Bark collars started as an idea, probably by a neighbor of someone whose dog was anxious or neglected, and barked much too often. If you have the bad luck of living in a neighborhood where there are many such dogs, your life can turn into a nightmare.
Originally, there was one style of bark collar, the static or ‘shock’ collar. The first versions of static collar came with some complications. They often reacted to the barking of another dog, and could not differentiate between the types of barks, so would correct the dog when it was responding as any dog would; and did not necessarily have a safety cut-off in case the dog was hurt or panicked. There were a few reported cases of physical or extreme psychological harm because a dog was left unmonitored before finding out how it would react to the collar.
While the mechanisms have been developed, the basic idea of these devices stays the same.
These collars are not dangerous and they merely annoy the dog and make it bark less often. (The collars aren’t meant for barking alone; they can be used to correct a wide range of behaviors).
There are now three types of correction available: spray, sonic, and the already mentioned static. The spray bark collar uses a strong scented fluid, such as citronella; the sonic bark collar uses sound, above the frequency of human hearing but within the dog’s range. Both these options are great for dogs that are sensitive to physical stimuli (the collar using citrus smell shouldn’t be used on scent hounds, because they sense of smell is extremely well developed).
The static collar seems to be the most appreciated among all three versions. Static collars can be triggered by continuous barking for a certain period of time. Requiring that both systems be activated prevents the collar from reacting to another dog barking. Due to its volume and frequency settings, the collar only reacts to continuous barking, and isn’t triggered by reactions of fear, pain or stress. Many of the static bark collars have adjustable steps (and increasing levels of correction); and most have an automatic timed shutdown if the dog barks for an extended period without cease. In addition, the static collar auto-resets to lower levels if the dog doesn’t bark for a certain period. This will make the dog understand the benefits of barking less.
Collars are most efficient only when combined with dog training. They shouldn’t be used as a single method of training. Praise and play for good behavior, exercise to help reduce restlessness and anxiety, and activities to keep the dog occupied when alone are all positive items that can help reduce the perceived need to bark for attention.
Anti-bark collars are the most practical and humane methods of teaching the dog it shouldn’t bark all the time. Most definitely they are preferable to other alternatives, such as the invasive debarking surgery or alienating the dog.
Even though the first versions of bark collar weren’t perfect, they have been improved in time. Most types of dog collars can be adjusted manually or digitally. If you want to find out more about different types of bark collar, click here.
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