Avoid Annoying The Neighbors With Your Dog Barking

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! Besides it being impossible, it's just plain wrong. But we have to admit, excessive barking (much like excessive talking) is a major nuisance—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 is handy 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.

A lot of people—even dog owners—aren’t too aware that there are many ways to try and stop your dog from barking at whim.

These days, busy dog owners tend to run to these things called anti-barking collars. They seem to be the most convenient solution. What a lot of people find great about dog collars is that it seems to promise minimal supervision and maintenance. So far, there are basically three different kinds of anti-barking collars available in the market.

There is the sonar collar. This sonar collar is a discreet little thing. It basically releases a high frequency sound inaudible to humans and irritable to dogs whenever the dog would bark. The idea is that they will associate the irritable sound as punishment to their incessant barking.

Another one is the citronella collar. Citronella collars spray a pungent scent. When the dog barks, they spray so that, similar to the sonar collar, the dog would assume they're being punished for their non-stop barking. Many say that dogs have already found a trick to outwit this collar, though.

Some would just keep on barking until the citronella in the collar runs out. Then he wouldn't have to bother about the smell anymore so he'd just keep on barking the whole 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. It stops dog barking with electric shock. The strength level of the shock can be changed from 1 to 6, 6 usually being the highest.

People contast that shock collars are inhuman. After all, no sane person would do that to another person so why even think of doing it to their own pet? As much as possible, this kind of collar is avoided—and for good reason.

Though collars seem very convenient, they're merely supplements to help you control your dog's barking habit.

Before running to barking collars, find a solution first—find out why your dog barks that way in the first place. Take your dog to a veterinarian behaviorist. Their role is to generally observe 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 (are they being bullied by dogs or other people?) to name two.

You can always call a vet behaviorist to help you find out your dog's behavior problems. A vet behaviorist will also teach you what to do. In extreme cases, they might suggest an anti-barking collar but that should be used side by side with proper training techniques.

If you find out that your dog is just plain bored and has no other way to release pent-up energy, then work on giving your dog something to do. Provide them with physical activities like walks, catch, and play time with other dogs. If you don't have time, then hire a dog walker or take it to a doggie day care. 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. You wouldn't have much trouble teaching the "QUIET" command if you've already established yourself as the alpha of the pack. If your dog's barking is already killing your chances with your hot neighbor, though then you might want to get a collar but ONLY as a temporary thing or as a training supplement.

The sonar collar is most recommended as it is not just humane, but more efficient than the two as well. 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 stop dog barking behavior but still maintain his freedom to do what he naturally does.