Customer Reviews

PetSafe Comfort-Fit Bark Control Collar

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

(September 2006)

I got a warning note from the city that my dogs must not bark at all times. This was rather unsettling, because I rarely hear them bark. They stay inside with me at night. The only time is when the dogs from my new neighbor behind me come and scratch on the fence, to attract my dogs. My dogs go over and for a short time once a day have a morning barkfest. (last 5 minutes). That is pretty much what the community officer said when I called her, that the neighbor who complained said they only bark in the morning when the other dogs come out.

I live alone, have to work for a living. I cannot stay home to make sure my dogs are quiet, so this was very upsetting to me.

I bought a couple of these bark collars. It took several days before I cold figure out if they worked. I eventually heard the neighbor dogs scratching on the fence. My dogs showed no response. These collars really worked for my two border collies. I take the collars off at night, and put them on in the morning when I leave for work. When I do I tell the dogs 'no barking,' which is something they understand.

I have read these are better than the citronella spray collars, because they give the dogs an immediate static queue when they bark. If the dogs don't bark the collars don't activate. The problem with the citronella collars is that the uncomfortable spray lingers after they stop barking - which can confuse the dogs. (the deterrent doesnt go away when the dog stops barking).

I have put these on my neck and tried to get them to activate. I did twice - it was uncomfortable, but nothing that lingered very long. It is mostly an attention getter.

I recommend these collars. They are waterproof and an indicator light every five seconds tells you that the battery is ok. I have had them for three weeks now, and the most my dogs ever do is bark once or twice and stop - about every third day.

I think it is a little strange to have a neighborhood so darn quiet. I would prefer to let my dogs bark at disturbances, but with complainy neighbors, I had no choice but to do something. I just don't want trouble.

These collars may have worked so well with my dogs because they are smart, and quickly figured out that barking caused the static in the collar. (at which point they might have remembered Dad said no barking when he put them on us).

Be sure not to play with your dogs when they have their bark collars on. You don't want them to bark while playing and activate the collar.

Addendum, February 20, 2007

Last weekend I noticed my girl border collie was barking up a fit at the dogs behind us. She had her bark collar on. I checked it and the light wasnt working. I took my other dog's bark petsafe bark collar and put it on her. She ran out and barked twice, and then looked at me like 'ok Dad, I was bad,' and stopped barking and went up to the deck. More proof that these collars work.

I replaced the batteries in the nonworking collar, but that didn't fix it. I went and bought another one, and when I did I noticed it mentioned lifetime warranty on the package. (I had not kept my original packaging like a dummy). I called Petsafe and to my surprise they said they will sent me another collar at no charge, since I just bought the collar last September. All I have to do is send in the nonworking collar.

I will keep the third one I bought, just to have a spare. Its very important to me that my dogs don't bark, because I don't want any trouble. (just want to be left alone and live in peace).

Addendum October 20, 2007

I have found these collars work better when they are kept snug on the dog's neck. If not I think the dogs figure out a way to keep some separation and then bark away. It is good to have some spare batteries handy. The batteries generally last two or three months. (The batteries won't last as long if the dog tries to bark very often, which mine don't at all with these collars on).

We have a young dog that is an excessive barker. We bought the collar to keep her from disturbing our neighbors and frankly, us.

The collar is bulky and has two prongs which need skin contact to work properly.

Her first experience with it surprised her and the initial shock was not painful. But the second and third consecutive barks really popped her and she immeditely started to whine so we took it off. We put it back on a few minutes later and she barked again twice. That is really all she needed to understand that this was the end of the barking without consequence. As long as we had it on her (because she wisely associated the collar with not being allowed to bark) it worked.

The problems:

It is NOT waterproof and the danger of having this on your dog during a walk in the drizzle or through wet grass, etc is not made important enough in the instructions. Ellie got a real shock when she bounced in a puddle during a quick walk outside one day. It really scared us!

The batteries only last about 2 months and they are specific to the collar. They are quite expensive.

This never trained her not to bark without the collar. She will bark loudly once because the first shock is so minimal that she feels like it is worth it- but she does not bark twice. Also, as soon as we take it off in the outdoors our indoors she starts barking again. And she is not a super smart dog- just smart enough to associate the collar with no barking. Also, if the battery goes dead while she has it on and she does not get a shock after the first bark she knows she is home free and can bark away.

The collar was bought in August and is now broken 6 months later. I never contacted Petsafe but the pet store we bought it from will not take it back. However, we have decided to get another collar- the Innotek BC-200 Professional Microline No bark Collar because it is waterproof and it has rechargeable batteries.

As long as the collar is on and working I would say this type of collar is quite effective.

I bought this collar to control three of my 15 lb. dogs, a dachsund and 2 bichons. The collar is huge. After cutting off about 14 inches of excess collar the fit is oblong and appears very cumbersome. The first battery lasted over a month. I admit the collar does work well at controlling the barking. I've been switching it between dogs and each dog has it figured out and knows when they are not wearing it. I'm back looking for a smaller and better fitting collar as I will not buy another of this model. I recommend it to larger breeds, even though it says 11 lbs and up, hesitate to buy it for a dog under 20#.

With two 60+ lb dogs, the first bark collars we bought were eaten. We started out with the citronella-spraying collars after a neighbor complained that when we were gone our dogs were going nuts. Because the citronella sprayer was separate from the dinky collar it came with, our dogs had ripped them off of each other and torn them to pieces. After more neighbor complaints, we broke down and started asking around to see what collars worked for other people. These came highly recommended, because they are humane and un-eatable due to the built-in apparatus. After two weeks with them, removing them only when the dogs are in, they have worked wonders. They seem to be comfortable, and have cut down on the barking alot. A neighbor even called to thank us!

I have a 75 pound lab. she barked all the time. bought the collar two months ago. saved my sanity. she barks once and stops. small corection with the shock. will recomend.

When my 12-yr old dog, Anka, suddenly started barking every single morning, I was hesitant to try a bark collar. However, this effective yet economical product was exactly what the vet (and my sanity) ordered. Anka only needed to wear it for one week to break her of the habit. She hasn't worn it in 3 weeks now and she's still bark-free. I know she's a smart dog and all, but I'm very impressed with this collar nonetheless.

We tried everything from a muzzle to a spray collar. The barking problem still existed and my neighbors were getting frustrated. Once I bought this collar the barking stopped. I was worried that the shock would hurt my smaller 20lb. dog, but it doesn't. I would highly recommend this product.

This unit definatly does not work the way it should. It hit my boxer with a shock just from her running around the yard and breathing heavily. Later on it hit her again from the door bell ringing (she was sitting down like everything was normal). I contacted support from the manufacturer and they were worse than useless, they made it seem like I was committing an animal cruilty crime. They ended up telling me that the user manual was wrong. They told me to make the collar tighter. If I left it like that, only one hole smaller, it would be uncomfortable/breathing problems. One day, and it went in the trash.

The collar dies when the battery is replaced. The collar stopped our labrador from barking WHEN the collar worked. When the battery died, we replaced it but the collar wouldn't "restart". We called the manufacturer to replace the collar (1 year warranty) they knew about the problem and sent a new collar. Same the happened with the replacement collar. Again we sent it back to the manufacturer for a second replacement collar. Same thing happened to the third collar. I am now looking at collars made by Tri Tronics and Innotek.

this product gets a whopping four stars because it works. turn it on, put it on the pooch, and the pooch's reign of terror is over. my dog had a habit of barking incessantly when left home alone, and this is the only option i tried that worked.
don't feel bad, it's really not so cruel. he learned after the second buzz that it was related to the barking. it's been quiet here since then.
the only silly thing is that you need a tiny screwdriver to turn this collar on and off. i suppose you could leave it on all the time- i had a petsafe one that didn't turn off and the batteries lasted four or five months.