Dog Bark Collars

For your information, your dog might still be barking noisily and disrupting your neighbourhood when you are not at home. In this case, you’ll need a training equipment known as “bark collars” to help train him.

When you are at your wits end with a puppy or dog that won’t stop barking, you will try anything to get some peace and quiet. One popular option is the use of a Bark Collar.

There are several types of bark collars on the market. Some of these collars send an electric shock to your dog when he barks; some make a high pitch sound or emits a squirt of citronella which is annoying but safe for your dog. Usually, these collars can help you solve a problematic barker. 

Dog Bark Collars come in a range of types and configurations. They are based on negative reinforcement psychology, whereby your dog will be subjected to an unpleasant or uncomfortable sensation automatically when they bark. The idea is that your dog will learn that when it barks, it will be subjected to an experience it doesn’t like.

There are two types of bark detection used in Bark control collars. The sound collar uses the noise of your dogs bark to activate and the vibration collar uses the vibrations from your dog's throat. Neither type is perfect. The sound type can be set off with sharp loud external sounds and the vibration type from violent motion such as your dog drying himself. There are collars that combine the two methods and these help reduce the false readings.

Most electronic bark control collars employ sound as the basic stimulus because it is well established that animals learn more quickly and retain a better memory when the desired behaviour is associated with a sound. The more advanced models progressively increase the sonic stimulus as barking persists. Some models employ gradually increasing electric shock stimulus along with the sound to stop even the most stubborn barkers in a humane manner.

The more sophisticated electronic bark collars sense the vibrations in a dog's throat that happen only during barking. By doing so, they prevent false corrections from other loud noises and from other dogs barking.

The drawback with some "barking dog collars" is that they may detect barking with a microphone and activate on sound; these can be set off by other noises or by another dogs bark. Some Barking Dog Collars use only vibration; these can be set off by motion or jostling.

Stay away from the following types of bark collars:

1) Bark Dog Collars which project a spray mist which startles and confuses the dog's olfactory senses, causing him to stop barking. These mists may cause allergic reactions and hypersensitivity in your dog.

2) Independent devices that have a built-in microphone tuned to the sound of your dog's bark. They emit a loud correction to startle the dog so he stops barking. They automatically stop and reset themselves after each auditory correction. The dog feels no correction with this type of bark stopper and can simply move away to another location further from the receiver and completely avoid the sound all together.

Look for a barking dog collar with the following features:

1) One that simultaneously senses both sound and vibration, and only uses a combination of sound and vibration to trigger the electronic correction. By having both of these features, the electronic bark collar will be activated only by the dog wearing the collar, so there won't be any "false corrections" caused by loud noises or other dogs barking.

2) One that automatically adjusts the level of static correction to your dog's temperament with different levels of self-adjustable corrections in response to the bark intensity of your dog. The more intensity settings will help to accommodate the most sensitive too the most stubborn dogs.

3) One that provides a warning beep with the first bark.

4) One with a rechargeable battery, which features a low battery indicator light.

5) One that features a quick fit buckle that provides a quick release.

6) One that is durable, light weight, waterproof, and adjustable.

7) One that comes with a complete operating guide and a video tape demonstration.

More importantly, while a Bark Collar can appear to be quite effective in the short term, it is really only a band-aid fix for this problem. The deeper issues causing your dog to behave in this way are left untreated – and you are left with a lifeless and unhappy dog. Also, the cost of these items can be very high – most costing $100 or more!