While it is normal and very important for dogs to bark, sometimes the frequency and timing of the barking can be a nuisance. As such, you need to know how to stop your dog from barking whenever and wherever you do not need it to. You can achieve this in two major ways: positive reinforcement and using barking collars. The former takes a lot of time and requires a lot of expertise. Using barking collars is an easier and time-efficient way of doing this. It will be the focus since most people do not have the luxury of time to train a dog.
Understand the basics
As the name suggests, braking collars are simply devices that you fit on a dog’s neck to stop it from barking. They may just be similar to the traditional collars that could be used to mark your dog or a little bit different depending on the manufacturer’s design or its mechanism of action.
How they work
Different barking collars work differently, but the bottom line is that all use the same principle of action. They all rely on the dog’s bark to act the stimulus for action. Sound collars emit a high-pitched sound that serves to irritate and interrupt the barking dog, electric collars deliver an electric shock to the dog when it barks (thus acting as a negative reinforcement), and citronella collars spray the dog with citronella scent on its face to disrupt it from barking.
Is backing collar an option for you?
The answer can be yes or no depending on one’s views on animal rights and how long they intend to use the barking collars. If you are animal rights activist or supporter, you may view this as an abuse of the dog’s basic right to bark. Remember, the dog is ‘punished’ by the collar on every bark, by either an electric shock or a shrill high-pitched sound. Another view is that dogs would respond better to methods that employ positive reinforcement as opposed to negative reinforcement since it provides an incentive to the desired behavior( in this case, stopping to bark). This makes collars an unsuitable method of stopping dog barking.
On the other hand, when you use both positive reinforcement and barking collars, the results could be much better. That is, by rewarding the desired behavior and punishing the undesired behavior, the efforts of stopping the barking could be more fruitful. Besides, when used for short periods, dogs are more responsive as opposed to long-term use. This is attributable to the long-term distress that a dog is exposed to due to punishment on barking.
Where can you get them?
You can easily find barking collars in pet shops across the country. To get the most out of backing collars however, it is important to observe certain precautions.
- Ensure that the collar fits comfortably.
- Ensure that the collar is the right one for your dog, depending on its size or sex.
- Ensure that the collar matches the your objectives( it could be training the dog or simply just stopping it from barking).
With the right choice of collar, you will have an easier time controlling the unnecessary barking of your dog.
