shock collar question

First off, please do not flame me for using a shock collar... we had no choice because my one dog would literally bark NON-STOP (he actually would hit the wall with his tail and then bark at the noise) and my neighbors started calling the cops and filing complaints...

if you use a shock collar did you find that your dog was afraid to shake?? ranger now has an ear infection and i notice he is afraid to shake so i am wondering if it is because he is not shaking the water out of his ear when it rains.... not that i can stop using the collar but i can atleast wash his ears out more often

Re: shock collar question

maybe bring him to the vet to have his ear checked out? it could just be a coincidence

i don't know the answer about whether the less frequent shakes have to do w/ shock collar or not. maybe the collar feels uncomfortble when he shakes out (it has a little box thing on it, right? maybe the box feels weird?) or maybe he is shaking less b/c of his ear? wish i could say. poor boy.

Re: shock collar question

i know he has an infection, that was the nice present i got at the vet, i knew my golden had one because he always does but the lab never does which is why i was thinking their might be a correlation....

Re: shock collar question

did you ever consider using the citronella collar for your pups barking problem vs the shock collar?? i think its a better choice than the shock collar... my friend used it on her dog b/c he would bark all the time & she lives in an apt building

basically, each time the dog barks, it squirts citronella in his/her face... its safe for the dog and less invasive than the shock collar -- my friend swears by it!

Re: shock collar question

I know nothing about shock collars but I have seen citronella collars have a positive affect on my brother in law's parent's dog. I do think the idea with any of these methods is to not use them forever and once they learn, to remove it.

As far as the ear infections go - by the time they start shaking their heads, it's usually already a problem. Get cotton rounds from the makeup aisle at CVS and dry out their ears after a swim or being out in the rain.

Our Lab is prone to ear infections, as most floppy eared dogs are, and we clean his ears weekly and make sure not to oversaturate the ear. The ear should be almost dry when you're done cleaning.

Re: shock collar question

it's definitely due to the ear infection. it probably hurts everytime he shakes his head so he tries not to. 2 of my dogs have collars (1 a bark collar, the other a training collar) and they definitely don't have problems shaking their heads. it sucks cause it's really loud when they do that and usually wake up the baby haha

Re: shock collar question

the citronella collar didnt work... neither did the little barking house... we tried spraying him with water, putting him in "time out"... everything... he just barks and barks and barks... it was always alot, but when ds was born it got excessive and with dh working nights we had no choice....

i am hoping it is because of the ear infection....that i know how to treat

Re: shock collar question

See what happens after you treat the ear infection - hopefully that's what's stopping the dog from shaking, it would make sense.