Nuisance-barking'
dogs respond best to citronella spray
Cornell veterinary study finds Electric shock
collars also work, but dog owners deem them less humane
Contact: Roger Segelken Office: (607) 255-9736 E-mail:
hrs2@cornell.edu
ITHACA, N.Y. --
When it comes to calming "nuisance-barking" dogs, a spritz of fragrance
under the chin is more effective than electric shock, a test by the Animal
Behavior Clinic at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
has found.
Dog owners who tried both types of anti-barking collars preferred
citronella spray over shock for their pets, according to a report
in the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association (May-June
1996, Vol. 32).
"Either type of collar can be a supplement or an alternative
to behavior modification. The dog owners who tested these collars for
our study felt the citronella spray was more effective and more humane
than electric shock," said Soraya V. Juarbe-D’az, D.V.M., a resident
in the Animal Behavior Clinic who ran the study with volunteer dog owners.
Nuisance-barking dogs sound off for no particular reason. "Many dogs
bark when they hear other dogs barking," said Katherine A. Houpt, V.M.D.,
Ph.D., director of the Cornell Animal Behavior Clinic. "And there are certainly
times when we want a dog to bark to alert us of something we should know
about. But nuisance barkers may bark just because they are highly territorial
or because barking is a learned, attention-seeking behavior."
Nuisance, inappropriate or excessive barking comprise between
13 and 35 percent of behavior-problem complaints by dog owners, Houpt
noted. "Nuisance barking may be manageable with behavior modification,
but some owners are unwilling or unable to provide consistent, appropriate
corrections," she said. "Or the barking may occur when the owners are
not around, so they can't deliver corrections when the misbehavior occurs."
So the animal-behavior experts recruited dog owners from the
Ithaca, N.Y., area through newspaper articles and radio news stories
about their research. They selected nine dogs that exhibited true nuisance
barking and provided electric shock and citronella spray collars for
two-week trials of each type.
The electric collars deliver an irritating shock of adjustable
intensity when a vibration sensor in the collar detects barking. The
citronella collar releases a spray of the plant-based fragrance when
a microphone in the collar senses barking. The citronella collars were
first marketed in the United States in 1995, although they have been available
for years in most European countries, where shock collars are illegal
for use on pets. Dogs in the collar test included a Shetland sheep dog,
beagle, bull mastiff, two shepherd mixes, a cocker spaniel, West Highland
white terrier, Labrador retriever and a Doberman pinscher.
For the eight dogs that wore both types of collars (one shepherd
mix did not complete the study), all owners found the citronella collar
to be effective in reducing or stopping nuisance barking and most preferred
the fragrance spray. (The owner of the Doberman pinscher said both types
worked, but preferred to use the electric shock collar.) Four out of
eight owners said electric shocks had no effect on their dogs -- they
kept on barking.
"Given the dog's sense of smell, it could be that a strange
odor may be less tolerated than a presumably painful stimulus," the
veterinarians speculated in the journal article. Once dogs learn that
barking results in a fragrance spray, a placebo or "dummy" collar may
be substituted in some cases and work just as well, they added.
The citronella collars were not without problems, Juarbe-D’az
noted. Unless the microphone's sensitivity is properly adjusted, it
picks up sounds of other dogs barking, "and that's not fair to your pet.
Punishment for misbehavior must not occur at random; the dog needs to
know why it's being punished," she said.
And one dog owner complained that citronella oil stained the
upholstery when the couch-potato pooch barked. But no one complained
of the oil's smell, Juarbe-D’az said.
"One owner thought the scent was preferable to her dog's body
odor."
