The question in the title of today’s blog has been in my mind since a friend and former neighbor who moved to another town contacted me for advice about how to stop her puppy from barking excessively. My friend told me that her first attempt to solve the barking problem had been to order online, sight unseen, a product whose advertising claimed it could do just that—stop her puppy’s barking. I looked the product up and I was surprised.
What my friend had purchased was a handheld “ultrasonic” device that, when activated by the push of a button, produces a “sound” that supposedly only dogs could hear. The effect of the sound, the product information claimed summarily, was to “stop” unwanted barking.
How would that work? According to what my friend wrote, it seemed she thought the sound would “distract” her puppy when the puppy barked, which would somehow stop the barking.
Was it a pleasant sound? An unpleasant sound?
You probably see my point here: you can’t know what sound the device produces if only dogs can hear it. You’ll never know if there really even is a sound. You may see a green light to indicate the device is “working,” but you’ll have to rely on your own interpretation of your dog’s reaction when you hold the button down.
Here’s my guess: it’s not supposed to be a pleasant sound.
It may be a sound that, to a certain percentage of dogs—but not to all—is unpleasant. Some dogs may hear nothing. Some dogs may hear exactly what’s described in this statement on a bark-deterrent product’s website: “Every time the dog barks, [the product] will send out a powerful high-pitched tone. Dogs find this sound extremely annoying, similar to fingernails on a chalkboard.”
Okay. Let’s say instead that most dogs “find” the powerful high-pitched tone “extremely annoying.”
How the manufacturers of this product have arrived at this conclusion is not explained in their literature. In fact, there’s no explanation whatsoever of how the writer of this product information arrived at the choice of the word “find” to describe dogs’ reactions to the sound. What does “find” mean? Absolutely nothing. What the consumer wants to know is simply: How does the dog act?
Here’s the manufacturer’s explanation of how this product works: “Most dogs learn pretty quickly that if they are quiet, they won’t have to hear this irritating sound anymore.”
Oh, wait, what? Now we’re finally down to “most dogs”? And what exactly does “learn pretty quickly” mean? What would that be—hours, days, years? How do “most” dogs “learn” that? Never mind, consumer, just take the manufacturer’s word for it—why would they lie to you?
Weasel words!
Consider that the product is “guaranteed” for exactly 30 days. That means, if you don’t ask for your money back within 30 days of receiving the product, you don’t get your money back. (In fact, I see nothing in the product reviews about how easy it is to get a refund. That’s not mentioned.)
Photo by Val Hughes
These devices are not inexpensive. The fancier the features, the more you pay. For example, if you want to turn on a device aimed at your next-door neighbors’ yard so their dogs are automatically exposed to the equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard if they bark, you don’t even need to be there. It’s also true that, if “most” dogs hear the irritating sound, then “most” dogs anywhere near the sound’s source will hear it . . . whether they were barking or not. That’s right. If only one dog barks, all dogs within earshot are subjected to the ultrasonic annoyance. Sounds fair, doesn’t it? If one of those dogs does stop barking, that dog will hear the unpleasant sound anyway.
You’re paying big bucks for this device, remember?
There is no way to prevent dogs in proximity to even the least expensive “ultrasonic” device from hearing that unpleasant sound, so if you’re using it on your own dog in your own home, it could be heard by a completely non-barking dog who just happens to be nearby. You wouldn’t even know it!
These specifics are not mentioned in the manufacturer’s information, or in the reviews.
Is this type of product starting to sound like a risky investment of your time and money?
I must admit, I was disappointed that my friend’s first choice had been to use an aversive.
I was especially surprised because the aversive she had chosen was so wildly ineffective.
I don’t think she would have made that choice if she had done some very simple research.
I decided to kick off our discussion by making absolutely sure she knew about aversives.
I explained the basic meaning of the acronym LIMA: least intrusive, minimally aversive.
“LIMA describes a trainer or behavior consultant who uses the least intrusive, minimally aversive strategy out of a set of humane and effective tactics likely to succeed in achieving a training or behavior change objective.”
I sent her links to the position statements of several international dog training associations, including IAABC (International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants) and APDT (Association of Professional Dog Trainers). I could have included many more such position statements on LIMA.
My friend didn’t acknowledge that she’d received the message I sent about aversives. It’s possible she never saw it, thanks to the drawbacks of online communications. She later messaged that the device she’d bought might be working to some degree. I found it impossible to interpret what she meant when she said the sound seemed to “distract” her puppy from barking. But although I asked, I got no clear explanation of how the puppy acted when my friend used the device. There’s a good chance, I suppose, that my friend now has the common consumer thought: “I bought it, so it must be working,” without any clear confirmation of her belief.
Many humans go astray long before the day they bring a new pet home. Instead of investing in the thought, time, energy, and education to understand how their new pet “works,” they stumble through its first few weeks (or months or years) making all the novice mistakes, setting unwise precedents. When inappropriate behavior becomes habitual, it can be uncomfortable for the humans who’ve encouraged that behavior from day one because they didn’t know better.
It can also be embarrassing.
When we humans want inappropriate behavior stopped now, we choose to use aversives. We want a quick fix because we’re embarrassed we failed to prevent the situation in the first place.
We’d a whole lot rather fix it now than discuss how we may have let it happen.
When we know better, we do better.
I’m embarrassed that I’m not a good enough communicator to make clear to my friend that, to solve her puppy’s “problem” with inappropriate barking, she simply does not need a device ordered online that will “annoy” her puppy when the puppy barks. I want my friend to know that, although the manufacturer claims “no pain” is involved, “annoying” or “irritating” a puppy is, in fact, punishing the puppy. Punishment may suppress a behavior but it does not teach a puppy what to do instead.
That is her job, to reward the puppy—with whatever the puppy will find rewarding at that moment, in that place—for the behavior she wants. It is never a fast fix; it is her job for the dog’s whole life.
Feel the need for a quick fix?
Forget it.
Punishment is not the answer.
“Are Ultrasonic Dog Training Devices Really Safe and Humane?”
Jessica Pierce, Ph.D., All Dogs Go To Heaven, Psychology Today
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/all-dogs-go-heaven/202001/are-ultrasonic-dog-training-devices-really-safe-and-humane
