The Dog Site

Barking is as natural to a dog as talking is as natural to a human being. Trying to stop your dog from barking altogether would be like trying to stop someone to talk forever! It’s impossible and it’s not exactly a nice thing to do. The thing is, excessive barking (just like excessive talking) is a major nuisance—not just to you but to your family, your hot neighbor, the children at play, the mailman, and every one else who can hear it.

Although barking is not to be eliminated—after all, it’s very useful when your dog uses it for the right reasons like warning you, warding off trespassers, or telling you something of importance—it must be controlled. If you want to keep peace in the neighborhood and between your neighbors, controlling your dog’s barking habits is important.

Many people and dog owners don’t know much about curbing incessant dog barking behavior.

These days, busy dog owners tend to run to these things called anti-barking collars. They seem to be the most convenient solution. What’s so appealing about collars is that they can help the owner supervise incessant barking while the owner isn’t around. So far, there are generally three different types of anti-barking collars available in the market.

There is the sonar collar. Sonar collars are discreet things. Whenever the dog barks, it releases a sound with a certain frequency inaudible to humans but irritable to dogs. This in turn will get them to think that the irritable sound is a punishment to their barking and will (hopefully) get them to stop.

The second one is the citronella collar. Citronella collars spray a pungent scent. Whenever they bark, the collar would spray this scent so that, like the sonar collar, the dog would assume they’re being punished for their non-stop barking. Though this seems pretty useful, a lot of people say that their dogs have already found a way to get around this anti-barking device.

One anecdotal report states that their dog would just keep on barking until the collar runs out of citronella. Afterwards, he will go on barking the whole day without having to deal with the citronella smell. Other dogs find other ways, like making a face (that probably gets them to hold their breath somehow) when the collar sprays and then barking again.

The last one is called the shock collar. This collar gets a lot of people iffy. It stops dog barking with electric shock. The strength level of the shock can be changed from 1 to 6, 6 usually being the highest.

Many people regard this collar as inhuman and condone it. Come to think of it no decent person would want to do that to their own child (or anyone they want to discipline for that matter) so doing it to their own pet sounds insane, illogical and altogether cruel as well. This collar is to be avoided at all costs.

Though collars seem very convenient, they’re merely supplements to help you control your dog’s barking habit.

Before running to anti-barking collars, find a solution first—find out why your dog barks that way in the first place. Take your dog to a veterinarian behaviorist. A veterian behaviorist basically observes a dog’s environment and circumstances to figure out what exactly triggers their socially unacceptable behavior. Afterwards they find solutions to eliminate the behavior with proper training methods based on their findings.

Some reasons as to why a dog would bark are things like boredom (they might have too much time in their paws with nothing to spend it with) or frustration (are they being bullied by dogs or other people?) to name two.

You can always call a vet behaviorist to help you find out your dog’s behavior problems. A vet behaviorist will also teach you what to do. They might suggest an anti-barking collar but only side-by-side with proper training.

If you find out that your dog is just plain bored and has no other way to release pent-up energy, then work on giving your dog something to do. Provide them with physical activities like walks, catch, and play time with other dogs. If you don’t have time, then hire a dog walker or take it to a doggie day care. Especially when you’re alone in the house, when you’re out, like humans, your dog feels lonely and bored and he will do anything to use all his energy.

You can also implement the “QUIET” command whenever he barks out of control. If your dog sees you as the alpha of the pack, then you wouldn’t have much trouble teaching the “QUIET” command. If the barking is too much of a nuisance already, then a collar might work as a temporary solution BUT always follow it up with behavior training.

The sonar collar is most recommended as it is not just humane, but more efficient than the two as well. Never forget to tackle the problem with hands-on solutions and obedience training as well. Training your dog to respond to obedience signals is still the best and lasting way to tone down incessant barking but still maintain his freedom to do what he naturally does.

Tags: barking dogs, dog barking, dog barking problems, dog barking solutions, dog problems, dog trainings, Dogs, Pets