Most of the times, dogs bark for a justifiable reason. However, sometimes dogs over-react to situations or stimuli and become excessive in their vocalizations. Among the most common situations (and the hardest on neighbors) are dogs that suffer from separation anxiety and bark nearly constantly while alone.
Since the owner isn’t at home, it is very difficult for him to be able to control his dog’s behavior. There are times when dog owners do not know what to do anymore, other than subject their pets to debarking surgeries or simply take them to a shelter. These are not inspired decisions, but dog owners see no other solution.
Then came the no bark collar. First bark collars were not flawless. They often reacted to the barking of another dog, and could not differentiate between the types of barks, so would correct the dog when it was responding as any dog would; and did not necessarily have a safety cut-off in case the dog was hurt or panicked.
bark collars have been constantly upgraded since they were invented. For instance, you can find them in three different types – the citrus spray, ultrasonic and static collars. All three types are based on the same idea. The collar is activated when it detects sounds and vibrations within certain frequencies. This is what makes these collars react only to the dog’s barking. Having adjustable volume and frequency monitoring, these collars will not be triggered by reactions such as fear or stress.
Static bark collars give the dog mild shocks when it is noisy; those with citrus spray spread the substance and the ultrasonic collars produce an irritating sound that only dogs can hear. None is intended to harm the dog, but startle it, which will silence it. Some of the static collars can be adjusted and they also have an automatic shutdown system if the dog barks continuously for a longer period. The bark collar will also reset to a lower setting if the dog is silent for a preset amount of time. This system is meant to encourage your dog to only bark when it has to.
A bark collar is intended as an aid in training your dog not to bark inappropriately, not as replacement for training. Anti-bark collars are meant for use over a limited period. If the dog literally only barks when no one is home, and you cannot instigate it by leaving the dog outside while you are inside, ask a neighbor if they would act as monitor when you are not there. Usually, they will be happy to help, since they are the ones that must endure the noise. Consider the friendliest neighbor you have, with whom your dog is already used.
Keeping the pet under constant supervision is meant to record whether it has a normal reaction to the collar. Again, do not use the collars alone, without combining them with training. Use the training system based on rewards, rather than on force and constraint.
Instead of resorting to extreme solutions, consider purchasing bark collars instead. These devices can prove to be very efficient in educating your dog. If you want to know more details about these devices and the mechanisms they use, read more about bark collars here.
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