Noisy dogs - Dazer product effectiveness

Hi all,
my wife was wondering if this type of product was worth having and also what range would they have, as we have some very noisy dogs next door to us and would like to be able to let them know that they should not be barking so much, since their owners do not seem to hear them. Thanks.

there range is about 25ft, but works best and around 10ft. It's more for a person to wear while out walking i.e postman or something to stop dogs approaching them. It runs on batteries so it could cost you an awful to run all the time. Plus it's not guaranteed to work on every dog, each dog will react differently to it. but it's not that expensive so it might be worth giving it a go.

Have you tried talking to your neighbours about the dogs? Suggest that they do something about the dogs barking and not you, after all it is their responibility not yours. I do know a friend of mine that had a bad time with their new neighbours, they were always complaining about her dog and i never heard it bark once, she did everything to make them happy, I dont know what it's called but she got a collar for her dog that if the dog did bark the dog got a little shock or something and then the idea is that the dog knows if it bark it will get this so it doesnt bark.

As it turns out the neighbour was just a whinge, she called the dog warden dog said it had been barking non stop for 2 days...very funny since the dog hadn't been at the house for the past 4 days, she was working a lot of overtime that week and asked her mother to look after him.

Maybe you could suggest that your neighbours try this for their dogs. Or perhaps walk them or make some fuss of them, or do something with them. Dogs will bark from time to time, if the see a cat or hear something they dont like the sound of, but if they are happy and content they dont usually bark all the time for no reason.

dazer is NOT the solution - I could see it driving the dog mad. The problem is the owner not looking after the dogs right. Complain...

galleyslave said:

dazer is NOT the solution - I could see it driving the dog mad. The problem is the owner not looking after the dogs right. Complain...

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+1.

A dog will not bark all the time unless its bored. The owner needs to walk the dogs more to drain their energy. A shock collar is not the answer to a barking dog either, thats giving him the message that he is not supposed to bark at all, whereas he should bark if startled, its normal behaviour.

Has anyone used the spray collars ? Are they effective?

Or does anyone else have any other ideas on how to stop a dog barking?

In tandem with the OP question - my dog has been barking alot recently (bright mornings + birds ....especially one bird who perches just to torment her!!! And a dog next door that she likes to talk to). I've been keeping her in until I can find a solution but in response to an active dog not barking:
- she is walked for about a half hour in the morning and 40 mins each afternoon/evening
- she has stacks of toys
- she has a kong each day to keep her occupied (need to get more organised and freeze it to keep her going to a while)
- she would bark even after a long hike in the woods

To the OP - you should talk to the neighbours, I was mortified when mine called around. We are at the front of the house and we didn't realise it was a problem, but now someone has called in, I feel I have to do something. PS - she wouldn't bark ALL the time, but enough to annoy a neighbour....which is still enough!!!

Oh - I have a Dazer (got it with a job I did before) & found it usless

sam_h, you may need to intensify the walking. A half hour in the morning and 40 minutes in the evening must not be enough for your dogs breed/energy levels. From the dogs perspective they are behind 4 walls (whether it be back garden or in the house) for almost 23 hours a day. You could try intensifying the walk itself, get a little backpack for the dog to carry something during the walk - help drain some extra energy.

Another useful tool is teaching the dog to bark on command. When they understand how to bark on command they know that 'bark' means to make noise, and that can be flipped over to 'NO bark' to mean do not make noise. Obviously some dogs will take to that more easily than others depending on how well they take to training etc...

If she is still barking after a long hike in the woods it sounds like her energy levels are very high.

Toys are useful but they dont drain energy the same way as physical activity does. There is also the element of mentally tiring the dog, by training to do various activities.

Some breeds also need to do whatever it is they are bred for to fullfill their natural energy levels (both mental and physical). Working type dogs can be bored if they are not given any work to do for example.

What breed is your dog?

Thanks for that - She's a small collie/terrier cross (12kg) - I have a coat for her - I'll stitch in some small weight to help tire her out (any idea what amount as I don't want to damage her back? Would 500grams sem OK?). We sometimes bring her out with the bike so she gets a good run, but I'd struggle to get her out for much longer.

When I say toys - thats with us playing with her - not just on her own

I'll up the training & walking intensity......can anyone get rid of the birds???? My son reckons they are taunting her because she can't fly!!

Just balance the weight, I was thinking along the lines of carrying a 500ml bottle of water along, Im sure 500grams would be fine. Alternatively you could get her to 'carry' something in her mouth - its about both making the walk physically harder, and stimulating her mentally to do some work.

Ah collie cross, very intelligent dogs, love to do a bit of herding - its a difficult one to design an activity yourself for. That may explain the bird barking, they can decide that they want to herd the birds and bark to signal to them to get a move along!!

Theyre good with the nose too (as are terriers) so you could try a chicken smoothie activity, get some chicken grease, mix with water, into a squeezy bottle and make trails for her to follow when your out walking - so youd spray the chicken grease mix in a long trail with something for her to 'find' at the end of it. Obviously lots of affection at the end of the find. Youd need to set the trail up out of her sight - its a good mental and physical activity.

Or you might think about training her to do something in particular when she sees birds, as opposed to her just barking, the training could consist of her having to go get something for you when sees a bird, and this could be escalated to her having to move something along the garden (like a large light ball maybe - something that would be easy for her to move, but enough of a movement to frighten off birds?).

This has gone off topic badly.

I too have issues with 2 barking dogs in the street, 1 from across the street and another which lives in the next estate and which comes round to ours each day. They bark at anything that moves.

I have spoke to the 2 owners. Got a bit of response on the 2nd visiting dog for a while but this has now stopped. I have complained to the dog warden several times, including calling him while the dogs were going mental and he even said he could hear them, yet nothing has ever been done about it. He said he would call round and confiscate any dogs without collars/or speak to owners but I never seen him.

Outside of this I don't know what other avenue I can take? Surely people can't just throw their dogs out into the streets to bark, annoy neighbours, wake children etc and get away with it?

Do either of these owners have dog licences? It law that you have to have one, and a fine I think if they dont. Keep on at the dog warden to go and visit the owners of the dogs.

I too am amazed at the amount of dogs that are just let out and allowed to go where ever they want, some even have no road sense and will cross the road when ever they feel like it.

You could tell a little white lie, and take the dog to the door one day and say you nearly ran over the dog, you got the fright of your life, and slip in that if their dog did cause an accident they would be at fault and would have to pay out if any damages were caused. Might be enough to make them re-think about letting their dog roam free all over the place.

Oh I wished I lived next door to you Sam H. I approached a neighbour a few years ago about their dog they have not spoken to me or looked at me since and have bad mouthed me to other neighbours saying I must be a crank others have told me they hear him but dont like to make a fuss as their kids play with theirs. These are two professional people that some people dont like to upset so put up with it. Needless to say the dog is still barking but not as much in middle of night so can you believe it I'm thankful for that I have made enquiries and really there is little you can do unless you go all the way to court if I'm to believe what I'm told on the matter by the experts. So it's time something is done and there are consequences for these owners. People think I hate dogs but this is not the case I dislike some owneres!!!!

RMCF - sorry, my fault for going somewhat off topic. But maybe some of the ideas I get might help the OP with their neighbours dogs. I'm the cause of a similar problem - but I'm trying to do something about it so I don't think it's too off topic

Plus i did suggest they talk to the neighbour as not everyone will ignore a neighbour calling to the door - I'm certainly trying to take action (just in the door after a 40 min walk & will do the weight later !!)

But I do feel for you as dogs should not be left out on the street to annoy people. I'd keep onto the warden and insist he does something - write so you have proof of contact & follow up with the council (I assume the pay him). He should at least call to check basics like collar, tag, license etc

Sam h - if your dog is outside all the time barking then why not bring the dog indoors with you on a permanent basis? They are pack animals after all so even if walked can still be lonely and bored. Why get a pet if its outside all day alone and ignored? Granted you put the time in for walks etc which is great, but I dont understand the mentality in this country whereby people get dogs and leave them alone all day outside in the garden or road...

RMCF said:

Outside of this I don't know what other avenue I can take?

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What you can do is to catch the dogs yourself and pen them in your back garden (or somewhere else), and call the dog warden telling him you have captured a stray and will he come and collect it. The dog warden does not like to catch dogs himself (at least my local one doesnt), but he will come and collect a penned stray quickly.

It doesnt matter if the dog is wearing a collar. I had the dog warden out last year for a stray who did have a collar. But he couldnt catch the dog (nor could I) so he wasnt able to take him away.

I did have a major problem trying to get the dog warden out in the first place but after 2 weeks of trying to get him to come I put in a call to the local TD who had him on my doorstep within 20 minutes.

Galley - I never said the dog is out all the time.

She sleeps outside and she is out when I'm at work (5 hours, 3 days a week). When I'm at home the door is nearly always open and she is in and out.

She loves to sleep out side and I've had to force her in the last few nights (the early morning birds seems to particularly set her off). I've also kept he inside while I've been at work for the last few days & she is pining at the back door when I get home. She doesn't bark all the time, but I can understand how neighbours don't want to be woken at 7am!!

Believe me - she is very much part of the family. She is NEVER left out the front on her own. She currently curled up on a blanket Granny knit for her !! I'm doing all I can to make sure she is not lonely or bored.....but it's still not enough!!

Shes a collieX - they are not lap dogs and she would hate to be in all the time

Hans said:

Oh I wished I lived next door to you Sam H. I approached a neighbour a few years ago about their dog they have not spoken to me or looked at me since and have bad mouthed me to other neighbours saying I must be a crank others have told me they hear him but dont like to make a fuss as their kids play with theirs. These are two professional people that some people dont like to upset so put up with it. Needless to say the dog is still barking but not as much in middle of night so can you believe it I'm thankful for that I have made enquiries and really there is little you can do unless you go all the way to court if I'm to believe what I'm told on the matter by the experts. So it's time something is done and there are consequences for these owners. People think I hate dogs but this is not the case I dislike some owneres!!!!

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Why dont you follow the formal route for noise pollution and take it to court? I wouldnt care less what my neighbours thought of me - their dog is disturbing your peace, you have already approached them, they ignored you, so they should pay the consequences.

sam h said:

Shes a collieX - they are not lap dogs and she would hate to be in all the time

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This is really the crux of your issue sam_h, collieX, bags of energy, bags of intelligence, and a need to do mentally as well as physically stimulating activities.

You can also try to re-train with the barking by sitting with her in the garden at birdy time a few times and correcting her every time she barks at a bird, but will the birds come if you are there?

There is a toy you can get, like a feather on a string on a stick, you could try that in place of a bird for training purposes - but a smart dog like yours will see through that in no time!

sam - fair enough. I stand corrected! I will say that far too many dogs in this country are neglected however but thats a seperate issue. not sure how to deal with that one really. I guess some way to satisfy her inner herding instinct needs to be found!

galleyslave said:

I guess some way to satisfy her inner herding instinct needs to be found!

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Bring to her sheepdog trials training? Not sure where or how youd do this or if they take cross breeds, but your local SPCA may have some info on it?

After warning the owner of the dog that doesn't even belong on my street about his dog barking, I told him the next time it appeared I would drive it to the dog pound myself. Of course I didn't, I'm a big woose !!

But I have been tempted. I cannot understand the mentality of folk these days who would not be the least bit worried about leaving a dog out at 7:30am to bark all day long in the street and annoy the neighbours. I would be affronted, but then again perhaps I have a social conscience, unlike many of the gulpins around now who seem to think they can do anything they want.

Back when I was young, if someones dog barked constantly it would have been brought inside in about 2mins, as people were worried about their neighbours. Now, its all so different.

And for the record, I love dogs. I just can't stand barking, especially when its constant for hours on end. I can hear nothing else.