Dogs require attention, love, and proper care. When getting a pup, a lot of things need to be thoroughly thought about, like where the dog will sleep, what’s the best dog bed, what kind of food you need, etc. We do everything to satisfy our furry friends’ needs and make them feel safe but, sometimes, their behaviour can be really irritating. One of those moments is when it seems like they’re barking for no reason.
Why Do Dogs Bark?
Barking is a way of communicating for dogs and different dogs can bark for different reasons, but there’s always a reason why they do it. The most common ones are:
- Excitement
- Hunger
- Attention
- Boredom
- Fear
- Anxiety
- Protecting their territory
- Surprise
There may be various reasons and it’s important that you identify the different situations when it happens so you know what the triggers are. If your dog started suddenly barking excessively, visit the vet to exclude a medical condition. If that’s not the case, it’s up to you to recognise the triggers so you can work towards eliminating them. It may be a long process but it’s definitely worth it because your dog will be more obedient, will feel safer, and it’ll give you peace of mind.
What Can You Do to Stop Your Dog from Barking?
Some dogs don’t react to positive training as others do. This is why you can try using a dog spray collar, vibration collar, or ultrasonic collar that help you deter your dog from barking. If you were thinking between getting a dog harness or a collar, the anti-bark collars might be the key factor to decide on the latter.
Bark Control Spray Collars
These collars can be used to correct different problem behaviours, not just barking. A spray collar is a painless method to get your dog to listen and stop whatever they are doing. These dog barking spray collars work by using a solution, usually made of citronella, lemon juice, or simply water, which is sprayed anytime they detect a barking sound. The reason why this works is that dogs find citronella smell unpleasant and it distracts them from barking when the collar sprays.
If you want to try this method, you need to get quality dog barking spray collars that work properly. Usually, cheap collars have problems when it comes to activation. This can have the opposite effect and confuse your dog instead of training them. Spray collars with a dual sensor are preferred because they only activate when both a sound and throat vibration are detected. This makes the collar not so sensitive and it’s not activated by sounds from other pets or the environment.
Using a citronella collar is only unpleasant for your dog because humans don’t find this smell bad. On the contrary, citronella is used in aromatherapy because of its many benefits for our health. It just shouldn’t be ingested in large quantities.
The key to success with these collars is using the right one. You should get one with adjustable levels that sprays different amounts of the spray. The reason for this is that some dogs might be sensitive to a larger amount while others aren’t bothered at all by the smell. With an adjustable dog citronella collar, you’ll be able to find the setting that works for your dog. You could also get a collar that gives a signal before the citronella is sprayed. This can be a sound or vibration. In this way, the dog can get distracted and stop barking, preventing the citronella from spraying.
Anti-Bark Vibration Collars
Just like the spray collar, vibration collars can be used for various purposes but you should only use them for one in order not to confuse your dog. It also helps training deaf dogs who can’t hear your instructions. It has a remote that enables you to control the collar from a distance.
These collars work by emitting vibrations every time they detect barking, if you set it to be automatic, or as mentioned, you can control the vibrations by pressing a button on the remote when you want your dog to stop barking. They are preferred over shock collars because they’re advertised as much more humane. They don’t cause any pain whatsoever but the discomfort is still there.
A vibration collar may or may not work for your dog. They can get used to the vibrations and not respond to them, just like with the citronella dog collars. If this happens, you can try with the other types of collars because if your pup doesn’t respond to one method, maybe it will to another. Also, training and obedience classes can come in handy in these situations.
You should look for a collar with adjustable vibration levels that’ll help you control it depending on your dog’s response or sensitivity.
Anti-Bark Ultrasonic Collars
Since dogs can hear pitches and frequencies undetectable by humans, this has been used to create ultrasonic collars or devices that emit these kinds of sounds. The dog is annoyed by that high-pitched sound and stops barking or doing whatever they are doing at the moment. These collars have a microphone that detects the barking and emits the sound if set to automatic, or you can press a button on a remote to activate the sound. Some of them can work together with a shock, first it’ll emit a sound and if the barking continues, it will deliver a shock. So, be careful when choosing this kind of collar because you don’t want to train your dog by causing them pain.
Ultrasonic collars are also a more humane alternative since they only irritate the dog. It’s safe because it won’t cause any hearing damage. There’s the risk of your dog getting used to the sound and ignoring it, so you may have to try other types of training techniques before finding the one that works.
