It works!... (If you work it)
SEE UPDATE BELOW REVIEW Was down to this one and one that was supposed to be a little bit smaller. I settled on this one because of the no prongs. I hated the prongs on the collar I was using before and so did Baby Boy. So I have a cat believe it or not that has somehow gotten into his head that "yelling" at the top of his voice at positively *everything* is a great idea. And no, it's not the "I'm miserable about something fix it mommy!" type of meowing. He is most definitely "yelling" *at* it. And, whatever it is, he "yells" at it: wind, rain, moving leaves, flys, bees, people, traffic, dogs and, of course, other cats. I still can't tell if he's trying to pick a fight with wind and rain or entice it to come in and play. Truth is that, it's almost kinda cute if it weren't so irritating to everyone. And, yeah, I have tried every technique under the sun with zero effect until I finally broke down and got his first Collar Of Beep. Thankfully, the beeps and buzzing does indeed annoy him enough that he starts to quiet down. Unfortunately, the sensor unit was kind of hit and miss, I mean, his fur is so thick that the prongs had to be right against his skin to sense anything and, of course, it didn't always semse things correctly. So, I decided to try a manually activated collar with a remote. Trouble *there* is that, he's not a dog, he's a cat and kitties actually GET HURT FROM SHOCKS. So, since I didn't want to even remotely risk an accidental button press physically *hurting* my poor little guy, that put most collars right out of the running. So, dunno if this will help folks but for *my* usage here are the advantages I have noticed that *might* apply to doggies. NO PRONGS!!! Prongs are *uncomfortable*. This unit doesn't have them so he can wear his collar and enjoy his window time for a lot longer. He also doesn't occasionally choke himself on them because he can wear the collar looser as well. YOU GET A BACKUP!! It's been a week so far and I haven't had to yet but the other unit is charged and just waiting to be switched out if the first should lose power while he needs to wear it. (Remember, for my Baby Boy, he has to wear that collar if he's in front of an open window or door enjoying some kitty TV because he tends to get over excited and loud during those activities and I do not want to take them away from him completely). IT'S MANUALLY ACTIVATED!!! At first I thought this was a con but since I can warn him about his volume from another room of the apartment, he hasn't caught on that I'm directly responsible for the beeps and buzzing. For a cat, because they can understand a negative consequence coming from an outside source but many do *not* grock negative reinforcement from a human, my not being a part of his interactions with the collar other than to put it on, is a bonus because that means he can't blame the beeps and buzzing on anything other than his own behavior.) Also, it's far more consistent of a response because *I* am the one that decides what volume is too much instead of a computer chip that may or may not be in optimal position to sense that he is over that threshold. Also, if he tries to ignore the beeps and buzzing, I can respond to that by increasing the reponse. The first warnings can be *just* the beep or I can increase the buzzing a little. Which leads me to the final advantage of this system. IT'S VARIABLE!!! Because of that I can literally dial in an adjustment to the buzzing depending on the situation. I can also even alert him with just one or the other. As long as I am consistent, he does indeed seem to be figuring out what each response means. I have only had it a week so far but so far, it seems to be working quite well. He actually seems to be happy with the collar now. In fact, the last few days, he's even stayed still and let me put it on him- something he *never* did before. Lol. So, right now, we are more than happy with this collar. And at some point in the future, I will try to update with information on it's longevity. Thank you. UPDATE July 2020 (9 months later) Thought that I would update this with a long term result: It works if you are consistent. It's been a few months and Baby Boy is fully used to the collar. He knows that when mommy puts his collar on it is Quiet Time. I barely- if ever even have to touch the remote anymore. His behavior even without the collar is quieter as well-- he has indeed learned to use his Inside Voice. Lol. Sometimes he still needs reminding of course but, honestly, he has learned to self regulate. Now, do NOT get me wrong, it WAS a tough few months and I had to remain consistent and patient throughout. IT TAKES TIME! But. It works if you use it properly. Yeah, there were days where it seemed like it was never going to happen-- like he was going to yell at everything forever-- days where I was literally saving up money to handle the noise complaints that I just KNEW were going to be coming in but, little bit by little bit, slowly, over time, he eventually caught on that he just can't yell at the top of his lungs at the whole world and life has gotten better for everyone (especially the neighbors, I'm sure lol). It's not an instant fix. It takes work and a LOT of resolve but, yes, I figure if it can work for my kitty, it can probably work for a pupper who understands the whole idea of training much easier too. Stay consistent, hang in there and don't forget lots of love whenever they get it right and it WILL get better. :D PS: Everyone LOVES the orange collar against his black fur. (I think it's cause it makes him look all Halloween Kitty lol) Read more