Do you think the collar might have been on too tight? That is usually why they would get the prong marks. With some dogs that have thick fur, you have to shave/cut the fur at the contact point so that the prongs actually make contact with the skin, and the collar doesn't need to be tightened as much. I know with our german shepherd the collar was not making contact at first thru her fur.

I think shock collars are mostly to train hunting dogs.

Don't beat yourself up though. I'd return it, tell them it's defective, get your money back and spend the money on fixing the gaps in the fence instead of leaving it to the neighbors.

The worst thing you want is for those two dogs to become enemies which can happen over time, even if they're both sweet as the dickens right now. lol.

Your bark collar sounds like it might be similar to the Invisible Fence collars my dogs were when they were outside. We used it to keep them from swimming in the pool.

The collars worked great on our rottweilers who have short hair. But our German Shepherd came from Germany and he had a very thick undercoat. He figured out that if he lifted his head and turned it to the side the contacts were no longer touching his skin. So we removed the prongs from the bottom of the collar under his neck and wired them to the part of the collar that touched the nape of his neck. That did the trick. But we never left the collars on when they came back inside.

gail- correct, the prongs were not touching so it is tighter but not much. My dh was also wondering if there may be an issue with rubber as that is what it is made of. I think I am just going to return it because half the time it never works even though we know the prongs are touching.

maire cate- Our boy is German also. Yeah!
We were also using it to control his extreme barking in the house and chasing the cat really hard. When the doorbell rings we are training him to sit on the stair landing, he gets a treat when he complies. He is allowed to do the initial barks but promptly goes to his spot. He is allowed off the spot when the visitor leaves or enters and we get to the other room to visit. He is still a pup and so the cat chasing is just going to get better.... say in 5 more years. lol

Has the dog been to obedience school? Shock collars are an inhumane way to try and train a dog. He's not being trained, only put in pain.

I'd return the collar and invest in obedience school.

All of these things you are stopping him from doing by causing him pain will only cause different problems and you'll end up with a dog even more out of control.

Shannon, I know you didn't ask, lol, but I wouldn't train the dog to sit when the doorbell rang, even if you know the person at the door because you WANT the dog to always be on alert.

I live in the country and when strange men show up, like workers...or this guy who was walking whom I didn't know and needed a drink of water...my dog is right at the door barking her hiney off.

I've had several men walk away and stand about 5 feet back from the door when they see Grace...who would actually lead them to the family jewels if offered a milkbone, lol, but that dog is fiercely protective of us and I WANT her to bark or growl when someone comes to the door.

Once they come in though, and if she's barking, I'll tell her to stop, and she does. But I know in my heart if someone were to force their way in and I don't tell her to stop, she'd do something bad.

Another tip about dogs and barking inside the house which is annoying but good in a way...if they bark because a stranger comes to the door, they'll be on "alert" all day long.

The cat thing will die down sooner rather than later.

There are some good books on easy dog training, like learning the words "sit" and "no." My dog knows the words "Stop it!" LOL

Please don't use the shock collar. There are so many other great ways to train your dog. And a chance that even if you cover the fence openings, barking is not going away.

One of the best obedience trainings is through the prison system. They train all dogs and usually as companion animals. You can schedule training with them, they keep each dog for a specific time depending upon their training needs. Once trained they go through the commands with you.

I adopted a dog from the Prison Canine Companion program, he is wonderful and they took very good care of him while there. Most of their dogs are from the humane society and for adoption or companions to the disabled.

He also likes to bark, but it is at squirrels or a dog that wanders by unleashed. Barking is a No and he gets it, thanks to his training.

Oak- I totally agree with you but did not want to go on and on in my post. We want him to bark and actually praise him for it but when we know we want to open the door we are training him to "place" and stop barking. So basically it is bark-bark bark, "good boy", then he goes to his "place". After all is said and done he gets a treaty. We actually had, with our last shephard, a pizza guy nearly run away when he came to our door. It was really funny. We usually tell visitors like that that we have to put the beast away before we can answer the door. When we open the door their eyes are all big and they look over our shoulder to make sure he is not loose. It is funny.

As for the training and such. He has gone through training. The breeder and also with police dog trainers. He is just a pup that barks a lot more than our first one did. I did not intend for this to be some longterm thing. Which is why $200 was a lot to spend for just needing it for a few zaps. We all know and love our dogs and I was just trying to share an experience with this product not the effects of it.

There goes the cat... followed by the pup. I swear they are like roadrunner and coyote sometimes.

Ahh, poor babies, both the pup & you! You've got your hands full, Shannon. Don't know much about dogs, so don't have any advice...just offering a hug and sending positive thoughts your way.
Best of luck with your critters!

Ever watch The Dog Whisperer? He did an entire segment on how to get neighborhood dogs to stop barking at each other and become friends through fences. It was amazing.

Our dogs were going bonkers, barking and pawing at the patio door because they could see our neighbor behind us. He was on a ladder painting his shed and that upset them. DH didn't want them out but I let them out anyway and told them to be soft ( our term for being calm) and they ran to the fence but didn't bark. As soon as they realized who it was they lost interest.

Maybe try your place trick with him outside? When the other dog comes up train your pup to check it out then walk away.

It sounds like your pup has two pressure sores from the prongs pressing too tightly against his skin and cutting off the circulation there. I'm not sure how that relates to how thick the collar is.

I wouldn't let anything press against the sores. Don't use the collar any more. They can go from red areas to full skin thickness necrosis if the pressure isn't relieved. It is the same mechanism as bed sores in patients who lie in the same positon for long periods of time.

Keep the areas clean and keep a watch on them. I hope your pup heals up soon.

thanks barb5... we were concerned about them being from the prongs but the wounds appear to match the shape of the collar itself. It is like the fur closest to the skin was being rubbed. Yeah, it is more like a rub mark. When he outgrew his first collar, because of his mane, the hair started to part and it was just that really thick shorter hair that was under the collar. We went straight to a 2" collar and the width seems to make a huge dent in his mane. All the evidence seems to point at the collar being too thin and also possibly the rubber was pulling on his hair. His regular collar moves freely around his neck where the rubber kinda grabs on.

pesky... We have tried several commands when he goes near the fence. Leave It works a little. I think the main this is that he wants to play with this pup sooooo bad it is driving him crazy. The barking and jumping around is all puppy play but the neighbor pup is still to young, not all his shots. Hopefully they can play soon.

golddust... I might just look that up, sounds really worth it. That guy is really great.

Booboos are much better. I had antibiotic cream for it just in case. With the hot weather, 100, I took hose to him. It allowed me to get the hair clean from all that icky weeping from the wound. The hair was smelling. Luckily the wound is no longer inflammed, normal color and scabbing. He still has to be naked for a while, no collars of any kind so he cannot even go for a walk yet. I think in a few more days he will be ok. But he sure loves to be naked. He loves his regular nametag collar but gets all naughty whenever we take it off. Kinda like a baby who just learned to run and escapes from the tub before you can get the diaper back on.

So after discussing the product with the trainer at the store we decided to return it. Besides the collar rubbing my pup's neck raw, there were times when it would not work when needed. This was a common complaint of the internet and it was not a battery issue or the prongs not hitting. It just would not work all of the time. I don't normally return stuff like this and the $189 pricetag was not bugging me even if I only used it a few times. It was the accumulation of issues. The store says they will return it to company with "customer dissatisfied" as the reason.

So this morning he goes outside to check out the wind. Yeah, he sticks his nose out and just sniffs with his eyes shut. The neighbors boxer pup was running circles in his yard, jumping around like a kangaroo. So naturally my 2yr shephard had to join in. He barked a little but observing what they were both doing to each other it was clear it was puppy play. As soon as we asked him to Leave It and come Inside he obeyed wagging his tail. I felt bad for neighbor pup. From my upstairs window I could see him just staring at the fence with his little head tilted. I swear his eyes were tearing up! lol I think I need to see if my neighbor would agree to take them to a dog park so they can really play together on neutral territory. That could be really fun.

Yep. Maybe you could invite the Boxer over for a play date in your yard. The 'Dog Whisperer' would want to make these two neighboring dogs a pack. It is amazing how close my two dogs are. Isabelle would not know what to do with herself without 'Dubs'. It could be the same with the Boxer. Both are a great breed of dogs.

Like I told you on the other post, we went to Coloma today. Actually Hennison Park, I know the spelling is not right, anyway it is near Coloma. Of course we took pup. He had a blast. No one was really there and then a young couple with a Rhodesian Ridgeback, older dog, showed up. We extended the leashes and let them play. Neither could be trusted off leash and mine is also not fixed so he cannot be off leash unless we want a paternity suit. lol.

Anyhoo. The older dog totally showed my pup who was boss and mine obeyed. They jumped around, gnarled at each other, drooled and had a lot of fun. The other couple totally understood that dogs can play rough and it may sound like they are fighting but they are actually playing. Both dogs really liked each other.

I am glad my neighbor got another boxer because I think it is easier having two large dogs next to each other. A small yapper dog would drive my pup nuts. He would want to herd it or something, maybe.... eat it. Just kidding.

Speaking of the little monster, the boxer just let out a bark. About 10 seconds later my pup let out a low, hmmmmm sound. So funny. Guess they are trying to tell me to turn off the computer and get to bed, they are tired.