Which Anti Bark Device to Choose?

This might sound too obvious, but I feel you do need to understand the advantage of using a training tool to deal with the particular problem of excessive dog barking before buying any anti barking tool. In the end a tool is just a tool and the effectiveness depends a lot on your personal situation, your dog, his environment and the tool you picked.

Basically any anti bark device is based on an "instant and consistent" warning system. The moment your dog steps out of line so to speak, he will undergo the consequences and this will happen any time he is wearing the collar, for the whole duration of it. This offers a huge advantage to those dog owners who spend most of the day outside of the house and can't be around the whole time to train their dog to stop barking.

Also, an anti bark device is far more consistent than most people and will instantly communicate with your dog that what he is doing is undesired behavior.

Yes, no matter how positive I am towards this dog training tool, there are moments that you should not use it, simply because you would only make the problem bigger and maybe even add other problems to your dog's life.

For instance, if your dog is suffering from separation anxiety you will need to make the appropriate changes to his life before trying to train him to stop barking. Barking is the most effective way of communication for your dog, so you have to make sure that the cause of the barking has not got to do with him being unwell.

In the case of separation anxiety, this means you will have to teach your dog it is ok to be home alone or try to find alternative methods to get him to calm down.

Another thing to consider before using an anti bark device is the general health of your dog. He might just be barking to express him being unwell or when his standard needs are not met. This can include lack of food or water but also the lack of exercise or companionship, either from other dogs or from you the owner. In any case before turning to the aid of anti bark devices, it might just be a good idea to contact your vet to rule out any physical problems you are not aware of.

The least invasive anti bark device is probably the sonic dog collar. It looks like a regular dog collar and your dog can wear it throughout the length of the day. It works on batteries (which normally don´t come with the collar) and attached to the collar there is a little box with two small detector pins. These pins must be in contact with the skin of the dog to detect the vibration created by the barking. There are several different sonic collars but basically they send out a sound that only your dog hears whenever the barking becomes excessive.

There are very cheap collars available (but trust me, they are not even worth the few dollars, I have tried!) but the best is to pick one from a renowned brand that offers several levels of correction. Also ensure the collar is waterproof if your dog has access to swimming facilities or has a habit of playing with his drinking water.

Advantage: Least invasive of all anti bark devices
Disadvantage: Might not be as effective as other collars

Spray collars have proven to be very effective in many cases but some dogs really don´t care for them, making them useless. Instead of sending out a sound to warn the dog to stop barking, spray collars, like the name says, spray. The moment your dog starts barking excessively, a smell unpleasant to your dog will be sprayed around, startling your dog and breaking the barking pattern.

This process will repeat each time the dog keeps barking as to keep breaking the pattern until the barking eventually ceases.

The spray mainly consists of a liquid based on natural essential oils, particularly in the case of the citronella spray collars.

Advantage: Highly effective in many cases
Disadvantage: Some dogs find it so annoying they will actually start fighting the device

Shock collars might make many dog owners cringe at the thought of them and guess what, it will have the same effect on your dog. Some consider this anti bark device the most effective barking solution, while others will immediately start arguing it is just not humane.

However, shock collars are based on natural instincts and education techniques, giving a little shock comparable to a small dog bite. So basically what happens is that the dog will receive the exact same treatment he would get from other dogs in nature, when doing something inappropriate.

Again, there are many different brands and types of shock collars, the difference obviously lying in price and quality, but also in the amount of repetitions and severity of the shocks so if you feel this anti bark device is the most appropriate for your dog, you will have to do some research on your own to compare prices.

Advantage: Very effective
Disadvantage: Can be very harsh and should only be used as a last option

This anti bark device is based on a different principle than the above collars. Instead of relying on the collar itself to warn your dog or reprimand him either by sound, spray or shock, this type of collar relies on human control.

As the name says, it is controlled from a distance and the person in control must be a consistent human being in order to give instant signals whenever the dog shows inappropriate behavior. Now guess what... that can be any type of behavior! Seeing that it is you controlling the warning system, remote training collars can not only be used as an effective anti bark device, but it can also prove to be helpful when wanting to deal with other dog training problems, such as jumping on people, not coming when called for or any other problem you need to address.

Advantage: wide range of problems can be solved
Disadvantage: depends on the training skills of the person in control of the collar

Last but not least... what to do if it is not your dog doing the excessive barking, if your dog does not tolerate a training collar, if you have several dogs needing training or if you just don´t want to use a training collar on your favorite pooch?

In come the remote silencer systems that will send out an ultra sonic sound only dogs can hear as soon as it detects a dog barking. These are small boxes you can place anywhere you want as long as it is in the working range of the barking dog(s) so if it is your neighbor´s dog doing the barking and there is no way they are going to solve the problem, this might just be what you are looking for.

Again, there are several different brands you can get and the difference between one and the next may be the detection range, the distance the ultra sonic sound will carry, whether it is battery controlled or needs to be AC powered, whether it is water resistant or not. Some even come with their own remote control in case the anti bark device does not pick up on the dog barking for some reason.

Advantages: multiple uses without the need of a collar
Disadvantages: more expensive than most anti bark collars