MaryP Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 I have to make this short because I'm on my way out the door. But, I have a new foster dog that is the foster from hell. He's actually not new, as he has been in our rescue program for over a month, but he was in a different foster home. I knew that he was a tough dog for his foster mom, but she was being a trooper and stuck with him as long as she could. But, a week ago, she emailed me and asked me to find him another foster home, as he was driving her crazy. Among his many issues, he is a BIG TIME demand barker. He barks all the time. Telling him to HUSH means nothing. Putting him in another room or in a crate to remove him from the stimulus only makes him bark more and louder. He is the toughest dog I've ever dealt with. The problem is, he's stressing out my dogs, particularly my 2-year old bc, Charlie. Charlie knows that when Koda starts to bark, we are going to try to correct him and that is stressing Charlie out big time. If Koda starts to whine (his precursor to barking), Charlie will immediately put his ears back and slink out of the room and go hide in the shower. I can't figure out how to correct Koda for barking without also stressing Charlie out. So, I bought a bark collar yesterday. I haven't used it yet, and normally I wouldn't resort to this, but I don't know what else to do. My concern, though, is that Koda also has epilepsy. Does anyone know if it would it be dangerous to use a bark collar on a dog with epilepsy? Could it trigger seizures? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordercentrics Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Check with your vet on that question. I would try a citronella collar before an electronic bark collar, though. They work on about 80% of the dogs. Unfortunately, it didn't work on our Meg, but I have seen Mary Ann, my rescuer friend, use them successfully on several Border Collies and Aussies. Kathy Robbins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb Scott Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 My worry would be that the dog might go into a seizure with the collar on and that would set the collar off. Barb S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
workindogs Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 My understanding is that there are two different triggers for bark collars, depending on what you have. One type, my citronella collar, activates by sound. The other, many electronic collars, activates by vibration. Knowing this might help you find your way to an answer. I too would be inclined to try a citronella collar first on an epileptic dog.....no sure how the science works, but I generally try citronella before electronic....tho' I use electronic if needed. One big problem with the citronella collars is that I have yet to find one that is very good quality....in my experience, they quit after awhile. It gets expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb Scott Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 In regard to sound/vibration, our seizure dogs do both. That's why I'm against using a bark collar on them. And I do use a bark collar on one of our dogs. Barb S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryP Posted January 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 My worry would be that the dog might go into a seizure with the collar on and that would set the collar off. Barb S Well, I'm not sure why this thought hadn't occurred to me, but you are right. I will return it tomorrow in exchange for a citronella collar. With as hard-headed as this dog can be, I just assumed he's shake off the citronella collar like it was nothing. But, I guess I'll give it a try now. The bark collar that I bought is supposed to be triggered by the combination of sound and vibration. But, I've never seen one of his seizures, so I wouldn't want to risk having the collar go off during a seizure. He really is a sweet dog, he just has A LOT of behavioral issues. I'm sure many of his issues are due to a lack of training and not understanding boundaries, but I also believe that he is is just a really poorly bred dog that isn't quite wired right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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