Premier Citronella Collar

Citronella Dog Collar is one of the hottest bark control products on the market.

Thousands of dog owners prefer citronella collars over other types of bark collars for dogs.

However, when we were looking for information about how to stop dogs from barking using citronella collar we were up for a big surprise.

Finding the complete information about citronella collar for dogs  wasn’t easy.

Most of the citronella collar reviews  we found consisted mainly of a product photo, few product features (usually presented in bullet points) and large “Buy Now” button.

We Want To Learn More About Bark Collars For Dogs…But

We wanted to know more about these miraculous bark collars for dogs that “stop excessive dog barking overnight” but could hardly find any information beyond the usual price tag and few bullet points. No claims (such as a safety claim) were independently verified.

And it was very disappointing to say at last. I wanted to learn how to stop dogs from barking but DID NOT WANT TO JEOPARDIZE THE SAFETY OF MY PET! 

There was only one way to move forward: to roll up our sleeves and go for work. And we are glad we did it!

We collected the abundance of information about citronella collar from many different sources such as EPA, ASPCA, Professionals in the field of dog health and dog training and regular folks who have been using bark collars for dogs for some time.

And now we will share with you all what we found out, from very basics all the way to explaining the science behind the success of citronella dog collars.

Citronella Collar, Citronella Dog Collar, Citronella Bark Collar…What’s Up With All These Different Terms?

As you may have noticed, when it comes to citronella collar terminology there is great deal of a “chaos”. The terms such as citronella collar, citronella dog collar or citronella bark collar are being used interchangeably (and we are guilty of that ourselves) to point to the same collar.

However, it is a bit different (and necessary) to separate different brand names. So, we talk about Petsafe Remote Spray Trainer, Innotek Spray Commander, Premier Spray Sense etc.

In addition, sometimes it is necessary to use so-called descriptive terms such as citronella collar with remote or citronella collar for small dogs/citronella collar for large dogs to highlight the specifics related to only that product.

Citronella Collar: The Basics

Here we will cover:

• What is citronella collar?
• How Does Citronella Collar Work
• What Is And Why Is Dual-Bark Detection Important
• Is Citronella Safe For Dogs?
• Is Citronella Dog Collar Effective?

Citronella Collar Video Of The Day:The Remote Spray Trainer

Say It Already-What In The World Is That… Citronella Collar?

Fair enough. In simple terms, citronella dog collar is a device, electronic device designed to reduce or eliminate unwanted barking. It looks almost identical as a regular dog collar but with a few extras.

If you take a look at the picture at the beginning of this article you will notice a small container. That container has a spray valve at the top (along with a fill port).

It is also equipped with a bark sensing unit (in older models only microphone but new models come with modern dual detection sensor that discriminates our dogs bark from the external noise)

How Does Citronella Collar Work?

Citronella bark collar is fully automated! That’s right! Each of the above operations is fully automated (except for remote citronella collar). When dog barks the sensors picks up the barking and immediately activates the spray dispensing unit. This interrupts our pet’s negative behavior each and every time our dog barks.

What Is And Why Is Dual-Bark Detection Important?

Duel-Bark Detection is currently the most reliable bark detection technology. It utilizes both; the vibration from vocal chords and the sound from the bark. This will ensure that our pet will be punished only when he barks and not for the external noise coming from other dogs, which was the case with some of early models equipped with the microphone only.

But …Is Citronella Safe For Dogs?

So, this brings us probably to the most important question: Is citronella safe for dogs or not? If you have spent a few minutes online searching for any citronella collar model, you may have noticed that all advertisers advertise heavily that these collars are safe.

Now, we wanted to independently verify that citronella oil is safe for dogs so we checked out what EPA says about it. At their website ( http://www.epa.gov) EPA writes:

Assessing Risks to Human Health

In studies using laboratory animals, Oil of Citronella shows little or no toxicity. The only concern is skin irritation. Because some products are applied to human skin, EPA requires proper precautionary labeling to help assure safe use.

But, we wanted to find out also what ASPCA thinks about it and found out this warning:

Animal Poison Control FAQ

Keep citronella candles, insect coils and oil products out of reach. If ingested, they can produce stomach irritation in pets, and possibly even central nervous system depression.

So, while citronella oil is safe the citronella candles are not.

Is Citronella Dog Collar Effective?

Finally, let’s find out do citronella collars work, after-all most manufactures claim that citronella collar is the most effective bark control collar. Pretty bold statement but we found some evidence to back it up.

Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, May/June 1996 reported findings of the scientific study at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, NY.

It was found out that citronella collar was more effective than shock collar. As per study, overall 88.9 % of dog owners reported satisfaction with the citronella collars for dogs.

It needs to be pointed out that part of the reason for this may be in the fact that this collar affects four out of our dog’s five senses:

• Our Dog Hears It
• Our Dog Sees It
• Our Dog Smells It
• Our Dog Feels It

But…There Is More To It!

Consistency & Timing Are Very Important

Imagine: You come back home from work and your neighbor complains that Fido was barking like insane. You go inside and start yelling at Fido as forcefully as you could. What result would you achieve? The only thing Fido may have learned is that you have a bad day and it is not a good idea to be in sight when you come back from work.

The fact is, dogs learn by building the association between the behavior and the consequences. But in order for dog to understand what behavior has earned him the consequence it must take place immediately (of just a few seconds after) when dog is doing the unacceptable behavior.

Let’s say, Fido barks and immediately receives a spray of annoying citronella. He does it again and …there it is again…so, Fido learns very quickly that barking is not good since it earns him always that annoying spray.

In order for this method to be any effective it has to happen consistently over the time and citronella collar does the both very effectively!

OK…How Much Does That Thing Cost?

Nowadays, everybody and his brother sells some kind of citronella collars for dogs. And that’s good thing. The price range for some basic models such Premier Spray Sense goes as low as $ 35.99 to about $ 99.00 for more advanced models such as Spray Commander.

For more details about who has the best prices online check the top of this page.