Dog Barking Control From Best To Pitiful

There are at least three different approaches to bark control. Lets look at the best, better and good approaches. In my opinion of course.

Best Way

Dogs bark for a reason. It is a dog's method of communication. And some barking is a good thing. Dogs warn people of danger and communicate in other positive ways. So it isn't barking that's the problem, it's excess uncontrolled barking.

The best way to control barking is to learn why the dog is barking and deal with the cause of the barking. Now the dog can't talk, so it's up to the trainer to observe and decide what the cause of the barking is. Dogs bark for many reasons from loneliness to too much energy. Using your keen sense of observation, you most likely can determine what is the cause.

After you know the cause take steps to eliminate or control the cause and the barking can get better. Along with eliminating the cause you must link rewards with desired behavior and negative consequences with undesired behavior. And by all means be consistent. Always, always deal with the behavior in the appropriate manner.

So, the best way to control barking is to find the cause and deal with the cause. Then establish that you the trainer are in control and you will not tolerate uncontrolled barking and you will reward quiet, calm manners. This will work, but the trainer must be responsible. If the trainer is not responsible to be consistent, no kind of device or gadget will make up for that.

But there are situations when some training aids will help.

Better Way

Consider a dog training collar especially for barking when you are gone. Dog training collars are of two main types. Citronella collars spray stinky citronella oil near the dog's nose when the barking starts. Most dogs will not bark while the collar is on and working. Citronella collars seem to be more effective that the other major type of collar. That's the electrical shock collar. Most dog's will stop barking if they get a jolt every time they bark. Many people see this as cruel punishment. Especially since some amount of barking is natural for dogs. Usually the barking starts back when the collar comes off.

Good Way

Another approach works even for the neighbors' dog. That's the blast of ultrasonic noise when the barking starts. Several devices are out there that do just that, blast out the noise when dogs bark. This works for some dogs and not for others. It might be worth a try especially for the neighbor dog.

Pitiful Way

A final control is called debarking. This is done by splitting the dog's vocal chords. That stops the barking but what an extreme measure. The vocal chords can grow back too so the operation has to be repeated. Seems a very poor choice for dealing with barking.

So get right to work trying to understand the cause of the barking, then work with your dog to deal with the problem in a kind, but firm way.