Having a noisy dog causes disturbance not only to you but also to other people. However, punishing the dog by putting a muzzle on his mouth is not solving the issue and would only traumatize your pet. What is important is that you try to find out more about his behavior and use the appropriate bark control device to discourage him from barking.
Outdoor Cases
There are situations that the barking of your dog is focused on a particular location. If such is the case, try to see if there is a particular object or person that catches the attention of your pet. If you can’t find any, then you can use an outdoor bark control box to deter your dog into doing a barking session. These boxes, disguised as decorative pieces, use an audio sensor to detect the first instance that your dog barks. Even before he has finished his first bark, an ultrasonic frequency will be played, making him stop barking. It may cause him some discomfort, but it will not last long. It is only meant to warn him about the consequences of barking. The device can be placed within a 50 feet range from where your dog usually makes the noise.
Barking Inside the House
It may be tempting to use the same device indoors, but there is a special one that has a smaller range. The indoor bark control device functions exactly the same way except that it also has a physical switch that plays an ultrasonic tone. The small equipment can be situated in the kitchen or living area where dogs usually bark the most. You can use the manual switch just in case he becomes uncontrollable.
Training Companion
If you are already in the process of training your dog, you can use a hand held device that emits the ultrasonic frequency like an ultrasonic remote trainer. This way, you easily get his attention or simply prevent him from barking altogether. It has two buttons that plays a good tone and a bad tone, and it can reach your pet from up to 30 feet.
Worst case Scenario
Finally, if the barking happens too often, you can provide a special collar to address the issue. The collar also has a special sensor that reacts on the first attempt of the dog to make noise. Since ultrasound may be too close, a mild static correction is used to discourage the dog. The correction itself can be adjusted to reduce whatever discomfort your dog might feel. You can set this depending on your dog’s sensitivity and behavior.
Going Back to Training
Even if these devices can be effective to simply silence your pet, they better serve the purpose if training is given as well. They will only be less happy if the bark control devices will be used for a prolonged period. Reward your dog for every time that he has controlled his urge to bark and appreciate the moments that he is silent. In the long run, you want our dogs to learn self control on his own.