There are some dogs that rarely make a sound, and then there are dogs that keep on barking loudly every time. Don’t get it wrong; having dogs bark is far from irritating. It only becomes a pain to listen when they bark and continue to do so for no apparent reason. Though the first solution that comes to mind is to purchase a bark control device, one must understand that telling them to shut up will not be effective on its own. It is important to couple these devices with the appropriate training.
Having to train a dog to stop barking without any device is pretty challenging. Oftentimes it is an untrained dog that makes the loudest noise. If your dog is still untrained, you better start with simple commands like sit and stay. Rewarding them for every successful command is necessary. This will let the dogs focus their attention to you as they await your command. Another way to reduce their barking is to engage them in other activities such as playing or running. The less idle they become, the lesser the barking they will make. If the barking still continues, then that is the time to get bark control equipment.
Ultrasonic Bark Control
First, let’s focus on ultrasound devices. These devices stop a dog’s barking using a high pitched sound only he could hear: ultrasound frequency. An example is the ultrasonic remote trainer. This is ideal for dogs whose barking is uncontrollable but can also work with normal ones during training.
There are two buttons: one giving a positive sound while another giving a negative sound. It has a 30 feet range and can be used both indoors and outdoors.
If a dog keeps on barking on a particular spot outside your house, it will not just be you who will have problems but your neighbors as well. In such a case, you can use an outside bark control device. Aside from having an ultrasound player, it also has an audio sensor (focused primarily on dog barks). When the dog makes his first bark, the sensor detects and automatically turns the ultrasound on. This would keep the dog from barking again, thinking that it caused the disrupting high pitched sound. The sensors can detect a bark and plays the corresponding ultrasonic tone up to 50 feet.
When inside the house, you can use the similar indoor bark control device. It has similar features as the one you would use outside, but it detects and makes ultrasound with a range of 30 feet, since the place is smaller. This is ideal for kitchens or living rooms where the pets usually stay. It also has a manual switch for the ultrasound if you wish to get the attention of your dog whose behavior has become too rowdy.
Static Correction
For extreme cases, you can fit a special bark control collar to a noisy dog. The device often has the same sensor, but it activates a mild static correction instead of ultrasound. It does the same thing without using too much power. Note that the device is still very safe to use for dogs and will only give temporary discomfort.