Dog Training

Control Your Dog’s Barking

Barking is as normal to dogs as talking is to humans. Trying to eliminate dog barking altogether would be like trying to stop someone to talk forever! Besides it being impossible, it’s just plain wrong. But we have to admit, excessive barking (much 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.

Even if barking shouldn’t be stopped-after all, it’s handy when your dog uses it for proper 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.

A lot of people-even dog owners-aren’t too aware that there are many ways to try and stop your dog from barking at whim.

A lot of dog owners would basically just run to an anti-barking collar. Why? They’re very convenient and they don’t require much time from the owner. The great thing about collars is that they can supervise a dog’s barking habits even when the owner is not around. As of late, there are basically three different kinds of anti-barking collars available in the market.

One 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. The idea is that they will associate the irritable sound as punishment to their incessant barking.

Another one is called the citronella collar. Citronella collars spray a pungent scent. When the dog barks, they spray 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 would bark and then sort of hold their breaths to avoid the smell and then bark again.

The third one is called the shock collar. This collar is very controversial. It stops dog barking with electric shock. Intensity of the current can usually be changed.

A lot of people say this is inhuman and are against it. After all, no sane person would do that to another person so why even think of doing it to their own pet? As much as possible, this kind of collar is avoided-and for good reason.

Even if collars seem to be the “promised land” out of your dog’s uncontrollable barking, collars are just merely supplements.

The best thing is still training-find out first why your dog barks the way it does. Take your dog to a veterinarian behaviorist. A veterinarian behaviorist basically observes a dog’s environment and circumstances to figure out what exactly triggers their socially unacceptable behavior. Then 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 the lack of things to do (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.

If you don’t know why your dog keeps barking, you can call a vet behaviorist to help you out. A vet behaviorist will also teach you what to do. They might recommend you to get an anti-barking collar but only to support training.

If your is always left at home with nothing to do, it would have so much pent-up energy, that it’d really end up barking just to release some energy. 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. When left alone with nothing to do, dogs feel bored and lonely just like humans do and they will do just about anything to release some energy or catch your attention.

You can also implement the “QUIET” command whenever he barks out of control. If you’ve already established yourself as the alpha of your “pack”, then it won’t take much trouble to teach this. If the barking is much of a nuisance and is already getting in the way of your chances with the neighborhood hottie, then using an anti-bark collar might be acceptable, but only temporarily or only as a training supplement.

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.