# Do Ultrasonic Bark Control Devices Actually Work?



## Jen2010 (Feb 12, 2013)

Not a bark collar, but one you place in the room and it emits a sound when the dog barks. 

I have the advantage of being able to bring my dog into work with me from time to time, but Kane is skittish of people and barks whenever someone walks by (really annoying). I'm wondering if something like this would work:
http://www.petsmart.ca/dog/bark-control/sunbeam-ultrasonic-egg-dog-bark-control-device-zid36-5169731/cat-36-catid-100125?_t=pfm%3Dcategory


----------



## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

Define "work".

If your dog is fearful and that's why he barks, then adding pain to his fear might make him stop barking, but it's also going to make him even more fearful of strangers. You could well go from having a dog who barks at strangers to having a dog who bites strangers. He may not associate the pain with barking, either, he might just decide work causes the pain and be afraid of your work location.

The far better answer is to address his fear of strangers. LAT/BAT training works, is humane and will not result in increasing his fears.


----------



## sandgrubber (May 21, 2014)

In my experience, no. I tried setting up an ultrasonic unit (a stationary type, not collar mount) in the small dog area of a boarding kennel. The little yappers can really get one another excited in a kennel, and it can be deafening. The device did absolutely nothing. Can't say that none of them work. But no worries about it being aversive


----------



## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Amaryllis said:


> Define "work".
> 
> If your dog is fearful and that's why he barks, then adding pain to his fear might make him stop barking, but it's also going to make him even more fearful of strangers. You could well go from having a dog who barks at strangers to having a dog who bites strangers. He may not associate the pain with barking, either, he might just decide work causes the pain and be afraid of your work location.
> 
> The far better answer is to address his fear of strangers. LAT/BAT training works, is humane and will not result in increasing his fears.


I agree with this.
It might do nothing at all, but the potential for a negative effect when it comes to interactions with people would make me very hesitant to use anything along those lines.

One thing to note if you're talking about using it in a public place is that some of the ultra sonic type devices can be heard by younger people in particular. I recall reading of some shops in the UK using the sounds to deter teenage loiterers. Problem is, that its not uncommon for people into their 20s to still hear at some high frequencies and be irritated by those deterrant devices.


----------



## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

Jen2010 said:


> Not a bark collar, but one you place in the room and it emits a sound when the dog barks.
> 
> I have the advantage of being able to bring my dog into work with me from time to time, but Kane is skittish of people and barks whenever someone walks by (really annoying). I'm wondering if something like this would work:
> http://www.petsmart.ca/dog/bark-control/sunbeam-ultrasonic-egg-dog-bark-control-device-zid36-5169731/cat-36-catid-100125?_t=pfm%3Dcategory


Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the purpose of such devices is still to correct the dog for barking by emitting an unpleasant sound, right? In that sense, it is an aversive and a correction. Just because something doesn't cause physical pain to a dog doesn't mean it isn't an aversive (ex. spray bottles). I am not totally against aversives as a general rule. But in this situation, because you have a dog that is wary of people, counter conditioning is the ONLY safe way to approach this. You want Kane to think people who walk by are awesome or boring. You do not simply want to stop the barking but have Kane remain emotionally unhappy about strangers. If you have the time and energy to work on that during work or on one of your days off, that would help him in the long run. That, or don't bring Kane to work. Yes, being able to bring your dog to work is an awesome thing. But if it'll stress you and your dog out more to do so, you will both probably have a better time if he is at home. Another option is management: if you can provide him with a safe and comfortable (by Kane's standards) space such as a crate, he may not be so wary of people walking by. 

Also, some dogs are just natural guarders. Soro ADORES people but he still warning barks if he hears someone passing by, and he was also an office dog for a few years of his life. No one really cared because he knew a Quiet command and also he isn't naturally an incessant barker. If he felt the need to let out a booming bark every time anyone walked by, I would have clicked+rewarded for not barking, so catching him before he reacted at an approaching person or sound) and provided a continuous string of reward and praise while the person walked by. I would delay the reward as my dog became more comfortable of people passing. I would expect this method to make my dog anticipate passerbyers as predictors of awesome things...


----------



## Moe9 (Oct 23, 2015)

I like to stick to the safe side and stay away from these devices, mainly because they're a "one size fits all" attempt of an answer by the companies that manufacture them.

How do you know why exactly your dog is barking? How can you tell that a device such as this won't actually cause them some sort of trauma? There are too many factors that come into play really. So I'd advise you to figure out why the excessive barking is happening in the first place, then try to fix it the RIGHT way with proper training methods.


----------



## 1mustluvdogs (May 8, 2012)

MOST ultrasonics don't work. I have seen the Egg unit work. It's a hand held button available at Petsmart. BUT - do not use it for this situation. As said by a few others, you need to make Kane realize that strangers in the office are good and not punish him or scare him more for being fearful or guarding you.
If it's too much to work on, then leave him home. it sounds stressful for him right now. If you do take him, you'll need to work on him getting to know and like strangers.
Maybe hire a positive reinforcement trainer or behaviorist to help you out with that or read up on it and do it yourself if you feel confident in it.


----------

