Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have only had this collar for a short time so I intend on updating my review as needed. I have 2 dogs and work midnights for 7 nights in a row and then have 7 consecutive nights off. I work 12 hours shifts and am gone 14 hours a day including drive time so I cannot crate my dogs for that long of a time period. I have a huge backyard that is fenced in with a 6 foot tall chain link fence and a doggy flap so that my dogs can come and go as they please. Out of consideration for my neighbors, I take them to a doggy daycare/boarding facility on the weeks that I work and they spend the entire week there. Needless to say, it is very expensive, and I miss them terribly the week they are gone. One of my dogs is a Doberman who runs the fence and barks at any person and any animal and doesn't stop until the person goes in their house or the offending animal is out of sight. I purchased this collar so that I could start leaving them home the weeks that I work. My neighbor agreed to help me train him on this collar. One bark from him resulted in one light zap from the collar and that was it. When the collar goes on, he still charges and runs the fence line, but the big difference is he's not barking. I did notice that he can whine, shake his head, run around with my other dog, play growl at my other dog, drink, or eat and the collar will not falsely trigger. I had my other dog out while testing and although she was barking at my neighbor and my Doberman was not, the collar did not go off. I believe the absolute biggest advantage to this collar is that there are fewer false corrections because in order to elicit a shock, it has to be set off by the combination of sound (the dog barking) AND vocal cord vibrations. This is also why fitting the collar properly is critical. If it's too loose, it can't sense the vocal cord vibration, and if it's too tight your dog may develop pressure sores (not to mention I would think it would be very uncomfortable). The collar is to be fitted high on the neck with the strap right behind the ears and the box directly under the jawbone. There are 3 modes of programming with 9 intensity levels. Program 1 increases intensity with each bark. Once the barking stops, the program uses that last correction level as a starting point if the barking starts again. Program 2 starts at the lowest level and increases if the dog continues to bark but resets back to the lowest level once the barking stops. Program 3 delivers the same intensity with every bark. The intensity level in Program 3 is chosen by the user. So far this is what I like: As stated above, it takes sound AND vibration in order to trigger. It's rechargeable. It has 3 training modes as well as 9 intensity levels. Waterproof which is very important if your dogs have access to the outside while wearing this. Automatic safety shut off. Each program mode has a different color blinking light set which is very bright and can be seen from a distance. Reasonably priced. What I don't like or would like to see improved: It's light-weight at about 4.8 oz but medium in size. I would really like to see a smaller one as I want my dog to be as comfortable as possible. It's easy to set once you know how, but it's not intuitive. You have to take the time to read the directions to get it set right. I would prefer if it would give a warning vibration on the first bark and then a static correction if the dog barks again (the Dogtra YS300 does this but is triggered by sound only which I don't like). I would like to see it count the number of barks like the Tri-Tronics Bark Limiter. Longer probes for dogs with fleshier necks or longer, thicker hair have to be purchased separately. Would like to see an option to purchase a collar that has a safety release feature. For reference my dog is a 3 year-old, male neutered Doberman, that is over 100 lbs. Please see customer images to see how this collar fits him size-wise. Also, I use program #2 (blue and green lights) that starts at the lowest level and increases in intensity if the dog continues to bark. Once the dog is quiet, the unit resets itself to the lowest level. I spent less than $100 on this collar and I've been spending over $700 every month on daycare/boarding fees. Even if I have to replace this collar every year (which I don't anticipate), I am still saving a ton of money. I am going to write the trainer who suggested this collar and the Sportdog company a big fat thank you letter! UPDATE: I've had this collar for a little over 2 years now. I use it on an average of 100 hours per month and it still working well, and I've had no problem (that I know of) with false corrections. The battery is still going strong.