Product Review: Petsafe Bark Control Collar

I was serious about getting a shock collar for Twinkle in an attempt to curb her sometimes incessant barking. The Bark Off was a joke; I suspected that if I had taken it apart, I would have found it to be nothing but an empty plastic box. However, I tossed it in the garbage before I ever got around to proving what a scam that product is. Oh well, live and learn.

Anyway, her barking is a problem. Since she's an inside dog, it doesn't bother the neighbors as far as I know, but it drives us crazy. She barks when she wants attention, she barks when she hears a car outside, she barks when we're trying to have a conversation anywhere in her vicinity, and she barks nonstop when someone comes to the front door. The thought of a shock collar seems a little cruel, but I've had friends report quick success with them, so I decided to shell out the $60 and try this Petsafe Bark Control Collar, which purports to use "static correction," which supposedly feels like an "annoying tingle." They told me at Petsmart that I could return it if it didn't work, so really, I had nothing to lose.

Here's our trial run today:



As with the Bark Off, we tested it by having Joey go ring the doorbell, because she usually goes nuts when someone rings the doorbell.

It's definitely working. Interestingly, there seems to be an added bonus to this besides curbing her barking: it seems to be making her more calm overall. The truth is that at a year old, she still spends the majority of her time gated in the kitchen because she's so hyper and destructive. After she had been wearing the shock collar for a while this afternoon, I let her out of the kitchen and she has been playing with the kids out in the living room for about an hour without being a complete maniac or destroying anything. I think we've effectively broken her spirit!