Barking is a completely natural canine behavior, and is one of the primary ways in which dogs communicate. Your dog barks for a variety of reasons - normally good ones. But sometimes dogs bark inappropriately, whether in the field or in kennel situations. Inappropriate barking tends to reward itself, and can easily become a habit.
What can you do if you find your dog's barking is interfering with your training program, disturbing his kennel mates, or even upsetting your family?
You may wish to consider using a bark control collar to help you eliminate excessive barking and keep your dog on track. Most bark control collars are safe to use around other dogs, such as in kennel situations, because the stimulus is activated only by the dog wearing the collar.
Electronic bark control collars, such as the
Train-Well® No-Bark Collar, use vibration probes to sense when your dog barks. When vibration is detected, the collar probes deliver a harmless electrical correction to your dog's neck.
The effectiveness of these collars is attributed to the fact that your dog learns to associate his own behavior (barking) with the unpleasant correction, and will stop the behavior to avoid the correction.
Bark collars usually offer different levels of electrical stimulation. Some collars, such as the
PetSafe Deluxe Bark Control Collar, even allow you to adjust the level of sensitivity.
While most bark collars are water-resistant, make sure to get one that is waterproof if you plan to use it in areas where your dog could get wet or end up fully-submersed in the water.
Photo from the book, "Just Setters."
