tips for caring for your pets through winter

If you have a dog who barks during the day or night, then you need a plan to stop your dog from barking unnecessarily. Your plan should include searching for the reason your dog is barking in the first place. Dogs will bark because they are lonely, bored, fearful, anxious, or seeking attention. Dogs will also bark as a way to protect your family. Once you find the reason your dog is barking, you can come up with a strategy to remove the reason for the behavior. However, dogs will sometimes compulsively bark once the behavior becomes habitual. In this case, special collars can be used to help thwart the barking. Follow the tips below if you want to purchase one.

Go with a Humane Collar

There are a wide variety of dog-barking collars on the market, and some varieties are more humane than others. It is wise to use the most humane collar possible. Many collars will use distraction tactics to stop barking instead of using negative reinforcement to reduce the behaviors, like in the case of shock collars. The distraction stops the dog from barking by drawing their attention elsewhere. 

Distraction barking collars include air or citronella spray varieties as well as vibrating and ultrasonic options. Spray collars will either emit a puff of air or a spray of strong-smelling citronella in front of your dog's face when he barks. Citronella spray collars are particularly helpful because the strong odor is one that dogs do not like. However, these types of products do require you to refill the collar as air and citronella are expelled. Keep this in mind if your dog barks a lot because most collars will only release a few dozen sprays before the container needs to be refilled. 

Vibrating and ultrasonic collars do not need to be refilled, but they will require batteries for operation. Vibrating collars shake gently when your dog barks, and ultrasonic varieties release a high-pitched sound only your dog can hear. 

Some collars will work better for some dogs than others because the method of distraction may startle your dog or actually cause more barking. Make sure to try a different variety if the first collar does not work for you instead of investing in a less-humane shock collar. Look at the offerings of companies like Anytime Pet Products to see what options you have. 

Do Not Yell at Your Dog

If you decide to purchase a bark or training collar for your dog, then you may decide to also yell at him as he barks to reinforce the idea that your dog should not bark. However, this will be confusing to your dog. Dogs are pack animals that follow the actions of the leader or alpha male. To your dog, you are the leader of the pack. If he hears you yelling, then he will think that he should bark with you.

Do not yell when you are training your dog. Say firm commands like "quiet" or "no" instead without raising your voice. If your dog stops barking when you say the command, then give them a treat. This positive reinforcement will indicate to your dog that they did the right thing when you said the command.