Are you wondering why your dog is the loudest one on the street and what to do about it?
Someone once said that the only creatures that are evolved enough to convey pure love are dogs and infants. Undoubtedly, dogs are peoples’ friends for life. They will wait for you at home when you come back from work. They will cheer you up on a bad day. They will show you what true loyalty means. That is, however, an idealized picture of a dog.
Surely puppies will bring joy and life into your house, but like any other living creature, they are not solely perfect. Dogs toss their food around, sometimes bite, and bark. While the first two problems disappear as the animal gets older, the third issue might stay forever.
Barking is a natural way of communicating with other dogs and humans as well. However, some dogs tend to do it excessively and drive their owners crazy.
Unfortunately, the list of reasons why dogs bark is just endless. Each breed has its natural tendencies and preferences. For example, smaller dogs, such as Yorks or Chihuahuas, will naturally bark more often than other kinds, like Basenji. In case of the stray dogs, their excessive barking may be caused by their traumatic past.
If you are worried about your puppy’s excessive barking, the best thing to do is to contact a specialist like a dog trainer or a veterinarian. They are most likely to find the right cause and the best solution.
However, if you have tried all possible options and nothing worked, you should consider getting a bark collar for your dog.
What are Bark Collars?
Anti-bark collars are specific types of necklaces designed to train the dog not to bark too much. It is supposed to reinforce undesired negative behavior.
Most bark collars are electronic. They detect barking based on the dog’s vocal cords vibration and send a short, low-level shock to the animal’s neck. The excessively barking dog, with time, should start connecting barking with necessity rather than pleasure, thus stop doing it so often.
It may sound a little cruel. That is why using bark collars has become a controversial topic among animal lovers. Some perceive it as the only way of teaching the dog “good manners,” others think of it as a form of animal abuse and fight against it.
Opinions are divided, and at the end of the day, you decide to buy it or not. If you are still in doubt, wondering if a barking collar is the right solution to the problem, take a look at some of their advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages:
- It is an effective way of controlling your dog.
- Most likely, the dog will learn where the shock comes from and will stop barking.
- You can adjust the intensity of the shock.
- Some of the collars light in the dark, which is helpful during the late-night walks.
Disadvantages:
- The dog feels discomfort when he barks.
- Barking may not decrease despite wearing the collar.
- Using an external electrical tool to train a dog may be morally wrong.
Do the Anti-Barking Collars Work?
One of the main factors to consider when deciding whether or not to train a dog while using an anti-barking collar is the effectiveness of that system. Dog owners reviewing training collars claim that they work.
Most of the dogs are described as aggressive, always alert, and oversensitive at the beginning, and peaceful, relaxed, as well as more human-friendly, after the anti-barking collar usage.
The insignificant hurt done during the training is minor compared to the long-lasting effect of quieting a dog.
Conclusion
Deciding if a barking collar is the right thing to use may be difficult. It definitely should not be the first thing to purchase when the dog starts barking excessively. It may turn out there are some internal or external factors easy to identify that trigger the loud barking. Avoiding or getting rid of them should be a less invasive, cheaper, and more straightforward decision.
If that is not the case, and it is impossible to define what makes the dog react aggressively, considering a barking collar may turn out to be the best solution. There are some anti-barking collars available on the market that are cheap, effective, and at the same time, do not hurt the dog.