Dogs bark for a number of reasons, most of them legitimate. Some though dogs are very active or restless and tend to vocalize very often. Most of the times, they get agitated when they are left unsupervized for a longer period. The most affected ones are, as always, the neighbors.

Because there is no supervision whatsoever, it is difficult to control their behavior in this circumstance. There are times when dog owners do not know what to do anymore, other than subject their pets to debarking surgeries or simply take them to a shelter. Neither of these was a good choice, but if you lived anywhere near others, especially if there were other dogs in the neighborhood, several citations left no other choices.

Luckily, bark collars can help in these situations. Like most new technologies, there were some unforeseen complications. Older collars reacted at any type of bark, even the barking of foregin dogs or the barking that occured as a natural reaction to stimuli.

Since then, bark collars have evolved. Now they come in three versions – ultrasonic, static or with citronella spray. All three work on the same principal. The collar is activated when it detects sounds and vibrations within certain frequencies. Requiring that both systems be activated prevents the collar from reacting to another dog barking. Having adjustable volume and frequency monitoring, these collars will not be triggered by reactions such as fear or stress.

bark collars based on citrus spray release the substance when they’re triggered by barking; the sonic ones produce a sound that irritates the dog and static collars give the dog a mild shock. No mechanism included in dog collars can harm your dog. 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. The bark collar will also reset to a lower setting if the dog is silent for a preset amount of time. This idea is meant to encourage the dog to only bark when needed.

A bark collar is intended as an aid in training your dog not to bark inappropriately, not as replacement for training. You don’t need to let the collars on all the time. Use them only for as long as the dog needs them. It is important to monitor the first days when the dog wears the collar; if you cannot do it all the time, because you have to leave for work or school, you could ask a neighbor to help you. He will be more than glad to do it, since he’s the most affected by your dog’s behavior. Make sure it is someone the dog knows and is friendly with.

Monitoring your dog constantly can be very useful. Again, do not use the collars alone, without combining them with training. Use the training system based on rewards, rather than on force and constraint.  

Instead of resorting to extreme solutions, consider purchasing bark collars instead. These devices can prove to be very efficient in educating your dog. If you want to know more details about these devices and the mechanisms they use, read more about bark collars here.