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Modern Humane Bark Collars

There are several bark control products available to help owners train their dogs to stop barking. Electric shock collars which use a special sensor to detect a bark, have been on the market for years, but they had some problems. The sensors on the early bark collars were fairly large, which was fine for a large dog, but didn't work well for the small yappy breeds like chijuajuas or daschunds. The collars did not offer a wide range of adjustment, so the correction was sometimes too strong for a timid or small dog. Early collars detected sound, but without detecting a combination of throat vibration and sound, it is hard to determine if the dog is actually barking, and sometimes corrections were administered incorrectly. Another problem was that they didn't turn off if the dog continued to bark. Most dogs got the point quickly, but some dogs just didn't make the connection between the electric shock, and their barking, and for those animals, the old bark collars were simply cruel.

Many owners shied away from using a bark collar because they couldn't tell how strong the current actually was. They were justifiably concerned about using the collar without supervision. Of course, it's when the owner is gone, and not around to supervise, that the dog is most likely to indulge in continuous barking.

Today, new innovations make Petsafe's Bark Control Collar worth a second look. First, the Bark Control Collar uses a dual-detection system to sense both vibration and sound to separate a bark from other external noises. This eliminates the problem of mistaken corrections, which makes training go much faster.

Second, the Bark Control Collar has what Petsafe calls their new Temperament Learning System. It contains software that tracks the number of corrections needed to reduce the number of niusance barks. The system has 10 levels of Static Correction. It begins with a low-level correction, then if barking continues the correction intensity will increase with each successive bark until the barking stops. Once the dog has learned to reduce the barking, the initial warning corrections are reduced. This flexibility to modify corrections means that the Learing System design adapts to different dog breeds and their individual barking behavior.As a built-in safety feature, if a dog barks 15 times or more within a 1 minute 20 second period, the Bark Control Collar will automatically shut off for 3 minutes.

Also impressive is Petsafe's new Little Dog Bark Collar. It has the features of the standard Bark Control Collar, but is designed with a small, lightweight sensor for toy breeds and small dogs. In fact, it's small enough that it is barely noticeable.

Of course, even with the new, far more humane features, a bark collar must still be used responsibly, and there are some situations where a bark collar is not a good solution. If your dog is barking because he has separation anxiety, you need to understand that he is truly beside himself with fear. Other signs of separation anxiety are pacing, and chewing up things in the house or yard. If your dog is barking because of separation anxiety, consulting a dog behavior specialist will help resolve his anxiety problem.

An older dog may bark because he is blind or confused. You may not even realize that he can no longer see because he knows his house and yard well. Still, he can get disoriented, and may bark asking for help. A bark collar won't help your blind or confused dog, and can make things worse. Drugs are available from a veterinarian that may help his confusion (althought, obviously not his sight).

If your dog is uncontrollable and won't respond to you, the collar may not work. That dog needs the help of a doggy behavior specialist, and some obedience training before trying a bark collar.

Sometimes a dog has such a high pitched yip that the collar can't detect a bark. Unfortunately some of the yappiest dogs such as daschunds and chihuahuas fall into this category.

It is important to realize that some barking is natural for dogs, and your goal is to stop incessant barking that goes on and on, not to eliminate all barking. Collars can be set to allow a few barks before a correction is made--be lenient. Your role is that of a teacher.

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