I bought this being skeptical because our pups are like children. I used it on myself before I put it on my dog. It gives a slight jolt but didn't hurt, just surprised me and shut off my wind pipe making it impossible to make noise. I put it on my dog occasionally but he has learned. He barked once with it on and never again. Although he has learned that he can growl or do a light bark to get around it, it is no where near what his normal bark is. I would recommend this to others. I use it on a 15lb shitzu mix