HELLO TO EVERYONE FROM JOHN:
Whether we choose to call it an E-collar, shock collar, remote trainer, or tickle collar, many of us have them but few of us get maximum use and value from them. Although some novice trainers use these wonderful and helpful gizmos too often, too harshly, too inconsistently, and set on too high an intensity, many other trainers are needlessly frightened of pushing the button. With some helpful coaching and information sharing, it’s a sure bet we could ALL improve our dogs and become more correct and confident in our training ventures.
Each month I’ll offer some food for thought designed to help you confidently move forward with your training efforts and ensure that owning your TRI-TRONICS’ equipment is a wise investment which will pay for itself over and over.
If you wish to discuss a topic further, you’re welcome to call me any day from noon until dark Central Standard Time at 573-564-6146 or 573-564-3028. About two-thirds of that time I’ll be available. The rest I’m Gone Dawgin’!
Stop Bad Barking Behavior!
It’s easy and safe to do.
Two Treeing Walker Coonhound pups have had the run of my farm. They’ve exercised their minds and bodies. Learned to be comfortable around livestock, other dogs, the pastures, creeks, and woods. But now they’re seven months old. It’s time to end their unsupervised explorations.
Stix and Flix went into a nice shaded pen together. They get along well, and upon losing their freedom to roam, it helps to have a buddy and playmate. For the first week, they laid around resting, eating, and recharging. But after about ten days of relaxation, they sure did get rested up, and then they got rammy, started barking too much, and began pacing around in the 20’ x 40’ pen, especially when they could see me.
But dang it, I don’t want ’em using that voice more than just a little bit and only occasionally when they’re tied or in a pen. Needless barking around the house is one of my pet peeves. Unchecked barking can strain and even ruin a young hound’s voice, volume, and quality. And as the human population grows, most folks aren’t as secluded as they were, and nuisance barking doesn’t make for good neighborly relations. Even though my house is pretty isolated and the distant neighbors aren’t likely to complain, I WILL, and I won’t put up with any dang dawg needlessly barking!
Stix and Flix are plenty friendly and outgoing but seem sort of brainy and sensitive, so I sure didn’t want to get rough with them. And there’s an easier and friendlier way to teach ’em to shut-up. I strapped a pair of Bark Limiters on them but didn’t turn them on and didn’t draw them up quite as tightly as needed to properly work. Next day, I tightened them another hole. The following day I tightened them just a bit more so they were just right, which actually is rather snug so the electrodes and sensors make real good contact with the smallest part of their throats immediately behind their heads. The sensor feels the barking vibration in their throats and automatically gives ’em a quick shock.
Next day I turned the Limiters on. Although they have settings from one to five, they were set on only number two. That hits ’em so lightly many dogs don’t even realize they feel anything. Just a tiny uncomfortable tickle. At this point, that’s good enough. In fact, it’s just right.
Considerably smaller, narrower, and lighter weight than an E-collar, a Bark Limiter is probably the biggest little piece of important dog equipment we can own. The collar comes with closely spaced holes so the tightness adjustment on the dog can be precisely right.
I’ve used these Bark Limiters for over twenty years. In the past, I’ve made lots of mistakes with them. The primary one was trying to get all their education done in a day or two. Can’t believe I was that stupid, but must plead guilty to not enough time spent in preparation, and then setting the gizmo on way too hot of a setting. Makes no sense and I sure messed-up a few dogs that way. I’m betting you’re wise enough to learn from my errors and won’t make those rookie mistakes like I did. That’s the purpose of this section.
For some dogs, the number two setting will get the job done after a few days. For others that are mentally tougher, or more determined to yap, or less intelligent, higher settings are required. Two days later, Stix and Flix are still barking too much but definitely not like they had been. While out around them doing chores or whatever, they’d bark freely and didn’t appear to get zapped even though I knew they were. They plainly needed me to step it up to number three, so I granted their needs.
Without being there much of the time to listen or observe, I don’t know exactly what happened. But the following morning when I went out to feed, Flix just stood there looking at me and never made a bark. Stix, however, was loudly bawling and bellering demanding food and attention. It didn’t appear that he was getting zapped for his obnoxious behavior. I watched carefully but couldn’t tell if the Bark Limiter was not working or if he was simply so excited that he barked right through the medium tickle.
These Bark Limiters have a neat feature, and it’s an odometer. You can take it off the dog and check to see how many times it’s actually gone off. To make sure it was working, I checked the count. Thus far, Stix had been tickled 47 times, but was still being way too noisy. Out of curiosity, I checked Flix and her’s had gone off only 32 times. She appeared to have gotten the message and decided to exercise some good manners and self-discipline. We all know that to successfully get along in this world, every dog must learn about self-control. Those that can’t or won’t might lose their happy homes.
Stix seems reasonably sensible and intelligent. However, if he can’t learn to keep his big mouth shut 98 percent of the time, he can’t live here. I learned long ago and over and over, if I can’t teach ’em to shut up when there’s nothing to bark about, they probably can’t learn ANYTHING else! If they can’t learn the self control needed to do that one little thing, how in the world will they have the self control to handle sensibly, and say “nope, not me!” instead of joining right in when other dogs are up to no good? So I did what had to be done –– stepped the little magic gizmo up to notch 4, gave Stix a gentle caress on the side of his head, and told him that hopefully in the next day or so he could learn to add two and two and get four.
Next morning while out feeding and enjoying the brief period of cool air, something seemed unusual. Wait a minute . . . those two loud mouths are NOT barking! Instead they’re calmly standing in the middle of their large gravel-bottomed pen wagging their tails and waiting for their breakfast and a little playing-n-petting. Well good! Both had learned their lesson. Best of all, neither suspected I had anything to do with it! They were self taught, with considerable help from a $99 teaching aid. Smiles. The odometer showed Stix had been hit at the higher setting only 6 times in 24 hours. Those 6 short little zaps probably made him squall for a second and sure enough got his attention. Yep, he had added two plus two and realized the answer is four.
The following day I opened both of their Bark Limiter collars one hole. Next morning, one more hole and shut them off. Next morning, I removed them. It won’t be surprising if they occasionally need a similarly done refresher course in the next year, but the worst is definitely over, and I’ll be able to comfortably live with them now.
SEVERAL IMPORTANT TIPS ARE IN ORDER HERE IN CASE YOU’VE GOT DOGS THAT NEED SOME OF THIS SAME SCHOOLING!
- There are several brands of bark control collars on the market. Of all the brands I’ve tried, one was clearly more consistent and satisfactory for me. Not surprisingly, it wears the T-T logo, and they’ve just completed upgrading this dandy product. I regularly hear from folks who have tried other brands and were very dissatisfied with the quality or the results.
- You can’t just hang them on a dog and leave them there for days or weeks. These gizmos have prongs poking into the dog’s neck right where the skin is softest. Often, in only a couple of days, you’ll start noticing irritation on the skin which can quickly turn into sores or holes being worn into the skin. But I don’t have good results when putting these things on a dog for a few hours or half-a-day and then take them off. Once you start them on this schooling, it’s best to stick with it until the course is over. But remember to keep checking for sore spots!
What I’ve learned to do, each day or maybe a couple of times every day, is to take the bark collar off the dog, turn it around, and then strap it back on. These TRI-TRONICS’ Bark Limiters have three prongs –– one plastic and two metal-tipped ones. By turning it around at least once a day, those three prongs are touching slightly different spots on the dog’s neck. Therefore, skin damage is very minor or non-existent. This is very, very important! And remember, the Bark Limiter must be strapped on snugly in order for the sensor and the electrodes to make solid contact, or you can’t expect it to work correctly.
At least once or twice each day, be sure to take the collar off, check for the slight possibility of skin irritation, and then turn the collar around so it’s facing in the opposite direction and put it right back on the dog tightened to the proper snugness. Then spend a few minutes happily petting and playing and talking in your happy voice.
- It’s very important to prepare the dog! Just like we do with an E-collar, have the dog wear it a few days before it’s actually turned on. Gradually tighten it a notch each day in the beginning. Start out a little looser than it will need to be later in actual use and gradually let the dog get used to the feel. After the entire lesson is complete, gradually loosen the collar a hole each day. We don’t want a sudden, uncomfortable collar that feels too tight on their neck; and then a few days later it’s gone. A dog with any brains easily figures that out and becomes “COLLAR-WISE” both with a Bark Limiter or an E-collar. Once that happens, our options are greatly limited. The dog may then be in the driver’s seat instead of us.
- A Bark Limiter probably should NOT be used on pups less than five months old, and only lightly and carefully at that very tender age. Always start off on level 2 and gradually raise as required. If possible, hold off until seven months as I did with Stix and Flix.
Even with their Bark Limiters turned on, Stix and Flix can romp, roll, and wrestle without setting them off. At 7 months old if they get a tiny tickle now and then for barking while playing, it’ll be okay because over the next couple of months they need to grow up in their minds, as well as their bodies.
- Bark Limiters work on most but not all dogs. As a general rule, eight out of ten dogs will respond very correctly to their Bark Limiter education. Some of the common reasons for failure are:
>> The dog has too long or dense of a hair coat for the sensor and/or electrodes to make solid contact. If that’s the case, add the set of longer points that came with your unit or use a clipper to shorten the hair on the dog’s throat area.
>> Sad to say but some dogs simply do not have the intelligence or reasoning ability to understand that barking in that place causes a short shock. Not much we can do about that. However, while some dogs figure this out in two days, others take two weeks.
>> Some dogs are so excitable, exuberant, or bored that even though they know better, they just can’t control themselves. In this case, giving them more exercise or having a canine buddy in the kennel with them or tied very close to them can greatly help.
>> Some dogs are so hard-headed they won’t give in. Bark Limiters on their highest setting give a pretty good jolt but probably less than an E-collar on its highest setting. On a few dogs of that type, I’ve used two bark collars at a time or used a bark collar and an E-collar. While looking out the house window, I’ve backed up the bark collar with some properly timed blasts from the E-collar.
>> Some dogs bark in such a way that they do not activate the sensor. I’m not sure if it’s because of how their throat is built, or that they take a hind paw and scratch the Bark Limiter slightly to the side of their neck, or if they bark in a slightly less intense way that it doesn’t properly vibrate. It seems that a few dogs will learn to greatly lower their volume and/or kinda moan or draw out their barks more than normal. That sometimes will not trigger the sensor.
>> As with all gadgets, these gizmos are not perfect so there’s a chance it is malfunctioning, not functioning, needs service work, prongs need to be tightened, or needs a new battery. Always be super vigilant about the possibility of any type of malfunction!!! - If you have more than one dog in a pen together, it’s possible that out of boredom or curiosity they’ll chew these things right off of each other. In the process, they may do severe damage to your little gizmo. For that reason, I usually don’t have dogs together while they’re learning this lesson. But occasionally I do. To combat that chewing urge, once or twice a day throw something else in the pen that they’ll enjoy chewing on.
Young dogs, at the stage when they usually need this education, are feeling bored or frustrated by being penned or tied up. They’re also at a stage of life where they have excess energy they need to work off. By giving them chew toys, or a piece of rope to tug on, or a limb off a willow or maple tree, or a fairly stout and growthy weed you pull out of the ground (it needed pulled anyhow), you’ll find young dogs will really enjoy shining up their teeth on that kind of stuff. It’ll also give them some much needed exercise. That exercise also helps them wear off some of their excess energy taking some of the barking urge out of ’em. Regularly giving them something interesting to chaw on makes it much less likely they’ll target your Bark Limiter.
- My experience is that even buying the best brand means this handy gizmo will work quite well for ten to maybe twelve months, and then many of them aren’t consistent and accurate enough for further dependable use. Even though I’d like to get more mileage from them, extensive past experience has taught me to usually toss them in the trash and get a new one at that point. It’s a bit aggravating; however, I’ve gotten my money’s worth from them by that time and have taught and maybe even salvaged several young or older dogs that either wouldn’t have made it under my ownership or would have had to learn this lesson in a much less calm, gentle, friendly way. And, the recent Tri-Tronics product upgrade is focused on increased reliability and dependability.
Nothing lasts forever, and when I eventually pitch them in the trash barrel, I’ll know they were a good investment, even if I had only used them on one dog. Isn’t it well worth $100 to teach them some good manners while building and maintaining a fun and friendly relationship?
- If you’re not an experienced bark control user and work with dogs that bark while trailing, treeing, or working, I do know the main question on your mind. NO! I’ve NEVER felt these gizmos caused an open trailer to become a silent trailer or weak tree dog –– especially when done carefully and gently as outlined earlier. Thinking like a human makes it seem they might quit ALL barking. BUT, SUCCESSFUL DOG TRAINING REQUIRES US TO THINK AND UNDERSTAND LIKE A DOG!! Most dogs usually know the difference in places and purposes. In fact, Stix and Flix might need their first refresher a couple days after I put ’em in a different pen or tie them to boxes. Learning to act civilized can be tough for our dogs to accept, regardless of what kind of dog owns YOU! Smiles.
Next month we’ll discuss a helpful but untraditional E-collar use.
John Wick
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