Why Dogs Bark, and 3 Bark Collar Myths

You’ve read everything you can find about excessive barking in dogs. You’ve tried rewards, yelling, and commands, but nothing works. Before you resign yourself to life with constant barking, there are a few things you can try first.

Dogs bark for many reasons. Sometimes it can be for attention, or it could be directed at a stranger if they feel threatened. In any of these instances, a humane bark collar will be your best bet to keep the dog from barking excessively. If your dog starts to nuisance bark, i.e., bothering neighbors or scaring children, a dog barking collar can do the trick.

Some dogs will continue to bark excessively despite going through rigorous training. If this is the case, we recommend a humane training collar. With our ultrasonic no-shock collars your dog will learn not to bark every second, and you can feel good about using a gentle solution that avoids cruelty and won’t hurt your pet.

3 common myths about bark control collars

Myth #1: Dog barking collars aren't safe

Because society is more familiar with traditional “shock” collars, one misconception about our humane bark control collars is that they are dangerous as well. Many dog owners are skeptical that ultrasonic or vibration stimulation is too much for the dog to bear, or worse, that they will cause harm to the dog. However, this is simply a misunderstanding. Good Life has gone to considerable lengths to ensure that each of our dog barking collars are safe for pets and their owners. Through the research and development process, we've designed training collars that let you take charge of your dog's bad behavior with a push of a button — without causing any pain or harm.

Some of our newest bark control solutions include Positive Pet™ (a remote-only vibration collar), BarkWise™ Complete (an automatic no-shock training collar), and OnGuard™(a handheld ultrasonic trainer).

Myth #2: A bark collar should be worn 24/7

If worn for more than the recommended amount of time, any training collar can be harmful to your dog due to the possibility of pressure necrosis. Pressure necrosis is the development of sores due to the collar rubbing on the dog’s neck for an extended period of time.

To prevent this, the dog's collar must adequately fit his neck, and be consistently rotated to prevent any sore spots. If a bark collar fits too tight, continuous pressure from any contact points can restrict blood flow to the tissue underneath, causing it to deteriorate. If the collar is too loose, it may not train the dog consistently if he can’t feel the vibrations on his skin.

In both circumstances, the dog owner needs to make sure the collar is adjusted and remove the collar if worn longer than the recommended duration, typically 8 to 10 hours per day maximum. Our bark control collars use rechargeable batteries which should be re-charged at night anyway, so this will give the dog a break from training and collar wear. You should also clean the contact points of a collar every 2-3 days with rubbing alcohol to prevent bacteria from developing.

Myth #3: Using dog barking collars will prevent your dog from ever barking again

The ultimate goal is not to stop the dog from barking all the time, but to avoid the unnecessary nuisance barking. You want to teach the dog when it’s okay to bark, and when it’s not. There is no way to completely prevent ALL barking, as there are some situations in which barking is totally natural and expected. For instance, when real threats are detected, or the owner is in distress. Through adequate training you can successfully eliminate excess barking, but if your dog really needs to bark he still can.

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