Article Title: Methods To Stop Your Dog Barking
Author: Mike Laxman
If you are like me, you probably love your dog like your own
child and you still clearly remember the day you brought that
adorable furry pup into your house. There's no doubt that dogs
make wonderful pets and still are man's best friend.
However sometimes, dogs have a propensity to continuously keep
on barking at odd hours. But you cannot blame them, because
dogs are naturally territorial animals and some more so than
others. Although this is a good thing in certain cases where
many a burglary or break-in has been prevented, the same
behavior can also be a nuisance for you and your neighbors if
your dog tends to bark non-stop in the middle of the night for
no obvious reason.
If this is you, then you need not fret about it because there
are several methods you can use to curb your dog's barking
habit. Here is a brief look the various methods to keep your
pet in check:
Often, dogs bark when they are feeling lonely, scared or
frustrated. However, the dog will calm down if you give it some
love, food, water and a chew-toy. This way even if it is alone,
the dog will feel comfortable and secure. Doing this will work
in most cases, but in the event such techniques fail to stop
the barking habit, then you may need to implement slightly more
extreme measures.
Bark collars are becoming increasingly popular these days due
to their overall effectiveness in preventing dogs from barking
unduly. Certain bark collars work by emitting an ultrasonic
sound that is audible only to your dog's ears, whenever your
dog breaks into a barking fit. This is a harmless technique
that will interrupt your dogs barking and will eventually train
your dog to stop whenever it hears the ultrasonic sound.
Some people prefer to use citrus collar which distracts the dog
by targeting its extremely sensitive sense of smell. It works by
discharging a strong citrus smell when your dog barks. Again,
this technique is completely harmless to your dog while being
effective at the same time.
Another type of bark collar works by using slight electronic
stimulation. Electronic training collars usually have several
levels of stimulation. When your dog starts barking, it gets
the lowest level of electric stimulation. These levels increase
till your dog stops barking at which point the collar
automatically resets itself to the lowest level again.
There are those who feel that this technique is a bit cruel,
but in reality, the electronic pulses are extremely mild and
harmless to your pet. Of course, it's recommended to not use
this method if your dog barks due to anxiety or loneliness,
since the dog will connect the electric stimulations with the
owner not being present there and this will only make for an
even more anxious dog.
In most cases, however, it is perfectly safe to use a bark
collar for any dog older than 6 months. Such collars are also
water resistant and well-designed for your "ruff and tuff" pet.
To conclude, when trying to decide on the most suitable way to
teach your dog to be quiet, it's pertinent to know your dog's
personality and the reason behind all that barking, or else it
is you who might just end up barking up the wrong tree!
About The Author: Mike Laxman trains dogs in the UK, his recent
articles can be found at http://www.innotekd
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