Has anyone ever used the lemon spray one.we have a problem with our rescue Lab,she barks at everyone passing the house,she loves sitting at the front gate and I would hate to deny her of this,she is very friendly and barking for attention.are these collars cruel.

Sheila

I think there are other avenues to try especially as she is a rescue. A spray collar could increase her anxiety.

If sitting by the front gate triggers her barking  I would certainly look at limiting that for now.

Much depends on being fairly clear about what triggers the barking! It could be learned behaviour, it might be stress related. Rather than guessing it would be best toget a good behaviourist who will advise on the best way forward.

There are a variety of things you can do but choosing which will depend on getting a bigger picture about your dog and her life day to day. Is she a recent rescue?

She has been with us for two years now,she was only six months old when she came to live with us,so still a young dog.I have started to limit the time she spends at the gate,its sad because my older lab also likes to sit with her,she gets 2 good walks a day and lots of free running,its when people pass the gate,if they stroke and talk to her she stops barking straight away.

Sheila

Does sound like an attention seeking habit, as you say, a case of 'oi you come over and stroke me.'

I'd really stop the gate altogether as the more she barks there the more entrenched the behaviour will become. Why not look at giving her something else to occupy her like a Nina Ottoson toy for problem solving dogs. The older dog can have one too and since it involves food most labs are more than happy. Do both dogs have kongs and good chews? If not try to give them their food in kongs, scatter feed etc.. As you know, chews are really important for canine mental health.

If the gate is the only area the persistent barking happens then you know the answer.

Barking can also be a response to boredom, though not suggesting this is the case with you, but have a think if your younger bitch is getting enough brain work. On the face of it it sounds like your girl is a classic uber social lab and shouts at any passerbys to come over and stroke her. She has found an entertaining and, for her, extremely pleasant way to pass the time. It's a bit like the garrulous neighbour who hangs over the fence and wants to talk to everyone that passes.

what are the Nina Ottosmon toys?Well if she didn't bark as loud it woulnt be so bad,never heard such a load bark before,will go to pets at home for kongs today,they do have raw marrow bones when available and yes they distract her, Annie  has never barked in her life
Thank you for your help.
Sheila

its when people pass the gate,if they stroke and talk to her she stops barking straight away.

Gosh that makes me shudder. What if anyone was to open the gate and accidentally let her out? What about dog thieves? Or even spreading disease by touching the dog without your knowledge? Or claiming they were bitten or even just growled at? From this month the DDA will cover your garden as well, even if people have entered without permission. And if people can get a hand in to stroke, surely another dog with a long head could get their teeth in to bite. There is so much that can go wrong.

Marianne,

Have to agree. Sounds like this dog is friendly enough but for any hater of dogs being loudly barked at as they pass your fence might prompt a major complaint...these are the times we live in. Should also say that some dogs as they approach full maturity seem to suddenly 'discover' their bark and then seem to use it at every opportunity.

Marrianne the gates are six foot and padlocked,we live on a very quiet road,people walk down this road to get to our local water park .very little traffic,no dog can get in and mine cant get out,she is not out all of the time maybe a couple of hours if the weather is good,she is a lovely girl,but as we know there are dog haters everywere.

Sheila xx

Ah that makes more sense Sheila -but please still be careful. Your set up sounds similar to my own. Six foot kennel fencing, people rarely walk past etc. (Maybe once a day, maybe not every day.) However I have wired the bottom 3 feet of the fence to ensure dogs cannot easily get their noses in, or people get hands in.

Despite this, I had an extremely disturbing incident recently. Of course, I have several dogs which does make a difference but it just goes to show what can happen. I had my toydogs out in the garden (7 Papillons and 1 Cavalier -the Cavalier at 7 kg twice the weight of most of the others) when a man with a Beagle walked past. He deliberately RAN as close to the fence as he possibly could do, encouraging his dog to bark and snap at the fence. (It is a dog aggressive dog, we have met him during walks and he always tries to have a go at other dogs.) He could so easily have walked further away, and my dogs would then have barked but done nothing else. Now he wound the dogs up on purpose -twice. (He went back and did it again.) The result was a lot of frustration and redirected aggression, with the end result that my Cavalier (yes really, a Cavalier) attacked my oldest Papillon as he so wanted to get to the Beagle but could not, so he went for the weakest dog he COULD reach. I saw it all from my window. Ran out and called the dogs in, all came running -except for Bobby the 9 year old Papillon who laid still on the grass. I ran outside and he wasn't breathing. Blue tongue, all four legs in the air. Carried him in and he was still not breathing. I felt for a heartbeat and found it and suddenly he took a breath and started fitting -which he never has done before. We got to the vet within 10 minutes and Bobby had to be kept in on a drip overnight. It was severe shock, no actual injuries. I ended up having to rehome the Cavalier as this was the third time he had gone for Bobby. But this incident could have been avoided had it not been for that inconsiderate dog walker.

There appears to be a lot of labs that look like Belle,no idea who is breeding them but I suspect a puppy farmer,will be keeping her in the back garden in future unless I am with her at the front.

Sheila

I think "problems" with nuisance barking are only problems when people start to complain or start to request that the person keeps their dog quite, only you know know where your at with that part.

Spray collars have a reputation for breaking down, if they work they may or may not work depending on the individual dog but they don't get much feedback that Ive seen.

If they work they work by frightening the animal that its barking causes the spray, below is a link to the Dynavet Masterplus but the anti bark spray works the same except the owner is not present.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sTBXriek5E

If after watching that you decide you dont want one then maybe compromise & stop her sitting at the gate, no one can have everything they want in life so its matter of choices, your dog, your choice.
.

I bought the Masterplus Pro collar for one of my dogs that was a very persistent barker--I was desperate and very worried about complaints from a neighbour escalating into a formal complaint to the Environmental Health officer. These collars are not intended for continual use. The idea is to train the dog so that he/she does not make the connection that you are operating the spray (not easy). Batteries/spray fills do not last long and are expensive. I found in this case it did help temporarily, and that the dog would not bark even if the collar was on and not activated, but I would not rely on it as a solution as it doesn't address the underlying problem of why the dog is barking, and the dog is as likely to learn a new set of compensating behaviours to deal with the collar.