How to Stop Barking Dog Collars
With urbanization on the rise, barking dogs are becoming an increasing problem. As people move closer together into smaller spaces, barking, a mere annoyance in the country, rises to the level of noise pollution, a health hazard, and even to the point of being an offense that could force the owner to lose his home. Safe, easy-to-use and readily available, anti-barking collars can aid in retraining the offending dog.
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Instructions
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Before Buying
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Identify a physical or environmental cause for the barking. If your dog is uncomfortable, lonely or bored or if there is an element of its environment causing it stress, it will bark. Remove or reduce the physical or environmental causes prior to choosing a collar.
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Evaluate the size and age of your dog. Toy dogs and most puppies will be too small for most anti-bark collars to be effective. Some collar manufacturers are now making toy-sized collars for use with these dogs.
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Decide if the dog's activity level exceeds that recommended by the unit. A collar must not be left on if the dog goes to play outside or if it is left unattended in the company of other dogs. However, it should be durable enough to withstand the dog's day-to-day behavior.
Select a Collar
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Pick a type of collar. Anti-barking collars fall into three types: electronic, ultrasonic and aromatic. Electronic collars deliver a shock when activated, ultrasonic collars deliver a high-pitched tone and aromatic collars release a spray, such as citronella, into the dog's face. All collars provide appropriate negative stimulation when used correctly; however, it is necessary to choose the right collar for the dog's needs.
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Choose the appropriate brand or style that fits both your dog and your budget. The collar should be able to fit snugly around the dog's neck, should have a safety feature to cease operation and should have sufficient options between levels and duration of correction available.
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Obtain professional advice, if possible, to confirm your collar choice and to create a basic plan for collar use.
Appropriate Collar Use
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Fasten the collar around the dog's neck. It should be tight enough to hold the electrodes firmly against the dog's skin or to hold the microphone and the emitter in the correct position.
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Set the collar to the lowest effective level by selecting the lowest setting and applying a "nick" (less than a second) of stimulation. According to dog trainer Lou Castle, the dog feels the stimulation when it flicks its ears, rubs its face or scratches in response. If the dog yelps, the stimulation is set too high.
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Teach your dog what the correction means. When the dog barks, manually "nick" the dog with the stimulation. When the behavior stops, praise the dog. A clicker can also be used to mark the behavior and a treat given to reinforce the behavior. Repeat this process several times, until your dog associates the behavior (barking) with the stimulus (shock, sound or spray) and the reinforcement (praise or click and treat).
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Set the sensor. All anti-bark collars can be set to release stimulation after a certain number of barks or after a certain reset period. Select the level that is appropriate for your situation.
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Inspect equipment frequently: daily or every other day is not excessive. If using an electronic collar, check the fit of the collar against the dog's neck and inspect for burning or irritation on a daily basis.
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Tips & Warnings
Re-evaluate the program weekly. If the dog has not made steady progress on a weekly basis, then examine the environment again. If the environment is satisfactory and the dog is not bored, it might be possible that the reinforcement the dog is receiving from the trainer is not superior to that experienced through barking. Further intervention, such as a behaviorist or surgery, might be required to resolve the issue.
Never use an anti-bark collar with puppies in a "fear period" of life, typically 12-16 weeks of age. The electrodes of an electronic collar must rest firmly on the skin, otherwise the electricity can "arc" and burn the dog.
