I have a question for you… As a pet owner, how do you react when your pet acts out in a campground?
It’s a simple question that may not have a simple answer. Our dog Buddy is reactive, oh so very reactive. For example, he barked at the wind in our backyard once. Heard it, didn’t like something about it and wasn’t stoic about it. Bark, bark, bark, bark bark, bark bark bark, bark. So, I’m here today to review the PetSafe Ultrasonic Bark Collar and tell you all about my experience…
Camping with Buddy
We took Buddy on his first camping trip in September, and the results (at first) were a mixed bag. Remember that Buddy is a rescue dog, and he had heartworms when we liberated/adopted him. So, we’ve had to delay camping all year to get him through the toughest part of his heartworm treatment. With his treatment recently concluded, we got to take our pooch camping
Buddy took to camping like a pig takes to slop, he absolutely loved it! But, he may have loved barking just as much. I mentioned that he barks at the wind? Ya, he did that one night just before midnight as we were going to our tent for bed. I was mortified, but there’s not a lot of options available to a person trying to quiet a barking dog, and Buddy would have none of it. He didn’t want to be quiet, he wanted to be heard!
You tell me he doesn’t look rather satisfied with himself!
By the end of the second night of camping in Kettle Moraine State Forest in Wisconsin we were pretty desperate. We go to the woods to slough off the stresses of city life, and a constantly barking dog stressed girl and I out terribly. Nobody wants a dog that constantly barks in their campground. We were so desperate we considered giving up and going home in defeat. Beaten down by the bark of a dog.
Beaten by the bark?
Buddy’s separation anxiety is probably strong enough that only tranquilizing or similar pills would potentially make any difference. Buddy had to take Trazadone to keep him calm during heartworm treatment, and girl and I both take Trazadone at bedtime to help ward off what can be terribly wicked insomnia.
Technically the Trazadone was a potential solution, but it would have required girl and I to both sacrifice sleep to keep the dog quieter, and drugging your dog should never be your first option. So, drugging the dog was ruled out immediately, out of hand.
Then girl had an idea. I wished we were cartoons at that moment, because I swear I could see the thought bubble over her head. Girl looked at me, then down at her phone, then back at me, and down to her phone one last time. And then she smiled…
“Get the dog!” she said, “Hop in the car, I found a pet store, we’ve got to do something about Buddy.”
Amen!
Waiting in the car with Buddy
Did I tell you that were not even quite sure if Buddy would be ok if left alone in a car, even for just a few minutes?
Yeah, due to his heartworm treatment and the need to stay quiet to avoid complications, we hadn’t had Buddy out and about much. His separation anxiety leaves him crying when either of us walk away from the car with Buddy left in it, and I have little doubt the car would be seriously messed up if we ever left him alone inside.
I’ve already dealt with a problem like that once before, back in the 1990’s when another dog I owned (once again essentially a rescue) tore the hell out of the interior of my truck. The repair bill was astronomical, and my insurance agent told me they wouldn’t repair it again if my dog tore it up a second time.
So, Buddy and I hung out together in the RAV4 waiting on girl shopping at the pet store. He went crazy barking a few times, I’m not sure why but Buddy really hates motorcyclists. Now I’m not saying he’s ok with cars, he’s always selectively barked at them, but there’s no selection going on if it’s a motorcycle – apparently motorcycles are Buddy’s mortal enemy.
If he doesn’t like the look of someone next to us in another lane, he definitely lets us know, motorcycle or not. But the volume and attitude increase dramatically more if we are next to motorcycles. Like I said, bikes and bikers are somehow his mortal enemies, he’s not giving that up anytime soon.
Meet Mr. Barky
When girl returned, some sunshine broke through the clouds, and suddenly everything was ok.
Did the collar work like magic?
Nothing that I know of in this life is magical, not even Disney, and certainly not the PetSafe Ultrasonic Bark Collar. But the new bark collar performed and delivered. It was like magic because our ears could not hear a sound and the collar performed quite well. When Buddy barked, the red light on the collar blinked, and the high pitched tone it puts off went to work.
It caused a dramatic change the first time he got loud, Buddy would bark but the outcome wasn’t pleasant. Instead of being able to listen to himself bark (which he seemed to enjoy) his barks elicited a high pitch squeal that only he could hear. He cocked his head quizzically and stopped barking.
He started up barking again, and the collar did it’s work again. Lather, rinse, repeat. It was like a sports practice, every time he woofed he got a little lesson then he’d stop, and every time he seemed to go a little longer between barking sessions.
It worked!
Epilogue
Our dog doesn’t have to wear his PetSafe Ultrasonic Bark Collar anymore. Buddy’s behavior has changed dramatically. We’re to the point where we can carry the collar on our person, and only turn it on if Buddy misbehaves. A lot of the time, just showing him the bark collar settles him right down.
This is a product that works, it’s just that simple. It’s just a small little gray box with one switch and a tiny little speaker. All things considered, it’s effect was just short of magical. It invokes one of Arthur C. Clarke’s 3 “laws”.
Clarke’s laws are:
- When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
- The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
- Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
In this case, I’m talking about the third law.
The verdict
When it was time to camp at a new location, we picked a quiet site off the main drive. We had very little traffic, and very much enjoyed watching the tree’s change color. We didn’t worry at all about Buddy’s behavior, we had everything under control. The campground hosts complimented us on our well-behaved dog, and said thier’s was reactive too. They asked us what the secret was?
This little gray box works like magic. To keep my dog quiet all I need is a little gray box. The PetSafe Ultrasonic Bark Collar delivers, and it’s now more than just a tool, it’s like family. It changed our lives, reduced our anxiety, and had to have diminished frustrations and anger in the campgrounds we visit.
We only have one dog, but we now have two PetSafe Ultrasonic Bark Collars. One hanging by the front door at home, and one who’s home is in our Toyota RAV4.
Just this afternoon I was outside with Buddy on a leash, letting him walk around on my 1/4 acre lot. A pair of motorcycles came up the street, and I braced for the dog to go crazy. I’ve already told you about his “love” of motorcycles, (I think he’d love to eat one,) so I was ready for a tough time. I reminded myself to sit down on the ground if needed, before Buddy pulled me over, balance isn’t always easy with neuropathy in my feet and legs.
I didn’t have “Mr Barky”, the PetSafe Ultrasonic Bark Collar, in my pocket or on my person. I hadn’t planned it, but this was going to be a test – a test of what the dog and I both had learned…
The motorcycles roared by, they were loud and rode faster than the posted speed limit. My dog raced out to get a better look at his nemesis. I braced myself for a big pull. The hackles on Buddy’s back stood up. But my dog barked nary a thing, not a single peep. Hell, he didn’t even growl.
We purchased the PetSafe Ultrasonic Bark Collar, Mr Barky as we call it, back in September 2023. That’s the progress Buddy shows until today 11/15/2023. And if you enjoy irony, now that we have a pair of Mr Barky, we almost never need one.
We’re glad we have both of them, even if they might sem redundant. I know the Belgian Malinois in Buddy can be counted on to test his limits regularly. Buddy’s both intelligent and mischievous, he can be a challenge. But he’s also the best dog I’ve ever had, and part of what made him become that dog, was the PetSafe Ultrasonic Bark Collar.
It’s a training tool I will always have handy, and one I recommend to family, friends, and to you my dear reader. If you have a reactive dog, one that barks at neighbors, other dogs, and yes even those dogs that barks at motorcycles, try one for yourself. They are relatively inexpensive, certainly less than taking a family out to eat. That makes the PetSafe Ultrasonic Bark Collar affordable and effective.
