Dogtra, a brand usually associated with hunting dog equipment also makes the YS series of Dogtra anti-bark collars. The YS500 is one of the largest and heaviest dog bark collars and would only be suitable dogs over 30 lbs. But, with that weight and bulk, the Dogtra is one of the best built collars and and can take a great deal of abuse. This bark collar has a good vibration sensor and a slow but serviceable rechargeable battery. The downside is really the size. This collar seems unnecessarily big and heavy and there are equally good collars that are much smaller in this price bracket.

Bark Sensor

The YS 500 collar includes a pad style vibration sensor. The gel pad presses against the dog’s throat and picks up vibrations when the dog barks. Vibration sensors that are now utilized on anti-bark collars are much better than the old style sound sensors which can be accidently set off by outside noise. To test the collar, you can use the scratch pad that sits on top of the collar and simply scratch with a pen.

For some dogs this progressive correction works well, with only the low warning bark being necessary to stop barking.

Stimulation (Correction)

The Dogtra has 7 stimulation levels to select from by using a dial on the side of the collar. The Dogtra YS500 bark collar also includes an indicator light on the side that illuminates to let you know when the stimulation is triggered.

Battery

The Dogtra YS500, YS creatively stands for “Yapper Stopper”, is a rechargeable large dog collar. The collar uses a niMH battery that lasts about two weeks between charges. The collar recharges by plugging the supplied adaptor into a port on the bottom of the collar. We are not impressed by the charging time as our tests showed the collar taking approximately 10 hours to recharge.

Collar Probes

The Dogtra YS500 collar uses short 5/8-inch probes included in the box. You can also get longer 1-inch probes, but these are not included and cost an additional $20, which we find unacceptable in a collar at this price point. Most no-bark collars at this price level include the extra probes as standard.

Collar Band

The collar strap is removable, which is a useful when cleaning the bark collar. Although the band is plastic, it is relatively wide and quite strong (as we would expect for a large dog bark collar). One characteristic we find odd is that for a large dog bark collar, the collar band is really not that long. The collar is only 25" inches, which some very large dogs will find too small. The collar fastens with a standard buckle type closure.

Conclusion

The Dogtra YS500 is a really well made collar. Toughness and durability are key advantages with the YS500. However, the size seems absurdly large. You would not even imagine putting this on a dog under 30lbs, and even on a medium-large dog like a Labrador, it looks very big. We aren’t sure why the YS500 is so big and heavy. This is a fine collar, but there are other equally good choices that are a lot smaller that we prefer.

Specifications

Model	Dogtra YS500
Correction Type	Static Correction
Dog Size	30 Plus lbs
Bark Sensor Type	Vibration Gel Pad
Collar Receiver Dimensions	2.63" (L) x 1.81" (W) x 1.14" (D)
Collar Receiver Weight	6.6 oz
Receiver & Collar Band Weight	7.4 oz
Collar Neck Size	8"- 25"
Battery Type	Rechargeable: Nickel Metal Hydride(niMH)
Correction Levels	7
Waterproof	Yes
Probes	Medium 5/8" (Long and Short Probes Available)
Package Dimensions	7" (L) x 2.25" (w) x 5.25" (H)
Package Weight	2 lbs
Warranty	One Year

Manual

Dogtra YS500 Manual