Do you have a dog with an excessive barking problem?  Is your dog waking up the neighbors and yourself and generally being a nuisance?  There are several ways to address an excessive barking problem.

Address the source of the problem

Often a dog is excessively barking due to a lack of structure, training, and mental stimulation.  Make sure your dog is getting good training, good walks, and isn’t left to himself in the backyard for 23 hours a day.

For outside dogs it may be very beneficial to bring them in the house or use a crate when it comes time for bed.

Use an electric bark collar properly

A bark collar, used properly, is a great tool for curbing excessive barking.  Most people think that this is a collar that does all the training for you.  Not true.  You have to use it properly in order to have success.  Here are several key points to have success with a bark collar.

1- Condition your dog to the collar. Most people get the collar out of the box, turn it on, and start using it right away. This is a mistake. Your dog is not dumb. He realizes, “Hey, every time they put that collar on me I can’t bark. I’ll just wait until the collar comes off.” It is important that your dog does not understand what the collar is for. Take a week or two before you start using the collar and have your dog wear the collar. Don’t turn it on, just have your dog wear it. Don’t say anything when you put it on, don’t say anything when you take it off. You want your dog to have a neutral association toward the collar.

2- Adjust the level of stimulation. It is important that you have a bark collar where YOU are in control of the level of correction. There are many collars that have only a few levels, all of them high. What happens is that the dog gets too overwhelmed too quickly.  By starting on a high level your dog is not in a great position to learn. It is kind of like throwing your dog in the deep end of the pool.  Some will learn to swim right away, others will struggle. It is best to start out on low levels and gradually increase the level as the dog understands what the correction means. You shouldn’t have to get too high on the levels if you gradually increase the levels over the course of a week or two.

3- Get a quality collar. Most pet store brand collars are junk. They get set off at the wrong times (like when a car drives by, when a neighbor dog barks, etc.), run out of batteries very quickly, and fall apart after a short time. Usually the difference between a lousy collar and a great one is about $20. Spend the extra $20 and get a great unit.

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