# Citronella use?



## luv3havs (Jul 27, 2007)

The barking at the door problem persists and is getting worse with Chico and I may try a citronella collar.

He does it mostly when his beloved family members come to visit, but it is obnoxious. When I tell them to ignore him he just gets noisier and "demands" attention from them. He's much better when people he doesn't know come to the house.
The Pet Agree didn't work because he didn't mind the noise and it was scaring Cali.
Has anyone used the Citronella collar with success and if so, how?
By the way, we've tried all the usual things like asking him to sit for a treat, go to his place, etc. His desire to greet "his people" just overcomes him.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

I've tried them. I stopped using them. Bella barked, the citronella sprayed her and didn't stop! It's supposed to give a quick burst, but it got stuck. I really think that traumatized her!


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## luv3havs (Jul 27, 2007)

OMG, that would not be good!
Linda, thanks for the info.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

I forget what brand I got, but I'm sure their not all the same. The one I bought was a black box on a blue collar.


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## Redorr (Feb 2, 2008)

My neighbors have a terrier mix the size of Lola and the collar works for her. I would imagine it is worth it to try, and get a quality item. 

I trained Lola out of most of her barking with a glass jar with pennies and lots of loud distracting noise from me. Now, when someone knocks on the door, she will give one loud bark, and that's it.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

My neighbor tried one with her schnauzer... He was too clever! He figured out how to turn his head and bark, spraying the mailman with citronella! (Mailman wasn't amused...) :suspicious: (But, it's funny to think about!)


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## susieg (Aug 28, 2009)

Despite some of the forum members telling me not to use the citronella collar.....I used it once in a moment of desperation. Lola was barking non-stop when home alone and my neighbors were complaining. I figured it was worth a try since my other methods to get her to stop barking and manage her SA were not working.

I put the collar on her and left my condo and listened in the hallway. I could hear her bark once & then she must have been so freaked out by the spray that she started running around and crashed into that doorstop springy thing on my front door. I could hear it making a "boy-yo-yoing" sound over and over so I rushed in to rescue my poor Lola and take the collar off. She was PETRIFIED! Shaking, panting & trying to jump into my lap. The collar must have sprayed repeatedly when she ran into the doorstop because it gets set off by sound vibrations. She reeked, and I mean REEKED of citronella. I couldn't stand the smell and had to shampoo her neck and head. Had to also leave the front door and windows open because it smelled so bad. Lola was scared for about an hour after the incident. It made her SA temporarily worse because she wouldn't leave my side for about an hour. For me, it was a waste of $80 because I never want to use it again.

My parents dog is very "vocal" and barks when he wants attention, to eat, when visitors come over, when he hears the slightest noise...you name it, he barks at it! They used a "bully stick" which they made out of a water bottle cut in half filled with marbles/pennies/etc. that connects to a PVC pipe handle. It took awhile for their dog to get it, but now it works really well for them. If their dog even sees the bully stick he shuts up. They have several bully sticks around the house so one is always close by when their dog needs a correction.

Good luck with Chico!


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## luv3havs (Jul 27, 2007)

Well, after hearing about Citronella , I think I'm going back to my coke can filled with coins!


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## meganmckellar (Sep 1, 2009)

My Havanese, Oscar, used to have a barking problem. I bring him to work with me every day and he would bark his head off as soon as a customer came in. So annoying, and almost caused him to be fired. I though about trying the Citronella collar but heard some bad things about them. Much like what someone else said in the post, them spraying and not stopping, also they dont make a citronella collar for small breed dogs, so the amount of citronella that is sprayed is set for larger breed dogs and can cause eye and lung problems if they inhale too much. 

So, I know people may be against and I know I was before I tried it. I tried a shock bark collar. It worked wonders. There is a kind that is made specifically for small breed dogs. My pup wore it for one straight week (at work only) and has not had to wear it one day since. And in that week period he was only shocked twice. He got the point fast!


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