The Truth About Bark Collars

If you have a dog that barks, you may have been advised to put a bark collar on your pet. Bark collars are used by many owners to control their dog's barking. If a dog barks excessively or at inappropriate times, barking collars are seen as a solution for some pet owners. The way a bark collar works is when the dog begins to bark, a battery powered device within the barking collar will be activated via microphone. The device will stimulate one of many forms of "correction". Methods of correction built into dog collars include sprays with citronella based fluid that dogs find very disagreeable or a static shock and last is sonic sound that dogs find annoying and will stop barking.

There are much better ways to teach your dog not to bark excessively. First of all, you need to get to the root of the problem of your dog's barking. A dog that is fearful or experiencing separation anxiety will bark and sometimes excessively so. Frequently used, a bark collar will "train out" all instinct to bark and will leave you with a dog afraid to bark. If you find the reason for your dog's barking is separation anxiety, you can easily train your dog that he doesn't need to bark to bring you home. Start by using the key jingle method. When you are about to leave, jingle your keys and then tell your dog you'll be back and then go out the door. Most dogs will bark for about 3-5 minutes then quiet down. When he quiets down, jingle your keys then come in. Praise your dog for quieting down. Do this twice a day for about a week and you should have your barking dog under control.

If you remember to jingle your keys, your dog will associate that sound with you leaving but also with your return. Another good way is to give your dog a command to stop barking, and then praise and reward him for doing so. Initially, using treats is a great way to give your dog incentive to stop barking. Using a combination of both treats and praise and then use praise mostly and treats occasionally once your dog is following your barking command.

In order to train your dog not to bark, you must discover the reason for his barking. Normally you can train your dog yourself to quell undesirable behavior without the use of borderline cruel gadgets like bark collars.
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