there) do a lot to keep them settled wehn you're not there. Good luck

Citronella collar didn't work for my dog either. She didn't like the smell, but knew that it would run out eventually, so would bark bark bark until it was empty and then for the rest of the day she could bark if she felt like it. Initially we had some success but it wasn't lasting. I als tried a few cheaper models and they did nothing. The citronella collar was through ABS australia.

We tried a few things but ended up keeping the dogs in the laundry when we were out for long periods. Over time they have mellowed and are now ok to stay outside when we go out.

My dog barked when we were not home - we also got the anon letter in the mailbox. I tried the citronella collar but it didn't work - when I got home the patio area stunk but she didn't seem to care. In the end we just put in a dog door to the laundry and she spent most of her day inside (not barking) but she could still get outside to go to the toilet while we were at work.