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Author: Jeremiah Kruczek Article source: http://www.articlealley.com/. Used with author's permission.
Dog Training
There are times when you may wish to have your dog bark, such as when a stranger is lurking outside and your dog hears this. There are other times when it can be so annoying that you cannot even have a conversation, particularly, when someone arrives at your home.
The easiest way to suppress this behavior would be to utilize a no bark collar which penalizes your dog with a stimulation everytime unwanted barking occurs. Some collars also have a non-stimulation mode which simply vibrates to give your dog a warning or startling affect.
There are hundreds of collars available geared toward all budget types and training needs. It is not a difficult task in finding them, especially through internet sources. The cheaper cost for these types of collars is around $100.00.
One of the best rated is produced by Tritronics. (Bark Limiter XS) It is battery powered and has everything from a sleep mode, which shuts down the collar when your dog lies still for more than thirty seconds. It also has an odometer feature which lets you know how many times your dog has been corrected.
You can also change the stimulation mode to match the temperament of your dog. Lesser modes will be a little easier on dogs which are not aggressive from a barking stand-point. Higher modes would be for dogs that bark at higher frequencies, thus giving more stimulation.
Collars can be very effective since everytime your dog barks, they will get a stimulation signaling that they should stop. The dog learns through a repeated process happening over and over.
Some folks think that if they provide a dog with a treat everytime that someone arrives (to shut them up) at their home that this will help curb the behavior. Nothing could be further than the truth. In fact, what can happen is that the dog will begin to bark even more, expecting a treat everytime someone arrives so avoid this ritual. (Especially with new puppies)
You can attempt training your dog to not bark (if its a puppy or young) without the aid of a collar if you don't want the expense or consider it less ethical. Simply use stern vocal commands with each offense and praise handsomely when the dog obeys! (Remember, no treats with this one, it can lead to more barking)
You can have someone help you with a mock arrival at your house. Have them ring the doorbell or knock on the door to trigger your dog's barking response. Use commands such as NO!, STOP!, SIT or whatever you deem necessary. Repeat over and over until your dog gets the message.
This technique will take considerably longer, but the dog will get the idea, given the repetition that is involved.
No Bark Collars are probably the easiest way to get your dog to stop barking, although you must get past the ethics of your dog getting stimulated everytime it barks. If you have time and patience, you may want to try the latter methods discussed in this article.
Resource:
DogsRUs Dog Training
Dog Training
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