How to use a bark collar?

It is important to use the bark collar properly to ensure its effectiveness and for the well-being of the animal.

It is obvious that you have to spend time training your dog if you want to see an unpleasant behavior disappear. You must be present and involved in this process with your pet. The anti-bark collar is a training tool and its effectiveness depends on the use you make of it.

Several factors influence the final result of the use of bark collars or training collars:

• When to use them according to the situation
• Get a good timing according to the association method
• Achieve the desired results

The canine learning methods

You need to understand the concept of association learning in order to use the training collars properly. There are different schools of thought that lead the dog to learning and all of them are based on conditioning. Influenced by the researchers Pavlov, Skinner and Kupalov, who studied in the same sense, learning by association has become the method used in dog training (behavioral approach). Thus, the dog can only know if he has done something right or wrong if he is rewarded or punished within 3 to 10 seconds after the action. Like the cliker method, the use of training collars is in the same direction.

You must start with the basic commands to practice with the association method

You start with basic commands such as ”sit, stay, come” and know how to react to the word ”no”, before trying more complex commands to eliminate a behavior. The dog must associate the voice command  and the unpleasant stimulation of the collar with his current behavior.

Then, continue with the more specific commands to eliminate a behavior.

You can use the remote training collars with the association method if:

• Your dog destroys objects or plants (like making holes in the garden)
• He runs away
• Is possessive of an object/person
• Has obsessions (running after cars for example)
• He jumps on people
• He is over excited and barks   

It is your responsibility to see to the well-being of your pet and to ensure that you get a positive training session for him.

Learn how to use bark collar:

You should read the user’s manual provided with the collar to understand how it works. Any collar with contact points must be adjusted sufficiently so that the points are in continuous contact with the skin. If the collar is too loose, it simply won’t work consistently and the results will be poor.

When you are ready, put the collar on the dog and set the device on the lowest or medium intensity. Then, trigger a situation that makes him bark, for example: a person ringing the doorbell or a stranger in front of the house. You choose a situation that generate excessive barking for the device to be triggered. Watch your dog carefully and/or put a leash on another collar around his neck in case you need to intervene. Observe his body language and see if your dog reduces his barking or not in this situation. If he persists in barking, increase the intensity of the collar and give a voice command “no” or “stop”.

Then, remove the collar and repeat the operation several times during short training sessions. You should praise and encourage him when he is quiet. Once the dog has demonstrated that he understands that barking triggers the collar and that he needs to stop barking to get away from the collar. You can leave him alone and unsupervised, as you are confident that he will behave appropriately. See our section on training.

How to see if the tool is working effectively

You should observe a brief improvement in his behavior either because he is distracted or less obsessed with barking. You can also observe the dog’s calming signals that he uses to calm himself or another dog: yawning, avoiding eye contact, licking his nose, turning his head or body away, feeling the ground, lying down or sitting, standing still, making slow movements, turning away, lifting his paw from the ground, shaking, wagging his tail as soon as the owner arrives and placing himself in the play call position. These behaviors show that he is not relaxed and that he is trying to calm himself down. Calming signals are also used to communicate with each other to resolve mutual tensions.

When to use bark collar ?

You can use anti-bark collars in the following situations and causes; to limit excessive barking due to boredom, excitement, protecs its territory without imminent threat and when he has disobeyed your command to stop barking.

We hope to have answered most of your questions about the use of anti-bark collars. Share with us your experience with the use of these collars and whether they have been effective in training your dog.