Doggy Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘dog trainings’

Barking is a natural doggie activity just like talking is to humans. Trying to stop your dog from barking altogether would be like trying to stop someone to talk forever! It’s impossible and it’s not exactly a nice thing to do. But we have to admit, excessive barking (just like excessive talking) is totally irritating—not just to you but to your family, your hot neighbor, the children at play, the mailman, and every one else who can hear it.

Even if barking shouldn’t be stopped—after all, it’s very useful when your dog uses it for proper reasons like warning you, warding off trespassers, or telling you something of importance—it must be controlled. If you want to maintain peace in the neighborhood and between your neighbors, controlling your dog’s barking habits is important.

Many people and dog owners don’t know much about trying to stop dogs from barking .

These days, busy dog owners tend to run to these things called anti-barking collars. They’re convenient as they don’t seem to require much time from the owner. What’s so appealing about collars is that they can help the owner supervise incessant barking while the owner isn’t around. As of late, there are basically three different types of anti-barking collars available in the market.

One is the sonar collar. Sonar collars are discreet things. Whenever the dog barks, it releases a sound with a certain frequency inaudible to humans but irritable to dogs. This in turn will get them to think that the irritable sound is a punishment to their barking and will (hopefully) get them to stop.

Another one is the citronella collar. The citronella collar sprays a scent that dogs don’t really like. Whenever they bark, the collar would spray this scent so that, just like the sonar collar, the dog would find the scent as a punishment for their incessant barking. Many say that dogs have already found a trick to outwit this collar, though.

One anecdotal report states that their dog would just keep on barking until the collar runs out of citronella. Then he’ll just go on barking for the rest of the day. Other dogs find other ways, like making a face (that probably gets them to hold their breath somehow) when the collar sprays and then barking again.

The third variety is the shock collar. This collar gets a lot of people iffy. Whenever the dog barks, it shocks the dog with electricity. The strength level of the shock can be changed from 1 to 6, 6 usually being the highest.

Many people regard this collar as inhuman and condone it. Come to think of it no decent person would want to do that to their own child (or anyone they want to discipline for that matter) so doing it to their own pet sounds insane, illogical and altogether cruel as well. This collar is to be avoided at all costs.

Although they may all seem very practical, easy, and promising, collars are at most, simply a supplementary solution to incessant dog barking.

The best thing to do is to find out first why exactly your dog has that kind of habit. Take your dog to a veterinarian behaviorist. A veterian behaviorist basically observes a dog’s environment and circumstances to figure out what exactly triggers their socially unacceptable behavior. And then based on their findings, they give training solutions to eliminate the behavior problem.

Some reasons as to why a dog would bark are things like the lack of things to do (meaning they have so much energy with nothing to use it with) or frustration (perhaps they’re being bullied by another dog in the family or by the people around them) to name two.

If you can’t pinpoint what exactly triggers their undesirable behavior, call a vet behaviorist near you to help you find out what’s bothering your dog. A vet behaviorist will also teach you what to do. They might recommend you to get an anti-barking collar but only to support training.

Barking dogs are just sometimes extremely bored with so much energy to waste. If you think your dog might just be bored, then it’s time to spend time with him playing—take him for walks, play catch with him, and let him socialize with other dogs. If you’re always out, put them in the care of someone else while you’re out—like a relative or a friend or a dog walker or a doggie daycare. Especially when you’re alone in the house, when you’re out, like humans, your dog feels lonely and bored and he will do anything to use all his energy.

You can also use other tricks like the “QUIET” command, which you will have to implement whenever he barks senselessly. If your dog sees you as the alpha of the pack, then you wouldn’t have much trouble teaching the “QUIET” command. If the barking is much of a nuisance and is already getting in the way of your chances with the neighborhood hottie, then using an anti-bark collar might be acceptable, but only temporarily or only as a training supplement.

If you’re seriously considering a collar, get the sonar collar as it is more efficient and humane. Never forget to tackle the problem with hands-on solutions and obedience training as well. Training your dog to respond to obedience signals is still the best and lasting way to tone down incessant barking but still maintain his freedom to do what he naturally does.