The anti barking collar can have a bad reputation among dog owners and be the target of many prejudices, very often false: “the dog suffers”, “it’s an object of torture” … Nevertheless, faced with repeated and embarrassing barking, many dog owners find themselves helpless.
In these cases, the anti-barking collar is necessary and remains the most effective and fastest acting device against untimely barking.
Why put an anti-barking collar on your dog?
Just like speech for humans, barking for dogs is a way to communicate. Thus, they can be emitted in order to express an emotion or a need, to indicate a danger, to threaten?
However, it happens that sometimes, some dogs use it too often and bark as soon as an event attracts their attention: a bird that lands near him, a passer-by that he sees, or when he is bored or feels lonely. It is then not pleasant for the owner or his entourage to hear a dog barking continuously, especially since barking is often very loud.
The untimely barking can thus become a real source of conflict between neighbors who find their daily peace and quiet disturbed by this nuisance. Indeed, hearing a dog barking continuously and unjustifiably is not pleasant.
Be aware that loud and repetitive noises, which are thus a nuisance and cause a disturbance, are reprehensible. If the offence is found to have been committed, it can range from a simple fine, to removal of the dog in the most serious cases.
When the environment of one’s neighbors is no longer peaceful and is disturbed because of one’s dog, a quick solution must be found to calm the situation. The anti barking collar is the best solution to this problem.
How does the anti barking collar work?
Just like a collar for walking, the anti-barking collar is placed around the dog’s neck. It has a strap to be passed around the neck in order to maintain and allow the operation of the housing in which the heart of the device is located to control and limit barking.
Once switched on, the collar detects the dog’s barking, either through a microphone in the housing or through a system that detects the vibrations emitted by the dog’s vocal cords during barking.
Once the barking is detected, the barking collar reprimands the dog by producing an unpleasant action. Depending on the device, this can be a slight electric shock, a jet of liquid on the nose, a shaking or an ultrasound.
Quickly, usually within a few days, the dog will then make the link between barking and triggering of the collar. In order to avoid at all costs the reprimand and that the unpleasant action produced by the collar does not start, he understands that it is enough not to bark.
It is a perfectly painless product and a great deterrent.
What products are available?
There are four types of anti-barking collars, the model of which can be chosen according to your dog: electric, spray, vibrating and ultrasonic. To choose the right model, you can consult our anti-barking collar comparison.
The electric anti-bark collar is the device that receives the most criticism, but also the one that meets the best results.
The principle is simple, the collar’s casing is equipped with electrodes that send a slight discharge of electricity to the dog to punish barking.
Totally painless and harmless, the discharge is similar to static electricity. It can in no way hurt or cause the dog to suffer, only strongly hinder it. Very dissuasive, the results are extremely fast.
Be aware that it is possible to adjust the intensity of the discharge according to the dog, a small dog does not feel it in the same way as a hound.
Finally, for this type of product, the sensitivity of the dog must be taken into account. It is therefore not recommended for a fragile or naturally stressed dog.
The spray collar is the best alternative to the electric collar. The box contains a liquid product that is sprayed on the dog’s nose in order to punish barking. The discomfort is multiple: the noise of the spray is surprising and the sensation of having a wet nose is absolutely not pleasant. Also, the liquid can be odourless or perfumed, very often with lemongrass whose smell dogs hate! This is the most chosen collar for small dogs.
Finally, vibration or ultrasonic anti-barking collars punish barking by producing a tremor or by emitting a very shrill ultrasound that tells the dog to shut up in order to stop it. Be aware that the noise is absolutely not audible to humans.
Also, this product is only effective for prolonged barking and is not recommended if you have several dogs. On hearing the ultrasound, all of them will be punished for the bad behavior of only one of them.
What are the alternatives to the anti barking collar?
If you don’t want to use the anti-barking collar for your faithful companion, you should know that there are other solutions.
First of all, you can call upon an animal behaviourist who will be able to find the origin of the problem of untimely barking and try to correct it with you.
Also, there are ultrasound barking aids that do not need to be placed on the dog. They can be hung in your garden and trigger an ultrasound when prolonged barking is detected to make it stop.
