How To Deal With A Dog Who Constantly Barks | Dogs

By MikeRoberts
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Dogs bark for any number of reasons. Most dogs will bark to alert their owners to possible trouble, pain or being frightened of something. Yet other dogs will constantly bark in order to gain the attention of someone or worse yet to sound menacing. Dogs falling into the latter category are showing negative behavior as far as we are concerned.

Although dogs bark for a number of reasons, a constantly barking dog is considered by dog owners and neighbors to be a nuisance and there may come a time when some extreme measures need to be employed to control a constantly barking dog.

The most humane method for controlling a constantly barking dog is to train the dog NOT to bark, or specifically to bark only at the appropriate times. There are many ways to do this, but professional trainers usually recommend a traditional reward/reprimand system and consider these to be the most effective to use.

Still another method to control constant dog barking is to opt for an electronic "bark collar". These collars contain an electric device that delivers a small shock to the dog when it attempts to bark. This shock will not harm the dog but merely startles the dog. The idea is that eventually the dog will associate the shock with his barking and will stop.

There are many problems with this method. Many dogs will not associate the negative stimulus of a shock collar with their barking and they will continue to bark despite the pain it may cause. Dogs that have a lot of fur many not even feel the slight shock around their neck because activation of a bark collar requires its metal contacts to come in contact with the dogs skin around its neck. Some dogs will finally get the message and stop barking. Generally, however the bark collar is not enough and the dog will require additional traditional reward/reprimand training anyway.

It is a bad idea to use the bark collars for an extended period of time.

While these collars provide only a minor pain, most people would agree that the use of a bark collar would seem to be cruel to the dog. Use of a bark collar for short periods of time will not harm the dog.

Still another type of collar is called a citronella collar which emits a mist of citronella to the nose of the dog when the dog barks. Dogs hate the smell of citronella and many will soon associate the negative smell with their constant barking. Citronella collars have a similar success rate of the electronic kind, but are a bit less cruel.

By far the most extreme method of attempting to control a dog's barking is to have it undergo de-barking surgery. With this procedure, a small fold of tissue is removed from the larynx of the dog, rendering it unable to bark. Some find this procedure to be inhumane and, since the dog's bark may return after a few months anyway, it is certainly a less than perfect method and few vets will recommend.

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