Customer Reviews

PetSafe Deluxe Bark Control Collar, PDBC-300

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

A Few thing I don't like about this product:

-The collar loosens and has come off by itself. It may seem like an innovative collar design to have both a buckle and a clasp, but it's not. It's a very cheap collar. As another reviewer stated, it's worth buying a quality collar to replace the el-cheapo one that comes with the device. (Hey, I bought one from the grocery store for 4 dollars that is higher quality). Also, because it's very important to have a dog bark collar that is snug, but not overly tight or too loose, a buckle is terrible idea. The holes in the collar are at about 1 inch increments so your most likely not going to get the best fit. Buy a collar that allows for a custom fit.

-Other reviewer's mention that the collar repeatedly shocks their dog for no reason at all. I've also experienced this and it was due to user error. I had my mini-aussie sitting in the truck next to me and I was talking in her ear telling her she's a good girl and I saw her head bob as it does when she is getting a static correction. I looked at the collar and the setting was set to 'test'. She was getting shocked each time I talked to her. Setting it to off or a regular setting fixed the problem. Kind of a design mistake if you ask me. I don't like the thought that I could accidentally leave the device on test while I'm in a hurry to get out the door and my dog gets shocked the rest of the day. It's the lowest setting shock, but just moving or slight sounds set it off. MAKE SURE YOU DON'T LEAVE IT ON TEST MODE.

-The RFA-97 proprietary batteries. While they are not going to break the bank at 4 for ~13 dollars plus shipping, it does add up. (My first battery was depleted in aprox. 6 weeks of continuous usage). Another reviewer briefly mentions that she was able to pry the battery out and replaced it. I have not done this and instead was able to find a company on ebay that mentioned their website rfa97 (I don't want to directly link, but you can search for RFA67 Battery Holder). disclaimer: I have not yet used this product, so I can't comment on it. But I can say that it will save me money because it uses the ubiquitous cr-2032 watch batteries. Shame on pet safe for profiteering on a battery revenue.

What I like about the collar:

-Seems to work better then my other cheaper pet safe model. I was using a cheaper brand for a while but lost it around the house. (fell into the couch cushions!) I still needed a bark collar, so I spent a long time reading reviews before I settled on the pdc-300. I have to say that it has been a night and day change with my dog. She used to herd other dogs and not care about the static correction on the cheaper model, but this model has 3 levels of adaptive correction and when it's on 2 of 3, one bark is enough and she quiets down. The collar works from the start and keeps her calm to avoid escalation of her barking. I was about to get kicked out of the place I"m living because of her, and just today my landlord said she has seen a huge improvement.

**KEEP IN MIND - static correction is not a substitute for exercising your dog. Your dog may be barking because he/she is bored. Exercise your dog for at least 45mins-2 hours a day (depending on breed) and keep it up. In a few weeks you will see the difference Exercise is fun for you and your dog. Yes, you do have the time. Just because it gets dark outside when you come home is no excuse. Train your dog to run on a treadmill or buy an LED meteorlite ball that lights up the night (also sold on amazon) and play fetch with your dog in the dark.

I gave the product a 3 out of 5 stars due to what I view as shortcomings of the product. However, it's better than most of the collars on the market, so I would still recommend it.

Finally, if you learned something from my review, please click it as being helpful.

I bought one of the collar as pictured directly from the PetSafe website. It was the best I've had of three different types of bark collars because it doesn't fire when the dog shakes his head, and the adjustable dial gives me control over the severity of the "reminder" the dog receives. A school play yard is adjacent to my backyard, and the dogs would bark hysterically whenever the children were outside, driving my wonderful neighbors nuts. It worked so well on my younger Schnauzer that I decided to get another one for the older Schnauzer. The new collar arrived with a different buckle arrangement than the one in the picture. It has the black plastic snap fastener, a metal buckle, holes for the buckle tongue to go through, and a black plastic holder for the excess strap. All this gear on a little mini Schnauzer neck is not a pretty sight! The holder piece broke, so I have to weave the excess strap under the collar so it doesn't flap around. Now, the good news: Amazon.com is sending me a free replacement, and I don't have to send back the one I have until the new one arrives! Way to go, Amazon.com!

Just a note for the unaware: smart dogs who really want to bark quickly learn that they can bark through the series of six shocks at the first (mildest) level, then they won't get shocked again for quite some time. That's a safety feature built into the collar, and can make one think the collar isn't working. This particular problem can be overcome by adjusting it up a notch on this collar! A nice feature!

Another note: DO NOT LEAVE THE COLLAR ON THE DOG FOR MORE THAN 12 HOURS AT A TIME. My grandson was at a customer's house and noticed a neglected dog in the back yard that never had the collar removed. He had developed sores on his neck from the contact points. The owner was reported to the animal safety people. ... The collar itself is not cruel, but owners sure can be! I've used the collar on my dog for over five years, being careful to remove it every night, and there is no sign of injury from it.

Update, 12/28/11 - The metal buckle on the second collar mentioned above wore out the collar. The working part - the box with battery - still works great, but the collar is shot. There are no replacement collars available, so I had to buy a regular collar to adapt for the use. The first replacement had a snap collar and a fairly wide band, which is what i wanted. I had to disassemble the collar to remove the metal ring that I was afraid might make contact with the prongs and cause inadvertent zaps. After doing that, I discovered that the snap buckle with it's sturdy metal casing was so heavy that it caused the collar to spin on the dog's neck, getting the control box out of position and rendering the collar ineffective. Second collar, plastic snap buckle, MUCH effort getting three holes through the collar to place the control box, and we have a successful replacement. When the collar needs replacing again, I will take it to a shoe-repair place to have the holes put in it. Beats buying a whole new collar!

This is an excellent collar/training system.. PetSafe is a reliable company that takes pet care seriously. My dogs took to the collars so well, they only need to wear them as a reminder a few hours a week. They actually go the hang of it after just one doorbell/bark session and actually stayed away from the door the entire time they had the collars on. If the kids get the dogs going, all I have to do is grab a collar and show them and they settle down immediately. There is an intimidation factor present and it works wonderfully. The nylon section is strong and durable and I have had nothing but good luck with the product. I would highly recommend it to anyone who cringes every time a visitor rings your doorbell or a squirrel passes by. It truly helps them keep control without you lifting a finger. Excellent product!

Cars, pedestrians, the UPS truck, stray dogs, cats...my otherwise wonderful dog would bark at the slightest provocation and charge madly at his target. I tried the scent-spray collar and it didn't have any impact so this was my last resort. I set the collar on the lowest correction (the deluxe model has three settings), and put his collar on. His next "bark-a-thon" lasted about 20 seconds (while he was at the same time charging the front fence at a passing car) - he STOPPED charging toward the fence and STOPPED barking. Four hours later, when he caught wind of a cat in the back yard, he charged out as usual and the barking ended in about 10 seconds. THE END - no kidding! That was five days ago, and he hasn't barked since that first day. Not only am I (and, no doubt, my neighbors) delighted that he's stopped the bark-a-thons, he's much calmer about the normal goings-on around here. He still runs out to check out any strange noises, but there's no charging and spinning out at the fence and he's not chasing the poor cats. I will say that he looked very startled the first time he received a correction - but as soon as I reassured him, all was well again. This works much faster and it's much more effective than months of "quiet" commands that were, for the most part, completely ignored. A great product!

I have a stubborn dog and this worked great. I tried it on my self and it didn't really hurt as much as it was just startling and there were no after effects from the shock (no lasting pain of any kind). I am ordering another one for my second dog!

I have 3 dogs (2 mini-dachshunds and a mutt), and decided to invest in this for the instigator of the bark-fest that takes place at my house daily. I tried an ultra-sonic device that didnt do anything, along with other behavioral things. My husband was ready to get rid of the dogs and I was getting a little nutty. This was worth every penny.

I started on the weakest setting and that worked fine for my dog. When the collar gave a "correction", my dog yelped, and would run into her kennel, which made me feel horrible. It took only about 3 "corrections" over the course of the week to transform my dog into being a church mouse.

Since my other dogs took up the barking given up by the instigator, I rotated it among my 3... until the mutt got ahold of it and chewed off the dial....

A couple of things... You have to buy the special batteries by Petsafe for this, which is sort of a pain. It is also rather bulky for smaller dogs.

I love this collar. It is very effective. What I really like about it is there is a double insurance that your dog will not get shocked by the bark of another dog because it also detects the vocal vibrations. I have a house full of six dogs at the moment and a few of them are excessive barkers. You can also choose the correction level for each dog from mild to stronger.

I feel that a shock collar is more human than a citronella collar. Dogs have a sense of smell much greater than humans and I feel that a shot of citronella is like torture. I can't even stand the smell of citronella! Just my thoughts on the subject.

My dogs have learned not to bark for the most part. There are days that they require the collar now and days they don't. One of my girls has learned just how quiet to bark in order not to set it off which is fine by me.

I have found this product very effective. None of my dogs have a problem when I put the collar on them but they do know what it means.

Wow, I can not believe how well this model actually works. We have two daschunds who bark on a regular basis. My wifes job has just been moved form work to home office. She is on the phone all day with various customers. Of course the customers still think she and the rest of the workforce are in a fancy office building somewhere. Anyway, the only drawback is that the barking dogs in the background
is a dead giveaway and something that could have ultimately cost her her job.

So we had to act fast. I purchased two PET SAFE bark collars from a local pet store her in town. One was the PetSafe PBC-102 No-Bark Collar (RED CLOTH COLLAR) and the other was PetSafe Small Dog Bark Control Collar (PLASTIC BLACK COLLAR). Both of these collars were ineffective and did nothing to curtail the barking. Also I paid 175.00 total for the two of them.

I took them back to the store, got online and found this model: PetSafe PDBC-300 Deluxe Bark Control Collar. Picked up two of them here for less than 140.00.

The first day i put them on they still did alot of barking but would get occasionally shocked. The second day I turned the adjustment dial to the second setting, and they have been quiet ever since. I can not believe how well this model works. They wear them from 7 am till 4 pm every day and are perfect angels.
After 4 I take them off and they are allowed to be barking dogs again.

They still play and chase squirrels and stand at attention when someone comes to the door. But their is no barking. Occasionally they will let out a small "woof" under their breath, but that will be it. This has turned our house into a happy home again. My wifes happy and I am happy and even the dogs seem happy because they are not getting constantly reprimanded for barking.

They have to have a barking noise AND a vibration in the throat area to set them off. That means that just because one dog barks it will not shock the other dogs collar. This is something I was worried about. The batteries have been going strong for about 3 weeks now.......but even when its shut off it still deters them simply by wearing them. You can even just reach for the collar and they will stop in their tracks and lay down.

I had to adjust the collar the first few days because they seem to slide and loosen. But now I dont even worry about that because they have learned what happens when they bark. I would have to recommend this model to anyone who is at their whits end and doesnt know what to do.

You may have to shave a little hair from around the neck if your dog is a long hair. Also watch the cd and be sure you adjust the collar as it shows on the disk. Attach it up by the ears while the dog is standing and let it slightly fall down naturally. This makes all the difference in the world when you first are trying to get it to the right fit.

The batteries don't last very long and are expensive to keep replacing and the collar itself stopped working all the time after about 6 months. It will work sporadically but I need it at all times for my cocker that just doesn't get that he isn't suppose to bark all day long and at everything! Very disappointed in them as I bought two for both dogs and now I am out that money and have to look for a different kind that WILL work!

My extremely intelligent dog gets extremely bored in the outside kennel while I'm at work, and I was afraid that his constant barking was going to bring the wrath of the law down on us. As a last resort, I ordered this collar, and I wish that I had ordered it sooner. Within 24 hours, my dog quit barking, and that's on the lowest setting. I am truly amazed at how well and quickly this product delivered on its promise.