Citronella  Collars

what a citronella collar is and how it can help to train your dog, when dealing with the problem of nuisance barking, in a more kind and humane way than some other methods

Welcome

Citronella Collars – What are they ?

A citronella collar is a dog collar that contains a tiny microphone and a small vial of a perfume called citronella that was designed to act as a means of dealing with nuisance barking in dogs.

Dogs are meant to bark in certain situations and a citronella collar is not meant to go against a dogs natural instincts or rhythms.

Nuisance barking by dogs is very different to a dogs normal and healthy desire to bark, and a citronella collar is probably the most effective, and certainly the most humane way of dealing with the problem of nuisance barking.

This can apply to your own pet dog and its training, or quite possible a neighbors dog and or nuisance barking problem.

Citronella Collars – how do they work ?

A citronella collar is in many ways a very simple device.

It works on the premise that both dogs and dog owners are used to and comfortable with the idea of a dog wearing a collar, and a citronella collar is no different in that sense.

The citronella collar can be interchanged with your dogs normal collar, and so is not worn all the time, but in other respects is the same as a normal dog collar.

The citronella collar also contains, as mentioned above, a small microphone and a small refillable vial of citronella perfume. The way the collars work is simple.

When your dog starts nuisance barking, the small microphone picks up the sound, and immediately release a small burst of the citronella perfume, from the collar, into the air just in front of your dogs nose.

The citronella is completely harmless, but has an odor that your dog doesn't particularly like. That coupled with the shock of the citronella burst in front of your dog, acts as a very basic behavioral technique to stop your dog nuisance barking.

There is no danger to your dog in any way, there is no risk of harm, yet the technique has proved extremely effective with lots of dog owners.

For many people is a much more humane way of trying to deal with the problem of nuisance barking than the other alternatives that are possible.

Citronella Collars – Why do you need one ?

Dogs bark, and in one sense are meant to bark, and it can be a natural and very healthy way for your dog to express him/herself.

The problem a citronella collar is designed to deal with is nuisance barking. If you have experienced this yourself, you know what it is !

Often anything can set it off, and once your dog starts, they may never stop, or so it can seem.

The reason it has become such a problem in recent years is probably down to various factors, such as more people living on top of each other, people living more stressful lives, and everything making much more noise than it used to.

Nuisance barking adds a level of stress that to many people can be a breaking point. A citronella collar has evolved out of a need to deal with problems that have arisen from nuisance barking.

Problems may range from irritation or annoyance in your own home, to problems with neighbors that may even become violent, through to the risk of having your dog taken away from you and given to a shelter.

Citronella Collars – what are the alternatives ?

Alternatives do exist to using a citronella collar.

Primarily they consist of electric collars that omit a short sharp shock to your dog, every time they bark, on the premise that they will eventually stop.

Manufacturers of these collars claim that the dog doesn't feel any pain and whether that is true or not, the fear that actually your dog is hurt can be a real deterrent.

This is true, especially when there is a viable alternative in having a citronella collar that is harmless and has a very strong anecdotal history of being very effective.

Citronella Collars – what are the main makes ?

Citronella collars and refills are available at loads of pets shops and numerous sores on-line.

All the collars work on the same principle, but do vary in terms of cost and different types of collar etc. Some of the bigger name citronella collar manufacturers are :

Petsafe No-Bark Collar PBC 102 ( citronella collar)

Innotek Anti-Bark Spar Collar by Multivet ( citronella collar)

Premier Gentle Spray Citronella collar

Citronella Collars – Research

A limited amount of research has been done on the effectiveness of citronella collars and published in a journal called Applied Animal Behaviour Science.

The results of the research seem to indicate two things in particular.

The dogs and their owners taking part in the research study noted that the citronella collar was more effective when used intermittently than when worn all the time.

Also  that the collar was more effective in reducing nuisance barking in dogs when they were traveling, rather than when they were watching television (!) or traffic related barking.

Academic reference ( Harvard system )

Wells Dl ( 2001) : The effectiveness of a citronella spray collar in reducing certain forms of barking in dogs, Applied Animal Behaviour science, Vol 73, iss 4, pp299/309

ISSN : 01681591

Accession Number : 000170156700006

Database : Science Citation Index.