Waterproof ratings for bark collars: what do they mean?

In the old days when someone sees the term waterproof when buying a product, they knew it meant it could not be damaged by water at all, even if it falls to the bottom of a dam and you somehow managed to retrieve it. Today, in the dog training marketplace in particular, you instead find the term waterproof used more ubiquitously, with the term "waterproof" somehow morphing to mean "the degree of waterproofing" the product offers. This is frequently followed by the Ingress Protection (IP) rating developed by the International Electrotechnical Commission to grade resistance of an enclosure against the intrusion of dust or liquids. 

Understanding the IP code

Electric and electronic equipment deteriorate or malfunction when water or dust enters the device. The International Electrotechnical Commission IEC has developed the ingress protection (IP) ratings, which grade the resistance of an enclosure against the intrusion of dust or liquids. The ratings are widely used throughout industry. The IP code is composed of two numerals:

The first numeral refers to the protection against solid objects and is rated on a scale from 0 (no protection) to 6 (no ingress of dust). The second numeral rates the enclosure’s protection against liquids and uses a scale from 0 (no protection) to 9 (high-pressure hot water from different angles). This second number is what we are more concerned about in this article. Based on a controlled testing environment, the second numeral represents as follows (Source: ICE website)

We have observed that amongst dog training collars that claim a degree of waterproofing, IP ratings can range from IPX4 to IPX8, which is the maximum in this category. Despite these online references explaining the IP rating, it can still be difficult to assess which level of waterproofing is good enough for your dog training needs. IP ratings are generalised terms for across the range of electronic devices, so we felt it was important to picture the various dog training scenarios to help you understand what waterproof rating to choose.

What IP Waterproof Rating Do I Choose?

IPX4 is basic rain proofing

IPX4 is the bare minimum we recommend for acceptable water resistance, anything below this shouldn't be expose to water unless you want to carefully control what angle water drops onto your collar, which is ridiculous. IPX4 protects from spraying water from all angles. IPX4 will definitely protect the collar when your dog gets caught in the rain. These are collars often described as water resistant or weatherproof. 

IPX5 to IPX6 for splashing around

It's pretty hard to place a fine demarcation between IPX5 and IPX6 ratings. If your dog likes to splash around on the shore and puddles but doesn't like swimming or getting submerged, then go for the IPX6 to be on the safer side. However, if visiting the beach, rivers and lakes is a regular thing for you, we recommend going for a minimum of IPX7.      

IPX7 for short swims 

If there is any possibility of complete submersion of the collar as in swimming, IPX7 is the lowest rating recommended. To be honest with you, as a resident of a beach town, I wouldn't even bother with IPX5 or IPX6. I would choose IPX7 as my baseline waterproofing just to be on the safer side. I don't know how many times my dog Rocco fell deep in a puddle at low tide. Dog collar manufacturers often recommend a maximum of 30mins submersion time at a maximum of 1 metre depth. That is pretty much the average trip to the beach for me with a dog who likes to splash around but not swim for very long.

IPX8 for water lovers

If your dog is obsessed about getting wet and staying wet, with access to achieving these two goals, then you need to stick to IPX8 I'm afraid. This does limit options but you don't want to constantly replace damaged collars either. Simply put, these collars can stay underwater for prolonged periods of time. If you own a Golden Retriever with full access to a body of water, this will give you full peace of mind.  

Caring and Maintaining Waterproof Bark Collars

Please read our article on 5 Ways to Prolong the Life of Your Bark Collar. Collars that are often at the beach can accumulate dust and be prone to rust over time. Regular cleaning and maintenance can help avoid these issues.