Citronella Anti Bark Collar

Review by Reviewer:

I bought this when I was running out of patience with my 9 month old German Shepherd mix puppy.

Even after I got this thing, I didn’t use it right away. The biggest reason for this is the included instruction manual. It is an extremely well written handbook for training dogs, and it emphasizes several things:

1. Your dog must know the basic commands like No, Sit, Stay, Come, Down, etc.

2. Try a different type of leash – such as the suggested “Wonder Lead”

3. Use the collar sparingly and as a supplementary instruction tool, not a full replacement training tool

The manual was great and I found it to be more instructive than the numerous dog training books that I had already purchased. I continued working with my dog without the collar, and I bought the “Wonder Lead”, a very simple nylon noose-type leash that relaxes immediately after the dog stops pulling. I like the lead very much – it functions better than a collar that I bought called “The Illusion Collar”. Both serve the same purpose – to put pressure high on the dog’s neck for considerably more control. But the Wonder Lead is simpler because it is easier to adjust and it relaxes quicker since the nylon is stiff.

Until I bought this collar, my dog was impervious to everything. He was terrible on the leash. He would lunge at other dogs and would make such a scene that people would glare at me or my wife, as if to say “What’s the matter with you, thinking you can just walk a vicious animal around in public like that?”. He knew all the basic commands like Sit, Down, Come, No… but only if I had a treat in my hand. Outside of the house he was a different dog.

Rewards or punishment… nothing seemed to get through to him. My wife and I decided one night that we’d take a relaxing stroll up to the ice cream shop. We took the dog with us. We found a table on the sidewalk in front of the store and sat there eating our ice cream, and I sat the dog next to me and scratched behind his ears because he likes that. Everything was fine until another dog showed up, and our puppy suddenly transformed himself from happy cute puppy to vicious attack dog. People actually jumped back because he sounded so bad. It was downright scary and not only were we concerned, but we were also terribly embarrassed. I felt silly for bringing the dog up there just assuming it would be okay. We got the heck out of there as fast as possible.

But I didn’t give up on the walks. I’ve watched every episode of Dog Whisperer I could catch, man. I’ve tried everything Cesar says, and I’ve walked that dog for miles and miles, I’ve said “heel” a billion times, I’ve used treats, I’ve used a pinch on the neck, I’ve tried ignoring him, and he still pulls and lunges and growls at other dogs. I’m convinced there is a lot of training going on that doesn’t make it to the final cut of the TV episodes because I’ve tried everything. I’ll ignore him and it works about 50% of the time. I’ll yell at him and it works about 30% of the time. I’ll reward him and it works 100% the first time, 0% the next time because he just wants a treat and throws a fit until he gets one. The only thing that ever seemed to get a result was that if he was being bad, I would make him lay and firmly hold the scruff of his neck until he stopped panting. Then I’d slowly release him until he was laying quietly by himself and I could walk away. That was a Cesar trick I saw and since it was the only one that worked, I was beginning to fear I would wear it out. But that’s a dumb way to try to be the alpha. It’s impractical, no fun for you or the dog, and half the time the dog probably doesn’t understand why you are mad anyway. I had to find another way. I’d take him out to rural areas and let him run it out. He would be happy, and I’d keep him nearby with a tennis ball or a bone, and lure him back to the car with treats and happy voices. But I still had to “master the walk” as Cesar says.

Again and again I would take him out for a walk, and I just couldn’t trust him with other dogs. And it began to get worse, where even fast-moving kids on bikes would set him off. I was using the new leash with him at that point and it was only a marginal improvement. I worked with him daily, trying to teach him to heel and walk by my side. Finally one day when a dog was passing by, I thought I’d try something new and just relax and let it go, thinking that maybe my tension made it worse. So I let the dogs do what they would. The two dogs sniffed each other, and then my cute little puppy turned into Mr. Hyde. At that point I couldn’t take it any more because I couldn’t trust him with other dogs, kids, and my wife couldn’t take him for walks any more. I was starting to get a sore shoulder from constantly correcting him and restraining his lunges during walks. With this last dog fight incident it was the last straw, so I marched him home, put the collar on him, and took him outside for his new phase of training.

The first thing I did was try to get him to associate the “beep” on the collar with “No”. I did not use the shock yet. I was hoping that by instilling the fear of the beep, I would only have to use the beep later to teach him. Like everything else, the beep was generally ineffective. So we were out on the leash again, and he was tugging and being obnoxious as usual, and here I was saying “No” (beep) “No” (beep) “Heel” (beep) like an idiot. With no other ideas I sat him down, took off his leash, and said “Stay”.

So he started to wonder off in leashless bliss. I told him to come. He would not. He kind of looked over his shoulder with a look that said: “See ya.” So I said “No!” emphasized by the beep, but there was no response. So I hesitantly set the collar on two, told him to come, and when he did not obey I hit the button.

He didn’t even flinch.

Now I had tested this thing on my forearm the day I got it. I knew that 2 and 3 were nothing more than an itch on your skin. But 8 gave me a surprise. It made my hand involuntarily clench, but the effect of the surprise was most evident for me – it wasn’t painful, just surprising.

So I moved it up to 3. I commanded him to come, and when he did not I hit the button. It did not phase him at all, and at this point I was wondering if the collar was working. The same process was repeated until I was all the way up to 8. Finally he jumped a bit and gave me a look like “What the h*ll was that?”. He hesitated, but when I told him to come, he continued on. He continued to disobey my command so I gave him another jolt and he looked at me again, this time with a bit more concern. But still he disobeyed, and by now it was obvious that 1) I was angered with him and 2) he did not care. With one last command to come, I used the button again. He let out a little yelp and came running back to me and sat down. I was elated but I tried to restrain myself. I put his leash back on, hoping to just walk him home and be done for the day.

On the way back, I was lost in thoughts about what I should do with this new power because I was also struggling with causing him pain. One of the reasons I love this dog is because he’s got a lot of spirit and spunk (he’s a brat but he’s a fun dog), and I didn’t want to scare it out of him. It bothered me greatly that I had obviously hurt him. But, just then, my thoughts were interrupted by another dog encounter and my dog’s instantaneous growling and lurching. Panicked, I used the collar and simultaneously yelled “No!”, forgetting it was still set on 8. But holy cow did I get instant conformance. He went silent and immediately lay down. Meanwhile the other dog was going crazy. At that point I ran home with him to get him in the house and out of trouble.

That was about 2 months ago. These days I do not have to use the collar often, and per the suggestion of the manual, I never let him associate the collar with bad things. I put the collar on him when we go play fetch. Sometimes I’ll put it on him for no reason in the house and let him wear it all day and never turn it on. He thinks it is me that has the Magic Invisible Command From A Distance and I don’t think he knows it is the collar. I am at the point now where I regularly walk him without a leash. I let him wander as he pleases but he never goes farther than 10 feet or so. If he sees another dog all I have to do is mutter “No” and he comes back to me and sits. I think that is the greatest gift this collar has given: the dog understands “No” better than he ever did, and now we both enjoy going for walks much better. He has more freedom now than he did before when I was tense and trying to reel him in with a tight leash. Now he can roam free as he pleases, and he doesn’t get into trouble any more. On the rare occasions the collar is required, I have never taken the collar above 4 since that first day, and these days I can take him for short walks even without the collar or a leash and he is generally well behaved. He obeys command, and even though he isn’t a perfect leash dog, he is manageable and my wife can now walk him comfortably. We took him out in the crowds on the 4th of July at the local festivities, and despite kids and dogs, his worst offense was sniffing the butts of other people passing by.

On occasion I still use the collar for corrective measures, but 3 seems to be adequate and it is only a reinforcement of the word “No.” I hope that in a few months I will not need the collar at all.

I am very happy with this product but I think its effectiveness is completely dependent on the user. I do not think my story is the ideal way to handle a dog. I have made many mistakes with him but finally he is learning from me and I am learning from him. The collar is really one path of many to take to eventually build trust between a dog and owner. He still jumps, barks at the cat, and makes a bee-line for the door if it is open, but he comes to me when I call him, doesn’t terrorize the neighborhood any more, and finally understands that when I say “NO”, I mean it. Perhaps I could have obtained the same results with other methods, but I am thankful for what progress I’ve made.. He’s a different animal now and he hasn’t lost any of his spunk – he just listens better. I think that’s all that was required – the collar gave me a way to get through to him.

Review by Arlene Pepera:

It took me over a year to finally try this with my dogs. I was worried I might hurt them or change their personality (one a rescue terrier mix, the other a Soft Coated Wheaten). Furthermore I baby and pamper both of them and consider them family and I felt guilty even thinking about trying this method of training. Dogs rule and Dog is God spelled backward at our house. Both dogs have successfully participated in traditional obedience classes and agility training in the past. Both are very intelligent, but stubborn and a bit feisty. They also love to chase after other animals. I live in a rural area, and while my dogs were obedient in a confined area, or when on a leash, they would not return when outdoors off-leash if they were distracted, chasing other animals, or far enough away to know they could ignore me when called. Mostly I pleasure-walked them on extra long flexi leads, seldom letting them roam free because of worries they would run off and tangle with coyotes or other dogs in the area. When off-leash, they understood what I wanted, but they knew when they were free, and would come only when they felt like it. Actually the first time I bought the stimulation collar, I sent it back because I couldn’t bring myself to use it. Finally, I ordered it again (Cabellas had a better price at that time with a coupon). Sorry Amazon, I love you and consider you the best and always my first choice unless it is significantly cheaper someplace else. Back to my experience with the collar. This time I ordered and kept the collar. I tested it on my own head, neck, and hand at all the various settings. I started with my 2 year old male (the one that loved to bolt as soon as he could get out of arms reach), He caught on immediately at a very very low setting (2 and 3), and I think I only used the stimulation control 2 or 3 times. After that it was buzzer only if needed, but mostly he just comes when called, and comes very fast. Like I mentioned, I live in a rural area, and I am talking about using it outdoors around our farm and on long hikes at home or in parks where it is OK for the dogs to be only in eye sight. I can’t begin to tell you how much more I love hiking with my dogs, and they get way more exercise on a regular walk because I allow them to run ahead, etc. until I call them back. I started with the SportDog 800 model, because I wanted to make sure the range was adequate. In a few weeks I wanted a 2nd collar for the other dog, a very intelligent, but very stubborn 9 year old female. She is alpha dog, she is princess. I wound up ordering a 2nd complete unit, both collar and receiver, but I went with the SD400. I chose this because I learned that by adding a 2nd collar to the 800 I would loose the beep only function on both collars. With better planning I probably would have started with a higher model that would have supported beep only on 2 collars. I wrongfully assumed they all had this capability. Oh well, not a big problem, because I find that having 2 remotes works for me. The 2nd dog, Mila, was a bit more stubborn and she ignored me unless I cranked the stimulation up higher. But she only required getting the stimulation a few times. Now she comes when called or occasionally requires beeped only. Both dogs come running gleefully in the house to get their collars on because they know they are going out for a walk. Any fears I had about the collar being cruel or hurting them were unfounded, and I truly love the collars, and feel they have helped the dogs have much more fun and get much more exercise. I have not tried to use the collars for any other type of training. My only goal and purpose was what I described. I didn’t mean to write so much, but I know this type of training is very controversial. I did a lot or research on the Internet and much of what I read scared me off at first. But this system has really worked for us and our use. I think it’s worth every penny and then some. I am very glad I made the decision to try this. Again I emphasize my dogs were adults, had training, and understood my commands before I used this method. I hope this helps somebody else who might be in a similar situation Happy hiking.

Review by JanSobieski:

After four anonymous complaints from the neighbors which brought the police to our house we finally decided to do something about it. I researched the heck out of these things particularly after reading some of the horror stories in the reviews of the other collars. Short story: the dogs are finally behaving themselves.

These collars have 3 different ways to program them. One, the collar increases the shock level beginning from the lowest level when your dog starts barking and then escalates eight levels until the dog stops. It then remembers the level necessary to stop the barking and commences at this same level the next time your dog begins barking. This is the default program, but my wife and I found it too punitive.

The second program begins at the lowest level and escalates until your dog stops but reverts to the lowest level next time your dog starts barking. This is the program we use.

The third program gives him the same shock each and every time he barks. My wife and I preferred what we considered the most humane program, number 2, and it works great. The collar requires a sound and a vibration to buzz the dog which theoretically reduces false discharges.

I directly compared this to the Tritonics and the Remington, both of which worked fine. The Sportdog was rechargeable which is what ultimately sold us and it had more different ways of programming the collar for the ultimate in flexibility. The Tritonics only shocks at one level. The Remington included programs 2 and three but no escalating shock found in Sportdog’s program 1. Since we don’t use program 1 that would not have been a problem. The other reason we went with the Sportdog rather than the Remington is that the Remington, though theoretically just as good, is new to the market and I could find no reliable user reviews.

For our dogs, you must remember to put the collar on or the darn mutts will begin barking again. My wife wanted our dogs to continue barking while in the house for the additional security and that has been no problem.

Your dog will take some time getting used to the collar and may behave a bit neurotically until they figure out just what the heck is going on. To reduce the level of neurosis, use program 2 which gives them a chance to learn and is less punitive.

Great product! For the record, I called the manufacturer and it is waterproof.

Review by Cheryl Lewis:

I have 3 dachshunds who bark at the least little thing. I live in a Townhouse so my neighbors are right next to me. When I let them out in the yard they immediately start barking non stop. I have tried spray bottles, other bark collars, shake a can with coins and nothing stopped my 3. Since I did not want to buy 3 at once I decided to try out one collar. So I ordered the collar and it came in 3 days. The collar is well constructed and heavy duty. I thought it was too big at first for my dachshunds that weigh 16, 13, 11 respectively.But once I got the right fitting it stayed snug on them. The strap is very long and strudy. There is so much extra strap that it curls up because it is made of a heavy vinyl material. Might cut the excess off. I tried it on the worst of the 3 Gracie. Well to my surprise after fitting it on her and using the temperment setting one bark and I saw she was startled but that was the last bark she made while the collar was on her. Two hours went by and not a peep. I think she has to get use to it because she is a little skiddish now.Does not want to go outside without me with her but I am sure after a while she will be fine. Next I tried it on Zoe. I had the same results. No barking while collar was on her. I was truly amazed. The one with the collar on did not bark while the other 2 did. I am now going to buy a second one and hope I will not need a third. Thank you Sportdog for making such a good NO Bark Collar.

Review by R. Courtney:

I just got it and I’m fairly happy so far. It’s small and lightweight as advertised and the quality seems good. Loading batteries into the receiver can be tricky so be careful. The transmitter and receiver each take two batteries. I don’t know yet how long they will last. The snap collar makes fastening easy. My biggest disappointment was that the collar would not fit my Cocker Spaniel. If your dog’s neck size is smaller than 15″, look for a different collar. The stimulation levels seem good – I tested levels 1-4 on my underarm. Level one was barely noticeable, level four approaches discomfort and will probably be the highest I will need. Features that this model doesn’t have but you may want to look for include rechargable batteries, waterproof transmitter, momentary stimulation and remote turn-off.

Review by gboese:

I did a lot of research on these before I purchased one for my cocker spaniel. Many of the other products out there, at – less, had great reviews BUT when you looked at the actual review, the products had many problems (distance less than expected, batteries wearing out quickly, not working at all after a few months, etc.). It appeared as if they were scored high because the dogs stopped doing what the owners wanted and therefore rated thier experience as good even thought the product failed.

My dog was quite well behaved but at one year old, I still struggled with “come” and “stay” and he also didn’t walk consistently well and when excited would constantly pull on the leash. THIS PRODUCT HAS TURNED HIM INTO THE PERFECT DOG!!!

At first, he wore it all day and I used it for every command. I followed the directions carefully and combined my command with the tone and then correction when he did not listen. He now only wears it when we walk or are just hanging out in the front yard (non fenced). He listens to me with out the collar on 98% of the time (still a puppy) and when wearing the collar he rarely needs corrections. I walk him with this instead of a leash and we can walk by other crazy, pulling, barking, snarling, yapping dogs and he stays right at my heal and looks at them like they are crazy.

And I have owned this product for 3 months and have not had to change or replace the batteries and have yet to find a range/distance it did not work. Sometimes I can’t see where my dog is and I call him and give the tone and he appears immediately.

THIS PRODUCT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY I PAID. Highly recommend this brand.

Review by A. Oberst:

WE bought this for our stubborn dog and it has worked great. He goes outside and come back without having to chase him. It has also made walking him on a lease much easier.

Review by M. Krupp:

Good product, but loses power when it’s below freezing out within 20 minutes or so.

Review by James Kotlarz:

I bought this after having a company come out and quoted a price of ,583 to install a wireless fence. We have a little over half an acre and there was more than enough included wire to install. I rented a gas edger at Ace for for a couple hours. And used a thin piece of plastic to push the wire in the slot from the edger. I was very leary of doing it myself but didn’t want to spend the money having it done. And I’m glad I did because installing this thing was so easy I couldn’t believe it.

Now as far as effective it WORKS! Our black lab was very easy to train. In a week of walking her around the yard showing her the flags she figured it out. She is also a lot more laid back in the yard. Instead of chasing birds and rabbits she now sits there and watches them. I recommend this product to everyone. The collar takes regular 9 volt batteries so no special ordering and paying an arm and a leg for them. However I would not use it on a very small dog because the collar is pretty wide and the box isn’t as small as others. There are others at Amazon that would be better for a tiny dog.

Everything needed other than the edger was included in the box. Also took about 3-4 hours to install from start to finish.

UPDATE:3-21-08 After having this for nearly a year we are still very happy with it. I was worried it wasn’t working because I never have seen the low battery indicator light up on the collar. So I tested it and it is still good. So after 11 months we have not had to replace the 9-volt battery. It also has no interference with our neighbors underground fence either.

Review by Gerard Duquette:

They really thought of everything with this one! I love the added vibration feature on the collar as an additional warning to the dog. I’ve had and used many other systems throughout the various homes I’ve owned, but this is the most comprehensive system yet.

The collar unit is a bit large, but that’s necessary to acccomodate the 9-Volt Battery. Which is great because battery replacement isn’t a problem!!!

Review by Brian:

I tried this on my Siberian Husky, he can be a very stubborn dog at times and has a high tolerance for pain. I set it on one and he didn’t even flinch, I adjusted it to two and he reacted to that and followed my commands right away. I wouldn’t imagine you would ever have to turn this all the way up for any dog, but it works great!

Review by S. McDaniel:

This product has worked great. I was a little scared to spend the money on this product because I did not know if it would work, but it does. The first day it took some getting used to-me and the dog. After that I can take him out without a leash no problem. DO WATCH THE VIDEO FIRST OR THE COLLAR WILL NOT WORK FOR YOU.

Review by J. Lopez:

We purchased this system due to the fact that we have 5 acres of open land and lots of neighboring cows for our dogs to chase. With my 2 older dogs, who have always been able to run loose, we took about two weeks of training them as instructed. They had no problem in learning. We then brought a young dog to our home who had always been enclosed in a yard with chain link fencing. Trained one very briefly, on lowest setting it ran thru boundary fencing, turned up the power, and along with the flags, the dog never ventures near boundary. Two very young strays, with whom we could not train due to the fact that they would not do the leash….put the collars on them, they accidentally went into boundary, with our visual supervision over a period of about a week, and they did not attempt doing that again. We then had to put boundary fencing around the area of where we park our cars, due to the destructive natures of the younger dogs who scratched several cars chasing a cat, they do not enter the boundary zone….in fact, when flags went up, they totally understood their meaning!!! excellent product that works with any age or stubborness of dogs. i highly recommend this product. Also, works just as well after water exposure, as our dogs love the pond, water does not affect the products effectiveness. i give this system 5 stars.

Review by Mary Kay:

We had to purchase a second collar for our geriatric male lab when putting the Petsafe SportDog wireless fence in specifically for our 1 year old male lab mix. Initially I was a little worried that the correction was going to be too stressful for our older dog or that he wasn’t going to be able to hear the audible warning the collar makes, neither of these worries occurred. The collars have several levels of correction that you can set for each dog’s temperament, etc.. Turned out that we had to set the old dog’s correction at level 3 whereas the young dog only required a level 2. It was a little traumatic the first few days of training and the dogs didn’t want to get off the porch but we remained patient with them and now they totally know their boundaries and feel free to wander and play within their invisible fence line. Both seem more secure and less territorial having their boundaries well defined for them. The dogs are comfortable in the collars and we only take them off when they go into the kennel or are on a leash. Another bonus is that the batteries are 9 volt and are convenient and inexpensive to replace. Should have implemented this system 10 years ago.

Review by FrankietheC:

I’ve only had the collar for a week and only now had the chance to use it in the field … all I can say is WHAT A DIFFERENCE! I should say that my dog already knew basic commands like “Come”, “Sit”, “Stay”, “Heel”, and “Down” but getting him to do those things off-lease was a real challenge. With the radio collar, things are a snap. Games of fetch are now actually fun for both of us. He used to run after the ball, catch it, but then proceed to not come back with it. Prompts of treats didn’t help past the first one or two throws. After only two “tickles” on the lowest setting (and we really are talking a “tickle” here … I tested it on myself and the lowest setting is far less than you might get from a shock from walking on synthetic or wook carpeting), he now makes a bee line back to me after only getting the tone prompt. With only one tickle at the lowest setting, he’s even heeling off lease as we walk home from throwing the ball. Truly … if you have a dog who already knows basic commands and you’d like to be able to take him off-lease for games (or hunting as the product description states) this is a wonderful product. This is not a substitute for training but is a very effective supplement to it. All my dog needed was the reinforcement that I meant the commands I was giving him even off-lease.

An additional kudos to the Petsafe company … the originally shipped transmitter (the part that looks like a little FRS radio) was defective making the set essentially useless. One call to Petsafe and they replaced the transmitter with a new one with no problelm.

Review by Kalves:

I’ve had the Sport Dog training collar for 2 weeks now. It was a replacement for a “cheap” (0) one from W.Mart that used watch batteries on the collar and a 9V on the transmitter. After buying more batteries than I care to admit, I finally bought this one. Both the receiver and transmitter batteries recharge by a wall plug (at the same time) and the unit is waterproof – which is great. The dog responds well to one of the low settings and has quickly gotten used to the tone to avoid the zap. The only reason I didn’t give this a 5 star rating was that the batteries need to be recharged every other day if you leave it on. It’s not an issue, I would just prefer to have larger capicity batteries. Add that to the lifetime warranty and it has been a good deal so far.

Review by Michael R. Watts:

My wife, myself, and our dog MOSES trust these batteries to keep him safe. They are overly expensive and that does not make sense with the low price of other batteries and that is why only 4 stars. We conserve by removing the batteries when we take off his collar at night and he is inside. When the batteries are in, the unit is in the ON mode and the they are constantly draining power just like a cell phone charger regardless of whether or not there is a shock, so we just remove them when not in use and they last much longer. Of course if he sees a rabbit then he goes brain numb and no battery will stop him.

Review by Tonya Glover:

Got a years’ supply of batteries at a great price. I have no worries about my fence or it’s collar. Fast shipping and well…they work.