How well do citronella spray anti-barking dog collars work? Are they better than shock collars?

Well, like anything, it depends. I often recommend citronella collars in lieu of shock collars because they're much more humane. If you've ever gotten shocked by a shock collar, you'll understand my total aversion to them.

How citronella collars work is that they're activated by the barking of the dog and if it's a better one, it also picks up on the stimuli caused by the vocal skip flaps. (Otherwise, there's a chance another dog barking may set it off -- same is true for the shock collars. ) It puffs out a harmless spray of citronella right under the chin.

Many dogs find this distasteful and decide to modify their behavior. Problem solved. The problem with these is that they don't work with certain dogs.

The first issue is that some dogs are real lunkheads. They love the sound of their voice and the citronella doesn't phase them, so they bark happily without really noticing that they're making noise or getting sprayed. The second type of dog these don't work on are the really smart ones.

I've heard of dogs that bark long in succession to empty the canister and then bark at will. I've also known of a particularly smart Malamute who barked and then turned his head so he could squirt his buddy next to him. But overall, many dogs fall between the lunkhead and the too-smart-for-their own-good and the collars work well.

I'd recommend you try these before you try electronic shock collars because those have issues too. For one thing, I've seen faulty shock collars where they shocked randomly (not good) and the contact points actually punch holes in the dog's skin. (This is why with any electronic collar, the dog should not wear it night and day.) I won't go into the general behavior issues of using a shock collar, but many dogs end up getting neurotic and fearful with these, especially if they're sensitive.

That being said, a lot of the barking can be curbed through obedience training and bringing your dog inside when you can't supervise her. Good luck and let me know how it goes.

I've heard a number of reputable trainers say to stay away from shock collars. One of the numerous reasons is that there can be too much ambiguity for the dog in what they're being punished for. You might end up subjecting your dog to the equivalent of a learned helplessness experiment (tinyurl.com/cpwgxy).

I haven't heard any success stories for citronella. It could have the same downside as a shock collar plus it's oily and messy. I'm no professional, but as I understand dog behavior, you'd be better served giving your dog something else to do.

Rather than saying "no", give her a command to sit, go to place or what have you. I recommend working with a professional dog trainer (find one at apdt.com/) on positive reinforcement. If your issue is her barking while you're not home, you may want to consider crating or putting her in a room where she won't have access to whatever stimulus makes her bark in the first place.As a bit of an aside, one of the best books to read if you're interested in learning how your dog thinks is Patricia McConnell's "The Other End of the Leash - Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs".

It's as entertaining as it is enlightening.

I have lots of dog experience as I have been an amateur bird dog trainer for about 10 years. I have known of three people who tired the citronella spray collars and none of them had success. Two switched to shock collars and the other one still has a barking dog.

I would think that with a larger dog, it would be tougher to work with the spray. However, I also used the shock bark collars over the years and found them to be effective. The dog learns quickly not to bark in most cases.

I have seen some dogs that learned to make whining noises that do not set off the shock. I also have a friend that has a dog that still barks sometimes as if to check the batteries-- the batteries don't last forever if they are worn all the time. Finally, make sure that you are addressing the root cause.

If this is an outdoor dog that is barking out of boredom, you will be supressing it's outlet and it could turn to another outlet such as increased destructiveness. A tired dog doesn't make as much noise or get into as much trouble. Not judging your situation, just trying to be helpful.

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