speaking of camping with your dog.....

[msuclan]

We are about to embark on a 2 1/2 week long camping trip out West and we are planning to take our 6 mo. old poodle mix.  She's a great dog but tends to woof and bark at things at night.  I'm considering a bark collar because I REALLY want her to camp with us but I do not want to bother other campers.  Has anyone ever tried a bark collar?  Do they work?

[austinado16]

I believe they do work, but you might be able to train her out of the barking.  Calmly grab her muzzle, hold it closed, push it down just a little, and give her a "shhhhhhht......no barking."  As long as you do it calm and assertive, she won't get triggered by your energy, and pretty soon all you'll have to do is point at her and say. "Shhhhht." and she'll stop.  Work with her enough and you can get them to respond to you wanting them to be quiet by just wispering and putting your finger in front of your mouth and giving a "shttt" in a soft wisper.

[sewserious]

You need to train her BEFORE you taking her camping.  Last thing anyone wants to hear in the middle of the night is a dog barking and then the owner telling it to "SHHHH".

[ForestCreature]

You could also try a squirt bottle or gun filled with a 50/50 mix of water and mint listerine with the shhhhh & no bark command. Say what ever command you want the pup to respond to.

The dogs not particular to the smell, it'll help soften the hair and not offend your nose like a vinegar mix will.

I think it's natural for a dogs senses to heighten some at night, long as it's kept under control a short bark isn't the end of the world.

Have a great trip

[cyclone]

We have our pom mix trained using a type of electronic device we found at the pet store.  Looks like a small remote with buttons that emit sounds for both positive and negative reinforcement.  She hates both sounds.  All we have to do is say "no barking" and hold that thing up and she immediately stops.  We used to be able to fool her by holding up any object that is similar - she got a little smarter and will often wander closer to see if what we are holding is the real deal.  We make sure we always have that along camping and have no problems with her.  And, she LOVES to go camping.

[MPTDAT]

All the years we have been camping, last year was the first time we took our dog, Mandy, a golden retriever husky mix. She is such a good dog at home, but managed to bark at everything, and ran off twice because my DS didn't hook her up properly. Not only that, but she didn't want to eat and never went to the bathroom until the last day of our trip. I love her, but I think it is better for her and us if she stayed home during our next trip. Which will probably be next year because I just had a baby in May.

[butterflyfish]

You need to train her BEFORE you taking her camping.  Last thing anyone wants to hear in the middle of the night is a dog barking and then the owner telling it to "SHHHH".

Funny, the first time we ever went camping, there was a group of campers just around the corner from us.  Every time (and I mean every time) someone walked past their site, their (rather larger from the sound of it) dog barked and every time the dog barked the owner (or so I'm thinking) would yell SHUT UP!  Luckily the dog didn't bark at night (or at least we didn't hear it).  So it was actually a little funny to hear the whole routine (dog "WOOF, WOOF"  owner "SHUT UP!")  Since then we haven't had any other issues with dogs barking, though I thought we were going to have a bark fest one night when a camper set off fireworks in the evening just before quiet time (in a State Park) and all the dogs started barking!  Luckily no other firworks went off and the dogs all settled down!  

I have wanted to get another dog, DH doesn't want another and right now I think taking a dog camping (along with a 6 and 3 year old) would be a real hassle and we can't afford to board the dog so I am going to wait a few years and try the idea on DH again..

[maromeo]

We took our min poodle with us across the country last summer for a month. She did fine. She would get excited everytime we stopped for gas or food just to check out the new smells. But she is not a barker. So we really never had that issue.

You still have a puppy on your hands so it she will do what comes naturally until she is trained otherwise. Another trick is to have a soda can with some coins in it and when she barks shake it. They don't like the sound but practice this at home not while camping during the night.
I don't want to get roasted over that one.

The only draw back we had on our trip was we could not take her into any of the buildings or resturants along the way so we did miss out on some of the local flavors on our travels. We did take turns holding her outside when we were in Philly to see the Liberty Bell and Hershey PA.
Niagara Falls we did kennel her for 6 hours while we toured the Falls and rode the Maid of the Mist and dined. We had her groomed while she was kennelled so she was pampered too. When we went to pick her up she was out in the reception area with the owners of the kennel just hanging out. They said they fell in love with her and wanted to keep her with them. They enjoyed her too. That made us feel good too.

Mary Romeo

[CajunCamper]

We have a Beagle named Max and he doesn't camp very well so we leave him home with my wife's brother and his family, he seems to like that arrangement better than going camping and honestly so do we. The dog we had before was a great camping dog. Her name was "Flash" because she was so fast and when we would sit around the campsite, she would sit next to my chair on the ground. She didn't bark at other folks in the campground or other dogs either. When  people would come walking by with their dogs she would sit up, give a soft little "whoof", I would say "it's okay" and then she would lay back down. She was a great camping dog. We miss Flash.

CajunCamper

[GeneF]

"Since then we haven't had any other issues with dogs barking, though I thought we were going to have a bark fest one night when a camper set off fireworks in the evening just before quiet time (in a State Park) and all the dogs started barking! Luckily no other firworks went off and the dogs all settled down! "


This might be a good reason not to bring your dog on the 4th if he is nervous with loud noises.

July 3 and 4 was always a rough time for our golden retriever, Duke.
Twice, the local police brought him home in the cruiser because he would take off with loud noises. One time was from over two miles away.
We live in a small community and the local chief of police knew the dog.

Loud noises finally got to him to a point where he did over $6000 damage to our kitchen when we were not home.  He did this damage trying to get out of the house which he succeeded in doing.

Finally had to put a great dog down after eleven years because he became paranoid of loud noises.

If your dog is skittish of loud noises, leave him home with friends and you enjoy the fireworks.

[ForestCreature]

We took our dog over the 4th, the CG is normally quieter than the neighborhood as far as fireworks go. Only one went off, and this a$$ did it on purpose as we got close to their site. This was about 10 PM or so. He lit off what sounded like a cherry bomb , we had my dog and another dog with us. This went off about 50 ft from us. Well...it was a mean/stupid thing for this idiot to do..and I could not control what spewed out of my mouth at them.

My dog was totally terrorized by that blast. I had to sedate him with melatonin to calm him down. The next morning I walked over to the site with the dog, they seem shocked I knew what site it was and I reamed the idiot. He knelt down to apologize to Koda, Koda is an Aussie who is on the guarded side, not the type of dog you get in his face as a stranger. Needless to say he got a face full of warning barks and backed off rather quickly, I did not correct Koda.

The bright person this was had to try again, I said to him he barked once, the 2nd time he may take your face off and I wouldn't blame him. I was kind of fun to see a little fright in this guys face.

So now all we can do is hope this will not set a pattern with Koda being afraid of loud noises for the rest of his life.
This was a first time experience with fireworks in this park, we have been there many times.

[Kristenamber]

I just bought a no-bark collar for our mini poodle yesterday at Wally World.  It ran me $35.00, but it's def. working!  Our dog is a rescue, and he was often abused or neglected.  Now he is so attatched to me, and if I leave him downstairs to go upstairs, (there is a gate), he will freak out and bark like crazy.  No amount of correction was working.  He would also freak out when he hears out cat meow, and all of his idiotic barking was making us not be able to stand him!
So the collar last night was interesting.  He still barks, but he is learning from it.  Apparently the collar shocks him just a bit on the first bark and progressively more until 6 barks are made and then I assume the shock cycle repeats.  But anyway, now he barks very low and gaurdedly the first time, and usually stops at two barks.  (Not bad!  He would bark at least 20 times per incident before!)
I say go for it.  I am DEFINATELY bringing it with us next weekend to camp.

[oreo57]

Bark coller's do work , BUT follow directions and talk to a professional regarding the use (VET) or other. Please dont leave them on longer than the recommended time and dont soley rely on them for training. I have a 2 yr old g.shepard mix pound puppy and it did help with her but she still has an additude. Most dogs bark to release energy/addrinaline and thats what you need to deal with.Sometimes a long walk will work just as well.JMTCW

[ScouterMom]

Training and socializing is definately the key to successfully making your dog a 'happy camper' .  One thing I would suggest is to get an airliner crate (plastic, not wire) and crate train her before the trip.  Many dogs will bark because they feel insecure or threatened, and on a long trip, a crate can be a secure and safe place for her.  To a dog, it becomes her 'den' and therefore, she can relax. the solid airline crate can also muffle sounds and feel a bit more substantial to the dog. It also provides you with a safe place to leave her if you both have to go to the bathroom/ shower house, or need all your attention to set up or take down camp.  It's also safer for her to travel inside a crate rather than loose in the car. (that is, if the crate is secured/ strapped down)
Laura

[waygard33]

Here's our newest camper, on her first trip. An 11 week old bassett hound, just learning how to camp.

So far, barking is not her problem. Being mistaken for a crime scene victim is...

Check out Lucy, the newest member of our family. She's replacing our recently departed Clarence, aka THE COLONEL.

Clarence was a GREAT camping dog and so far Lucy is well on her way to following in his foot steps.