Things I Wouldn't Do to Stop My Dog Barking

Barking dogs can be a nuisance to pet owners, and people who are subjected to the constant barking of your dog. I own a Shetland Sheepdog, he barks far more than is necessary. It's a natural attribute in most breeds. Barking is a good characteristic when used to alert the owner to danger. However, I find there is such a thing as too much barking.

My dog has been barking at cars, people, barking when he goes out, while he's in the car he'll bark, and generally he barks at the slightest little sound while indoors, or outside. Ever since he was a puppy I have tried to teach him to only bark when it seems necessary. My methods have not worked, as a result, he is now 4 year's old and still barks too much. He is a herding dog so it is probably in his genes to bark with excitement. He also tries to chase cars, which is particularly dangerous for him and the unsuspecting driver. I obviously keep him on a lead to avoid the car chasing, but the barking is another story.

It is said that it's best to train dogs when they are puppies, and that is what I tried to do. First of all I tried a cheap and easy method, which consisted of an empty plastic bottle with a spray nozzle at the top. I took the bottle everywhere I took my dog. Whenever he would start barking excessively I would give him a spray with the water bottle. While this startled him for a few seconds it did not stop him barking for more than a few seconds. I then purchased a special collar for him that I felt sure would do the trick. When the collar was placed on my dog it would detect the sound of the barking, the collar then made a really high pitched sound supposedly to deter the dog from barking. I put the collar on him, but he just barked louder drowning out the high pitched buzzing sound of the collar. Then I tried getting a metal can, and filling the can with coins. When he barked I shook the can telling him no while I was shaking the can. As you can imagine, a can of coins makes a lot of noise when you shake it. Still, this did not stop the barking for too long. It had much the same effect as the water spraying, it shocked him into stopping for a few seconds, then he continued to bark again.

While thinking about the subject of how I could stop my dog from barking I did some research. I found some ways that I would never consider imposing on my dog to stop him from barking. Below are some of these methods that I find cruel and inhumane to dogs.

Shock Collars

These shock collars are just plain cruel to the animal, in my opinion. Just like humans dogs have varying degrees of pain thresholds. What might be a very small shock to one dog could be a massively painful shock to another dog. Collars like this can cause anxiety, confusion, and even changes to the heart rate of your dog. Displaced aggression, burns, and cardiac fibrillation have been present in certain dogs that have worn these shock collars. They have also been known to malfunction causing the dog to get repeatedly shocked when not barking, or giving off a more powerful shock than the collar was manufactured to give.

Debarking

Surgery is done on the dog to remove the tissue on each side of the larynx to stop the dog from barking. That, to me, is like removing a humans vocal chords. The dog ends up with a quiet bark, like a whisper, after surgery, as opposed to a normal bark. I think this is one of the most cruel things a pet owner can ever do to their animal.

Muzzles

Some muzzles are all right as long as the dog has room to open his mouth, and if they are not on the dog for an extended period of time. I have seen some muzzles that go right around the dogs mouth though, and these in my opinion are cruel to the dog. Imagine not being able to open your mouth. Some of these items are far too restricting to the dog.

I have learned that the key to stopping your dog from barking is to find out what the route cause of the barking is exactly. Is your dog scared, excitable, anxious, or is there some other reason that the dog barks too much? Taking your dog to an animal behavior expert could work for you, if you think your dog needs it. There are any number of reasons why a dog would bark too much. We may have to face the fact that the dog will never stop barking excessively. Luckily, I live out in the country, and my neighbors aren't close enough where my dogs barking is a nuisance to them. I hope that if you have a dog, like mine, who barks too much, that you will use humane ways in which to try and prevent his behavior.