bark-control collar for dog?

[Sparrow]

peeps please note @outdamnspot said
'and am mostly bed-ridden'

training advice is useless when someone is so sick.

Fair point. I was hoping maybe a solid trainer could get the idea ingrained to take some of the work off their shoulders, but I do know that reinforcing it after is important, and do understand how exhausting that can be. It's impossible to be on call and ready all the time with this illness.

Is there anyone else in your household who would be willing to take an active role in training to take that pressure off of you? Even if training efforts managed to reduce the problem some, but didn't take perfectly, it seems like that would still be an improvement in your quality of life.

 

[CBS]

Could a rescue group be an option? Many are breed specific. When I first got sick I was too ill to care for two wonderful cats (not once did they ever wake me with their barking!). It was tough but giving them up was clearly the best option them. A rescue group may also have knowledge of other resources in your area.

 

[maryb]

@CBS
Yes its definitely something I would consider, our health is fragile enough.
I think when other people in the family are healthy and don't have a problem with the barking though its a big problem for the sick person.

 

[brenda]

You can buy a whistle that is at a frequency that humans cannot hear but dogs can and they don't like it so it teaches them to stop barking.

http://www.dogsilencerpro.net/ultrasonic-dog-whistle

 

[outdamnspot]

Thank you for your replies, everyone. I really appreciate them.

Regarding my options:

1. Giving the dog away will not happen, under any circumstances. My family would simply not allow it. They have enough trouble understanding my oversleeping and fatigue, let alone a sudden desire to give away the dog.

2. A dog trainer might be an option, but it's more of a long-term thing. There is no escaping the noise. Our house is like a cardboard box, and the dogs stay right outside my window. I can hear a tap running downstairs through my closed door, so a dog bark just pierces right through my walls. No one is home to discipline him in the morning, so I would have to be getting up constantly .. they also bark at night when they're meant to be sleeping. It's something I'd be willing to look at with my family over time, but I really need instant reprieve from the barking now. In that respect, while a collar may be slightly unpleasant for the animal (cruel is probably a stretch .. the older one hardly seems traumatized by his citronella experience), I think in philosophical terms a human's suffering still outweighs that of an animal's.

If that gets me ousted, then I understand, but suffering can drive you to less-than-ideal solutions sometimes. A shock collar, of course, is out of the question. But there are vibrating collars, and ones that emit unpleasant sounds, akin to the whistle you describe, brenda.

I thought some people here might have some experience with the collars, which might help, since I get so overwhelmed reading reviews etc. and just never make a decision.

 

[maryb]

@outdamnspot
forgot to say you can get remote control citronella collars so maybe?? dog doesn't associate you with it at all. good luck.

 

[golden]

Thank you for your replies, everyone. I really appreciate them.

Regarding my options:

1. Giving the dog away will not happen, under any circumstances. My family would simply not allow it. They have enough trouble understanding my oversleeping and fatigue, let alone a sudden desire to give away the dog.

2. A dog trainer might be an option, but it's more of a long-term thing. There is no escaping the noise. Our house is like a cardboard box, and the dogs stay right outside my window. I can hear a tap running downstairs through my closed door, so a dog bark just pierces right through my walls. No one is home to discipline him in the morning, so I would have to be getting up constantly .. they also bark at night when they're meant to be sleeping. It's something I'd be willing to look at with my family over time, but I really need instant reprieve from the barking now. In that respect, while a collar may be slightly unpleasant for the animal (cruel is probably a stretch .. the older one hardly seems traumatized by his citronella experience), I think in philosophical terms a human's suffering still outweighs that of an animal's.

If that gets me ousted, then I understand, but suffering can drive you to less-than-ideal solutions sometimes. A shock collar, of course, is out of the question. But there are vibrating collars, and ones that emit unpleasant sounds, akin to the whistle you describe, brenda.

I thought some people here might have some experience with the collars, which might help, since I get so overwhelmed reading reviews etc. and just never make a decision.

What a Dog Trainer could do for you IMMEDIATELY, and this point really stands out to me - is speak to your family! And get your family firmly on board .

Often it takes an outsider to give family members a wake up call.

With your family on board, then more is possible.

I had other ideas. Doggy daycare centres. Neighbours .

And a more radical but potentially immediate solution for you - Hypnotherapy.

A decent hypnotherapist can train your brain to block out or even make soothing the little dogs barks.

I just watched a guy on the t.v. Get his wisdom tooth extracted with ONLY hypnotherapy - so i believe it can be a powerful tool.

 

[golden]

P.s. Also could you swap bedrooms with another family member so the dogs are not right outside your window?

 

[peggy-sue]

Hypnotherapy is good, but you have to be able to let yourself go along with it.

The hypnotised subject is in full control at all times, the hypnotiser merely facilitaites the state.

(My Dad was a qualified Medical and Dental hypnotherapist, he used it for his patients who were frightened of "the dentist". He used to practise on me when I was young, I learned a fair bit about it from him. He also campaigned to have it removed from being used for stupid stage shows, which give a very distorted view of what hypnotherapy is, and to have it investigated and used properly, only as as a medical tool.)

I haven't tried it since I got ill, and I don't know if the cognitive problems I have now would cause problems with susceptibility to it.

I had a course to help with my fear of needles, and I can now give blood samples. I used to run away and lock myself in the loo, utterly hysterical, and refuse to come out. Rather embarrassing for somebody my age!
Now I stay in the room and blether nonsense all the time it is being done. I seem to have "converted" my flight reaction into a "distraction" reaction.

ousdamnedspot, I think the first thing you need is a pair of good earmuffs, for some relief right now.

 

[golden]

You could probably take that further peggy sue. And build on your success.....

Your dad sounds like a great untapped resource

my personal marker for a Hypnotist would be to Never install anything negative or use negative emotion - for example shame, guilt or giving one a feeling of being sick when eating cake to stop binge eating. Never inever never. Lots of Hypnotherapists do this...

I would find one who only ever focuses on the positive set ups and feelings.

This is because the psyche works in far reaching, mysterious ways.

 

[peggy-sue]

Yes, I did go to one once for my drink problem. Not a good idea. (and not one recommended by my dear old Dad, sadly no longer with me.)
Somebody undergoing withdrawal is not a good subject, neither is one who is under the afluence of inkahol.

When he told me to imagine my vile-ex giving me a bottle of vodka, and tried to pair it with being in a post-mortem lab, with a plate of semolina and spinach in front of me, I came out of what little trance I was in, immediately.

The smell of a PM is unbelievably vile, (rancid fat and then some) and both semolina and spinach cause me to vomit, and I didn't want to remember the vile-ex either.

 

[Ren]

Hearing safety/protection muffs provide instant silence. These can be ordered online and delivered within days.

There are audiologists whose job is to ensure workers' hearing is protected. (I took undergrad audiology courses some years ago.) And so I assume that it's these same individuals (audiologists) and other "sound professionals" who design the sound protection gear for individuals working in factories, in airports, or with heavy machinery, or in warzones, etc. http://blog.pksafety.com/airport-worker-safety-equipment/

A normal household fan can additionally add white noise, which will help mask disturbing noises for humans and dogs. (I once had several dogs and lived next door to a dog kennel.)

An audiologist can also design sound-dampening devices molded specifically to an individual's ear. They lay flat within your ear and are clear, so as to be less noticable - and they have a small opening where some sound still gets in, but overall you receive less sound stimulation. http://audioconsult.com/services/information-for-musicians/custom-hearing-and-noise-protectors/

 

[Ren]

Should it be helpful as an educational and/or "outreach" tool, this link http://www.asha.org/uploadedFiles/AIS-Hyperacusis.pdf is a short pamplet by ASHA (the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) that briefly explains hyperacusis; and CFS is listed as one of the diseases/disorders which is linked to hyperacusis.

 

[outdamnspot]

Ren, I have custom-molded earplugs which do nothing for the dogs, but help general background noise. A fan is of little help. The earmuffs are a really good idea .. though they might interfere with my reading glasses. I'll try get to a store in the next few days and try a pair on.

 

[maryb]

@Ren
I really like your suggestions, my problem has always been not only acute noise sensitivity with ME but also constant head pressure which means I can't stand anything on my head, even my coat hood feels painful, so maybe something inside the ear will be a solution for me too. The spring bird song is something I'm NOT looking forward to.

 

[Ren]

I'm sorry if I sounded bossy - just wanted to help. If I had Bill Gates' money (well, we'd have a cure or something close), I would send teams of carpenters to everyone's homes to make sound-proof (light controlled) "nests".

Sorry, maryb for the pressure you experience. I experienced this (or something that I've described similarly at least) in the beginning of my illness, but it's near-completely gone away over several years time (knock on wood), and so I forgot to consider that aspect. And I'm sorry it's something you experience

I added the short ASHA brochure bc I thought it might be influential with family members, etc. Sometimes people who don't listen to you (the individual) will accept an idea once an "important" person or group makes the exact same statement - that's been my experience at least. (I was thinking of those living with outdamnspot.)

It seems like autism was listed in the brochure as a condition associated with sound sensitivity, and I remember a particular autistic child I met long ago (and perhaps this is common for many austistic people) whose skin was really sensitive as well. Just makes me wonder if audiologists/SLPs have come up with any hearing protection devices for people with such (nerve?) conditions, and which might be beneficial for our community as well. I'll post here, if I find anything.

 

[PNR2008]

@maryb , Have you ever checked about misophonia?

 

[maryb]

@PNR2008
no its not that - the sensation is one of an elephant sitting on my head most of the time. The noise sensitivity comes and goes in severity according to how I am in general. The head pressure is pretty constant, and basically causes me to feel dizzy as well which stops me from being able to drive - damn.

I saw a neurologist last year who said it was coming from inflammation in the neck and spine and so it goes on. thanks for looking though

 

[PNR2008]

@maryb , So sorry you're suffering with this head pressure. I hate it when my sinuses get congested and I get botox for horrible migraines but to have all that pressure on your head, I can't imagine. Take care and hope you find relief.

 

[taniaaust1]

What a Dog Trainer could do for you IMMEDIATELY, and this point really stands out to me - is speak to your family! And get your family firmly on board .

Often it takes an outsider to give family members a wake up call.

With your family on board, then more is possible.

I had other ideas. Doggy daycare centres. Neighbours .

And a more radical but potentially immediate solution for you - Hypnotherapy.

A decent hypnotherapist can train your brain to block out or even make soothing the little dogs barks.

I just watched a guy on the t.v. Get his wisdom tooth extracted with ONLY hypnotherapy - so i believe it can be a powerful tool.

Hypnotherapy usually takes many sessions (Ive had it before for something... it took 6 sessions.. and may be near impossible or impossible for a bedbound person to get to appointments for. As far as Im aware, hypnotherapists dont do home visits (well Ive never heard of one doing so).

Doggy daycare centres wont solve during the night barking which I think would cause the most impact on a ME person due to interference of night time sleep.