subject: Stop Dog Barking - A Guide To Bark Collars [print this page] Dogs can be a nuisance - they chew up your shoes, knock over items in the house, and even claw up your favorite furniture. But then, when these happen in your home, and not in someone else's, it's not like your neighbors will complain. So if your dog happens to bark long and loud at night, that's a bother. This nuisance is bad for home owners. If you are renting your home, those complaints could get their evicted, unless you can stop your dog from barking. The good thing is that getting bark collars for your dog will solve this problem.
One issue some dog owners face with bark collars is whether these collars are humane to use on dogs. This concern seems to be rooted in the assumption that bark collars primarily inflict pain to deter animals from engaging in certain behaviors. But then the device on the bark collars use various ways to "interrupt" the dog's barking, not inflict pain. The goal is to constantly provide an interruption every time the dog barks; over time, the dog will bark less. Over time the dog avoids barking to avoid the interruption. The interruption or stimulus is a harmless spray, a static shock, or a high frequency sound. These do not inflict harm on the dog in any way.
The shock is too low to inflict pain, the sound is one only dogs can hear and is at best annoying, and the spray is a harmless chemical derived from Citronella. The spray type collar releases a fluid derived from the Citronella plant. The scent "arrests" the dog's attention, since it has a good sense of smell; and his barking is interrupted. It's similar to being focused on a task and smelling an overpowering perfume.
Operating on the same idea is the shock collar, which uses a low volt to grab the dog's attention, and stifle his barking. It should be known that the static correction is nothing like being electrocuted. The last type of bark collar, the sound or ultrasonic type, uses a high-frequency sound to jar the dog's barking habit; the sound cannot be heard by humans. The sound is enough to stop the dog from barking, until it learns to stop barking altogether.
These electronic collars run on batteries. Two sensors comprise the trigger mechanism of the bark collars, on the good quality ones at least. The stimulus - spray, shock, sound - is released only when two criteria are met - the loud sound of barking and the vibration of your dog's throat upon barking. With this set up in place, there will be no stimuli released when a loud truck's sound reaches the collar; there will be no mis-shocks, sprays, or sounds released.
If you want to stop your dog from barking, you only need to find the right collar for your dog. Many online guides for breeds and weight recommendations for collars are available. You can also read the customer reviews so you get more informed prior to your purchase.
