The Best Dog Bark Collar

by the K9 Guy, 03-04-16

Over the years I've had many occasions to use and recommend bark collars to clients. 5 years ago, the Tri Tronics G3 Bark Limiter was the device that was most highly recommended by many trainers. Unfortunately, Garmin purchased Tri Tronics several years ago. That model was discontinued, and now many trainers (including myself) have been spending a great deal of time looking for a comparable replacement. While you would think that would be an easy task, it isn't. There are probably hundreds of devices available online, as a trainer there are certain requirements I'm looking for in any bark collar. To date, I'm still looking for a device that meets all of my requirements. If you're thinking about purchasing a bark collar, or (even better) someone working for a manufacturer that designs bark collars, please read on....

So to get right to it, here is a list of bark collar features I assess when looking at bark collar options.

1) Manufacturer Reputation, Build Quality, and Warranty
Good manufacturers stand behind their products! To that end, I won't buy any electronic device from a company until I have researched the following:

Manufacturer's reputation for product reliability.
Manufacturer's reputation for service.
Manufacturer's warranty.
Build quality.

2) Sensitivity / Stimulation Reliability
A bark collar has to do only one thing right, and that's to deliver a designated stimulation for all unwanted barking. While that seems like a simple goal, some manufacturers use microphones to sense barking, some use vibration, some use a combination, and others may also use software algorithms. Microphone only units may be unreliable if they deliver stimulations when another dog in an area is barking. Many manufacturers are now using a combination of sensors, which is fine if the technology works. Reading user reviews, or trialing a unit for yourself, is often the best way to assess this area of importance.

3) Feature Set and Stimulation Levels
I prefer units that have at least 5 stimulation levels. I also prefer units that have manual control of what level is given to the dog. Units that automatically increase stimulation levels sound like a good idea, but I've read too many reviews where they can ramp up too fast for some dogs. If an automatic device also has manual control options, I'd be fine with that. It's also important the units are waterproof. I have no preference for replaceable vs rechargeable batteries. These devices use very low levels of energy, and even ones taking replaceable batteries can usually provide months of service before needing replacement.

4) Adjustable Tip Length
This is a real sticking point for me. There are far too many units on the market with tips molded into the device. In the real world, dogs come with various coats, hair length, and neck shapes. Being able to change out tips of different lengths, assures proper fit and thereby proper function. When I read an owner's manual advising a user to shave their dog's neck so their device will work, I think "why don't you just design your device properly". I have purchased units that have the molded tips, and they generally perform poorly on 50% of dogs.

5) Bark Counter
A lot of owners need help with a dog that barks when they are away from home. There are a few devices on the market that include some "bark counter" built into the unit. These devices generally will provide a certain number of "blinks" as the unit is shut down, to provide information on how many stimulations were give since being powered up. This is invaluable information if you're away from home and trying to assess if the collar is working, at a good setting, and whether the dog is improving. I won't buy a device without a bark counter.

Over the past years I have had personal experience with 3 bark collars, and here are a few thoughts on those...

Tri Tronics G3 Bark Limiter
This was the gold standard for bark collars IMO. The devices were discontinued several years ago. They worked, worked reliably, had adjustable tips and a bark counter. They did use replaceable batteries which typically lasted months when being used daily. My only criticism of these devices was that they had a "soft touch" button to turn the devices on/off. I had several over the years and these switches always were very finicky. There were many times you may have to push the "on" button 20-30 times to get the device to power up. These units only had 5 stimulation levels, but otherwise were great products.

Garmin G3 Bark LImiter
This is the newer generation of the Tri-Tronics unit, after Garmin bought TriTronics. While most of the functionality remained similar, the newer Garmin units have 7 stimulation levels and and "auto" algorithm. They also have a bark counter and work very well. BUT - they have molded tips rather than interchangeable ones. I refuse to shave a dog because of lazy design and manufacturing. If you have a dog with a short coat and large round neck they will probably work well. But there are a large number of dogs I find they don't fit well, and with which they subsequently don't work well.

DogWatch No-Bark Trainer BT-7
I recently tried this product after many weeks of research. I believe this is a relatively new product because I was the first to leave a review on Amazon. This unit had almost every feature I desired, and came from a manufacturer I had some past experience with (very positive). The unit had many stimulation levels, an auto function, was rechargeable, waterproof, 2 tip lengths were provided, and it also included a bark counter. Unfortunately, I could never get it to work on the dog I tried it on. When tested it worked flawlessly, but in real life it never provided the first stimulation - this after watching the dog bark for 30-60 secs on 3 occasions (and having refitted the collar between each trial). If they can get their sensing reliability improved I'd be happy to give it another try. In the meantime, they did take the unit back, and even refunded my shipping expense.

So for now, I'm still looking for a better bark collar. But nothing I've found to date meets all of my desired criteria.